seneschal

Nah, "Quest for Camelot."

Hmmm, I will have to dig through the BGB and see what options we have to represent Aura. As before, I know how I would do it in Champions but BRP is a different beast. Speaking of beasts, I've been intending to stay up a generic Beowulf but real life has gotten in the way.

Because your PCs would be hopping from world to unknown world, you could build a campaign out of random adventure modules and plot seeds: a medieval fantasy one episode, a pulp jungle adventure next, a noir-ish mystery or flashy super spy caper the next. Throw in occasional run-ins with gatekeeping bureaucrats or rival alien agents to maintain the overall premise and you have your campaign. It's Time Tunnel meets Sliders meets Doctor Who with snotty gate wardens subbing for snotty Starfleet Command officers.

Other inspirations might be movies or TV shows such as Stargate or Slidees (too obvious?), novels such as The Magician's Nephew or A Wrinkle In Time, games such as Tri Tac's Fringeworthy or Iron Crown's Time Riders.

(Deep voice mode) "Join the Duck side and together we can rule the galaxy as ..." Oops! Wrong genre

Been researching the Grimm, the family of supernatural monsters threatening human and human-derived life in the world of Remnant. These creatures consist of sub-species that are vaguely analogous to various animals. But the Grimm are not animals. They don't need to eat (although they enjoy devouring people and settlements), are effectively immortal unless slain, grow for as long as they live, and can gradually acquire sentience through long experience. The older a creature is, the bigger, tougher and smarter it tends to be. Grimm gather in packs near human habitations, seeking opportunity to ambush lone residents or to attack en mass. Oddly enough, they don't molest wild animals and livestock, only people. The monsters, whatever their form, tend to have armored skull-like heads, glowing red eyes, and black body covering (fur, feathers, hide). In addition to being generously endowed with teeth and claws, Grimm frequently sport sharp spikes or spines growing from random portions of their anatomy. it isn't clear where the monsters come from or whether they reproduce or need to. Upon death, slain Grimms' bodies dissipate leaving no remains to study or to use for food or clothing. The most commonly encountered type of Grimm , popularly known as a "Beowulf," is a lupine biped roughly the size of a North American brown bear. It is surprisingly agile despite its slouching stance and shambling gait.

We might have gotten there automatically if I had rolled better. But never fear, Superworld (or the BGB) gives us a way to fudge. I'd already given Torchwick heroic level skill points. Let's allow him heroic level super power build points, which would be 12 based on his highest unmodified characteristic. Next, a couple Failings: Responsible to criminal organization +3, and Overconfident +2. With those 17 points we can give Roman +4 INT, +2 SIZ and +5 APP, boosting him to a notable (but still within normal limits) 16 for INT and APP and SIZ 14. The boost also gives +1d4 damage bonus, bumps his Hit Points to 25, and an additional 40 personal skill points to play with. He would have been arrogant and under the thumb of his villainous bosses anyway but the Failings give mechanical support for those traits.

Back to the OP: Ducks!!! What other game (other than Toon) has them?

Ok, here's a rough take on Roman Torchwick, cocky gang leader associated with various forces threatening the world of Remnant: Roman Torchwick, Gangster STR 11 CON 11 SIZ 12 INT 12 POW 12 DEX 12 APP 11 Move: 10 Hits: 23 (CON+SIZ) Damage Bonus: +0 Armor: None Attacks: Brawl 51%, 1d3+db; Cane 51%, 1d6+db; Rifle 46%, 2d10+4 Skills: Bargain 31%, Command 31%, Dodge 50%, Fast Talk 31%, Fine Manipulation 31%, Hide 36%, Insight 31%, Jump 31%, Parry 51%, Persuade 41%, Pilot (Airship) 27%, Sleight of Hand 31%, Snarky Repartee 60%, Stealth 36%, Strategy 30%, Swagger 80% Notes: Characteristics were randomly rolled. I gave Torchwick heroic level skill points (325) plus INTx10 (120) personal skill points, total 445. In addition to acting as a sniper rifle, the scoundrel's cane can fire explosive rounds, but I didn't have time to figure out how to model that.

Roman Torchwick is sort of like The Riddler in that he is fun to watch in the comics or on the screen but hard to model in RPG terms. Sure, he's stylish, witty and good at organizing and leading his goons. But in game mechanics he's just an ordinary guy with a concealed trick gun. If Ruby Rose (or Robin the Boy Wonder) could ever catch him alone in an enclosed area they would mop the floor with him. He needs his henchmen, his hidden escape vehicle and his allies who possess actual powers to deal with skilled do-gooders. A raw write up wouldn't do him (or The Riddler) justice.

Sounds like time for a promotion of some sort. 😀

To me, Ducks are one of the things that make RQ truly unique. Lots of games have big, brawny heroes battling monsters with big, brawny swords and spells. But a race of Disney-style anthropomorphic avians who kick butt and take names? That's something different, a feature rather than a bug. (Unrelated aside: the art for the new RunQuest edition is gorgeous but ... the characters all seem so grim and stressed out. Is no one in Glorantha -- other than perhaps the Broo -- having a good time?)

The point isn't the ammo but whether BRP can accurately model the characters you enjoy on the screen. I think it can imitate the way Ruby bounces around in combat like Spider-Man on too much Redbull. But your earlier concerns about lethality are legit. Both the blade and the rifle parts of Rose's weapon do 2D+ damage, enough to shred Roman Torchwick's street thugs (on the show she knocks them around but does no serious harm) but maybe not enough against the monsters she will battle in later episodes. i think I know how I would handle things with Champions but BRP was designed to have brutal, deadly combat. Try running the write-up against both some human foes and some lower level fantasy monsters and see how things pan out.

Ruby Rose, Huntress in Training STR 11 CON 14 SIZ 5 INT 10 POW 8 DEX 17 APP 10 Move: 10 Damage Bonus: -1D4 Hits: 19 (CON+SIZ) Armor: 7 kinetic, 4 cold, 4 heat (she’s just that tough!) Attacks: Scythe 65%, 2D6+1+DB; Rifle 60%, 2D6+4; Brawl 70%, 1D3+DB+4 Skills: Climb 40%, Craft (Weaponry) 60%, Dodge 65%, Jump 60%, Listen 60%, Parry 65%, Spot 60%, Track 45% Powers: Unarmed Combat (2 levels) – +4 points damage in combat, 4 points Armor to limbs while parrying attacks, -10% to be hit, +10% to Brawl Defense (15 levels) – -75% against all attacks Leap (5 levels) – +10 meters horizontal or +5 meters vertical to Jump Super Skill (3 levels) – +20% to Scythe, Craft and Parry Armor – 7 kinetic, 4 cold, 4 heat Failings: Socially awkward (+2), dependent sister (+1), responsibility to the academy (+3) Notes: Characteristics were randomly rolled per the Big Gold Book. Power points for super powers were characteristic total plus 6 for Failings (total 81). None of Ruby Rose’s powers require energy to use. Normally superheroes get 500 skill points, but since Ruby is an underage schoolgirl I started her out with the more usual 250 for profession (Hunter) plus 100 for INTx10 personal skills. Write-up based on the first episode of RWBY. So we have an agile but otherwise normal and rather shy teeny-bopper. No overt super powers. Except she’s spent grade school and middle school in the equivalent of a military academy and is really, disgustingly good at what she does. Ruby's scythe/rifle, though unique and custom-made by its owner, isn't built as a superpower. It does the usual damage for both a regular farm implement and a standard bolt-action rifle (and the gun part uses off-the-shelf ammunition). Despite its impressive size and appearance presumably anyone who could get it away from Ruby could eventually figure out how to use it. Also, I didn't invest points in Martial Arts skill, the benefits of which are murky. Plain old Brawl plus the Unarmed Combat power are much more direct and have specific effects and benefits.

Not luck, but Gollum. Ironically, the vertically challenged sociopath Tolkien fans love to hate was the Savior of the Universe. Does he ever get any credit for it, my precious? Never!

The real problem with cloning is whether the duplicates get paid, too, and if so, how much. 🤔

We've just been given the title to the next supplement: "Toons 'N Runes."

Here, here! I came to the BGB via GORE. My first impression wasn't an inclination to fantasy or horror but science fiction. I could see my spaceman running around with the futuristic weapons listed. The first scenario I wrote for BRP was an Indiana Jones style pulp adventure. I understand nuChaosium's desire to reinforce its traditional brands but backing away from the previous attempts to expand the system into new genres is a missed opportunity.

So when do we get write-ups for the teenage monster mashers?

Tut, tut. OF COURSE we want to proselytize and spread BRP like a religion. That's what advertising and marketing and free market capitalism are all about. It's why Chaosium's latest products are all color (All-singing! All-dancing!) all the time. It's why you are a bad dad if you don't buy your kids Little Caesar's Pizza, are uncool if you drink Coke instead of Pepsi, and are downtrodden and unsanitary if you don't use Stay-free Maxipads. So switch to BRP, the only role-playing system guaranteed to combat unsightly Cthulhu-itis, freshen your Broo, and put the myth back in your characters' mythadventures! Anything less is Ducking your responsibilities as a GM. "Just the Prax, ma'am. Just the Prax"

How did we go from "I love Stormbringer because ..." to "Tolkien is a crypto-fascist"? I don't even know what that is but I suspect it has something to do with Superboy's dog. So, Tolkien was a closet DC Comics fan? Who knew!

I would start with SIZ+CON hit points and ridiculous amounts of Armor vs. kinetic attacks. That way characters can survive outrageous physical punishment and keep going. Throw in some Defense levels to increase their likelihood of avoiding attacks -- "You just missed me!" If I remember correctly, the RBWY crew are pretty acrobatic as well as tough.

Oops! Missed that earlier thread on the PDF release, although I did search for previous discussions of RQ1.

We've had lengthy discussions of the virtues and vices of Runequest 2 ("Classic") vs. Runequest 3. We've reviled Mongoose Runequest 1, sneered at GORE, and charted the evolution of MRQ2 into Legend and Runequest 6/Mythras. We've ooooohhh'd and aaaahhh'd about the upcoming glories of Runequest: Glorantha. But I notice the original 1978 game is available for download for $10. As a guy who loved Melee/Wizard and Classic Traveller, I'm curious about the heady early days of the game. How was it different from the version(s) we're used to and what made it worthy of a second edition? What enabled Runequest to give Dungeons & Dragons, The Fantasy Trip, Tunnels and Trolls and other early fantasy games a run for their money?

Preview was disturbing (as no doubt intended). The last Lovecraftian computer game I played was "Alone in the Dark." Abbott and Costello were never around when I needed them.