Lloyd Dupont

I used to read Casus Belli when I was at Uni! But I cant remember any article on BRP or RuneQuest..... Mind you, it was back around 1995-1998! 😮

Did a bit of experimenting..... I found how to make absolute cell reference and the method XLOOKUP and it's becoming much easier! And also I stored intermediary calculation in some cells on the side....

Hi, I gave some thought to leveling up rewards and want to share my ideas so far for feedback! First why? We play BRP to get away from Level! Yeah, right.. but when I reflect on RPG video game or D&D session, I think it gives a nice buzz to have some "getting noticeably better" stat thingy.. and just increasing you percent chance of success a bit feels a tad underwhelming... But what about 100%+ skills? Yeah, can give a very nice boost... but I would like more such things.... I started to play with pseudo skills (works better with XP since they are not really skill with skill check mark) which gives an extra bonus My ideas so far (all untested.. I am not GMin this year, we taking turn, and the other GM is GM-ing an unholy game that shall not be named!) Endurance, where every 10% give +1HP. i.e HP are now (SIZ+CON)/2 + Endurance/10% up to (SIZ+CON) I got one for MP as well: Arcane Knowledge Veteran (x), where X is a fuzzy general purpose group of skill (like combat, magic, science, etc...) and every 10% gives 1 advantage roll per session (i.e. a roll can be rolled a second time).. although I am not sure about that idea... it doubles up with Luck point.. and, say, 5 advantage roll.. isn't that much? Additionally combat veteran point can be used to add +1D6 damage or reduce incoming damage by +1D6

I recently stumbled on that free RPG. Nothing to do with D100 system.. but cool freeby made available by Shadiversity (South Australian Youtuber) I got no particular opinion, though the rule have an interesting new take on an an RPG rule system https://cogentroleplay.com/

I was mostly using INDEX function so far.... Gotta check out INDIRECT, VLOOKUP and think of using cell to store tmp data.... I shall try harder indeed, Excel is a perfect choice indeed... Although I quite like my C# (9) declaration of all Techs so far.. took me 1 hour of thinking, 5 hours of typing (so far).... 😮

I know, I know this is not a programming web site! But just you wait a moment, I think it shall soon all be clear... I am working an my Master of Orion booklet for BRP, and the Spaceship construction rule closely follow the rule of the video game. Which is a tad involved to calculate how much space is left, how much is taken by current device, how much it cost over all, etc.... to say the least. And I thought to myself! Hey maybe I should make an Excel spreadsheet that does it? But, well, Excel is not my forte, so I dunno if I do something in suboptimal fashion but, I am ending-up with very very long incomprehensible formula.. 😕 Oh mighty Anders Hejlsberg, I beseech thee, gimme some C#! So I am thinking why not make a simple desktop program, that would be good! But then there is always the trust issue of random exe on the web... Hell perhaps I can even make it a web page? But I don't really want to maintain a website..... Any idea what medium would be good? Come to think of it, perhaps a single page javascript web app might do the trick.. just the behind the scene data will be a bit.. less friendly format than excel.. and you know what? gotta ask my favorite programmer forum too! Actually... since I am making a desktop app for doing galaxy map, can as well have spaceship design in it!

g33k you make some good point... an idea comes to mind, if I make it a conflict (in fact it was my proposition ) with a very high value (say the MoO research cost / 10, like 400) with a penalty to player roll... it becomes.. while theoretically possible, quite very unlikely...

Interesting... I missed that because I gave them haste.. the PC were just too fast... (and I think I might have messed up the calculations as well..)

One trope of Master of Orion is that if one successfully capture an enemy ship, one *might* be able to reverse engineer it... (if they have any unknown technology, including advance tech) Wanted to introduce that at the player scale! In the unlikely case it happens to them!

Yeah this thought came to me as I thought I need to tidy up the MoO skill list once I finished the tech and equipment list... But then I thought, my tidying up is never gone be good enough, but the general skill + trait is very forgiving and (as a nice bonus) gives an added mechanic to add non quantifiable abilities (i.e. stunts)... As for the rest I am unsure... I might keep everything else BRP like.... (HP, resistance table/roll, powers, weapon damage, my custom combat effect...)(I stress combat effect, as opposed to combat manoeuvre.. same mechanics, but much shorter list, coming mostly from weapon damage type)

Well... I like firebolt... though I'd like them to be around the strength of arrows... (I did consider them having no level and being fixed power like arrows) And I like fireball but I am unsure how it would fit in there (which I guess was where the worst of my indecision really show) I guess that summarise 50% of my latest various message on this forum... hahah....

Hey, feel free to share if you have any feedback... While on one hand it's both and unfinished and try to emulate my personal magic vision (which I know for a fact is not shared that much around here.. the RuneQuest, Mythras, RevolutionD100 tradition is totally into over the top magic, much more so that D&D I think), I am always curious to know if you had a few ideas that could fit in!

I think you nailed our difference. It's not a rule mechanic issue! It's just a fundamental difference on the vision about what a wizard is or can be! Maybe when I say there was a "problem" I used the wrong word... not sure how better I could have qualified it though... I just do not like the powerful wizard fantasy. They can fly, teleport, polymorph... that's more than enough for me... The "problem" is even more pronounced in RD100 where they can almost do that at will, as a starting character! 😮 It's particularly grating to me when a starting wizard is already a lot more OP than other people. And here, I will add if necessary, there is not any particularly more realistic option, it's all really just a matter of taste... so it might be confusing, I guess... But there is nothing wrong either way! I hope you understand now and see the point I was making when I specified it most certainly was a personal preference of mine!

I finished my RD100 campaign a while ago.. and this year I am a player.. though I am also working on a scifi settings.. and also keep thinking about some Magic spells that made me unhappy in all variation of BRP / Mythras / RD100.... I was firmly set on BRP this time, and I kind if solved the magic issue eventually, and I was also tailoring combat rules... when I got a RD100 moment... First I remembered how it has the quickest simplest character creation rules (once you understand them ) yet it also feel so much more meaningful! 😮 As in this stunt thing enable to smoothly put in all sort of "special powers" in a way no other D100 do quite as elegantly... And then I thought of all the things I would "customise" if I went back to RD100 instead of BRP for my current setting in progress... And I thought I could share here for discussion! Please remember we are just talking about a game here... I might changes thing significantly... in a way that satisfy me more... If you don't like it, skip the rule. if you think it's interesting or badly worded, please pitch in with some feedback! Plus I thought I haven't posted here in a while, and Paolo is quite a nice guy, so would be nice to have a discussion going, perhaps?! - first... an advice (to self? to other?) be misery with XP! With RD100 you are good at your job straight away. Better score is not really needed and will really make character overpowered (as in: always succeed at so many things). I think RD100 is better for "one shots" (or "few shots") - the magic problem. it's common in all D100 here IMHO... I would, and I feel I might be in the minority here, but I like it better that way so I'll GM that way, need 2 might for +1 with protection and damage boost. And elemental blast will do up to nD6 with a might 1 +(n-1)*3 (or something like that)(i.e. 1: 1D6, 4: 2D6, 7:3D6, ...). I will also give a cost to spell: 5 exertion point, that can be reduced by spending levels (that cannot be used for might then!) (i.e lower intensity spell are easier) And turn into a fireball might cast 2 might.... And Paolo once asked, "what about Dragon", well first one need to be good, and also armor doesn't protect much (only toughness) and then maybe get one of those newfangled +2D6 magic wand! - save for spell / overcome: I might have done it wrong but the mental conflict in parallel.. gaaaah... I would just use good old BRP resistance roll willpower vs willpower. and give them both a bonus to their pow, defender: willpower/10% and attacker: spell/10% (I also don't quite do the resistance table, but this is mathematically equivalent, I do Defender+D20 >= Attacker+11) - magic and kilometres range.. make it an optional rule, which I won't use... - would create a skill per "magic school" (some arbitrary grouping of some spell) (and for the scifi setting a science skill per science branch, where each tech is a speciality, I have like 100+ of them...). so for magic, more skill let the player learn more spells but not be good at all of them - combat (my most controversial preference, I know!) I would definitely simplify it... toward more BRP like with a dash of effect, i.e. a very small select group of general combat effect and a longer list of damage type specific (i.e. weapon specific) and just use critical and normal instead of opposed rolls (I dunno if it's just me... but I am not big on opposed roll mechanic, even if mathematically sound, plus there is almost always a winner and few stalemate, I prefer more stalemate) (and also got rid of armor cover and use melee crit effect to bypass) and use BRP table as a guideline... Some other minor tweak on engagement range, movement, etc.. not really worth mentioning... -- oh yeah, most controversial, I might go only 1 attack per round, like BRP! (multiple attack might requires a stunt for each additional attack, i.e. better training) - for HP... I guess this is one of those optional rule which has been use with great variation... I might go general HP = CON, and if a single strike does toughness x2 roll the location and see what's going on. And also any damage below toughness will go as exertion point penalty.. it doesn't kill you, fine, but at least it will wear you down... - one pitfall I had... one need to carefully study the armor, spell, weapon damage, toughness combination... it can easily go out of hand towards invulnerable or over squishy... (I had this problem ) And now I wonder... should I go RD100?! 😮 Since I would keep weapon damage and effect the same as in my modified BRP, I only need to tweak Racial template (which are also quite easy in RD100).. mmmm.... Will see when I finish the spaceship device list!

Well, why not, I am sharing my work in progress magic revamp document. It might give you some ideas! I got 70 more spells planned, some of them real cool enchantment or necromantic spells.. but hey, you'll get the idea! And it might take a while, working more actively on my Master of Orion Scifi setting booklet! BRP-Magic2.pdf BRP-Magic2.docx

indeed! A slow death though.. one you can advert by just pressing your hand on the wound.. (if you were not fighting)... Also.. impale (in the BGB rule) do double damage! Cutting need some love!

Plenty of good ideas in there, thanks yall!

After consideration, I just did the following changes: - 1 luck immediately roll to bleed or not (it's easier to apply bleed with my custom combat rules, so adding this luck roll to see whether it's a bad cut or not) - 1 endurance roll every 5 minutes / turns to check whether the bleed stops or not

Excerpt from the BGB "At the end of each round, the target may attempt a Stamina roll to determine if the bleeding stops. If successful, the wound has closed and the target will not suffer any more bleeding damage. If unsuccessful, the bleeding will continue the moment the target’s hand and the pressure is removed from the injury. The easiest way to stop bleeding damage is to make a successful First Aid check on the injury." Mmm.. for a healthy adventurer with, say, CON 15, they have 75% of stopping the bleeding.. seems Stamina roll is the easiest way to stop the bleeding, not aid roll! Also, compared to damage x2 in the base rule for impale, seems lacklustre. Did I misunderstood the rule somehow... I am tempted to allow only 1 Stamina roll, if failed first aid become mandatory....

So... what replace the resistance table? I haven't done chases yet (not in CoC but in other games) but I will need to for my upcoming scifi campaign... but I was not appealed with the rule in the book... 😕

Is that them over there? https://kenshi.fandom.com/wiki/Hive

There is a problem with that.. you need more that 15 MP to kill someone with a fireball, meanwhile you can teleport them, polymorph them, mind control them with 3~4 MP... Also.. I don't want player to be super powerful just because they chose magician as their starting career.... 😕 In the end, in my custom in progress magic revamp.... I did a few significant things... I limited the MP of a spell, not its level, while also reducing the cost of elemental attacks. This make elemental attacks cheaper, yet more limited. And the limit is not just INT/2, it's also limited by Arcane Knowledge/10%, which add additional XP requirement to become a good wizard. Also change costing.. it's not N * Level, it's A + N * Level (if the spell even have level!)(for example I have a ball spell, that turn single target spell into area effect, it adds 4MP to the overall cost, limiting what you can do)

don't you worry, with damage reduction value of 8 for a broad sword or 6 for a mace (or even 20 for an energy sword, if it's your thing!), I think we fine! and I am going, as suggested, to add a parry bonus as a function of damage bonus. Me think along the lines of: D4 => 3, nD6 => n x4 Fun fact I realised that in the right environment, i.e. outdoor and heart of city, or in a spaceship, a tech level 15+ fighter can "teleport at will" (directing the urban teleport network with his brain implant), and with the efficacy of level 15 energy field, one might see a resurgence of (energy) sword fighting! I probably give them a "skill" chance of success each round, due to network congestion. Anyway, this will be a (bad) surprise for my players, should they chose to attack some Psilon fighter ship, their tech is not there yet! 😛

Thanks for the history lesson... With that insight I think I can give a go to my idea without much worry... As for damage reduction values: I decided to use the weapon damage as a guideline, minus a little if I deemed the weapon not very good at parrying...