NickMiddleton

Aces High, the "Occult" Western monograph does this, and it sounds like a very neat idea IMO. You can retain the four original categories from the core book, and add news ones that are setting appropriate, including restrictions based on culture / species etc. Cheers, Nick

One of the first supplements I ever bought for RuneQuest was a collection of creatures calledthe Gateway Bestiary - being a thirty year old book it's quite rare now and on the rare occasion it DOES show up on eBay can be expensive. It's the only other full bestiary for RQI/-/III I recall. The AH Monster Colliseum boxed set had some RQIII monster / encounter stats in it, and the GW Monsters Book was basically the original RQIII Creatures book combined with those encounter and creature stats, but that's it. Cheers, Nick

I'm assuming you are referring to the Mongoose RuneQuest Monsters I and II books? I've only skimmed through the Monsters SRD, but I'd say, tentatively "yes, with a little work" - depending on which BRP options you prefer there may be more or less conversion work. I can't see it ever being hugely onerous - but I also can't see it being entirely conversion free, either. Bear in mind that the SRD of the first book is freely available here or as part of the Deluxe SRD here - download a copy and form your own opinion as to how much work you'd need to do. Cheers, Nick Middleton

No, don't believe so from a quick check of the PDF copy I have - looks like it's the straight RQIII text (as the previous print mongraph edition was as well). Cheers, Nick

Here's the thing though - in most cases at least some of the players WON'T be able to read the screen. They'll be too far away, at the wrong angle, someons drink will be in the way or whatever. That's what I like about the Elric! screen - much of the information a player will want to look up is on the reference cards, which can be handed around easily. The GM's side can focus then on the stuff that the Gm needs, and the player's side can just have a suitable piece of artwork for the game. The Elric! screen is a bit dull actually in that it just has the name of the game and some vaguely appropriate symbols, but I have a few screens for some D&D variants that really evoke the setting rather well through the use of appropriate art, and I think that's more useful than players straining to read ten point text from the other end of the playing table... Nick

The Elric! GM screen has only artwork on the player side. It's four panels of landscape A4 / Letter sized card. On the GM side, outer left panel: Index to Spot Rules Road, Open Country Movement (including terrain & weather modifiers) Sailing Speeds, Average Chaos, Balance and Law points Centre Left panel: DB table Attack & parry matrix The Resistance table Evasion and Detection Matrix Centre Right Panel Dodge Skill against attack Levels of success and failure Major Wounds table Outer Right panel: Fumble Table The GM's pack also included a short scenario and four reference cards with additional tables on them: sample prices Weapon Tables Spot Rules for Spells Spell Summary Spells categorised Demon Abilities Table Roll Table for Demons & Elementals Point Sacrifices for Demons Point Sacrifices for elementals Demon Damage Bonuses Demon Summoning Fumble Table Some observations as a result - put all the powers related stuff on separate reference cards, and weapon tables and the like. They are easier to refer to that way, and can be put to one side when not needed. So, G = on the GM screen, R = on a reference card; my suggestions: • Character SIZ Chart (p. 26) R • Power Point Recovery Rate (p. 28) G • Damage Bonus (p. 29) G • Skill List by Category (p. 48) R • Alphabetical Skill List (p. 51) R • Language Fluency Chart (p. 67) G • Magic Spell Summary (p. 95) R • Mutation Summary (p. 105) R • Psychic Ability Summary (p. 113) R • Sorcery Spell Summary (p. 129) R • Benefits From Character Failings (p. 142) R • Power Modifier Benefits (p. 143) R • Super Power Summary (p. 147) R • The Resistance Table (p. 171) R • Skill Results Table (p. 172) G • Significant Time Intervals (p. 178) G • Movement Rates (p. 181) G • Order of Actions (p. 187) G • Combat Actions (p. 190) G • Melee Hit Location Table (optional) (p. 190) R • Combat Summary (p.192) G • Attack and Defense Matrix (p. 193) G • Melee Weapon Attack Fumble Table (p. 194) G • Melee Weapon Parry Fumble Table (p. 194) G • Missile Weapon Attack Fumble Table (p. 194) G • Natural Weapon Attack and Parry Fumble Table (p. 195) G • Major Wound Table (p. 207) G • Conditions of Medical Care (p. 208) G • Vehicle Range Track (p. 216) R • Vehicle Skill Roll Modifiers (p. 217) R • Chase Trouble Table (p.217) R • Wealth Levels (p. 238) R • Skills & Appropriate Equipment (p. 242) R Albeit I think that might be tricky to cram it all on: although moving the resistance table to a reference card helps, BRP has a lot more fumble tables than Elric! did! Cheers, Nick

Hah! That was two years in to my subscription IIRC! :eek: Nick

I would also leave it out - my reasoning being that to be legible it has to be printed fairly large, and as a result will take up a LOT of space. Better to have it on separate card that can be consulted or handed to players. I really liked the Elric! screen & GM's pack because a lot of the larger, less frequently consulted tables weren't on the screen, they were on separate reference cards. I'll dig out my copy tonight and see how that breakdown would map on to the BRP tables you've listed. Nick

Can't remember which game I got it from, but I always do random determination of handidness as follows: roll 1D6 and 1D12. If D12 > D6 the character is right handed; if D6 > D12 the character is left handed; If D6 = D12 the character is ambidextrous. Sure I picked it up from a published RPG, but can't remember which one... Nick

Given how often I've read things on web pages and been convinced I know what it said, I really should have more patience and tact. Sorry. Very much - indeed lets hope many more books get done this way, and that a few other publishers join Alephtar in putting out quality third party material (by whatever means). The copy of BRP in TM York looks distinctly lonely on the shelf all on it's own... Cheers, Nick

Why, because I'm actually bothering to read what Dustin wrote? Or because I'm prepared to trust him? "Physical copies won't be available again until later this summer when the distribution version releases. Yes, that means you'll be able to find it on store shelves eventually." (my emphasis). Again, to quote Dustin's words from Chaosium's site (the page you linked to in fact): "P.S. In Search of the Trollslayer was given a monograph cover so our advanced physical copy (Tentacles Only!) would have a cover quickly enough." Do you have grounds for believing Dustin is lying? All my dealings with him lead me to believe he's honest, so I believe iSoT will be released via distribution later this summer. Nick

Given that AH / Hasbro told Chaosium that the RQIII Copyright had reverted back to them, I've never understood why this didn't include the Viking and LoN packs, but given that Chaosium have never even hinted at releasing them we have to assume that they don't think they have the rights. Pretty much everything else I'd guess falls in the "too much work" caetgory, as it's licensed IP that would need not only OCRing, correcting and a new layout but also fine tooth comb editing to remove any refernces to copyright material Chaosium can no longer reference. I suppose they could do Griffin Island - but that very clearly IS a derivative work of Griffin Mountain. Everything else is far to mired in IP they no longer have access to... Mind, has anyone every actually just asked if they have the righs to LoN or Vikings? Nick

*sigh* I quoted Malleus Monstrorum as an example of a normal print & distribution book from Chaosium precisely becuse it CAN be bought through normal retail channels; because that is what Dustin was clearly talking about. Rome is being printed via PoD, and I don't know how distribution is going to be handled exactly (I've yet to see it in print anywhere other than Lulu and Chaosium's site...); and the monographs are an entirely different product. BRP Adventures is a monograph - an entirely different business model specifically intended to encourage people to buy direct from Chaosioum's web site, and not intended for release through conventional distribution. What Dustin was talking about was conventional print and distribution - which will indeed put In Search of Troll Slayer in patriot Games and at IGUK and most other retail outlets. Nick

Really? Patriot Games to name but one game stores in Leeds / Manchetser / Huddersfield / York, or IGUK or one of the other UK based online retailers? IGUK will deliver MM to your door for £20.49... As for the rest - we'll have to agree to differ. Nick

Many congratulations, and thoroughly deserved from I've seen, looking forward to getting my hands on a copy! Cheers, Nick

But in general these circumstances have not yet arisen, nor are they likely to. Chaosium will commission a project on the basis that they already have a plan for it (likely budget, printing and distribution method): so they will either have committed to doing it one way, or another. Rome ended up with Alephtar as I understand it because Chaosium couldn't make the numbers work. On the contrary - producing a book to the point of being print ready incurs exactly the same costs, irrespective of how you are going to print it. So at that point, ones is out of pocket and must select a print & distribution method that will guarantee to cover those already incurred costs. And, as Rome's "in my hand" price of £34 vs. say £22 for Malleus Monstrorum§ demonstrates, to maintain something like comparable margins on a PoD book vs. normal print, the price to the end consumer has to be much higher, which reduces unit sales and thus makes recouping those costs (and an adequate profit to sustain the business going forward) harder, and more variable. What works for one company (e.g. Alephtar) may well NOT work for another (e.g. Chaosium). Could Chaosium make more use of PoD for out of print books? Probably, albeit a lot of the older stuff they just don't have good enough master files for from what I've heard. They already use PoD to make the monographs available in print. What they want to do is make BRP support material that can be sold via the conventional retail channel as this is the most profitable for them and the best way to sustain their business, and thus core support for BRP. I see no harm in them making this plain, and I'm afraid that PoD is currently being bandied around, as PDF was a few years ago, as some sort of magic wand that will just magically solve all problems. It isn't, and it won't. Cheers, Nick § a physically similar book by Chaosium done the conventional printing and distribution route.

Yes - the installation is a platform supported on three legs - it was originally positioned in the shallow waters near the edge of the lake and the doors in the legs were (roughly) at water level. My conception was that it was a scientific observation post for monitoring the lake environment. Cheers, Nick

Historical footnote: RQII included rolling 2D6+6 for all stats as one of teh optional rules for characteristic generation. As far as I can tell, Sandy Petersen introduced the INT & SIZ only as 2D6+6 in Call of Cthulhu, as that's the earliest BRP game I can fin it in. Cheers, Nick

The Super powers sub system is IME the most awkward to integrate in a balanced fashion with the other power systems, but it can be done with some work. The mutations power system is wildly variable RAW, especially in combination with some option (e.g. skill category bonuses) so be wary of using that unmodified. And in the end, kitchen sink settings can very rapidly become dull because of the sheer incoherence - what's clever about TORG is that in a given situation you are dealing with a single dominant 'Axiom' (think that's the term?). So I think picking two or three settings and paying some attention to how they bend is a GOOD plan. A suggestion - pick ONE power system, design all the kit using it, then change the descriptions to be setting appropriate, and fine tune as appropriate. So a "Stave of Dragon's Breath" in one setting has the same basic stats as a "Mobile Infantry Squad Close Support Weapon" in another, it's teh descriptions and setting specific details that differ... Let us know how it goes. Cheers, Nick

As and when the BRP core book is revised the opposed skills section certainly needs clarifying: but dropping the opposed skill rules would be a hugely retrograde step IMO. If people don't like the rule they can chose not to use it. Other people dislike hit locations, finding them unrealistic and awkward - should we drop those entirely as well? Nick

Whilst I agree to an extent, I think it's pretty clear that the published text stating the rule isn't as clear as it could be and speaking purely personally, I feel that as a play tester I let Jason down by NOT catching that - if nothing else, given it's one of the changes / refinements I was most pleased about I'm annoyed I didn't pay closer attention to that section in BRP zero. Agreed, which is why on ties "within degree" I've always used "amount made skill by" - so if A rolls 41 their margin is 39 but B's is merely 1... It's a teeny bit more maths than the 'blackjack' method, but preserves both the "roll low is good" format AND rewards high skill. *shrug* But to be honest given how often this topic has come up in the last couple of years I'm beginning to suspect that people's positions are pretty much set and further debate is futile - people either like the rule or they don't. Cheers, Nick

Published, it's in Elric! / Stormbrnegr 5e. As an informal house rule, it's been around since the mid-eighties as a fix for the "Dodge" problem in RQIII... Nick

Anyone know anything about In Search of the Trollslayer? Apart from the fact they've got its page mixed up with the Basic Gamemaster book of course Cheers, Nick

Mad Science, Page 73... Cheers, Nick

The closest thing to that I beleive was the Fantasy Paths sets , albeit I've never actually seen them so I may be wrong... None of Chaosium's board games that I recall used the BRP system - several referenced settings Chaosium published BRP games for (Glorantha, The Young Kingdoms, Lovecraft's Arkham) but I don't recall them ever doing a board game with BRP (or even BRP like ) mechanics. Perhaps it's a licensing opportunity some should persue? Nick