seneschal

Although I think I've got it down now, critter stats were one thing that really threw me when I started delving into BRP. They're so darn arbitrary, particularly when it comes to SIZ and STR and damage. In other systems I've played, a horse is a horse, of course, of course (which the GM can beef up if he wants a mutant or something). In BRP, a horse is whatever the GM and the dice are feeling like today.

Remember the old dictum that if you stat it, the players will figure out a way to kill it. I can't see characters going toe-to-toe with a Greek god and coming out ahead. Heroes might be able to bargain with and/or bribe them (the Olympians are notoriously capricious and amoral, after all) and maybe outsmart them (think of Reed Richards tricking Galactus). Just remember, it's not nice to fool Mother Nature. Gods tend to react badly when they realize they've been had. On the other hand, Robert Howard's The Cairn on the Headland had an American archeologist confronting the avatar of Odin with the help of a holy relic. Let's just say his depiction of the All-Father wasn't as, ahem, noble as that of Marvel Comics' Thor.

Hero System emphasized that a "Disadvantage" that doesn't actually cause the character problems isn't. The GM is supposed to bring home that mute, one-eyed albino's inconveniences on a regular basis -- people react badly to his appearance, he can't explain things to the police, he can't shoot straight during the resulting firefight with the cops without binocular vision, etc. On the other hand, sometimes Disadvantages would fit: Popeye is a one-eyed sailor with a short fuse; his extra points obviously went into heightened STR and CON. Kato is a vigilante crime-fighter of Filipino/Japanese descent -- operating in America around the time of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor; he needs those points for Martial Arts since sailors on leave (such as Popeye) aren't likely to offer to buy him drinks. Clark Savage, Jr., has to have his office on the 86th floor of a skyscraper because his unusual appearance makes it impossible for him to move around New York incognito; folks good and bad just won't leave him alone.

EDIT: I think my one and only gripe, with being new to it so to speak, is the lack of qualitiies and drawbacks (merits and flaws etc) in my opinion. As a longtime Hero System fan, I'm used to advantages/edges and disadvantages/flaws. But many of our BRP veterans think such a thing is unnecessary. The closest we get is flaws in the Super Powers section. Putting together a merits/flaws system for BRP has been discussed in several threads but I'm not sure that anything came of it.

Don't see any Babylon 5 conversions in our downloads section, but there's other sci-fi related stuff you might find useful. My introduction to the BRP family was GORE, an attempt at an OGL version before the release of the Big Gold Book and BRP Quick-Start Edition (both GORE and Quick-Start are also in the downloads section). At the time, the 16-page version of BRP was long out of print. My first thought was science fiction rather than horror. I now have the BGB and frequently use the Super Powers rules to make science fiction critters.

Not a dumb question at all, and one we've hashed over several times ourselves. While they are all similar, they vary in the Basic Roleplaying options used. Some give characters total hit points, others break up hit points by body part. Some use the strike ranks system in combat, others use DEX ranks. Some have a more detailed skills list, others have a compact skill list. The magic systems employed in each vary. Some games have a static defense for armor, others provide a variable defense. Mongoose RuneQuest II and Mongoose Legend are essentially the same thing (Mongoose lost the RQ license). I'm sure some of our Call of Cthulhu and RuneQuest grognards can fill you in on the gory details.

"But Brutus is an honorable man ...." Aw, let the PCs razzle-dazzle an audience -- then have to deal with the consequences when the mob they've aroused gets out of control. "But I never meant for this to happen!"

There's also an anniversary sale going on a Lulu.com ....

Yes, Traveller, old and new, casts a long shadow when it comes to science fiction role-playing. I finally had the opportunity to print out and study Future World from the old Worlds of Wonder set. It presents a very Traveller-esque career path for acquiring skills even though FW's galactic empire is nothing like Traveller's Third Imperium. Since the FW planets are connected by stargates, its empire doesn't consist of contiguous real estate; the worlds are randomly scattered throughout the galaxy. And there are no direct routes to anywhere; you always have to go the roundabout way because the gates are set up to confuse and defeat potential invaders. But what would they do against invaders that used old-fashioned rocketships? The FW weapons list, too, gives a nod to Traveller equipment, as do some of the physical armor types. On the other hand, FW tacpack force field technology is very different from Traveller gear. A user has to constantly try to figure out what sort of weapons his foes are employing and adjust the force field accordingly -- and hope his battery doesn't run out of juice in the meantime. A duel between a Traveller mercenary in powered combat armor and an ICE operative with a tackpack would be ... interesting.

Interestingly enough, there was at least one werewolf trial where the accused freely admitted to being a werewolf. He was, in fact, a serial killer in the modern sense. Realizing that he was sick, the authorities sentenced him to life imprisonment rather than executing him. Visitors said his eyes, indeed, shone in the dark like a wolf's. True story from the Durants' History of Philosophy aka History of Civilization.

Hmmm, if we can't actually purchase anything, does that make the 30% off sale ... mythical?

I'm excited about the sale, and there are a couple books I've been thinking about. Unfortunately, the books I really really want are ones that haven't come out yet -- Interplanetary and Astounding Adventures. Atomic Age Cthulhu has possibilities, too.

Don't forget the bumper sticker: "I accelerate for trollkins."

Starship Modeler - Unspeakable Creations Pt. 1 Ran across this article at the Starship Modeler web site, and it gives links to similar sites. However, this one has the best "thing" of the ones I've viewed. Interestingly, my wife recently began fermenting a supposed health brew called kefir (aka keifer), which is created by feeding sugar water to a fungi starter that she got from my natural foods-conscious sister. The large pickle jar she has it growing in looks disturbingly like these craft projects. The mass must be up to two or three pounds by now. My sister assures me it won't escape at night to prey upon us, but why then do I keep finding those wet trails across the kitchen floor early in the morning? Kefir - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Fun! Looks like a cross between Clue and Agatha Christie, which is appropriate I suppose. Miss Maple did it ... in the library ... with the squamous, writhing mass.

rust: Please, please, please resurrect a portion of your Pharos IV/Varun campaign and submit an aquatic space adventure!

I agree. Action! System has a lot of potential. A powers set and vehicle rules are all that would be required to make it truly a universal, generic game. It and its license documents were still available to download last time I checked at DriveThruRPG and RGPNow. But the author would truly be producing and marketing the materials on his own at this point. On the other hand, it is fully free to use as long as the proper acknowledgements are made.

True, but in Last Man on Earth the cremation order apparently came too late to prevent the inevitable disaster. Poor Vincent Price still found himself alone, despite the smouldering charnel pile at the dump. After all, enough healthy people have to remain to collect and burn the corpses, dodging zombies all the while.

Excellent! Now, map out the attic. Include traps, treasures, and critters. Submit. Win!

Hmmm, Call of Cthulhu Action! would be the normal nomenclature. As long as we don't try to import the leaves and only make tea with them, the DEA won't come after us.

[Cue heavy, mechanical breathing] "You don't know the pow-wah of the Duck Side!"

We could also suggest that the new Mongoose book ship with a label on its front cover: "No, no. I am Legend!" But then it might be confused with a certain novel and movie.

To really mix things up, we need to come up with a supplement entitled Wayfarers of Legend.

Yikes! Bigger, stronger, tougher, smarter, faster and more agile. I think my version is more like the critters in the book, though. It was sheer numbers, not individual prowess, that made Triffids a world menace.

How did their take compare with mine? BRP has been around so long that it is hard to do "new" critter write-ups; somebody else somewhere has often done something similar. That's why the critters I've posted here (the Big, Bad Wolf, Fluffs, a Duck superhero, assorted classic movie monsters) have been off-the-wall; you gotta stretch to do something unique.