g33k

But in terms of hours of work per dollar of return, some of their back catalog is a MUCH better bet (the the sense of ROI) than many/most "new title" options; I suspect tthis new "RQ Classic" (and a few others) will be such bets, and that they will only prioritize the "best bet" parts of the back catalog in the coming year or two, alongside a comparable number of new titles; then some other OOP titles dribbling out over the course of a few years, in conjunction with mostly-new stuff, and some of the old titles probably languishing without ever getting a single man-hour, PDF-ism, or POD offering...

Huh... if so, the stunting of all those newborns carries echoes of the Trollkin curse... WTF? Who/what did THAT?!? Maybe they're just progressing much slower (rather than not at all), and/or sometimes experiencing "one step forward, two steps back" incarnations, being reborn into a lesser state due to mistakes made in the prior hatching? As noted by M Helsdon, True Dragons seem to care (a lot!) about Dragonewts... OTOH, understanding the motivations of the still-trying-to-overcome-mortal-limitations Dragonewts is tough-to-impossible, so maybe the REAL moftivation behind the Dragonkill event wasn't Dragonewt survival, but something that would seem unrelated or incomprehensible... if anyone could get a genuine answer out of the Dragons...

Thank you! I think that I had indeed read the post, but didn't recall the detail (my bad). So,,, about the same time as RQ II/Classic, then,.. <rubs hands in acquisitive glee> A shame they aren't in time for the holiday gift-giving season, though!

@jajagappa - Thanks! Having failed to even SEE the GtG Kickstarter until far too late, I missed out ... on 1st printing ... but I'm given to understand a new printing is under consideration ... any comments/info @Rick Meints???

I loved me some RQ back in the day, but didn't get many of the sourcebooks... given the resugence we're seeing, what are the best available sources of info on Dragonewts? Many thanks for any info/pointers!

Ummmm... what about "chaosium.com" ??? Shouldn't this news be visible -- hell, prominent -- over there? I just looked, and didn't find it anywhere. Now, maybe that was my own inadequate search skill, but I'd think this merits front-page placement. Or is there worry about distracting from the CoC7 launch?

Awww, man! Sorry! Didn't mean to rain on th' parade you were (already!) bringing us with my loathly phrasing (or would that have been for CoC?); I thought the standard internet'ism was just kinda funny in this context. But, thanks for that!

}:^D> Pix or it didn't happen ... That is to say: can we have a glimpse of what the screen looks like? Either the player-facing image(s), or the GM-facing charts (or both)?

Thank you! Next questions: might we hope to see this in our FLGS... or only if we order it through them... or "should" we order it direct from Chaosium? Are you taking orders yet? Do you have any date(s) in mind for milestones/deadlines, and/or final availability? In other words... WHEN CAN I GET MY HANDS ON THE PRODUCT?!!?!

Hmm. So, what IS in the appendices now???

Someone, over the years, managed to make off with my copy. This is *SO* gonna be mine.

Also note that EVERY class has built-in feat-like features to choose amongst. 2 types of Barbarian, 3 (I think) types of Paladin, 2 types of Sorceror, etc. Overall, there's a bit less options to vary/customize than compared with Pathfineder & all the 3.5/PF class/race/etc splatbooks, but I presume those options will come in time.

I wish I had more time to contribute... especially since my primary suggestion here is a time-intensive one!!! When looking at a choice like this, I think the best way to answer is with a demonstration... get folks to design according to the "one generic system" method, with the intent to break the system -- to demonstrate its flaws. Find as many "broken" cases as possible: more = better, here! Then, looking at the broken cases, decide if the best solution is to fix/revise the base system, or create alternate system(s). One hybrid case might be to have small "modifier" rulesets -- the big generic rules... with a sidebar or one-page, or the like, explaining the diff's when designing personal gear and/or augments, vs the base rules for vehicles.

I knew about "griselda.org.uk" -- it's one of the places for Glorantha fiction that I like to point people to, who ask versions of the "Glorantha: WTF?!?" query! Didn't know of the PDF, though... thank you!

@hkokko - Thanks! I'm not really asking for advice about "how to get into Glorantha" -- I got introduced to in back in 1980 -- but about "how to help others, who want to get into Glorantha". That is, a reference document (or small set of them) that can get pointed-to as a quick overview/entre. Your links are really quite good; in fact, the "Another View" one is actually rather close to what I had in mind! As noted in that essay (and my original post), this question really keeps coming up over and over in general-gaming environments... occasionally even RQ/Glorantha/HQ places! I'm wanting n00b-support for individual campaigns / individual players who are just getting started... or or who WANT to get started, but can't find their way in... I'm also wanting some vaguely official-seeming place (such as the "Glorantha" board at BRP Central ;-) that can host such a document as a standalone item. "Glorantha.com" would seem like another likely spot, but I'm a bit leery of any site with a commercial interest: the possibility of the "Glorantha" IP being sold, or a falling-out amongst site-owners (with copyright being contested, tied-up in court), etc... all these could render it unavailable. The Wikipedia entry on Glorantha seems very good in this respect (as it's (presumably) 100% CreativeCommons licensed); unfortunately, Wikipedia discourages "fan enthusiasm" and encourages NPOV... the entry is stunningly dry/boring, if you know Glorantha at all! ;-) So I don't like to point n00bs there... But, the "reputation" or "appearance" of the hosting site (that it at least APPEAR "authoritative" or "official") can sometimes be as important as the content being presented. @Vile - yeeeeah. Right. Thanks for those suggestions. Glorantha-n00bs everywhere have been sorted now... BTW, I see on Amazon that a new copy of "The Collected Griselda" (the only new copy available) is being sold for over $500. - Steve, the g33k

I'm sure many of you -- maybe even most -- have (like me) seen repeated queries that are some variant of "so, what the !&?^%# is this thing called Glorantha, and how can I get a handle on it... hopefully, without investing the next seven years of my life, and hundreds of dollars..." Sometimes the query features some particularly-notable feature, e.g. RQ-vs-HQ (and soon, I guess, 13th Age?) or Broo's, or Ducks... Whatever forum/list/etc it gets posted on, there usually follows a fairly predictable set of answers. There are some inarticulate but well-meaning folk, some detractors, some reasonably well-spoken proponents. Eventually -- after pages and pages (and pages and pages) of replies, one can get a sense of the thing... sort of. And really, only a very vague sense; and if the OP was unlucky, one of the inarticulate ones, or unreasonable detractors, or just a random troll (of the non-Uz variety) has managed to render the entire thread useless... Now that we have the "Guide to Glorantha," I suppose that can serve as a definitive point of reference... but doesn't really help folks posting something within the original constraints. I usually try to chime in with some pointers to good fiction & other resource sites (including BRPCentral). But really, it seems like there should be -- likely here -- a clear and concise reply (or maybe a small suite of replies) that could handle 90% of the various OPs and their not-so-varied wants. Does something like this exist ... ? Thanks!

Oh, yeah. People have been RP'ing Pern online since before "the web" -- BBS'es, forums, etc. Mostly, there's no "mechanics" behind the RPG system -- it's freeform RP. I believe those all fit the "no mechanics" mold... Apparently, though, Anne McCaffrey came to regret being so permissive with various MUD/MUSH/MOO's, as later inquiries by other media revealed that the control of the Intellectual Property was so muddied and so diluted as to be virtually worthless. Her novels were salable, but no derivative (commercial) works were viable. Hence, no RPG's, movies, etc.

I know that there's been no "official" rpg for McCaffrey's Pern (except "computer RPG's" which I -- ever the elitist snob -- simply don't count as RPG's). Not even Steve Jackson Games -- who seems to get a license for EVERY fictional world (that isn't otherwise licensed) hasn't got anything! Does anyone know of ANY version (presumably fan-made) for ANY game-system? Obviously -- since I'm asking here -- I am most-interested in some d100/BRPfamily version. I think it looks pretty easy to DIY... humans are pretty much normal. No magic, no "powers," just... human. Dragonriders get a little bit of telepathy, but it doesn't seem to generalize much to non-dragons, or unwilling/unaware beings. It's just like talking privately, only "cooler." (I do recall that Lessa seemed able to very-slightly cause a "don't notice me" psychic effect, but she seemed to be at the limits of human psionic ability). Dragons seem to be more plot-device than PC: both so outsized in physical power, yet so dominated by their rider and by the gold queen of the weyr, that they don't seem very PC'able.. Looks to me like any game in the BRPfamily would be a straight-up implementation, not needing much work at all. Still, if anyone knows of such a project already done... I wouldn't mind not doing the work... lazy, that's me! Thanks! - Steve, the g33k

Thanks to all so far! I appreciate the suggestions... and even more, the discussions/explanations!

Pretty much as the Topic says... does anyone know of a BRP variant, clone (erm, "mutant"?), or just "similar" game, which simply reverses the better/worse scale, so "success" is high rolls, not low? Thanks! - Steve, the g33k

I've been (loosely) following this project for a while. Haven't seen it since the collaboration bits began coming online. I must say, it's looking REALLY nice! Great job everyone, with (of course) special kudos to Clarence! Only skimmed it so far, really. I've got a... quibble? Or maybe a question? ... RE Exposure to Vacuum rules on p. 39. 1d6+2 "feels" like low-ish damage to me, but I haven't researched the question so my "feel" may be off-base. Did anyone actually gather data for damage/actions/etc in this section? Honestly, I don't even know if there's any "real" data available here... Personally, I'd probably add some detail at this level: "explosive" decompression (near-normal to near-vacuum in a matter of a second or so) -- Take 3d4 damage instantly, roll to avoid passing out, and progress to the next category "abrupt" decompression (takes a combat-round, maybe even a few rounds) -- per the rules as-written (emergency-exhale or 1d6+2 damage; hemorrhagic damage 1/2/4/8/etc per round) after that) "fast" decompression (takes up to a minute) -- A slowed-down version of the rules as-written. But there's one thing in the next bit of the rules that I think is just flat-out wrong: If you are automatically-no-roll-to-avoid taking exponentially-doubling hitpoints of damage from hemorraging (per paragraph-1) how the !&*%$#? will you EVER get to the "CONx2" rounds (per paragraph-2) when your sight begins to dim???!? Just getting to CON rounds will be over 1000 hp's of damage... CONx2 rounds is enough damage to kill Cthulhu (except I think he's immune to vacuum). Otherwise (that I've seen so far): a wonderful resource! I'm hoping to move my group entirely away from d20ism, and this seems likely to help my cause a lot! - Steve, the g33k

I do know some about the period, but haven't delved too deeply into the fables and myth-cycles of the different cultures; I know there was a lot of "sharing" where close cognates of one culture's myth would also appear in a neighboring culture. Whether these are common-source derivations from an older myth, or borrowing (as the Romans did from the Greeks) I don't really know. Please *DO* pitch this as a full product to Alephtar (or Design Mechanism for RQ6, or whoever) ! It seems more than odd that the original/best "swords and sandals" RPG doesn't have the biggest, most sprawling historical "swords and sandals" setting!

@MatteoN: thanks for that KS link! A thinly-veiled Persia does indeed sound good. Looks like a d6-engined Persian take on Ars Magica -- Troupe play, centered on the Magi, etc. The cultural references and setting details should be spot-on, though. @seneschal: Yep, the Old Testament has lots of good material... and even its own game, Green Ronin's "Testament" (for d20) complete with 2 expansions, "Hittites" and "Trojan War"... http://www.rpgnow.com/browse.php?keywords=testament&cPath=1487&x=0&y=0&author=&artist=&pfrom=&pto= Thanks too for the M&M link! But -- as I feared -- the answer is, "no," there isn't a BRP game (or supplement) for the setting. If I do it, I'll have to compile my own setting, sourcing relevant textbooks, Biblical accounts, other RPGs (as variously noted, above), etc... :-P And right now, I just don't have the time...

RE those GURPS titles: Egypt might work, partly. What I really want is further-east (Mesopotamia) and some of it is even older than the 5K years of "GURPS Egypt" -- Uruk, Sumeria, Akkad, Ur, Babylon...

@MatteoN Yeah, that looks just right. My French suffices to see that much, but stops there... @Chorpa Rome is really later than I wanted. But there are quite a few Roman resources, actually; not just the one you linked. @Darkholme Again, "late antiquity" is later than desired...