Kloster

But its realistic to loose your life due to bad luck. If you are unsatisfied because your PC died, then you should overthink your risk management before you begin to combat. Run away, hide in the shadows or hire specialist who are able to win this combat.

I know it is realistic, and I agree with your comments. This is tactics I employ even without the Major wound table. But RPG are GAMES and should be enjoyable. That does not mean I don't want PC to be immortal, but I think BRP is deadly enough, and the extra lethality brought in by the MWT and Variable armor unnecessary. It is in line with setting with SB, so should be used, but I would not use it for the other BRP incarnations.

RQ and CoC are deadly enough.

Runequestement votre,

Kloster

Aces and Eights seems beautiful and overly complicated, and appears as out of stock for all the european distributors I have checked.

Runequestement votre,

Kloster

I agree. Depending on where you drew the major/minor line, you could just do like they did in Strombirnger and put the hit locations in the major wound chart.

The only real drawback to this approach has to do with armor. Hit locations allow for mixed armor. No hit locations either mean using a generic armor value, or using an average armor value for most hits, and tracking location specific armor for major wounds. Or variable armor.

For me, it's not the only real one, but this is truly a big problem.

Hit location permits a different protection value on the different locations (as a flak jacket that don't protect arms).

Another one is that it forbids certain tactics (aiming to strike a certain location to disarm, or to hit more vital area).

The biggest problems I have with the major wound table (I'm speaking of the one of SB1, because this is the only one I have used) is that it is completely random. It may be desirable in SB, where the chaos is the driving force, but I don't think it can be desirable in other settings. Besides that, the wounds caused by a broadsword and a firearm are completely different, and require a different table (I don't see how you can cut the nose of your opponent with a colt peacemaker). If we have several table depending on the weapon, it becomes more complicated than managing the hit locations, and if we don't, the wounds can be aberrant.

And I'm not even speaking of the lethality of the combination of Major wound table / Variable armor. I don't care loosing a character because I'm beaten by a superior foe or because I'm doing mistakes, but I don't like to see the death or the unusability of a character just because of sheer bad luck on 2 consecutive dice rolls.

Runequestement votre,

Kloster

...

There have actually been a half-dozen or so in the last three years.

Sidewinder: Reloaded

(a d20 variant from Green Ronin)

True 20 Wild West

(a d20 variant from Green Ronin)

OGL Wild West

(a d20 variant from Mongoose)

Aces & Eights

(from Kenzer & Co.) - a truly deluxe product in every sense of the word

On the indie game front, there are even more:

Dogs in the Vineyard

(from Lumpley Games)

vs. Outlaws

(a little minigame printed on a CD-book sized GM screen)

Coyote Gulch

(from Precis Intermedia)

Dust Devils

(by Chimera Collective)

As I have a quite severe allergy to D20, I don't check what is displayed in the few gamestores I visit. It's so not a surprise I've never heard of it.

For the others, I have to check. It can be interesting.

There are also a few french language produced amateur games (10000$ Reward, Western Parade).

Runequestement votre,

Kloster

I am in agreement that the RQ3 rules on skills are one of the most elegant in any RPG I've seen.

You were faster than I am on this one. I perfectly agree.

Runequestement votre,

Kloster

Where is the "New Thread" button?

I just found it, top of the thread list. >:->

Runequestement votre,

Kloster

One of the things that really changed things for us as far as Magic goes was when the First Wizard got a familiar. The nice thing about the smaller familiars was nobody pays attention to them at first during combat, so that little mouse can cast to his heart content . We figured that why wizards in stories like mice, frogs and other mundane familiars, nobody pays attention to them while the bear familiar gets an arbalast in the head. And with only one hit location they are easy to armor enchant so when people do start to notice them they dont get squished so easy.. We also allowed allied spirits and fetches to cast spell( In return Fetches where not allowed to posses other people) and my Shaman Fetch became the main healer of the group.

So called pet brigade ended up casting more spells then the characters did in combat.

They are allowed to cast spells. Allied spirits are even initiates of the cult, so have access to one use runic magic. The problem for this tactic is the perception of the target.

Familiars (at least animal based ones) can see, so no problemo.

Allied spirits bind to animals (an alynx for Orlanth forex) are in the same position.

A Humakt allied spirit bind in a sword has no eye, so will need a spell to be able to target the following combat or healing spells (soul sight, second sight, mystic vision are the one that comes to mind).

A fetch is discorporate, so I don't know.

Runequestement votre,

Kloster

Hi,

As a sidetrack of this thread (http://basicroleplaying.com/forum/basic-roleplaying/263-ancient-history-3.html)

what do you think of a western setting for BRP?

Would it be playable or too deadly?

Would it be interesting?

Except for deadlands, I haven't seen a Western RPG for long. The ones that comes to mind for me are Boot Hill (TSR), Western Hero (Hero Games) and Wild West (FGU) and they are old quite ancient.

Runequestement votre,

Kloster

...

Honestly, I don't think it'd be useful even with quick casting; its the issue that there are three rolls involved; getting the spell off, overcoming resistance, and failing the Int roll. As I said, that's about a net 20% chance. Even if I didn't have to prep it, I'd have better things to do with my time and magic point. It was a little better prior to RQ3 when battle magic had no failure chance, but even then, most people felt like there were more useful things to do in the majority of cases.

...

I agree. That's why I told it's better to do it on someone who is trying to heal (already wounded and the chance on failing INT roll) than on somebody else. The chance is low but the gain is higher on those targets.

Runequestement votre,

Kloster

Who's Koslter?

I think it's me.

Runequestement votre,

Kloster

The forum is really kicking off these days, activity is definitely on the rise! I have problems keeping up!

SGL.

You're doing a fine job, Triff.

Runequestement votre,

Kloster

...

If you make you Atleanteans Cretans, then it might be worth if to give them something that the Cretans had, but the romans didn't, archers. The Cretan archers were the Ancient World equivalent to the Welsh Longbowman. They used a bow, possibly even a composite bow or recurve composite bow (and if Atlanteans, why not a recurve composite bow?

Give them archers, roman tactics, and a strong navy, and the Atlanteans would dominate the Mediterranean as in the legends.

...

IIRC, the cretan bow is a U shaped, simple composite bow, made with wood, reinforced with bones and sinew. The scythian one was a recurved composite bow. But for atlanteans, both are OK.

Runequestement votre,

Kloster

Hello Jason,

Do you know if foreign version are planned?

Runequestement votre,

Kloster

I think you're still overestimating the impact on this, A; in practice, it mattered in the first round of combat, and occasionally for complex interactions of archery and spellcasting, but other than that, people just prepped for spellcasting on the following round during the deadspace in strike ranks that usually occured after an attack on prior one. So I don't think this could have had that much impact there.

I think you are underestimating it.

As you tell, it is very important during "complex interactions of archery and spellcasting", but those interactions are not rare.

And it does not affect only the 1st round, because actions that carry over from 1 round to the other one replace the action of the new round.

Runequestement votre,

Kloster

It simplifies the base chances, and I like that. The improvement rolls get more complicated though. :cool:

SGL.

Not by much, RQ rule was that you add your category mod to the roll before comparing to the value.

Runequestement votre,

Kloster

Hello Jason,

Is the optional location table unique or separated in a melee and a missile one?

Runequestement votre,

Kloster

...

Ah...now I understand. I was not sure what you mean with it. In german the word "Grenadier" is a special sort of soldier. (like "Panzergrenadier")

...

Historically, at least for french and german language, the Grenadier was the soldier throwing grenades, so HE was the grenade launcher!!!

Runequestement votre,

Kloster

Sounds a little bit like "....FLASH! ahaaaa..."

"Savior of the universe" :thumb:

Ah, Ornella Mutti, Max von Sidow, gosh we're old!!!

Runequestement votre,

Kloster

I don't know about Jason's, but my old Pax Romana is available here...

http://basicroleplaying.net/files/Pax%20Romana.pdf

Please remember that it was only designed to be a handout for character generation, and was set in Imperial Rome (rather than pre-Imperial as BRP Rome will be). Forgive the artwork and layout too... it was my first attempt and I had to trawl the web for images!

Yes, Pax Romana is nice. Very good work. I've downloaded a few months ago, and I enjoyed reading it. As I like Rome, I'm sure I will purchase BRP Rome, if it is available in France, that is.

Runequestement votre,

Kloster

Hello Jason,

As the skill categories are optional, are each skill affected to a category or does the GM that decides to use them have to do the segregation by himself?

Runequestement votre,

Kloster

Wow! That's impressive. I'm not sure I would be able to pull of something like that with my players though.

SGL.

I lied a little. At the 3rd fight, some players still have inactive characters.

But for most of us, it worked, and after the 2nd session, only 1 player was still not ready (he was the guy who, after 2 years of play, still didn't understood how to cast his bladesharp 2).

Runequestement votre,

Kloster

I think my choice goes to the RQ method, with categories, and bonus depending upon characteristics.

But having some starting values based on one or several characteristics, instead of a flat value can be fine, as long as the categories are still present.

Runequestement votre,

Kloster

I'm sorry, but I've used shortswords in martial arts training, and its really not; the parry/attack process is of a piece, and easily takes place in less than the 10-12 seconds of an RQ melee. With all weapon parries there's an instant of vulnerability when you attack where its harder to parry, but that's part of what the whole parry roll represents as far as I can tell, since its just as true with a two handed weapon or an offhand weapon too.

...

It is still slower than having a dedicated parrying device.

And the 12 sec MR is part of the conceptualization of combat of BRP (and all RPG. In ADD, a MR is 1 mn, IIRC).

Runequestement votre,

Kloster

...

While there may be weapons where its a defensible rule, I don't think they're nearly as broad a group as you're putting it to be; and there are two handed weapons its more true of than it is with most of the more handy one-handed one. I'll state flatly that any rule that says its easier to parry with a maul while attacking than with a shortsword is flatly incorrect.

I'm not putting a broad category. I'm proposing the rapier, which is a single weapon. The 2h rule is ... in the rules. I agree with you this one is stupid and present (in my mind) to give a little playability to the 2h weapons.

Runequestement votre,

Kloster

I suspect that's why you think spare weapons are so necessary, though; if you're not addicted to that usage, or otherwise focus on impaling melee weapons, its not nearly as necessary to carry more than one backup.

I have explained that the locked impale is not the only occasion I had to loose my weapon. Disarming, striking of the weapon and fumbles are the others. Perhaps am I unlucky, perhaps do I have a GM that use a lot of strange tactics (I do also, so I don't complain), perhaps am I wrong.

Runequestement votre,

Kloster