seneschal

Then we gotta break down the essentials of an Agatha Christie style mystery: The victim deserved worse than he (or she) got -- Although Mister Body seemed respectable, charming, successful, a model citizen, in private he was a monster. He was cruel to his wife, making her existence a living hell. He disinherited his children and other relatives. He robbed his business partners and humiliated his employees. He took advantage of every human being within reach in order to claw his way to the top, and then made it impossible for them to escape his malign sphere of influence. The victim was surrounded by people who had perfectly good reasons for wanting him dead -- As mentioned above, Mister Body enjoyed tormenting everyone around him and was in a position to get away with it. His family, business associates, fellow club members, and debtors may speak well of the dead but as investigators probe into his demise they'll discover that each person closely associated with Mister Body had good and valid reasons for hating his guts. The key to solving the mystery isn't motive but opportunity. Everyone is a suspect. The murderer is a sympathetic or otherwise unlikely character -- No matter how grisly Mister Body's death, no matter how nefarious or greedy the killer's motives, he (or she) has one or more admirable traits intended to throw off the reader (or in this case, the player-characters). He is devoted to his wife or girlfriend, is kind to children, is beloved by his co-workers. He seems like Mister Nice Guy, may even seem to genuinely mourn the victim's demise. One murder inevitably leads to another -- Since Mister Body's entourage was such a close-knit group, these people know nasty things about each other. One suspect may try to blackmail another in the wake of the initial murder, either because he thinks the other person is the murderer or because the presence of the police gives him the chance to shake down an associate with a shady past. Of course, these people being the folks they are, blackmail attempts never quite work out as planned. Hope that gives you a jumping off place. It's now time for me to get off the computer and get ready for church.

Glad you enjoyed the radio shows. Actually, Casablanca came first, but the writers for Rocky Jordan took the basic setup and ran off in their own direction with it. The show indicates that tourist companies sometimes bring groups to Cafe Tambourine to experience native color, strictly by daylight mind you, so snooty day trippers could come slumming from the Palace Hotel. The novel Mrs. Pollifax, Innocent Tourist (1997) employed a much-used pulp gimmick that might help you bedevil your gilded guests: Bad guys sneak a McGuffin into Egypt by hiding it in a cheap curio that is given/sold to one of your player-characters. Of course your PCs have done at least a little shopping during their travels, the hand-off incident wouldn't have been especially memorable, so this is easy to ret-con. Once the McGuffin is past customs and across the border, the bad guys will do anything to get it back. Burglary, murder, robbery, no crime is too low. For more fun, maybe multiple groups of bad guys and Egyptian and/or British authorities are after the McGuffin, which means they're all stalking, spying on, chasing your genteel adventurers, who have no idea why they suddenly have targets painted on their backs. If the adventurers discover the McGuffin for themselves -- say, by accidentally or purposefully breaking said curio -- they've got another mystery to solve. McGuffin could be anything: a treasure map, a key to a safe/safety deposit box/rental storage bin, a coded message containing an essential state secret, a stolen gem, a list of all British military intelligence agents working in Country X, a hospital document or birth certificate proving that a wealthy fellow guest at the Palace Hotel is (or isn't) the genuine heir to the famous Lord Flaunteroy estate, instructions to locate the mask and scepter of Genghis Khan, the secret formula that would have enabled Kaiser Wilhelm to win the Great War, etc.

Not a prepared scenario, but the old radio show Rocky Jordan seems to be exactly what you need: https://archive.org/details/RockyJordan http://www.radiolovers.com/pages/rockyjordan.htm http://www.otr.net/?p=rkyj The mystery series is set in Cairo during the late Forties and early Fifties. Rocky Jordan is an American expatriate who runs a semi-reputable restaurant and bar located between the native and European sections of the city. Jordan, unfortunately, is something of a trouble magnet. Criminals, dangerous dames, spies, treasure hunters and ne'er-do-wells show up at Cafe Tambourine each episode, seeking to embroil him in their nefarious schemes. Despite this, or perhaps because of it, Jordan has become chummy with the local police chief. If a murder, theft or kidnapping has occurred, the battered restauranteur is sure to be mixed up in it somehow. Listen to a few. Each short episode provides crime, suspects and clues -- compact and ready to steal, er, emulate. A similar program is Bold Venture: http://www.radiolovers.com/pages/boldventure.htm http://www.bold-venture.co.uk/ http://www.oldradioworld.com/shows/Bold_Venture.php Slate "Humphrey Bogart" Shannon runs a hotel in Cuba that seems to attract an endless stream of troublemakers. Unfortunately, the Havana police chief is less supportive than his Cairo counterpart when Shannon gets tangled up in crime.

Both titles have had their day, sales are virtually zero now, and by dropping them I'm focusing my energies on the other titles I publish or new titles I'm about to publish. But if you've already done the heavy lifting (writing, editing, layout, art, etc.), why not let them sit eternally in your catalog, waiting for whomever might have come late to the party to purchase them via POD or PDF? Now, if DriveThru is charging you for space on its website to advertise them, I can see why you might want to trim profit "under-producers." Re: The Company, It just seems to me that modern military RPGs using any game system are few and far between. Phoenix Command (own system) is ancient RPG history. Combat! (Action! System) is long gone. Your game might be the go-to selection by default. Why let the G.I. Joe RPG (Fuzion, a free product) get all the guts and glory?

A relatively new review of Magic World is at rpg.net, FYI. Good vibes. http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/16/16300.phtml

You ... gourmand, you!

As Yuppa single-handedly slaughters a company of enemy soldiers without breaking a sweat.

What is it with demon cults and sewers? Since such groups frequently turn out to be comprised of the wealthiest and most politically connected folks in the city, you'd think they could spring for a posh penthouse uptown with dance floor, private restaurant and wet bar. Hey, just because you're trafficking with powerful evil beings from other worlds doesn't mean you can't be comfortable. Sewers are for thieves' guilds and mutant ninjas.

More gadget ideas -- super-spy gear is always fun, and there are plenty of movie and television inspirations to choose from. The Shoe Phone (from Get Smart) -- an early 1960s cell phone built into one of an agent's shoes. The user must put the sole near or against his face to talk. Hope you didn't step into anything icky, and watch those cleats. Comes in all sizes, styles and colors Voice-controlled motorcycle (from Totally Spies) -- created for agents of the World Organization of Human Protection (WOOHP), this is a sleek, compact, high-powered bike with rocket-assisted ground speed. It can actually turn on a dime, can hover for extended periods of time, and is surprisingly durable. Unfortunately, the voice controls are extremely literal. Calling "Hi" to another driver may cause it to hover, while "Turn around" may cause the bike to spin in place. Comes is assorted bright primary colors, decorated with a heart and/or daisy theme. Driving/diving suit -- another WOOHP device, this is a tight protective bodysuit with helmet that sometimes accompanies the motorcycle above. It is capable of sealing and pressurizing itself for underwater activity at a moment's notice, has built-in life support (depth and duration unspecified), and features underwater jets built into the boots for fast swimming. Unfortunately, the voice-controlled motorcycle is absolutely not designed for use in water (oops!). Comes in assorted primary colors, helmet visor is heart-shaped. Compact grapnel and line (from Castle of Cagliostro) -- designed by notorious international thief Arsene Lupin III (aka Rupan or the Wolf), this is a belt-worn spool of thin but incredibly strong cable crammed into a box about the size of a tape measure. The grapnel is effective despite its miniature size, and the cable seems to be hundreds of feet long. It has a tiny hand crank on the side for tediously pulling oneself up.

Metal seems rare in Valley of the Wind. Most of the gear is made out of futuristic ceramics or super-durable giant bug chitin (which may help explain the light weight). Also, given its size and configuration, Nausicaa's glider must have a pretty small gas tank filled with some super, long-lasting fuel. The royal gunship, a much larger vessel, was obviously powered by liquid fuel. The sonic screwdriver (which I think appeared during the Tom Baker era) is a fountain pen-sized device that can open or seal electronically operated doors, rattle security systems into obedience, tamper with computers and electronic equipment in general, and most other non-offensive tasks the Doctor wants it to. Despite the damage it does to control panels, I've never seen it used as a weapon (not that it would penetrate Dalek or Cyberman armor anyway). So something as hand-wavy as Fate points may be perfectly appropriate

OK, let's test drive our gadget-building mechanics: The Doctor's sonic screwdriver (an energy emitter Swiss Army knife that apparently does everything except actually drive screws, sorta like the watches in Spy Kids that had so many extras installed they couldn't tell time) Star Trek TOS tricorder. It's a good non-weapon sensory device and oh so useful Lost In Space environmental control robot, designed to explore and evaluate alien environments to determine whether they are safe for human habitation. So why was it outfitted with those nasty electrical arc emitters in its claws? Barsoomian personal flier. It's like a boogie board or single ski -- made out of Cavorite. Nausicaa's gull-winged personal flier. Wingspan 5.8 meters, weight 12 kg, powered by twin jet engines. Designed for one pilot but can carry a passenger (uncomfortably) in a pinch. Slayer laser lance (from the movie Krull). Sort of a high-tech musket, it fires a single laser blast then must be used as a melee weapon. Does it make sense? No, but it looks cool.

Building equipment with points is a typically a superhero thing, since supers and their adversaries tend to have unusual gear you just can't pick up at this weekend's gun show or at Walmart's sporting goods department. So, a jet pack in a 1930s pulp adventure campaign or in a superhero campaign? Character pays points because it is a unique item that helps define him. Same jet pack in a Buck Rogers or Flash Gordon campaign? Buy with money or get it assigned to you by whatever sponsoring organization is sending the PCs on missions. The main reason for building equipment for the GM is to give him a handle on the gadget and what it can do. The players don't need to worry about all that, just know that their new toy does really cool stuff. On the other hand, if one of the player-characters is a Benton Quest/Doc Savage/Doctor Huer type who is always pulling some new device out of his workshop, then invention or point-buy gadget rules (with appropriate cash, time, and parts availability limitations) are in order. The GM doesn't want Professor Make-It to unexpectedly announce, "Oh, and here's the time machine with built-in can opener and wi-fi connectivity I just whipped up in the garage this afternoon." (Hey, a good GM can handle the time travel angle, but you just never know what the PCs might do with that built-in can opener.)

Ironically, I was thinking of using the Powers rules to handle items, but since that was an attempt to incorporate a Hero System-esque point buy system into RQ/BRP I'm not sure if you'd like that approach. Pssst. Skill points. Power points. Magic points. Despite the random-roll characteristics, RQ/BRP is a point-buy system.

Doesn't Ka have a nephew in training, name Titus or something?

Could work. My initial idea was a not-too-bright wannabe thief. Ka plans the heists, pulls the actual jobs, sidekick gets to deal with the city guard if they show up.

Now Ka just needs a human sidekick so he can perch menacingly on his or her shoulder. He casts the spells, sidekick takes the blame (and the heat), and Ka lives to wriggle his tail feathers another day. Humans are so useful that way, at least as long as they don't learn any real magic for themselves. "Another seed cake, Archy. And hand over those cufflinks, punk!"

Just don't let those Dreamlands cats get the jump on Ka no matter how sweetly they talk. Not sure sentience overcomes inter-species inclinations.

Hmmm. These aren't physical books, but ... http://arolosweyr.co.uk/ http://dragonridersofpernrpg.yuku.com/ http://pernrpg.rocks/ http://shornweyr.proboards.com/ I agree that Pern would be easy to adapt to BRP. Basic humans with medieval-level gear. Flying telepathic mounts. Lots of intrigue, both political and romantic. Doing a Pern campaign set immediately after the landing would be more science fiction-y.

Ironically, the 1993 boxed set now sells for $100 at Amazon.com, sold out at Noble Knight Games in November 2014, and is unlisted at Troll and Toad. It is available from Chaosium only as a PDF. In contrast, both Villains and Vigilantes and Heroes Unlimited, superhero games from the same era, have never been out of print and are still available. Noble Knight still has copies of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Other Strangeness at reasonable prices. FASERIP Marvel Superheroes is available free online both in its original form and as the retroclone 4C. Champions and GURPS Supers are available in new editions. So ... what happened to all those "unwanted" Superworld copies? (Print On Demand -- It's a beautiful thing.)

Based on the discussion, tackling Elric in anything approximating a fair fight is obviously suicidal. So instead of confronting him with Arnold Schwarzenegger as Conan, we need to confront him with Arnold as Dutch from Predator. Dutch would probably be a (comparatively) meager STR 15, but he'd be armed with an arsenal of modern technology. Scope out the Big E with night vision binocular goggles and blow him away at range with a TOW missile before he has time to do any demon summoning. Hope he doesn't have a default resurrection spell in the works.

The discussion has been fun, but based on what you've revealed about the private lives of sorcerers, why would a party want one of these selfish, back-stabbing powerhouses in its midst? Ms. Magic would manipulate the group's adventures to meet her own goals then ditch her "friends" when they became inconvenient.

From what I've heard about him, what you really need to worry about is Elric getting you.

Because a frontal assault on a superior force that knows exactly where you are is always a good idea, right? (facepalm)

The axiom that no scenario survives contact with players was proved during a fantasy session today with my wife and kids. I ran an adventure published in one of the BRP contest books. My players found the important clue but decided to skip town when the bad guy's henchmen began following them. Unfortunately, they decided to leave the city in the middle of the night, while the gates were shut and guarded. An attempt to sweet talk the city guard failed, so they chose to fight despite the troops having superior numbers. After two of the player-characters were badly wounded, they ran away, having killed three guardsmen. They're now hiding and healing up.

If you do, the Call of Cthulhu Creature Generator can make that task much easier: http://wstryder.org/coccg/ And you can select competence level for greater balance if desired.