seneschal

You DID remember to change all the the proton filter coils on those reactors before the battle, didn't you? Didn't you???

What sort of battles did you have in mind, KjetilKverndokken? Fighters vs. capital ships (like Star Wars or Battlestar Galactica)? Duels between medium-sized battleships of roughly the same capacity (Star Trek)? Clashes between space armadas featuring vessels of various sizes (Star Fleet Battles)? Do you envision these encounters in your game being more tactical battles, or more focused on role-playing, or a bit of both? How much detail do you want? Lots of crunchy details about weapon systems and defenses? Or a general idea of "this ship can dish out this much damage and endure this much in return"?

I love starship deck plans, a remnant of my Classic Traveller days. And I loved statting out ships using the original High Guard. But when forced to deal with them as a harried GM, once a ship gets beyond a certain size it ceases to be a vehicle and becomes a set piece, a plot device, a setting in its own right. It becomes a big McGuffin, where story is more important than stats. So if I'm dealing with something like the Death Star from Star Wars, or the Warden from Metamorphosis Alpha, V'ger from Star Trek the Movie, or the Valley Forge from Silent Running we're in a whole new ballgame. I only map out small parts that I actually plan to show to the players (or the part I plan to show them during this session). I may figure out appropriate NPCs for that section. If they make clever role-playing choices and good skill rolls I let them find the tractor beam controls or make that one-in-a-million shot on the vulnerable exhaust port. It saves a lot of bookkeeping (the players rolling armloads of dice against the target's gazillions of hit points and armor). Besides, any ship I'd really let the players control probably wouldn't be capable of taking on the big boys toe-to-toe anyway.

If I submitted a duograph rather than a monograph, could it be twice as long?

After initially being disappointed by Kinkos' refusal to print anything that might be copyrighted (even if the document itself gives permission), I found that Office Depot will cheerfully print and bind PDF RPG materials, no questions asked. I got several games books spiral bound with clear plastic covers that way, double-sided, black and white print. I could have gone color, the cost would have risen to prohibitive levels.

Dagnabit, pard. If yuh had to include them thar Red Skins, the least yuh coulda done is include their scores and stats! Hangin' is too good for uh! Washington Redskins

First "Ashes to Ashes" and now "Rubble and Ruin." Where's Bob the Builder now that we need him? Personally, I think rouge robots could provide many more role-playing possibilities than rogue robots.

"Red Skins" might be appropriate verbiage for the genre, particularly depending on the Western source material used. But the political correctness crowd will blow a gasket. They've already freaked out because the term was used as the longstanding name of a popular sports team.

One hundred twenty views so far and not even one reply? Hmmm, maybe there IS a fantasy sub-genre that BRP can't handle. :shocked: Of course, I know a lot of you guys are into "grim 'n gritty." I'm more of a "Grimm Adventures of Billy & Mandy" type of gamer.

"After taking a look at some of the settings I am pretty sold on Savage Worlds, but I admit if it wasn't for the game settings themselves I wouldn't have given SW a second look." Yep, the rpg.net discussion pretty much reiterates what I said earlier: Players are drawn to a setting or a genre and only learn to appreciate (or endure) the game mechanics later. To grow and prosper, BRP needs a variety of captivating, playable settings and campaign books quite apart from the Cthulhu franchise.

I think y'all are being awful hard on a formerly enthusiastic BRP newbie. Mike844 and his group gave the system a playtest, had legitimate questions about the combat rules, and found that the "feel" of the system didn't meet their expectations. Instead of receiving encouragement and friendly advice from those experienced with the rules, he found himself being savaged when he dared to express his concerns. Not exactly a way to win friends and influence gamers on behalf of your beloved system, guys.

I have to agree with vagabond and rust on the availability of supplemental material. Actual game setting/genre books are essential to attracting newbies such as myself (and their new dollars) to BRP. No matter how good or venerable a system is, game mechanics alone aren't what draws players. They are typically attracted to a genre (fantasy/science fiction) or a setting (Glorantha/The Imperium) first, and learn to love the system later. HERO System's success is built on the legacy of Champions and Justice, Inc. GURPS boomed based on its many historical and sub-genre supplements, often available from no one else. Traveller and Space 1889 (and some would argue, D&D) remain popular despite their sometimes awkward game mechanics. In contrast, other decent, workable RPG systems (D6, Action! System, Tri-Stat DX, among others; I've got dozens of them downloaded on my hard drive) languish or achieve limited commercial success because they were marketed as a system first, without a "killer app" setting to make them popular. BRP has coasted along on the popularity of Call of Cthulhu, but if Chaosium wishes to continue and expand its success, they'll need current, in-print supplements to demonstrate how wonderful it is for things other than Lovecraftian horror. It's all very well for the BRP old-timers who started with RuneQuest ver. 1/2 to say, "Oh, yeah, that optional rule/setting/critter stat is available in Book X, published 37 years ago. I've got it here somewhere underneath my pile of old Top Secret and Boot Hill modules." But something a little more accessible would be nice for the rest of us.

Thanks for the link. It was useful.

Yikes! Remind me not to go on any blind dates while visiting Australia. Nice write-up. Thanks for posting.

So, maybe I've watched Hoodwinked one too many times with the kids, but I was just thinking ... The BBW The Wolf. Yeah, it’s him. The original Big Bad: Sultan of Stealth, Master of Disguise, He of the Herculean Lungs, the terror of little pigs and little girls. What? There are a lot of wolves in the big woods, you say? Maybe that explains how the BBW seems to be everywhere at once. But which of those mangy curs can speak flawless Human, charm potential victims with urbane manners (at least until he loses his temper), and swap into appropriate raiment faster than Clark Kent on a hectic day? What mere flea-bitten canine can, with a little effort (OK, OK, with a lot of effort), emit gale force winds from his muzzle capable of demolishing small buildings, or at least poorly constructed ones? Also, the BBW appears to have more lives than the proverbial cat. Plummeted into a cauldron of boiling soup? Sliced in half by a woodsman’s axe? Drowned in raging rapids by a clever hen? No problem; he always bounces back for more. Hide the goodies, Grandma. The BBW is back in action!

As usual, Miyazaki's animation is superb and his characters interesting and sympathetic, but Howl's Moving Castle is really, really ... strange. It combines an anti-war screed with steampunk and Wizard of Oz-ish fantasy. One climactic scene features a wizard turned were-griffin battling 1930s warplanes and ground troops. The selfish wizard ultimately finds a conscience and the cursed heroine finds love, but the ending isn't quite neat and tidy. It's worth seeing once but not something I could watch over and over like Spirited Away or Castle of Cagliostro. And it's not one I let my kids see, although they've seen the other two.

Don't know if it fits your anime criteria exactly, but Aaron Allston's Doc Sidhe combines fantasy with 1920s pulp sensibilities. http://worldlibrary.net/eBooks/Baen_Library_Collection/0671876627.pdf

It surprised me how many people on the Risus discussion boards are using it for Lovecraftian campaigns. For those of you unfamiliar with it, Risus is an extremely rules light (and free) RPG system originally intended for silly, humorous scenarios. It'd be like someone using Toon or Teenagers From Outer Space to run a grim and gritty noir campaign, although Risus makes those two rules sets look like HERO System. But a lot of folks are doing it. "I baffle the monster with my Freelance Hairstylist trait!"

Trail of Cthulhu divorces "official" Lovecraftian adventure from BRP, using a different role-playing system. Since Call of Cthulhu is the flagship BRP product, I'm wondering how Trail is affecting the fortunes of both Chaosium and BRP. Also, has anyone played both systems? Does it make a difference in the feel of the game? (If you're being devoured by a multi-tentacled terror, does it matter how many or what shape dice you had to roll to get there?)

Dare I say "Gammera"?

Quite true, in real life. But we're brainstorming about how to use BRP game mechanics to achieve a certain end result for our characters. Why a character is ambidexterous is less important than the fact that he is. The GM could simply rule that our proposed Ambidexterity skill is something players must choose at initial character generation; they can't pick it up later. And that's how HERO System handles Talents. An established character can't suddenly acquire a photographic memory or an innate sense for true north, even if he now has the experience points to buy the Talent. Again, though, our goal is to achieve a desired affect for our characters. If Ambidexterity can be better handled by creating a new minor Power or by reinterpreting an existing chaotic trait, fine. The latter approach would tend to slide us over into HERO/GURPS Disadvantages territory, implying that maybe characters will have to pay a price for having that extra special something. "Yeah, I can write equally well with all my appendages, including that tentacle beneath my left arm." >:->

I'm a longtime HERO System fan and don't have a problem in general with Advantages balanced by Disadvantages. On the other hand, I agree with previous posters that it isn't necessary to try to port over game mechanics from HERO (or whatever other system) if an existing BRP rule will achieve the same overall effect. For instance, if my goal is to create a James Bond style spy with an amazingly fast draw and maybe a nifty gadget or two, I might be able to create a reasonable facsimile of my envisioned character in each system even if their abilities (and the mechanics that enable them) don't quite match. For the type of unusual innate abilities represented by HERO Talents or Action! System Traits, I'd first try to adapt something from the existing BRP magic, chaotic traits, or powers systems. If I couldn't find a reasonable candidate, I might create a new skill or power using the existing ones as guides. For instance, if BRP doesn't have an "ambidexterity" ability I might create an Ambidexterity skill; the player would have to make his skill roll to use the "off" hand without penalty. Of course, doing so would add an extra roll (and layer of complication) to combat, which is what some previous posters have objected to. Conversely, the player could buy up his skill level with his favorite weapon and say that he had to make his skill roll at a certain higher difficulty level to succeed with the "off" hand. Of course, that wouldn't help him if he wanted to write a letter or pick a lock with the "wrong" hand. Just thinking out loud ...

I agree with you on the desirability of printed product, Thalaba. I fully appreciate the opportunities provided by PDFs but I personally can't learn a new game system or run a campaign from one, particularly if we're dealing with a 100+ page tome. At some point, I gotta have physical pages in hand even if it involves spending $30 at Office Depot to print and bind my "free" download. Plus, having a physical book on the shelf of the local game shop helps persuade potential customers that the publisher and the product are "real." They can see it, heft it, maybe thumb through it if the shop doesn't shrink wrap all its books. Any game company capable of producing and distributing a good-looking physical product immediately has more apparent credibility than the provider of a PDF, even if the quality of the writing, art, and layout are similar. Also, game shops tend to support players gaming with physical materials purchased at their stores. They're much less likely to grant table space to people wanting to run a game they downloaded online.

Yeah, the lurid cover caused my wife not to want to try it out. I think the design choice was because Call of Cthulhu remains the BRP flagship product. Despite the Cthuloid illustrations, however, GORE is fully as generic as the Basic Role-playing softcover Chaosium published a few years ago. If anything, it reminds me uncommonly of the Mongoose Runequest SRD, sans sample animals. My first thought upon reading it was to draw up a Traveller-esque sci fi character akin to what I might have done with the old Worlds of Wonder Future World supplement.

Again, GORE may be a solution here, even though some folks might feel its use is somehow dishonest. That's why Dan Proctor wrote it, after all: to enable would-be D100 authors to breathe life into a dying (or at least moribund) game system. If Chaosium CAN'T publish BRP support materials swiftly enough to promote continued sales and if there is no official OGL, GORE supplements via Lulu may be the best way for authors to go, if keeping the RPG system alive is the goal. And despite solakss's protestations, he's actually a good game author based on what I've seen on these boards over the past 2 or so years. So are many of you. Our posts contain the makings of several good sci fi, fantasy, bestiary, and historical supplements. The products just need to be finished, edited, and made available to a (hopefully eager) gaming public. That's the miracle of the Internet revolution, publishing has become something an individual can do.