PK Games

The problem comes in damage. In MERP damage is based partly on OB and AT and how well you roll on one of the attack charts. Most weapons can easily just be transfered over, we know how much damage a sword does in BRP is says so on page XX. But how much damaged does and ent stomp do? And so forth. Mainly you will have to compare creature to creature from other BRP or BRP related sources. That includes all versions of Runequest (even MRQ), CoC, heck, even superworld. So while the direct method I gave earlier (based on your original call) will still need work to finalize.

I think you hit it head on with the MERP conversions. Give the OB as the %. Take their attributes, divide by 6, add 1 for characteristics. This gives characters with a 102 attribute in MERP a characteristic of 18. You can determine size based any height/weight listed in the books. For critters take their AT and divide it by 2 or 3 for Armor Points (so AT 20 gives 7-10 AP) and use their DB as their Dodge skill (if any). Modify per taste afterwards. Use spell lists for ideas and basis for what magic or abilities a character may or may not have.

I was being snarky.

MMMMMM interesting, based on PeterBs arguments the sanity rules for BRP are OGC now because they appeared in D20 CoC. But then again, all rules are OGC cause they cant be copywritten according to him. Also means Fading Suns non-D20 system is OGC because many of their sourcebooks had the OGL in it when they were dual-stating, unless of course the OGL was only for the D20 rules in the book, but then, according to his side any rule in the book becomes OGL, even if it is mentioned as non OGC in the license. Hmmmm, this is why I didnt go to law school.

Uhm yeah, NAZGUL!

Have some example professions and then use the Freeform Professions rule on page 41. Let the player add any occupational description he wants after that.

GORE at Goblinoid Games is a free full set of rules using the MRQ rules to recreate a streeamlined version of BRP. Also look for simplequest.

But it does use the MRQ OGL. And that is what my reference here is to, not the D20 OGL. No, they are. Case in point you just tell George Lucas Star Wars is not Copyright protected or that Palladium doesnt own the Copyright the the ideas of Rifts. And yes, artistic representation, which includes the written word, is definately conpyrightable. And I maintain that is a decision of BRP and not you. Yes we can and with other systems, as long as the proper sources are quoted and they are under the OGL. RuneQuest is under the OGL and they can say nothing if for some reason Chaosium wanted to use said OGL. But the main thing here is that Chaosium doesnt want the OGLs used in their works so it is a moot point. You being wrong that is:innocent:

Hense why I said "If Chaosium would let you". And yes you can keep rules open. Case in point the Elric of Melnibone game from Mongoose, while based on the MRQ OGL clearly states that "the material within is not OGL". Now the problem occurs with the wording of the BRP license, which isnt OGL. Legally Chaosium could employ OGL rules from MRQ or even 3E, as long as it is indicated in the license posted in the book. And usually, in a sourcebook, not all the game mechanics of the parent system are spelled out. So if I wrote a sourcebook on Waiters in Hollywood for BRP and wanted to incorporate Runequest's version of a skill over the BRP version of the skill, it would have to be stated. But since the orignal BRP rules are not repeated in the sourcebook, it does not step back and take those rules into the OGL. And if you look at the OGL license there is a section in there where you must state what is and is not OGL, including game rules. Copyright protects the style and way you represent a mechanic or creates ownership of an original idea (I can't copyright George Washington, First President of the United States of America, but I could Copyright the Gothic Horror Adventures of George Washington, Vampire Hunter). I can copyright protect the way I describe 1+6=7, but I cant copyright 1+6=7. Otherwise I think Chaosium would be able to sue the pants off Mongoose for RQ system. Which as far as I can tell, is pretty much 80% BRP. Example: The Gothic Horror Adventures of George Washington, Vampire Hunter Characters in GHAGW are more action oriented then most BRP games and characters. To that effect the optional rule below is used to show these men of action in a different light. Combat Actions: Based on a characters DEX they have one or more combat actions per round, this allows acrobatic swashbuckling Politicians to battle vampires on a more even ground. Note that while these are called combat actions they are actually just general actions and can be as simple as drawing your wallet to as complex as loading your brace of pistols. Snip snip...reprenting the rules from MRQ OGL on Combat Actions.... and so forth and then on page 88 of the book it would have the OGL license published and under section 8 (Identification: If you distribute Open Game Content You must clearly indicate which portions of the work that you are distributing are Open Game Content) you would note that "on page 23 the Combat Actions is Open Game Content if that was the only OGL you used. Any other rule or add ones you created you wanted as OGL you would also list here. Example (8. Identification: The following Items are OGL: Combat actions on page 23, how dragons vote on page 25 and Ben Franklyn's Amazing Vampire Time Disco. Material in Chapters one, Three, Four, Five and Seven are not OGL). But if Chaosium's license says that any rule placed in a sourcebook for BRP becomes part of their library of ownership, well then that falls under the "If Chaosium would let you" note I added earlier. And when I made Berlin '61 none of that was mentioned.

Actually if you write a OGL source for BRP (if Chaosium would let you) as long as you notate which sections are not OGL then you are not compromising Chaosium's ownership to their rules. For example, if for some reason Chaosium wanted to use one of Mongooses OGL rules in one of their adventures or supplements, then legally they have to post the OGL license in the book with a notation: Material on page 23 (or so) is OGL, material on pages 1-22 and 24+ are not OGL.

Technically and legally yes, but Chaosium doesnt want you to.

Cause he only found out about the game 2 weeks ago

I say the first one, less real work and you can use Cthulhu by gaslight stuff easy enough. A secret organization of inventors and adventurers gather together to keep technology from going wrong. Perhaps after the Martian Invasion is secretly thwarted they have to cross cross the globe to ensure it doesnt fall in the wrong hands.

Im sorry, Star Wars will always be the D6 system for me. It just fit it so well. Doesnt work for many other games, but it does for SW.

I was highly disappointed when I fond out Mongoose's Conan wasn't a RQ based game and was D20. Same for Starship Troopers. No excuse Mongoose!!!!

MERP 1E, MERP 2E, Role Master (every book I could get) up until it went to Role Master the Standard System as that version really bit. So I think I gave a good deal of money to the stocks of the Iron Crown. As for Palladium, was a huge fan of their games (I think cause we all played D&D so I just bought what was different, which began with Palladium Fantasy). TMNT, Ninjas & Superspies, Heroes Unlimited, RIFTS and didnt get tired of the system/company until after the 4th or 5th Rifts book came out and i just said "Come on, how many freaking OCCs do we need?" Fortunately I found Mayfair's DC Heroes in early college and the rest is history (until recently when I started writing OGL stuff). Anyway, it is nice to see someone who has similar feelings about their conversion notes and what not.

Awesome. And I understand the reasoning, the same reason why I am doing a R--I--F--T--S-- book in a similar fashion, for me and my group only (primarily me). I hardly feel guilty about it as I have purchased all the source books for the title that I intned to use and am following K.S's basic rule of "if you dont like a rule, change it!' Im just changing it rule by rule LOL. But I dont want a blank word document and I like the descriptions and text in the source books Im spotting from. So I am making a fully illustrated PDF/Book for my own use for the conversion. But Id like to see ME-BRP as well.

Dark Heresy is my favorite game at the moment (I have 4 copies of the rule book and I give them out as B-Day presents to my friends to get them into the game, I find people are more willing to play a game if they own the rules and I have a lot of friends who just dont trust anything by GW) But I dont think Dark Heresy would replicate Necromunda or the Kal Jerico novles/comics very well.

First, I am not making RIFTS rules into BRP, I am adapting BRP rules to use with RIFTS. Just because I have opted to use the RIFTS skill list does not mean I am using RIFTS rules. Lets see, RIFTS combat.... Determine initiative, attacker strikes, defender parries or dodges, damage is rolled BRP combat.... Determine initiative, attacker strikes, defender parries or dodges, damage is rolled. The difference is the D20 and the D100, roll high and roll low. In fact BRP is less fluid because when you parry you got to check results (hmmm he got a special, I got a success, check the table) where as in RIFTS its either you parried or you didnt. What I am doing it adapting the spells and skills to BRP rules. RIFTS Psionics will function like BRP Psychic Powers i.e. as a skill that needs a roll to function. But to make it easier I am just using the ISP rules from RIFTS and having ISP based on occupation and POW instead of OCC and M.E. and so forth. Same goes for magic. The only area where you could say Im trying to shoehorn in RIFTS rules is with the HTH variants, as I think that adds some of the feel to the original RIFTS to the game. Plus, by using the RIFTS skill set I can just pick up any RIFTS book and be able to say "Oh he has Prowl at 50%" and be just fine with the make shift rules I cobble together. Course I could always just make it stealth, but I find it less compatible that way. The point of my adaption is I want the rules I have put together to feel like it is a RIFTS BRP rulebook, not just some notes scrawled in a notebook. Once all said and done my RIFTS BRP setting will be about 85% BRP compatible, with the other 15% being slightly altered, taken from GORE or MRQ or adapted from RIFTS. The OCCs function much the same as a BRP profession, you choose one and bam here are the skills you have available to you, there will be a few bonuses (ala RIFTS and MRQ) to show how well trained or versed a OCC is in a skill or ability and of course you will have your own skill points to distribute amongst those skills.

I appreciate the advice. I enjoy the rewrites, and its not like Im rewriting the system, Im re-presenting the BRP ideas and rules (or more likely the MRQ version) in a style very reminscent of Palladium's presentation. With the Step One, Step Two style. As far as skills, I see no harm in using Rift's skill selection, each has a description, each as a Base % and those that dont are easily rewritten to fit BRP. This allows player's to choose O.C.C.s straight from the Rifts books and go "Oh so the O.C.C. skills are my starting skills, and I can apply these bonuses and then add in my 200 or so skill points above and beyond that." And the O.C.C. Related/Secondary Skills become the skills you can spend your "other" or "bonus/non-professional" skill points on (be it INTx10 or a flat 100 or whatever). WPs become weapon skills at starting base chance and so forth. The only real problems I am having, as I said before, is the HTH skills (which I want to keep for the Palladium RPG flavor, whether it makes sense or not) and MDC (which I like in theory, but not the ratio). I actually want to stay as far away as possible form just importing RAW, because honestly the only things I dislike about Palladium games (Rifts actually, each different game has different things I like or hate about it) is the level system, MDC, and the fact that it uses two different systems for game mechanics (% for skills, D20 for combat). The reason why Im changing some of the basic rules from BRP, such as how skill successes work in general (still keeping the overall fumble, failure, success, special and critical rules) is to accomodate some of the Rifts "per level of experience" concepts, like effectiveness of spells and what not. So Ive opted to use the "per level of success" rule from Dark Heresy, which is per 10 points a skill succeeds by. However, if you could be a little me detailed on your reference to the HTH skills, it owuld be most helpful. As I said earlier, I dont mind alot of the translations/conversions, as it is partly fun and it keeps me busy while Im overseas and away from the girl.

Actually I that what I have so far done hasnt been a mountain. I want to play Rifts, which means I want to have that Palladium flavor and that Rifts feel. I wouldnt feel like I have that using BRP weapons, spells, psionics and skills. As I said earlier the only problems i am having is converting HTH skills (which I believe I have currently solved) and MDC. My problem with MDC isnt converting it over, I could easily convert it over that 1 MDC is still 100 HP, but I never liked that system even when I played Palladium style Rifts in the early 90s. So Im going to finish climbing this so called "mountain" and get my play test document ready and then I will post my results (not the actual PDF, but the reports on how it worked and what my players thin).

And where do I get this? I have heard the same of Inquisitor.

That does sound cool, as long as it doesnt feel like that city in the Matrix films.

Actually cahracter failings and power modifiers can be found on pages 142-142 of the BRP book. THey are very generic and not very detailed, but the basis is there to start from. Also read the ad blurp for Pulp Cthulhu about traits. Chaosium.com: News - Pulp Reanimator

Yes at first glance that is true, but honestly the reason you take basic or expert over martial arts of assassin is cost. Im not using a 1 skill point per +1% ratio here. Martial Arts and Assassin are both Advance skills, using the MRQ idea of purchasing advance skills, a character pays 10 skill points to have one of these skills, unless they come automatically in your "O.C.C." skill packet. Then you usually have a choice between differnt HTH styles, but while HTH Basic is not as good as HTH MA, Basic may begin at +15% while your MA option is only starting at +5%. Then skill advancements rolls would be different as well. Basic skills improve at +1D6, Advance skills at +1D4. Your % in HTH deteremines what extra benefits you get (initiative bonuses, alternate damage, ect ect) but you still use Unarmed for normal fighting rolls. This way I keep the feel of Palladium's Rifts with different HTH options but the game isnt shift so far out of balance just because you have MA over Basic. A character who doesnt worry about HTH skills can still be a decent Unarmed fighter without having to worry about any special rules, while a Martial Artist or HTH Basic trained individual will have bonus little abilities to give them an edge.