NickMiddleton

... I forgot to have two of the players put points into spell casting. One is a monk, the other a Rosicrucian mage. I use the optional rules that attributes add to skills through the bonuses. I noticed there isn't one for spell casting as its not on the basic sheet with skills. Which is why I skipped it by accident. We winged it for the first game.

I want to have this added. how does primary POW, secondary INT sound?

The RQIII / Monograph BRP Magic Skill bonus was INT and POW primary, DEX secondary, but there's no particular reason to stick to that unless you are planning to use the Basic Magic PDF (which is the RQIII magic BOOK / BRP Magic Book monograph in PDF form); and even then, if all Magic skill category modifiers are calculated the same way it shouldn't matter.

Now I got to shoe horn in their spell casting skills. not sure if I should just give them another point pool to just work them up and add them to the character now. Or totally remake the character. damn.

I think the only fair options are that either everyone gets to re-jig their skills whilst the magic using characters re arrange the numbers to add their spells, OR you give all the PC's a block of points, the magic using characters must spend them on spells and magic, and the non magic user can spend them on skills.

Cheers,

Nick

In case any one hasn't noticed the BRP quick start has been revised, and now includes seven short adventures and some creature stats...

Cheers,

Nick

Speaking from experience, there have been issues with some Chaosium PDF's and some PD readers - it would be helpful if people could confirm exactly what platform they are viewing PDF's on when experiencing difficulties - the last two I got from Chaosium don't display properly in Preview on my iMac (Intel Core 2 Duo, Mac OS 10.4.11) but are fine in Acrobat Reader 9 for Mac OS X for example.

This sort of info will help Chaosium narrow don the problem.

Cheers,

Nick

As far as I can tell, they've simply repackaged the master files they used for the black and white tape bound print only BRP monographs back in 2004 in up to date BRP style monograph livery.

I'm delighted they are available again, although I think it would have been better to get them adjusted to spell out the options in core BRP required to use them fully (as with Basic Magic) and billing them as "Basic Fantasy Creatures", "Basic Fantasy Gamesmasters" etc would have flagged that they are more genre specific than the core book.

But these are minor quibbles - it is very heartening to see that the BRP items page at Chaosium's catalogue now stretches over more than one page,and that's with major works such as Pete Nash's Rome not yet released from Alphetar.

Cheers,

Nick

PS: The full list of creatures in the previous BRP Creatures Book print monograph was: Allosaurus, Ant (Giant), Baboon, Bandersnatch, Basilisk, Bear (Brown), Bear (Polar), Beetle (Giant), Behemoth, Brontosaur, Broo, Cattle, Centaur, Chimpanzee, Chonchon, Crocoddilians (Small and large), Deer, Dog, Dragon, Ducks, Dwarfs, Elelmentals (Gnomes, salamanders, shades, sylphs, undines), elephants, Elves, Fachan, Ghosts, Ghouls, Giant, Gorgon, Gorilla, Grampus, griffin, Hafling, Harpy, Hawk, Headhanger, Hellion, Horse, Human, Insect Swarm, Jabberwork, Lamia, Lion, Lizard, Manticore, Minotaur, Mummy, Nymph (Dryad, Hag, Naiad, Oread), Octopus, Ogre, Orc, Panther, Plesiosaur, Python, Satyr, Sea Serpent, Shark, (medium and large, but alas, no lasers...), Skeleton, Spirit (Disease, Healing, Intellect, Magic, Passion, Power, Spell), Stoorworm, Tiger, Toad (Cliff), Troll (Cave and, er, non-cave...), Unicorn, Vampire, Werewolf, Whale (Sperm, Killer and Dolphin), Wolf, Wraith, Wyrm, Wyvern, Zombie.

If anyone hasn't read Ben Robbins fascinating piece on the origins of "role playing" and Dave Arneson's role (pun intended) in it, I heartily recommend it.

It is very hard these days to conceive of our entertainment industry landscape WITHOUT the influence of D&D and RPG's - MMORPG, CRPG's, the interactive and viral marketing of film and TV shows we now take for granted has evolved from those seeds. As James Wallis recently pointed out in a thread at RPG net, one of the great strengths of TTRPG development is that, once you have developed a core setting and rule book, you also have something that's very useable as a setting bible for an MMORPG, or a TV series...

Whilst it is almost certain that something similar would have happened without Gygax and Arneson what we have now is directly descended their pioneering steps that created this hobby. And if one ever needed a perfect image of what is awesome about playing an RPG character, Dave Arneson's character in Braunstein 4, dumping revolutionary leaflets on the town from the helicopter is pretty near perfect.

The roll call of great figures who founded and shaped our hobby that we have lost in the last year or so is exceptionally painful - Gygax, Arneson, Eric Wujcik, Keith Herber, N Robin Crosby - hugely influential figures to whom the modern TTRPG owes its existence and form. So it leaves the challenge to us to keep playing, to find new gamers and new games, or new things in old games: because it seems to me the only decent response to the gifts they have given us is to try and pass them on.

Best wishes all,

Nick

So what option have you found to work for you?

Both parties roll. Higher degree of success wins. Where degrees of success are equal (both rolled a normal success, both rolled a special success or both rolled a critical success), the character who beat their skill by the most wins but with a normal success. Where degrees of success are different, but the loser still succeeded (so where the loser rolled a success versus a special or critical success, or where they rolled a special success versus a critical success by their opponent), the winners level of success but not the fact that they succeeded / 'won' is reduced by one level for each "level of success the loser achieved.

Thus, a losing normal success will reduce a winning critical success to a special, and a winning special success to a normal success. A losing special success will reduce a winning critical success to a normal success.

Note that in most situations where a contested roll seems the right rule to uses, I typically wouldn't as a GM be that bothered about the specific level of success in a skill - if a character is trying to sneak past a guard, whether the guard just hears the characters movement (normal success), or hears it well enough that he could probably identify the person walking if he heard them again (critical success) doesn't matter. So in effect the system I use is better success level wins; if tied, person who rolled furthest under their skill wins (if tied there, highest skill wins and if THAT ties, flip a coin).

Cheers,

Nick

Nick will have a better answer – I’ve been using this software for one day now – but I think what you are asking about is found under the Page menu.

Err, I installed Scribus on my work laptop and my home iMac last week and have been playing with it in amongst work, running weekly games of D&D and Call of Cthulhu, writing stuff for UW and other BRP projects and general life stuff (and watching a Grand prix...) So at best I'm a few days ahead of you guys in playing with Scribus!

My plan is to set up a two page document – in “letter” format, and then insert more then enough pages for my monograph. The after setting up two text boxes for the columns (and linking them), save two master pages – one for the even and one for the odd pages. Then apply each master as appropriate.

If anyone had any thoughts about this, I would love to hear them.

Yep, that should work - in fact I think you could probably go further and have master pages for first page of chapter, final page of chapter and so on - depends on how much you want to dig in to the layout details really.

I should also point out that if you've seen Lawrence Whitaker's Hawkmoon monograph, that was laid out by Loz entirely in Word, so full bore DTP isn't mandatory for monographs....

That's what I meant. Thanks, Nick. Another question for you...

Does Scribus do Master Pages (so that certain items appear on every page, but with the option to turn off for individual pages as necessary)?

Yes - see entries under the Pages menu, the Arrange pages item under the Window menu and the edit master pages item under the Edit menu.

And does it also allow for sectioning where you can have different headers and footers for different chapters instead of having to create a separate doc for each chapter and string them all together in Adobe or something later?

Again, looks likely. Will do some some experiments this weekend.

Cheers,

Nick

Several people have recommended using Scribus for layout. I have a question about that. Does it have text overflow? I've been looking through the man files and online and can't figure out how to get that to work.

Err, I think it can - you mean link text boxes so if there's too much text to display in the first box it flows through and displays in the second one? Scribus can certainly do that, there's a button that lets you link text frames (select a text frame, hit he link button, select the next text frame), plus you can get it to show which text frames are linked from one of the drop down menus. Additional buttons (like the link text frame one) may be hidden if the application window isn't big enough, there are >> you can click on to expand the button bar and show tools that are hidden.

Cheers,

Nick

A further (tentative) suggestion - try Scribus. I did Outpost 19 and Uncounted Worlds Issue 1 using Pages '08, which worked OK, but I want something a little more high end for future issues of UW and other projects (especially in terms of producing PDF's suitable for Lulu's distribution deals) and can't afford InDesign - and Scribus is looking pretty good at the moment.

As for art - clipart is OK, look for some public domain images as well, and ask around here for artists. No art is better than bad art - but serviceable if uninspiring clipart breaking up the text is better than excessively large blocks of text for readability.

Proper indexes are works of art: subtle, complex and flexible tools that allow one to pursue a particular idea or concept through a work with ease. They are also a bitch to construct properly. I'd go for a suitable brief Table of Contents at the front and then something billed as a "detailed table of contents" at the back - something that picks up on all the section headings, tables and diagrams etc but makes no claim to be a true index.

Cheers,

Nick

You know, I've tried four draughts at a reply to this...

First, I don't have any antipathy for the idea. I firmly support the idea of Hero Points ala MRQ. So please don't put words in my mouth.

"Antipathy" as in the opposite of "sympathy" - and I was saying you were not sympathetic to the idea that using luck makes it harder to resist spells (i.e. combining the fate point rules as written and resisting spells as current pp vs. current pp). If that is an incorrect interpretation of what you meant then my apologies. I don't see any point in further discussion between us on this digression as we clearly have irreconcilably different views of the BRP system.

Regards,

Nick Middleton

Therefore the idea that choosing to do so weakens their resistance to magic doesn't hold up.

Err, it's a game mechanic; in fact, an interpretation of several interrelated game mechanics - if you don't find that interpretation plausible or suited to the settings or style of game you prefer to play, fine, but your antipathy for the idea doesn't make it fundamentally wrong or inappropriate or any less logical in any absolute sense.

Cheers,

Nick

Wow! They are giving us six months for this one. Maybe I can find the time to write up Mall of Cthulhu for Halloween.

Check the submission date - it's the 1st of August - which (since it's damn near April 1st now) gives us FOUR months - and a pretty good chance that this monograph will actually be released for Halloween this year, which is the stated reason for the early launch...

Truth be told, I was hoping to see plans for another BRP Adventures monograph. I like the greater variety of genres and adventure types.

Err, the entry details specifically state BRP adventures are ok - the only stipulation is "Adventures can be set in any time period you desire so long as the adventure is original and takes place during Halloween/Samhain."

What stars are visible from the surface of Mars in the vicinity of Olympus Mons on October 31st 2037? Why would Halloween/Samhain have significance to the survivors of the Fall in Post-Apocalypse Limousin? Why would colonists on an alien world a thousand light years and ten generations away from Old Earth still celebrate All Hallows Eve?

See - just take it as a challenge to ones scenario writing ingenuity.

Cheers,

Nick

Which to me makes even less sense...

Why does 'being lucky' make you more susceptible to magic/insanity/woojoo?

"Being lucky" (having a high POW / reserve of pp) doesn't make you more susceptible to magic/insanity/woojoo - but riding that luck (i.e. spending pp as fate points and thus reducing your reserves for resisting malign powers) DOES.

Now, whether that specific linkage between powers & fate / luck is appropriate to the specific setting and / or style of game the GM is running is another question - but it's certainly a plausible way of handling things.

Cheers,

Nick

As a follow up, is there any interest in further B61 material? I have 3 adventures tucked away to be worked on and still ideas on the overall conspiracy behind the setting.

Adventures would be good.

Nick

Hello all!

This is my first post here, I've been lurking here for maybe a week or two and because of some of the things I read here I decided to buy BRP. I've read it over, more of a quick skim through, and have started throwing together a few professions for a fantasy game I'm hoping to run in the near future.

The game I want to run will probably be heavy on combat. Have any of you seen rules to make characters more durable? I don't want characters to be as invincible as high level D&D characters, but would like them to be able to take a few wounds without dying.

Should I raise starting HP? Increase armor values? Decrease weapon damage values? Increase the starting level of Parry and Dodge skills?

Any suggestions are welcome!

Rather that fiddling with what the players get for their characters (albeit that's an entirely valid route), how about adjusting their opponents? For cinematic combats, think about using some sort of mook / extras rules e.g. NPC's that drop out of combat after one hit, or after one major wound; extras only get ONE action per round etc.

In cinematic style games, only the major Villain should really be on an equal footing with the PC's.

Nick

I need to do another order. A week ago I ordered 3 monographs and now I have more. Looking forwards to this Nick.

Thanks - you may also find the handouts useful (Characters, Planetary description forms and maps)

Will you look at Outpost 19 in your fanzine?

I've nothing specifically planned - but then I (personally) have a pretty full schedule of BRP related writing commitments for the next 18 months or so and, alas, my local groups aren't as keen on SF as I am. Since what entertains them tends to drive what I work on, and what I do for UW is usually a re-work of something I've used before, whilst I can se small things getting done for the Gate Warden universe, I think it will be a while before another substantial piece appears. I have a few "Tales of Blood and Doom" (short scenario seeds) that will probably make an appearance soon though.

Providing of course I don't get struck by a cracking idea I feel has to be in that setting, in which case I reserve the right to change my mind...

Would you welcome mono-graph related material for inclusion?

Yes, on the understanding of course that it's not simply duplicating material already offered to Chaosium /in the existing monograph. And that the authors of the specific monographs are happy as well.

Cheers,

Nick

Forgive my ignorance but who is Dustin and what is his email?

Dustin Wright - Chaosium contact details

.

Cheers,

Nick

Ah well - if the new cover is all your own work, that's rather cool...

Cheers,

Nick

Also - Nephilim (Core and J SNead's excellent Liver Ka) and Pendragon 4th Edition...

Nick

So, I want to design a custom character sheet for the setting I'm working on, but need some advice on what app to use.

I started with excel, and that resulted in nothing less than total, abject failure.

It doesn't need to be editable in electronic format. I'd be perfectly happy with something that people can print out, write on, and enjoy (that doesn't look like total crap -- see reference to excel above )

When I was using PC I used various generations of MS Publisher and printed the sheets to PDF, on the Mac I use Pages and do the same. Open Office (or NeoOffice on the Mac, the Aqua port of OO) are free Office packages and can export direct to PDF, but the advantage of a simple page layout set up like Pages or MS Publishers is that they are tailored to handling such tasks. Word can handle remarkably complex page layouts, if you are prepared to put the effort in, but I've always found it remarkably fiddly and irritating, where as even MS Publisher was much more straightforward for what i wanted to do.

Cheers,

Nick

Sadly, having looked in to the various PoD options fairly carefully not that long ago, for European publishers I suspect that Lulu remains the best option (allied printers in the UK and Spain, if nothing else).

There are question marks over Amazon's practices with ISBN's and in terms of cost, cut, distribution deals etc actually Lulu is pretty competitive - especially for UK based publishers looking to take advantage of their "Published By You" distribution deal. Both Booksurge (Amazon's PoD arm) and Cafe Press don't offer the range of services Lulu do, and are even more US-centric alas.

However, it is to be hoped that more PoD Service providers will look to enter the field and thus provide further alternatives. Part of the issue is that Lulu provide a complete service that takes a huge amount of the pain out of publishing a book - there are a LOT of printers out there who will do a PoD run for a fee, but all the leg work Lulu does they won't.

Cheers,

Nick

I really wish they had dead tree versions available for all the books on the site. Im sure it would take much for them to enter into an agreement with lulu.com for this function, in fact, it would be free overall and lulu would get their money based on sales, not from chaosium paying them.

Err, it would NOT be free - if you sell books commercially through Lulu, lulu takes a 20% cut of the retail mark up. Plus, Lulu are hideously expensive shipping books printed in the US outside the US (even to Canada). There's quite a kerfuffle at RPGNet about it. SO it would make the monographs less worthwhile for Chaosium, as they would have to reformat ALL their PDF's to meet Lulu's "International distribution" criteria.

However, I am not a real fan of them selling PDFs at all. And here is why.

When I submitted Berlin '61 to them it was with the understanding that I would get $250 for the work and another $250 after 500 copies were sold and another batch of books printed up. Now Im not saying B61 will ever sell a copy, let alone over 500 and to the point that they need to do a second printing of the book. But what I am saying, is nothing in my agreement has to do with PDFs.

You do know that the number of PDF downloads are a matter of public record? e.g. For Berlin '61 look at the number of downloads...

They could sell 10,000 PDF copies of B61 and I would never see another red cent.

It just rings of a loop hole to me, one that I dont really care for.

Or alternatively, they could have genuinely just not got round to adjusting the wording on the monograph deal and might be treating copies sold as copies sold, whether PDF OR print - have you thought to actually ASK them via email?

And since nothing in the agreement explicitly mentions PDF / electronic media / distribution if it came down to it I'd say we (as in monograph authors) would have pretty solid grounds for objecting to that sort of behaviour.

But that is just me I suppose.

Monographs don't pay well, even by the standards of the RPG industry, but I hope your suspicions are incorrect in this matter, and I'll certainly be asking Dustin about it myself. As I said, I suspect it's just an oversight that the wording's not been revised.

Cheers,

Nick

As a further thought, see if you can find a Book Binder near you (like this lot) and ask their advice - they may well be able to assist. But brace yousrself, as such services aren't cheap...

Also, University Academic Presses usually have a finer grasp of the nuances of copyright etc, so a University Printing facility MAY be better able to help...

Chers,

Nick

I'm a big fan of having my roleplaying books in "dead tree format", but for a majority(?) of Monographs it seems that you can only buy PDF's from Chaosium's website.

Does anyone have any suggestions for how to get high quality printing and binding of these PDF's?

Talk to a local print bureau or two near you and find out whether they will consider converting a PDF you have bought legitimately to a hard copy book. If they express similar doubts to those Kinko's in the US often raise, it may be worth contacting Chaosium to see if they can supply some sort of permission to get a single copy printed and bound for personal use.

As far as I can recall, it would be technically a breach of Lulu's terms and conditions:

By uploading Content to the Site you represent and warrant, at all times during the term of this Agreement, that the Content:

* Is owned by you or, to the extent owned by someone else, that you have permission to provide the Content to Lulu for use as described above and, in either case, that the Content does not contain any Personal Data about any individual other than you.

* Does not violate any copyright, trademark, trade secret or other intellectual property right of any third party;

That reads to me that at the very least trying to use Lulu would require Chaosium's explicit permission...

Cheers,

Nick

Ok, I'm almost finished with my Magic Monograph. This book is a pure crunch, optional magic system monograph. That being said, I have considered throwing in some fluff text (like at chapter headings and such) to give examples of the system at work.

But then on the other hand, because I'm trying to make the system as accessible to any setting a gm could want, how relevant would fluff text be?

Depends on how well written the "fluff text" is, and how intrusive it is...

Would people bother to read it at all, or would it just be wasted space in the way of the stuff that people actually bought the book for?

Personally, if you stick great gobbets of your (or any else's) attempts at "a fantasy masterwork to rival Tolkien" at the front of the book or even each chapter I won't read it, and it might actually put me off the book as a whole. It's certainly one of the things I most despise about White Wolf books. Small blocks of illustrative fiction can work well however.

What do people think? do you read the fluff text? Do you care? Is it something you just skip over it and get to the mechanics?

Rurik the Restless, Cormac's Saga, The Travels of Biturian Varosh - specifically tailored bits of text who's sole purpose was illustrating the rules, and thus the world they describe. As Harshax says, side bars - short, concise pieces positioned in the text where they need to be to illustrate the relevant rule are best I feel.

Cheers,

Nick