Search the Community

About the Cradle of Heroes The Cradle of Heroes is a fan created gaming tool that I developed to meet my needs as a GM and player. It's designed so that anyone can create and manage characters and creatures and to simplify the character creation process. Tutorial videos are available on my YouTube channel. The Cradle is also about community and I hope it can grow to become an informal marketplace for NPCs, creatures and ideas for Runequest. Characters can also be added to the open roster by selecting the "Open" check-box when you are creating or editing the character. They can then be coped and modified by other users, making their lives easier and letting them take advantage of your work and creativity. As more users share content in this way, it becomes easier for new and more experienced players to quickly and easily build high quality character for their Runequest games. I'm looking forward to seeing what you do with the app. I've created a Trello board to help manage feedback and updates. Please note that this iteration of the app is still in BETA phase. There will be bugs and while I'll make every effort to keep and persist all user-generated content, it may not always be possible. If anyone wants to help make the app better, the code is up on GitHub. Any suggestions or improvements (especially to front-end JS) are very welcome. --- ToferC I put together a few tutorial videos on how to sign in and use theRunequest Character App effectively. Intro: https://youtu.be/Lbf7bqYl9tM Finding Characters: https://youtu.be/DpvZ3SkuQgg Creating Characters: https://youtu.be/ARAqgnr3J5U Editing & Updating Characters: https://youtu.be/ReEevV8_d5s Adding Traits & Magic: https://youtu.be/7faq5XMcAz0 Copying Open Characters & Duplicating Content: https://youtu.be/pgy1SdlkTrU Intro to Homelands, Occupations & Cults: https://youtu.be/-pnGjE_zIJo NEW: Adding NPCs and creatures: Cheers! C

This article takes a look at an aspect of each Adventurer's makeup which is rarely used, except in dire circumstances as an "extra save roll" when the resistance skills have failed, and before the player uses up a Luck Point to make the problem go away. This article is about Passions. Core Rulebook Mythras, page 282, has this to say about Passions. Bolded parts highlighted by me. Throughout all kinds of fiction, and especially in fantasy, passion drives the plot. The desire to save the world from the evil dark lord; to pursue and gain power; to quest for glory and lost wisdom; to defend, find or avenge love. The variations are limitless and the Passions system is capable of handling them all. Every individual is driven by some sort of passion. Passions both inform and cloud choices. The heart governs the head, and rational thinking is replaced by that overwhelming compulsion a true passion brings. There is nothing we will not do to save our loved ones. Our loyalty to leader or country drives us to selfless acts. Passions impel us, and in Mythras the Passions mechanics can help drive an entire campaign. Passionate Themes How and where could Games Masters and Players implement Passions in a Mythras game? - Passions can drive an individual's choices. An Adventurer who has a loved one back home, and a Passion to love that person, will move mountains to see that person again at the end of the adventure. Another Adventurer, for instance a Fiorese from the time of the Bragoni Occupation, might find their Passion clouding their decisions, such as the Adventurer being forced to rescue a hated Bragoni from the people who had conquered his beloved city of Fioreste (which would be renamed Fioracitta). - An adventure can be themed about a single Passion. An Adventurer could learn, at the conclusion of a story, that their beloved father, who'd died when the Adventurer was young (during a Background Event), had in face been murdered: his death had been ordered, and it had been covered up to look like an accidental death. The Adventurer might find themselves with a new Passion, Identify (My Father's Killers) or Avenge (My Father's Killers) - and this could lead them into an adventure further down the line when the Adventurer learns that a fugitive from the law has fled the city, and that the fugitive can identify who had arranged for the death of the Adventurer's father. The Adventurer, driven by this Passion, could argue with their Ally that the Adventurer should go with the posse comitatus, over the express wish of the Ally that the Adventurer keep their nose out of this. The Adventurer could be torn by the need to keep the fugitive alive until the Adventurer can extract what they need to know. This could lead to conflict with a Patrol member (possibly even the Ally) who wants to bring the fugitive home dead, rather than alive. - Passionate Character. What if the Adventurer's Passions were all greater than their highest skills? What if they did what they did out of their Passion of Love, rated at 103%, 30% more than their Art or Craft skills, or Unarmed, or any of their Combat Styles? An Adventurer might only have mediocre levels of characteristics and skills, but their Passion might drive them to win at all costs, whether that Passion be to Love (a recurring loved one) or Prove (aliens exist) or Identify (whoever abducted my sister). Say hello, Fox Mulder. - Augmentation. Passion can boost even the most mundane skill check. It might make all the difference if an Adventurer's 45% Athletics check were boosted, in a chase, by the driving need to catch up to the fleeing quarry in order to beat the living daylights out of them for what they just tried to do to the Adventurer's sister. Passionate Settings What is it about a Passion that can transform what sounds like a mundane setting into a high-stakes story that keeps the players on the edge of their seat? How can a Passion transform a game from a simple exercise in number-crunching into a legendary quest, or a story of deeds of valour worthy of song? Let's look at some examples of popular media settings themed around Passions. Star Trek is driven by the need "to explore strange new worlds. To seek new life and new civilisations. To boldly go where no-one has gone before." Babylon 5 was "our last, best hope for peace," until it failed in the year of the Shadow War, where it became "our last, best hope ... for victory." Doctor Who is driven by the need for compassion and urgency - "Never be cruel. Never be cowardly." "Hate is always foolish, and love is always wise." "Always try to be nice, but never fail to be kind." "Just show up, and don't be horrible." No, wait - that's Peter Capaldi's advice, not The Doctor's. Ignore the bit about the pears. Pears are great. When other people are eating them. Farscape's Passions, too, changed. In the beginning, the monologue was:- Help me. Listen, please. Is there anybody out there who can here me? I'm being hunted by an insane military commander. Doing everything I can. I'm just looking for a way home. However, from the third season on, the monologue had changed, revealing the new underlying Passions of the show:- If you can hear me Beware If I make it back Will they follow? If I open the door Are you ready? Earth is unprepared Helpless For the nightmares I've seen Or should I stay Protect my home Not show them You exist But then you'll never know The wonders I've seen Driven by so many needs: the need to go home; the need to stay with his partner and found family; the need to help his partner and friends; the need to survive a coming war; the need to keep Earth safe; even the need to get a terrifying secret out of his head. No wonder the protagonist seemed to be more than a little mad, in the end - all those Passions kept tearing him apart. Impassioned Play A Passion can define an Adventurer more than their highest skills. An Adventurer with, say, Love as their Passion can become renowned as a Great Lover for their deep Passion for another - even if they could have higher renown as a Great Warrior (with a really high Combat Style) or a Great Magician (with Invocation and Shaping both over 100%). Even if the Passion were only hovering around 50%, that Passion could be what defines the Adventurer, simply because more of their adventures are themed around that Passion than any of their other qualities, skills, or resources. A Great Lover could be driven by the need to experience and share that Love Passion, possibly in a number of people's bedchambers or only in the eyes and heart of one. An Adventurer whose core Passion was Fear (Enemy) could be forced to confront and overcome that terrible Fear in all kinds of situations, to the point where they acquire a new Passion of Bravery. Epic Ingredient Passions bring an epic element to a setting, campaign, and individual stories. A scenario set in some dungeon disconnected from the world, little more than an exercise in crunching numbers, can never match a scenario with an attached Passion such as Avenge (My Father's Killer). A Passion can lead to a major showdown with the lead antagonist, not to simply reduce the enemy to zero Hit Points or to ensure a victory condition and end the scenario, but to satisfy a driving need to defeat this particular foe, to avenge a loved one, or to overcome a lifelong fear of this enemy which has plagued the protagonist for most of their life. In other words, victory can mean something crucial for the Adventurers. It can be personal. And it can be epic. Final Thoughts From The Core Rulebook The Core Rulebook has this to say about Passions. Games Masters can use Passions in a variety of ways, designing entire scenarios around the feelings that a character holds for a particular subject or antagonist. These can be very fulfilling for players, especially when they begin to vicariously experience the emotions gripping their characters. This is a lesson for every Games Master and Player. By including Passions which are close to the Passions the Players have, the Games Master can create scenarios which give the Players as much of a sense of fulfilment as their Adventurers would feel. Passions, therefore, make their exploits in the game world memorable and worthy of long discussion - because even if the Adventurers' Passions are only as real as the Adventurers are, the Passions experienced by the Players are real. And that includes the Passion Care For (The Adventurers).

What rewards are you handing out to your player characters? Have you given a thought that maybe "gold coins, drop treasure, and magic items" might not be enough for your player characters? Rewards are an incentive for players to continue playing, to see the session, scenario, or campaign through to its end. Games Masters have to balance the quantity of the rewards with their quality, and also their variety and suitability for the players as much as for the characters. Short scenarios can be rewarded with small, immediately-gratifying rewards such as coins and drop treasure; but Games Masters may seek out more ephemeral, yet more lasting, rewards for longer stories, as well as interim rewards throughout a campaign to keep the players' interest, or to offset temporary losses sustained in the course of play. Here are some of the kinds of rewards which Games Masters can offer to player characters. These all have positive effects and drawbacks. Money Coin is the most obvious - but give a thought to the nature of cash in your setting. Metal coins are not the only form of currency - currency can take the form of anything from compressed salt coins to cages full of chickens, to sacks of grain or salt, to promissory notes. Give at least some thought to the local economy and what the locals consider to be a fungible currency. Art Artworks are a larger and bulkier reward than bags of coins. Some art can be worth millions of coins: others can be virtually worthless. A gold ring and a massive marble statue might both be worth the exact same price on their respective markets - but one cannot exactly slip the statue into one's pocket (unless the setting has access to the Shrink sorcery spell). Other than the knowledge that artworks are a lot more of a risky sell than bullion coins, the process of gaining wealth apply to artworks from jewellery to paintings to statuary. Connections A new Connection can be a marvellous tool for the Games Master. Connections can be the catalyst that sends the characters into an adventure. Connections can also become a reward when they become a part of the characters' lives during the course of a campaign - whether as a healer, a majordomo of the characters' home, a savvy Contact with her ear to the streets, or "the guy who knows a guy" who provides the inrroductions to rich patrons, Connections are a valuable asset to everybody. Property Like cash and art, but this is more solid and much more expensive. Having real estate changes a character. For one thing, the character now belongs to the "landed classes," and people pay them more respects. For another, ad owners of a deed to some property, that household can provide a steady source of income if properly managed. An estate run by a majordomo is much more likely to be a source of positive profits, particularly if that majordomo is as competent as they are loyal. Pets Having a pet also changes a character, whether they are a Besti who acquires a hunting hound as a puppy and has to train it to hunt with him, or a magician who acquires an animal familiar. The character has an animal companion to look after. Company Sometimes, a significant other turns up in a character's life - a friend, a family member, a lover, a loved one. They may not be Allies or Contacts - but, like pets, they give the character reason to want to come home. Mundane Treasures Coin can only go so far. Artworks are bulky. Sometimes, a character can be allowed to receive material treasures such as books, new weapons, armour that fits, decent shoes, and so on. Magical Treasures Mythras is geared more towards personal ability than magic items. Actual magic items are rare in Mythras. The Enchant sorcery spell is designed to create magic items which are temporary: the enchanter creates it to serve some purpose, usually to allow them to cast a powerful sorcery spell very quickly, and items tend to be unwoven after their purpose is served just to allow the enchanter to get their Magic Points capacity back. This makes magical treasures the most ephemeral and fleeting of all the reward types, because inevitably they are only a part of the reward - a tool by which means the character can complete a task and gain access to more tangible rewards, such as the rewards above. Answers Some characters are brought into the game world asking questions: Who murdered my father? Why did my mother leave when I was nine? Where is my brother, missing for two years? What destroyed my entire village while I was away up in magic school in the mountains? Who is the out-of-towner who visits my mother every year on my birthday? Their game's story can be centered around them answering those deep-seated questions. Either they can receive full answers, in which case they'd better come up with new questions, or their campaign story arc can be brought to an end if all of their questions are answered, allowing the player to retire them out of the game. Achievements Some characters can bring with them, not so much unresolved questions, but unresolved aspirations - to topple the king, to rise to the top of a criminal empire, to become the world's greatest artist / scientist / mage / general, or whatever. They want something. Their character has a definite goal. Well, give it to them, even if it takes them out of the game. And sometimes, remember Seneca's advice - "You can't always get what you want; but if you try, sometimes you'll find you get what you need." Resolution Some characters have unresolved issues - to seek revenge on their parents' killer, or to stop an Enemy from ruining everybody's lives, including their own. The reward here is that the character does get to do something which makes a difference - justice for one's parents (so they don't have to go out at night and fight criminals in their pyjamas any more), or stopping a runaway enemy before they inflict irreparable damage. Again, if they can achieve resolution, they can either develop new unresolved issues to resolve or, for one-shots or short single adventures, they can drop out of the game at that point. Status / Recognition / Reputation Status can mean so much in campaign play. Characters' status may or may not be listed as a number, but the character can accomplish a lot more than before. Their earned status can open doors for them, including bringing in a better (read: wealthier) class of Patron. A campaign can revolve around the characters trying to get as much pull as possible back home. Reputations can also be made, including bad reputations cleared, through one's actions during the adventure. Advancement Similar to status, if a character is involved in a brotherhood, guild, church, or order, their reward can take the form of advancement in rank, particularly if the adventure they just completed involved them defeating an enemy of the group which gives them shelter and an identity. Evolution Magic-oriented characters can receive a magical reward. More than just learnin new spells, a magician's evolution takes the form of improvement in their magical skills, and the increasing power and responsibilities which come from increasing their Folk Magic, or Invocation and Shaping, or Meditation and Mysticism, or Binding and Trance. Apotheosis Theists and animists can, likewise, develop their relationship with their favourite spirits or deities, through increases in Devotion and Exhort, or through divine Gifts. Tragic Ending The ultimate reward, literally, is for the character not to make it back home alive at all. There can be something ennobling and uplifting, even in a bittersweet way, for a character to give their absolute all, and to lay down their lives to save others and to complete the task with a resounding success. Everybody else's happily ever after, bought and paid for by the character whose ever after is in PC heaven. To go back to Apotheosis, this would be the ultimate in Apotheosis for a theist or animist character, as their soul ascends to its final reward in a blaze of light, or the ghostly figure of the animist appears before the rest of the party, thanking them before they open a portal and walk through it into a visible portion of the spirit realm. In the end, there are many different ways to bring characters decent rewards for their efforts. Some of these are more suited for short game play, others better suited for campaign play and story arcs - but in the end, the most important reward is to the players. A Memorable Game This reward does not benefit the characters in the least bit. The reward is to the players. A Games Master can think long and hard about the best way to reward each character - but the final reward is to the players, who can take home cherished memories of memorable settings, memorable challenges, memorable colleagues, memorable team play, memorable events, and stories about what their characters did, as well as praise for the Games Master whose games can be unforgettable.

What t.v., movie, comic book characters, do you want BRP stats for? I am thinking we should all list what we want to see! We can all share suggestions, or sources or our own interpretation for character stats. if you know of stats for such creature please state the book the stats are in. creature stats i would like to see: The ID monster from Forbidden Planet. Robby the Robot from Forbidden Planet. Dr Who characters, and villians.

We all know that good Call of Cthulhu character miniatures are hard to come by. Are there any good sources for cardstock character?? I have a ton of extra counter-bases from Eldritch horror and similar games that would perfect stands for stand-ups. I'm also considering using the character counters from Arkham and Eldritch games.

During the playtest of Basic Roleplaying, my group and I converted tons of settings and characters to see how the system held up. While many were uploaded here years ago, most have disappeared. I thought my own copies had been lost to the corrupted hard drives of time, but some have recently be discovered on an old flash drive. None of these were actually intended to be shared outside my group, and many were nothing more then an impulse conversion, an experiment so to speak. Here's hoping they will be of interest to someone out there. I will be using this thread to link to them in the Downloads section. The first is an adaption of John Carter of Mars roughly after the events of book three. Rod

My players like to use pregens, so I always struggle whether I should, as a keeper, roll the stats as usual for pregen characters or use the point-buy method in order to sculpt them a little more. I'm curious how other keepers handle this.