fmitchell

Generally I prefer hardcopy for core rules or rules players would reference (new skills, magic systems, etc.), and PDFs for the rest (adventures, variant rules, spot rules, etc.).

Good advice generally.

For completeness I should mention the Unknown Armies sanity system, explained elsewhere and discussed here. Things I like: Multiple variables for different types of horror, especially personal horror. Becoming hardened to some types of horror: a trauma surgeon shouldn't lose sanity when she sees blood, and a homicide detective sees dead bodies all the time ... but both should freak out about a walking corpse. Being too hardened poses as much danger as being a gibbering wreck. To adapt it to Legend, one would only have to replace the "Mind" roll with a Persistence roll. Granted, it's a little more bookkeeping, and perhaps too much for what you want. (Also, Atlas Games may not appreciate republishing it in your own work.) There's also Trail of Cthulhu's split between Stability and Sanity, i.e. short-term mental trauma vs. long-term mental integrity. The mechanics might not translate very well, though.

I always say, why invent when you can steal: Maelstrom, currently from Arion Games, has an interesting magic "system" in that most magic doesn't actually violate nature; it's just suspiciously timed. The GM rates an effect from 1 (pretty likely) to 4 (virtually never happens), and the character tests his Knowledge score to figure out if he knows the right spell to make it happen. Naturally, magic is still a crime against man and God. There's also Rank 5 for "high" magic like demon summonings, which requires a huge amount of effort. GURPS Banestorm presents a world where Earth religions -- medieval Christianity, Islam, Judaism, and various animistic and naturalistic religions -- still hold sway, even though for the most part nobody can whistle up a miracle. Granted, in Yrth magic exists but it's largely orthogonal to religion; one Muslim country bans it, others are leery of it, and due to variable "mana" levels it may be hard or impossible in some regions. Still, it presents an interesting social evolution of conventional Earth religious power structures even when adherents are cut off from Rome, Mecca, and Jerusalem ... and where spirits, corporeal undead, faerie peoples, and mythical beasts exist. Finally, I've always been fascinated by "fake magic", partly inspired by Michael Swanwick's Stations of the Tide. Games have yet to tap the full potential of fraudulent alchemists, sincere but deluded alchemists, court magicians and rural witches using the same stage tricks, and quirks of biology / chemistry / physics that seem like magic. At one point I sketched out a fantasy Medieval world of secretive mystics using mundane mentalism and sleight of hand to reinforce their uncanny reputation; there were also real monsters, either genetic experiments of a prior ultra-tech civilization or surviving artificial intelligences that used technology to impersonate gods and demons. As usual, it didn't make it off the drawing board ... but I offer the idea free to anyone who can make it work, or your money back.

Sure, I don't mind if you add stuff from Constructs in BRP and the Major Malfunction Table. It probably needs some playtesting and editing. No other content on constructs/robots, except the golem stuff probably needs work. (You probably wouldn't use it anyway, though.)

You could also do a post-apocalyptic or sword-and-planet (or sixgun-and-planet?) game in RQ6. General technology might be Bronze Age, Iron Age, Renaissance, or even Old West, but there's fragments of nigh-magical pre-tech/alien artifacts. Numenera might offer an interesting model: lots of one-use gadgets scavenged from the wreckage, with the occasional reusable artifacts and mysterious useless oddity.

Continuing my obsession with robots in BRP, I threw together a "Major Malfunction Table", a Major Wound Table for technological or pseudo-technological constructs. | d100 Result | Effect |-------------|--------- | 01-10 | Cosmetic damage; if the construct has APP, lose 1D6 APP, otherwise no effect. | 11-20 | Armor breach; reduce Armor Points by 1D3 AP (or one die type: 1D12 -> 1D10 -> 1D8 -> 1D6 -> 1D4 -> 1D2 -> 0). | 21-30 | Locomotors (legs, treads, etc.) impaired; reduce ground MOV by 1D3 | 31-40 | One manipulator performs its function(s) at half skill until repaired. | 41-50 | One manipulator loses all function. | 51-60 | A sensor system is impaired; any skill dependent on it is at half value. If the same system is hit again, it is destroyed. | 61-70 | Construct loses 1D6 STR | 71-80 | Construct lose 1D6 DEX | 81-90 | Construct lose 1D6 INT | 91-94 | One randomly chosen special ability is disabled; if the construct has none, roll again. | 95-96 | Construct loses its ability to speak. | 97-98 | Construct loses use of one non-combat skill, chosen randomly. | 99 | Construct goes berserk and lashes out blindly at anything nearby; anyone who gets too close must make a Luck roll to avoid getting hit. | 00 | Construct loses all power and is deactivated. Manipulators: "Manipulator" is fancy robot talk for an arm. Some constructs have only two arms, others have a dozen arms, each specialized for a task. The construct's description should include how many arms it has. For "manipulator" results, choose randomly among those still functioning. If the same manipulator is "impaired" twice, it is disabled. Sensors: A sensor provides information about the construct's environment: vision, hearing, touch, taste/smell, radar, sonar, radio communications, and so forth. Again, choose randomly from the list of functioning systems. For the purposes of these rules, assume each sense has exactly one system; one hit affects the entire circuit, not a specific area. Repair A qualified technician can repair each of these malfunctions, given time and the right parts. In a world of predominantly Iron Age technology, qualified technicians and parts may be a long time coming. Rarely, constructs have self-repair systems that restore hit points. Assuming damage hasn't disabled this special self-repair ability, the construct will fix all malfunctions when it reaches its maximum HP. *** Any suggestions or additions? Would this be useful at all?

I'd be really interested in how this goes. One of the (many, many, many) ideas bouncing around my head is a world where only ritual magic exists. (Mechanics are still fuzzy, but inspirations include Incantations in the d20 SRD, sorcery in Castle Falkenstein, GURPS Book/Path Magic, and the Occultism system of A Magical Medley from Grey Ghost Games.) One typically works magic in a secure chamber, not on a battlefield. "Magic items" are unique artifacts, and many have no use except in the aforementioned rituals. Essentially, magic creates situations and problems more often than it solves them; it's mainly the province of mad sorcerers, village wise men, and banishers of demons.

Jason Durall (?) was working on one a while back -- called Planetary Romance -- but I think he got pulled onto other projects. The old thread is around here somewhere. EDIT: Here it is, and the working title was BRP Interplanetary.

Notably in Aces & Eights each subsequent shot takes extra Counts based on the type of firearm: 5 for pistols, 10 for a rifle, 14 for a shotgun. (You can shave Count off the latter two by not aiming.) Then again, these are 19th century firearms. Ringworld guns IIRC are lasers with no recoil and no cocking needed. BTW, I'm working off "Showdown", a 56-page extract from the rest of the rules. Notably, it doesn't list reload times for bows, cost of swinging an axe or club, etc. I haven't read the full Player's Book yet, so the rules might differ a bit in the full system.

I'm not familiar with the Ringworld impulse system. In particular: Is there a random element to a character's first action? Do different types of actions have different costs in impulses? Does combat time consist solely of impulses? Or are there also rounds which sync everyone back to 0? Does the scale of character impulse bonuses dwarf other impulse costs? Is there a huge disparity between DEX 8 and DEX 18? For example, Aces and Eights has a gunfighting system in which every character has a Speed modifier in the range of -3 to +3, with smaller being better. At the beginning of combat everyone rolls a d10 Initiative die and adds their Speed; that's the first number in the Count Up in which the character can act. Each action adds to the Count in which one can act, from Firing a Cocked Weapon (1) through Aiming (4) to Loading a Pistol (10). (in advanced rules, movement also takes up Count.) Note that characters only add their speed once, not for every action. The first shot can decide the whole battle, but over time cocking, aiming, and reload times dominate. Pistols have less accuracy and damage than rifles, but they're faster to cock than rifles or shotguns.

No; add World Lore to the list. For this and other errata, check the official Magic World Core Rules Errata.

OTOH, the BGB has a nice APP, but RQ6 has its own CHA. The (in)DEX of each is about equal, though. Comparisons of INT, POW, and EDU are left as an exercise for the reader.

It depends on one's mental model of vampirism: A vampire is a corpse that rises again. Corpses cannot produce offspring. A vampire is a living creature with an infection, (retro)virus, or parasite that radically changes its metabolism. Living things can produce offspring, but offspring may catch the disease. This could result in a full vampire, a half-vampire (dhampir?) like Blade with partial or weakened symptoms, or something altogether different. Note that the mate may also catch the affliction if it's carried by other fluids besides blood. Vampires are magic. They can do whatever the GM needs them to do (e.g. Connor from Angel). On the other hand, the fact that a normal person (elf, troll, etc.) can become a vampire argues for it being an acquired condition. A "race" (or species, really) is an innate and immutable trait, except when some force radically rewrites a creature's biology (e.g. magic, complete cyborg conversion, Mind Flayer ceremorphosis, etc.).

Yes, someone can rewrite RPG rules completely from scratch. However, it's much easier to leverage someone else's work. It's hard to believe that the existence of Open Gaming Content didn't play a role in the existence of several projects/products: OpenQuest, based substantially the OGL MRQ1 Cakebread and Walton jumping from closed MRQ2 to open OpenQuest, OGL licensing for Legend, after the controversy about MRQ2 not being OGL, FATE-based games not by Evil Hat, notably Bulldogs and (originally) Diaspora, various D6-based games, after West End Games, in its last gasp, re-released their new D6 line under the OGL, Pathfinder, Mongoose, Goodman, Green Ronin, and others doing D&D better than WotC had (or could), oh, and the entire Old School Renaissance, which derives from the D&D 3.5 SRD. It looks like I was wrong about RQ6, in that it does not mention the OGL at all; I guess it's a clean room rewrite/refinement of Legend with names changed to remain legally distinct. However, most individuals and indie publishers don't have a team of lawyers to tell them whether their work is actually legally distinct, nor the deep pockets if a current copyright holder tries to sue. Remember the drought between RuneQuest 3 and Mongoose's reimplementation of RuneQuest? Mongoose did the community a service by releasing their version as OGL so that it's no longer dependent on one publisher; no one else needs to do a clean room reimplementation unless they want to, and no one has to pay fees to release compatible adventures unless they want official branding. Open licenses -- not necessarily OGL, which has its problems -- has and will continue to save good systems from obscurity or legal minefields.

Most chain bookstores I've been in only stocked D&D, Pathfinder, World of Darkness (once upon a time), and maybe GURPS or one other brand. I'd wager most people discover new games in hobby stores. Stores that sell comics, tabletop games, and maybe video games might do more to lure in a new crossover audience than failing book stores. To do so, the FLGS has to become a) actually friendly and willing to host all kinds of games on open tables. The surviving game stores around me have learned that lesson. The Open Gaming Foundation's criteria for an open license specifically mentions a lack of restrictions on copying and modifying content beyond keeping the license attached to the copied content. IIRC the OGL was not only a bid to encourage 3rd party content and renewed interest, but to ensure that the rules of D&D (3.x) survived corporate mergers and bankruptcies, a real possibility in the waning years of T$R. Yes, Pathfinder's and Mongoose's successes with WotC's core system led WotC/Hasbro to retreat behind the GSL, but the GSL's poison pill provisions probably contributed to the demise of 4th Edition. (Arguably 4e led to its own demise, and also made Pathfinder popular.) Its the old problem of whether it's better to bake one's own small pie or share the ingredients to have a slice of a larger pie. I have no idea what percentage of games are using the OGL or other open licenses (like some versions of Creative Commons). FATE, a current darling, is OGL, which is part of its appeal. MRQ1's OGL content led to OpenQuest (also OGL), Legend (eventually OGL), and RuneQuest 6 (not OGL, but awesome). I can understand companies tightening licenses to safeguard a brand. But like WotC's OGC vs. "d20", there's a place in the gaming world both for "fundamental rules" with open licenses and for polished, branded derivatives with selective licenses. My first RPG system, The Fantasy Trip, disappeared along with Metagaming and its owner, and Dark City Games' retro-clones are a bit thin. I'd just like to see truly innovative a/o fun systems survive the implosion of any one company, especially if hard times are coming.

Everyone's been predicting the end of RPGs since the 1980s. Somebody more in touch with RPGs than I once said that the RPG industry may disappear, but the hobby will remain. Games already printed will not spontaneously self-destruct. People will play games and share ideas over the Web. Innovation may slow, but as long as there are players and GMs with rules to play, RPGs will continue. What I think will happen, because it's already happening: Most publishers will concentrate on board games or miniatures -- e.g. Steve Jackson Games, Mongoose, Fantasy Flight -- but put out some RPG material on the side. RPG-only publishers that survive will resemble Chaosium, or indie publishers: guys and girls working out of their homes, putting out small print runs or PDF-only offerings. Anything OGL doesn't depend on the survival of one company, which was part of the original intent. When (if?) the economy improves so will the RPG market.

Were there a lot of changes? And if so, for those of us who bought the original and are incredibly cheap, would you consider a PDF-only "update"? (E.g. revised creatures, characters, skill names, errata, etc.) OTOH, if it's just search "Persistence", replace "Willpower", etc., then it's probably not worth it.

But, as we said before, creating this new book will cost green bits of paper up front, and potentially reduce the green bits of paper derived from the Big Gold Book. If there's a risk that they'll give out more green bits of paper than they are given, they would be fools to do it. (Doing a new book also requires time to hire a freelancer, edit his manuscript, and lay out the book. Then someone must convince distributors to carry it, and work up an advertising campaign. Chaosium today is basically four guys and a rolodex of freelancers; they're spread thin overseeing existing projects in the works. But let's stick to elementary school economics.) If Chaosium can gather as much or more green bits of paper selling existing books -- Call of Cthulhu, the Big Gold Book, Magic World, etc. -- as they would by throwing away green bits of paper in the hope a new book will bring them back back, they will choose to sell existing books. Even if Chaosium might collect more green bits of paper than they lose in producing a book and losing sales on other books, they will not make that book because they may not collect enough green bits of paper, and then they will have lost green bits of paper for nothing. Giving away a Quickstart PDF for free takes away far fewer green bits of paper, and it entices players to buy the full BGB. Unlike a new Worlds of Wonder, the Quickstart is not complete enough for long-term play, so far fewer people will stop at that one cheaper book. Ever hear the phrase, "more trouble than it's worth"? So, cool idea bro, but not happening.

That sounds like a cool idea. Maybe mix in "safe" bits of Ringworld (generic tech, impulses) and bits of ElfQuest (psi) that didn't make it into the BGB. Maybe slant it toward classic space opera, before the advent of cyberpunk and transhumanism. I can imagine sort of a market for that. (SF generally doesn't sell as well as fantasy, though.) A straight reprint of WoW, though, would have very limited appeal. An "updated" WoW is tantamount to a remix of the Big Gold Book with a lot of stuff taken out and some bits added. Today's Chaosium would have to commit freelancers and layout people to a product which, as soltakss pointed out, competes with their other product. Also, "cheaper" doesn't necessarily mean better-selling; most retailers want thicker books, preferably hardcover, as opposed to the 96-page stapled books of yore. Without retail customers or a flashy Kickstarter, Chaosium would have to pay even more money for marketing just to tell people about it. A cheap book might prove very expensive indeed ... especially if only a few enthusiasts bought it. The BRP Quickstart is Chaosium's cheap introduction to BRP. There's only hints of fantasy, science fiction, and modern rules in the adventures, but the basics are there.

The uncomfortable fact is that AD&D, warts and all, heralded the D&D craze of the 1980s and is still fondly remembered by a large percentage of gamers. (Not me, but other gamers.) Worlds of Wonder, on the other hand, received reviewers' praise but did poorly in the market. Call of Cthulhu, Stormbringer, and RuneQuest did far better. Unfortunately I can't quote actual numbers, especially since nobody released numbers back then, but CoC, SB, and RQ went through multiple editions and reprints, while WoW pretty much came and went.

My mistake. But you could still start with any of the SRDs and put together something like the original Basic Roleplaying pamphlet. The tricky part is reproducing superpowers, gear, and spells-as-skills without in any way plagiarizing existing rules.

Considering that the BGB exists in part to "clean up" rules from previous supplements, you're basically asking for the BGB minus the parts you don't want and at a discount. (Plus superpowers and magic spells that didn't make the original cut, and maybe spaceship rules.) We all wish that, for the BGB and every other multi-genre game. "One custom GURPS, please, in one book." "Oh, hey, do you have something lighter than FATE Core but heavier than FAE?" "I like Swashbucklers of the 7 Skies, but do you have an Old West setting?" If you want such a book for your gaming group, you have a few not-so-good options: In the old days we bought one book for the entire group and shared it. How this works for campaigns on Skype, Google+, or Roll20 These days with the OGL and Open Content you can actually remix rules and release your own house rulebook. Not every game is Open Content, though, including BRP. (Legend and RuneQuest 6 are, though. Retroclone?) For one campaign I created a summary of BRP rules in about 10 pages, but adding a full list of spells, gear, or superpowers might be a bit much. Now if you mean that Chaosium should print and market a WoW reissue ... well IIRC WoW didn't sell so well the first go-round, whereas Stormbringer sold well by Chaosium standards. Undoubtedly the Moorcock license brought in most of the sales, but I can see where they'd want to sell a trimmed BGB that emulates Stormbringer, not WoW or Superworld.

I think you could also run a version of Magic World where summoning spells are more like Call of Cthulhu, and patrons are more like DCC RPG patrons.

How do they differ from the Mutations section in the Big Gold Book?