seneschal

Good write-up. However, I have trouble reconciling the shy momma's boy you describe with the ravenous critter in the poem who likes Danish for breakfast. To think that the debacle began as a simple domestic disturbance; King Hrothgar could have avoided the whole thing by having his soldiers turn down their stereos. Warriors: "Crank it, baby. Yeah! Battle of the bands." Grendel: "Can't ... stand ... disco!" One thing I could never determine from the story was exactly how far Castle Heorot was from Grendel's lake. In the versions I read, it seemed like a pretty good trek. Which begs the question: Just how loudly were the Danes singing and carrying on? And just how sensitive was Grendel's hearing (since he was in a cave, beneath a lake, a pretty good walk down the hill from the mead hall)?

If Toad had been tampering with Things Decent Beasts Were Not Meant to Know it might explain his erratic behavior. And since Kenneth Grahame made it clear that Toad, et. al., existed in the same world as Industrial Revolution era humans and sometimes interacted with them, a party of regular human player-characters could easily get involved. One challenge might be to persuade Cthulhu by Gaslight characters from America that talking animals in elegant Edwardian dress are, in fact, perfectly normal in the United Kingdom (rather than manifestations of the Mythos).

I take it the Toad in question isn't Mr. Toad of Toad Hall ... Although it might be an interesting wrinkle if it was.

Congrats!

" If you want to be rewarded for doing stupid things ... well, there's always ..." Risus! Simple mechanics, originally intended for light, humorous play (although an awful lot of folks have used it to do Cthulhu campaigns). As written, it's a game where you could battle a monster with your pastry chef or charismatic hairdresser skill (the goofier, the better) and win.

Paul_Va, presumably your question was in preparation for the eldritch horror campaign you are planning. Have you had a chance to run a session yet? If so, how did it go? What did your players have to say afterward?

If you need inspiration for your pulp adventure campaign, you can't go wrong with old radio dramas from the era. There are many good ones, but you can't beat I Love A Mystery, the king of action/adventure shows. I Love A Mystery - Grandma, What Big Teeth You Have | I Love A Mystery

Q: How do dinosaurs tell the difference between the good humans and the bad humans in a pulp adventure game? A: The good guys taste better.

Cowboys vs. dinosaurs vs. ancient Egyptians. Sounds like a lost worlds campaign to me! I've always wanted to run a campaign inspired by a diorama pictured in a model-building magazine I once read. It depicted a 1920s archeologist opening a tomb in King Tut fashion. Only what's inside isn't a sarcophagus but a 12-foot-tall golden mech, sculpted in appropriately old Egyptian styling. Obviously, the ancients were more technologically advanced than previously believed.

The Starlet CHA 23 INT 8 Performance Boo boo bee doo! The Star Stalker From Stateroom 13B DEX 26 SIZ 25 Physical No, Bob. I didn’t hear anything. Uh, Bob? Say something, Bob. The Artificial Intelligence INT 30 CON 0 Technical I’m sorry, Dave. I can’t allow you to jeopardize the mission.

Master of Disguise INT 13 CHA 16 Performance Man (or woman) of 1,000 faces Master of Gun-Fu DEX 18 STR 16 Firearms (any and all) Go ahead, make his day

Mad Scientist INT 18 POW 15 Technical I know what you want. You've come to steal my life's work. But you won't get it, you hear? I'll stop you! The Thing in the Jar CHA -10 POW 21 Mental Don't look into its eyes. Don't ... look ... Look into my eyes. The Friend and Faithful Companion CHA 18 INT 13 Communication Better at finding trouble than eluding it.

Thanks, Chaot, these are fun.

http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?692989-Supers!-RPG-thread-of-writeups-for-the-Marvel-and-DC-universes! Just for fun, you might want to take a look at this thread, composed entirely of assorted Supers! builds by fans.

Abandoning Superworld for something "new school" and rules light? Heresy! No yummy Hostess Fruit Pies (oops, or the generic equivalent by Mrs. Baird or Little Debbie) for you! Well, you've raised a crop of eager new role-players via BRP. Once you get a few sessions of Supers! under your belt, you'll have to let us know what you and your players think. A side-by-side comparison of one of the character write-ups would be fun, too.

The lack of Hostess is a real problem, since it removes important weapons from a superhero's arsenal. Hostess Comic Book Ads or https://www.google.com/search?q=hostess+superhero+ads&client=firefox-a&hs=9fW&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=5e3KUYvwNoL09gSFmICoAQ&ved=0CDsQsAQ&biw=1280&bih=861 We've gotten lots of comments so far but no write-ups. I've had some ideas of my own, but real life has a way of getting in the way of good gaming. Here's what I've got so far. Path-Maker Market Manager Kelly Young, Kansas City, MO, had developed a reputation for recognizing, mentoring and developing potential leaders. However, he had no idea what he was getting into when he agreed to oversee Walmart Corporation’s new Associate Enhancement Program. MORE Young was already an avid boxer. The AEP increased his strength enough for him to lift (but not throw) an automobile. His punches carry the force of an elephant gun blast, enough to knock through a brick or concrete wall. He’s more durable, too, slightly tougher than a suit of plate armor, with equivalent protection against heat and electricity. Young’s signature ability, “path making,” allows him to teleport himself and two 200-pound companions up to 1,000 yards. The process takes a lot out of him. He can teleport more often when it is just himself. STR 50 CON 15 SIZ 14 INT 16 POW 10 DEX 15 APP 11 Move: 10 Hit Points: 15 (29 SIZ + CON option) Damage Bonus: +3D6 Armor: 9 (Kinetic, Heat, Electrical) Attacks: Brawl 25%, D3+3D6; Grapple 25%, D3+3D6 Skills: Bargain 5%, Climb 00%, Command 5%, Dodge 00%, Insight 5%, Jump 00%, Knowledge (Human Resources) 5%, Language (English) 80%, Martial Arts (Boxing) 00%, Perform (Oratory) 0%, Persuade 15%, Research 25%, Status 15%, Teach 10% Powers: Armor 9 (Kinetic, Heat, Electrical), 27 power points Enhanced Characteristic, 36 power points, +36 Strength (total 50) Extra Energy, 8 power points, +80 (total 90) Teleport, 30 levels, 30 power points per use, can move approximately 600 pounds up to 1,000 yards Failings: Responsible to Walmart +3 (frequent, significant involvement) Dependent, superhero trainees (frequent significant involvement) +3 Notes: The name “Path-Maker” just said “Teleport” or “Dimensional Travel” to me, and the BGB didn’t have the latter. Skills are from the Teacher profession. Has 95 initial power points based on characteristics, plus 6 more for Failings (total 101). Has 500 professional skill points plus 160 personal skill points (total 660).

You're gonna try to "cast out" one of the Great Old Ones? Good luck! Cthulhu "magic" is supposedly humans trying to use badly misunderstood alien technology. Which is why nasty things tend to happen to poor idiots who try to use a "spell" they researched from a dozen ancient sources. It's like your cat trying to drive an SUV; scary even thinking about it.

Just heard from Nick Nicario about the assorted adventure contests: 2011 BRP Adventure Contest -- Apparently all winning entries were published in the monograph "A Nation Ransomed." If you were told that your entry was a winner but didn't receive a copy of the monograph, contact Nick. 2012 Science Fiction Adventure Contest -- A monograph containing the winning entries is on the schedule to be printed. 2012 Children's Adventure Contest -- May have been forgotten. Give Megan a month to get back from vacation, then contact her. FYI

So, there was an underlying philosophical reason why they never did any crossover titles with Guardians of Order?

I've told this story before but it bears repeating because it is a lesson in the long-term value of customer service. Waaaaaay back in 1983, after having played Traveller for several years, I cast about for a superhero RPG to play, since my friends and I enjoyed comics. This was long before the advent of the Internet or e-mail, so I wrote a brief letter to each of the companies producing a major superhero title: Fantasy Games Unlimited (Villains and Vigilantes), Chaosium (Superworld) and Hero Games (Champions). I asked each company to sell me on their product. FGU ignored me entirely. Chaosium sent me a Superworld flier and a terse note: "Play whatever your friends play." Good general advice, except that my friends and I weren't playing any superhero games at that point. Hero Games, on the other hand, sent me a warm personal letter, a thick catalog of their games, and some other materials. I invested in Champions. I and my friends went on to play Hero System games for the next 15-20 years. Instead of Call of Cthulhu, we played Justice, Inc. Instead of Elfquest or Ringworld, we played Danger International and Super Agents. It wasn't that we were mad at Chaosium, but we'd been introduced to a game family we felt comfortable with and kept coming back to it even though we played RPGs by other companies as well. I came to BRP nearly 30 years later, through the back door via Dan Proctor's GORE. Chaosium (and FGU) lost out on my business for a quarter of a century because whoever answered the mail was too busy to give my sincere query much attention.

Check out Chaot's BRP Raveloft threads both here and at rpg.net. He's done a lot of the work for you. http://basicroleplaying.com/basic-roleplaying/brp-ravenloft-character-sheets-feedback-2849/ http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?463484-BRP-Ravenloft

You're welcome! I've found it very useful for putting together groups of NPCs.

The story of the two nigh unkillable trolls going at it hammer and tongs is hilarious. In my (mostly Champions, Traveller, TOON) campaigns, though, I never threw an opponent at my players that I didn't think their characters couldn't beat. A tough fight, yes, but the concept of tossing in a foe they must run from wasn't part of my thinking. After all, the PCs are heroes, and running away is unheroic. Besides, surviving in Traveller is tough enough as it is. Then, I never ran sandbox type games with random-roll opponents, either. I always had a definite plot in mind. And if a critter was there, it was there for a reason. Different gaming culture and GM mindset, I guess.

So, to retrieve the priceless memento and prevent the tragic event-o, will the PCs be traveling among the temples of Shinto by foot or by Pinto?