BRP Jorune

[vagabond]

Found a nice comparison to show I am somewhat on the right track:

MRQI SRD has Cave Trolls with STR/SIZ of 4d6+12 (min roll 16, avg roll 26, max roll 36, max race 41) and Dark Trolls with STR/SIZ of 3d6+9 (12/19-20/27/31).

Not bad when compared to my Corastin (2d6+18 -> 20/25/30) and Croid (2d6+20 -> 22/27/32). Maybe I'll adjust to 3d6+12 and 3d6+14 or such to give a greater range, and fall into place a bit better with Bronth having 3d6+11. Of course, this is for SIZ. STR for all three are not equal to the SIZ rolls ...

Ian

[Merak Gren]

Glad you got a breakthru.

I'll look forward to seeing your treatment of isho.

[ClawCarver]

Bronth roll 3d6+11 for an average of 21-22 (~375 lbs), max roll of 29 (~740 lbs), and a racial absolute max of 33 (~1000 lbs). Fits the given data from the material pretty well.

Corastin roll 2d6+18 for an average of 25 (~600 lbs), max roll of 30 (~800 lbs), and a racial absolute max of 33 (~1000 lbs).

Croid roll 2d6+20 for an average of 26 (~650 lbs), max roll of 31 (~850), and a racial absolute max of 34 (~1050 lbs).

Over all I think this works well, and coupled with higher STR rolls, all three get decent damage bonuses, with Corastin and Criod really packing a punch.

I've just caught up here. Nice to see some movement again. Blowing the dust off my BRP Jorune file and consulting the Creatures chapter therein, I find that I have:

Bronth: SIZ 3D6+12 (average 22/23, maximum roll 30)

Corastin: SIZ 3D6+14 (average 24/25, maximum roll 32)

Croid: SIZ 3D6+15 (average 25/26, maximum roll 33)

Not far removed from your own calculations, overall.

For what it's worth, I also have SIZes for Boccord (3D6+6), Muadra (2D6+2), and Thriddle (2D6+4).

Cheers,

Alan

[vagabond]

I've just caught up here. Nice to see some movement again. Blowing the dust off my BRP Jorune file and consulting the Creatures chapter therein, I find that I have:

Bronth: SIZ 3D6+12 (average 22/23, maximum roll 30)

Corastin: SIZ 3D6+14 (average 24/25, maximum roll 32)

Croid: SIZ 3D6+15 (average 25/26, maximum roll 33)

Not far removed from your own calculations, overall.

For what it's worth, I also have SIZes for Boccord (3D6+6), Muadra (2D6+2), and Thriddle (2D6+4).

Cheers,

Alan

Not too shabby. And, I still might wiggle some.

FWIW, Corastin presently sit at 3d6+12 and Croid at 3d6+14. More reading indicates that indeed Bronth are acutally heavier/bulkier than Corastin overall, that Corastin frames, even for 10+ ft tall, are thinner.

I think my numbers for Boccord, Muadra and Thriddle are close as well. I'll post them tonight.

Had a nice exchange with Joe Coleman today. We'll see what happens ...

Ian

[vagabond]

OK, looking at what I have so far:

Boccord 2d6+10

Muadra 2d6+2

I don't have a concrete roll for Thriddle yet - somewhere between 2d6+2 and 2d6+4. While shorter and weaker than Muadra, they are heavier. Since I am using SIZ primarily to represent mass and secondarily height - mass will be the main factor, and then one can choose a height based upon a range using the SIZ chart and moving up or down a number of rows to find an adequate height.

Ian

[Merak Gren]

OK, looking at what I have so far:

Boccord 2d6+10

Muadra 2d6+2

I don't have a concrete roll for Thriddle yet - somewhere between 2d6+2 and 2d6+4. While shorter and weaker than Muadra, they are heavier. Since I am using SIZ primarily to represent mass and secondarily height - mass will be the main factor, and then one can choose a height based upon a range using the SIZ chart and moving up or down a number of rows to find an adequate height.

Ian

Ha. I think I found a solution to your Thriddle dilema. 2D6+3

[mark alexander]

I thought the world had forgotten about Skyrealms of Jorune. I remember buying it because I liked the setting and then only playing it once because the system is so complicated. I've never played any game which runs as easily as Call of Cthulhu, which is why I'm so pleased that the BRP rules have been published as a generic system. I'm also amazed by all the fantastic settings. It's the way things should have been 20 years ago. One great rules system, played in various settings. I just wish British games shops would stock more of the BRP books.

[Merak Gren]

I thought the world had forgotten about Skyrealms of Jorune. I remember buying it because I liked the setting and then only playing it once because the system is so complicated. I've never played any game which runs as easily as Call of Cthulhu, which is why I'm so pleased that the BRP rules have been published as a generic system. I'm also amazed by all the fantastic settings. It's the way things should have been 20 years ago. One great rules system, played in various settings. I just wish British games shops would stock more of the BRP books.

I agree that Jorune is 'alien' enough for the players to get into without the need to add the complex system. Familiarity with the rules will certainly help.

Unfortunately, rather than BRP, it was D20 who went OGL and spawned a plethora of games using the same underlysing system. That imploded with disastrous effects. The BRP rennaisance apperas to be of much better quality.

[vagabond]

Ha. I think I found a solution to your Thriddle dilema. 2D6+3

Not far from my notes and why I supplied a range in the first place ...

Need to think about it a bit more ...

At the moment, tweaking the "professions" to trim the skill offerings in each one and balance them out some. In Jorune, you "buy" a "profession", so things balance out. However, it isn't too bad since most of the Jorune ones have analogies in the BRP books.

Ian

[vagabond]

Hey all,

Just wanted to let you know that while work has slowed to a standstill, all is not forgotten. I recently had an "Oh, wow!" moment with respect to Isho, and wanted to bounce some ideas off of Andrew Leker. With the holidays approaching, and a week plus vacation, coupled with my littlest one finally starting to develop some consistent nap and sleep patterns, I hope to have a nice burst of productivity shortly.

Ian

[Merak Gren]

Thanks for the update. We've not forgotten but understand how life gets in the way.

Would love to hear ab out Isho.

[vagabond]

An old post on the Jorune Yahoo group by Joe Coleman got me thinking ...

At one point, there were apparently some discussions surrounding an official GURPS Jorune (from what I gather). Steve Jackson was of the mind that Isho would be like a magic pool in GURPS. Andrew did not like that idea.

So, I wondered what Andrew wanted Isho to actually be? In the rules, it certainly comes across Isho being a pool of points (or, Isho being a characteristic that can yield a pool of points), but there must be something more to it than just that. Thinking about it more, this is what I came up with.

Isho as a stat determines how much Isho one can channel from the surrounding environment. It isn't stored internally as a pool, but it is very dynamically absorbed, processed, and redirected. This explains why during Isho storms Isho points fluctuate, and why if you are in an Isho dead area or an area with little Isho, you have very little in the way of Isho resources to pull from. It also explains why Muadra and others need to kern during heavy storms (their bodies absorb/channel more Isho than it can naturally handle). It also gives us a good way to explain how Ramian are affected by Shal (Shal builds up inside their bodies as opposed to how the other colors or how in other creatures Isho passes through more or less). This also explains why Ramian (and, perhaps by extension, Lamorri and other Lamorri genetically related creatures) do not have normal Isho signatures - signatures are created when Isho passes through a body and how it reacts, but with Ramian, Shal enters but does not come out, which changes how the signatures are created). And, perhaps, this explains Chiveer.

The challenge is - how do I properly represent this mechanic? It does bring me back to Dyshas should not have independent skills but rather successful weaving should be based upon Moon skills. And, it does give me some good leads on dealing with the various Isho skills as well, and explain what some races/creatures are more adept with Isho. But, I still need to really wrangle through it.

Ian

[Merak Gren]

Interesting. I have to admit until a recent post by Joe on FB about Isho weather, I also saw it as a pool. Now I see it as a more dynamic element and you have explained it very well. I have two analogies at the moment although they are not very good.

1. Blowing Smoke Rings. (Been reading LotR again, so ispired by Gandalf). For Shantha having isho is like having air to breathe. Death is the 'isholess' state. So for them, Isho is always flowing in and out of them, and they have big lungs. When they weave a dysha, its like blowing a smoke ring. Effortless if you know what you are doing. In the same way air gives shape to the smoke ring, isho (and color) gives shape to a dysha.

2. Sailing ships. Here, Isho is the size, type and quantity of your sails. Shantha are ships of the line with an ability to make most use of Isho weather. Maudra a cogs. Capable but slow and not really suited to great voyages.

I haven't really thought about how it would affect other races.

[vagabond]

There are some nifty thoughts that follow on as well.

If we take Thivin as a Ramian offshoot (using my parallel theory Thivin are to Ramian as Muadra are to Humans), the Thivin's musical acuity when playing the crystal music rods is accomplished by channeling Isho from their environment, through them, and out of the rods. And, based on some thoughts from the old Yahoo group, the Thivin's better Isho "processing" ability might explain their faster healing (could be Launtra), and maybe even how they are able to out haggle most races (hmm, could be Shal).

[vagabond]

Sometimes, obvious answers elude us because we just don't even consider them. And, sometimes, when trying to work on some sort of mechanics to handle something, we ignore rules that already exist and fit quite nicely.

I think dyhsa casting will be handled using the complimentary skill rules - roll against the dysha's primary color, using the caster's worst moon skill as a complimentary skill. Dyshas will also have difficulties associated based upon the number of colors required and possibly the minimum skill levels required. Specialization in one or two moons is possible, which will affect difficulty.

This also works out for Shantha and other native Jorune life - they may get to shift difficulties down one level to represent their native ability.

Need to hash out the details, but I think I am on the right track.

[Merak Gren]

Sometimes, obvious answers elude us because we just don't even consider them. And, sometimes, when trying to work on some sort of mechanics to handle something, we ignore rules that already exist and fit quite nicely.

I think dyhsa casting will be handled using the complimentary skill rules - roll against the dysha's primary color, using the caster's worst moon skill as a complimentary skill. Dyshas will also have difficulties associated based upon the number of colors required and possibly the minimum skill levels required. Specialization in one or two moons is possible, which will affect difficulty.

This also works out for Shantha and other native Jorune life - they may get to shift difficulties down one level to represent their native ability.

Need to hash out the details, but I think I am on the right track.

Treading into RQ3 Sorcery territory? Might be worth dusting off Sandy's Sorcery Rules to see if they would work for dysha weaving and interference.

In principle, I think it may work; the trick is getting a playable set of rules.

[rpgstarwizard]

In our Nephilim Game we used the elements alot. Had pools of "fire" air etc, and ley lines etc. The elemental "pow" is the max a being can channel at the time, they can wait some time to hold onto the enrgy to boost a "spell", but just throwing energy around they could only go as high as what was in the stream etc. We also used a pseudoastrological system based on days, months and times etc. where the moon was as compare to the sun etc. On jorune with the moons etc the idea is that at certain times ceratin dyshas would be/could be more powerful etc as well as using what is in the stream. Looks complicated on paper but worked well for us. Might help

[vagabond]

In our Nephilim Game we used the elements alot. Had pools of "fire" air etc, and ley lines etc. The elemental "pow" is the max a being can channel at the time, they can wait some time to hold onto the enrgy to boost a "spell", but just throwing energy around they could only go as high as what was in the stream etc. We also used a pseudoastrological system based on days, months and times etc. where the moon was as compare to the sun etc. On jorune with the moons etc the idea is that at certain times ceratin dyshas would be/could be more powerful etc as well as using what is in the stream. Looks complicated on paper but worked well for us. Might help

Was this standard Nephilim, or home brewed stuff your group came up with. It sure sounds interesting ...

Ian

[vagabond]

Was this standard Nephilim, or home brewed stuff your group came up with. It sure sounds interesting ...

Ian

Nevermind - I dug out my Nephilim core and Liber Ka. Could come in quite handy, I cannot believe I hadn't thought of it before (or - perhaps I did and forgot).

Ian

[vagabond]

Sometimes, obvious answers elude us because we just don't even consider them. And, sometimes, when trying to work on some sort of mechanics to handle something, we ignore rules that already exist and fit quite nicely.

I think dyhsa casting will be handled using the complimentary skill rules - roll against the dysha's primary color, using the caster's worst moon skill as a complimentary skill. Dyshas will also have difficulties associated based upon the number of colors required and possibly the minimum skill levels required. Specialization in one or two moons is possible, which will affect difficulty.

This also works out for Shantha and other native Jorune life - they may get to shift difficulties down one level to represent their native ability.

Need to hash out the details, but I think I am on the right track.

More thoughts occurred to me last night - to expound on this and thinking of Nephilim some:

Sudden inspiration last night while doing dishes ... I think I know how I want to handle Isho. Rough idea right now, but I think it will fly. Isho stat not only determines how much Isho a body can store (modified by race and Isho weather), but also how much Isho a body can channel per round (again, modified by race and weather). In other words, Isho stat will determine how much Isho per round someone can pull into a weave or store in their body. That way, small quick dyshas can be cast in a single round, but more complex weaves might take more than one round to form. No roll is necessary unless something interferes during the weave. Also, while Shantha and native Jorune life will have good modifiers for both, other races may be able to draw slowly but store more or vice versa. For Muadra, they will be able to draw quickly (not as quick a sShantha), but store less proportionate amounts, thus they are highly susceptible to Isho storms and must kern (they draw more in than they can contain).

I know this is somewhat of a repeat of earlier musings, but I think I have it really down in my mind and notes. Just need to play with the racial and weather modifiers some.

Ian

[RuneQuester]

Did Andre Leker ever give you approval to post your conversion stuff online? Any recent updates to this project?

[vagabond]

Did Andre Leker ever give you approval to post your conversion stuff online? Any recent updates to this project?

Just a lot of typing a dev work still. I have a couple of weeks off coming up, so I hope to polish/finish up core chargen for most races, professions, and really get Isho/dyshas to where I feel things set well. Combat will be direct from RQ6 with some new weapons and armor. Still playing with Sis-nuan martial arts. And, I hope to get the bestairy well under way. Also, I started framing an introductory type of adventure that can also be tied into a future campaign that I have loosely developed. Finally, I will work on wound level type combat as an option and reworking some setting material to fit things together in a way that seems to make sense to me (and will be noted as not canon).

Real life has really gotten a hold of me lately, but I hope to get some relief by February when some work projects settle in place.

As far as official blessings from Andrew, well, we had some tentative OK in place with an earlier attempt using a different system. We will revisit things when we have something to show.

Ian

[vagabond]

I should have an update on things some time next week. I have been fiddling with dyshas and Isho, and so far, I like the way things are working out ...

Ian

[Matt]

Wow...I haven't thought about Skyrealms of Jorune since the '80s when there were ads in Dragon. Who owns the rights now? Is this a licensed version you're working on?

You really need to get the original artist to do any drawings!

[vagabond]

Wow...I haven't thought about Skyrealms of Jorune since the '80s when there were ads in Dragon. Who owns the rights now? Is this a licensed version you're working on?

You really need to get the original artist to do any drawings!

The rights are still owned by the original crew. Andrew does not seem to interested in blocking fan stuff as long as it is not for profit. My partner in crime and I have had some contact with him on and off. And, while I do have permission from Miles to use his originals (again, as long as not for profit) as long as proper credit is given, my partner in crime is going to provide new, original artwork.

However, I need to work out putting some playtest material up, with or without art, and update the playtest material as things settle.

And I just noticed you are in Lemon Grove - excellent ... I live in La Mesa.

Ian