BRP Talislanta?

[Ars Mysteriorum]

I put a question mark there because my main question is: Is it possible?

It has an onslaught of over 60 playable races and pays very little attention to any notion of balance. A Thrall Warrior is already an incredibly powerful fighter, but is incredibly puny compared to a Kharakhan Giant. Both the Thrall Warrior and the Kharakhan Giant are playable archetypes. I tried converting the setting to Savage Worlds and found, much to my disappointment, that such a balance oriented game could not support these wildly varying races.

So I place my hopes in BRP. Is anyone else here familiar with Talislanta? I really think the system would lend itself well to to Talislanta's fantastic setting, but I hold no illusions to how much work it would take to convert Talislanta (it will most definitely take a lot), and so before undertaking such a task I wanted to hear the opinions of others on this board.

And so I reiterate:

Do you think it's possible to convert 4th Edition Talislanta to BRP?

[Atgxtg]

Yes, I think it is possible, but some things would be different.

For starters you would need to covert Taslanta stats into BRP stats. You can probably work out a relationship too. So a +0 in Taslanta might be a 10 in BRP, and a +4 might be an 18 (I'ds be awhile since I looks as Taslanta, so I don't remeber what the "human" range is for stats).

For different races you could simply use the D&D method and just apply the racial mods to be basic BRP 3d6 rolls. Or, if you want a more traditional BRP approach, figure out new stat ranges centered around the Taslanta stats.

I think the biggest obstacle would be that RQ/BRP tracks a lot of info that Taslanta doesn't, so you would be forced to fill in some gaps.

[drohem]

Heck ya! I love the Talislanta system(s) and setting. It's totally possible. If it can be pigeon-holed into d20, then any system conversion is possible.

I think it is entirely possible both for BRP and RQ3 conversions.

I love to toss around ideas on converting Talislanta to BRP or RQ3. :thumb:

[Trifletraxor]

Balance btw the races is not really needed to have a balanced game. Either let "weaker" races start with more experience at char-gen, or don't allow people to create characters of the stronger races until the group is experienced, and a replacement is needed.

SGL.

[Ars Mysteriorum]

Some good ideas all around. Indeed, drohem, I was hopeing there would be some idea pitching. However, until I get the BRP core I won't be able to know what changes will be necessary. I have never played Runequest and only have cursory knowledge of even the setting. I'm afraid I won't be much help until I get that book.

And, ugh! Speak not of the d20 Talislanta. Ick. Sorry if there are any fans here, but d20 and Talislanta have little properly to do with one another in my opinion.

Trifletraxor, thank you for your advice. I agree with your statement completely. For those interested in balance, those methods would work rather well. However, as I studied more gaming systems I grew to dislike balance in all its forms and now find it wholely unnecessary. I fully understand and respect why many people prefer balance, but I simply don't share the same perceptions.

That doesn't mean I don't appreciate your advice. I actually do quite a lot. Many players are more acclimated to balanced games and that's a fine way of getting what I want while giving the players what they want.

[drohem]

hehehe...I actually have no problem with the d20 System or the d20 Talislanta book; it is a good starting point, but there is much work for a GM to do to flesh it out properly.

I don't necessarily need to have statistical balance between races as well.

Well, we could start tossing around ideas about stat, occupation, and racial conversions.

[badcat]

It is more than possible, I have done a full conversion, of Talislanta 3rd edition, about 12 years ago. And ran it for a while.

The main advice I would give is to not try to match the archetype descriptions exactly, eyeball the stats, and create skill packages. For example, a Thrall and a Kharakhan giant would both be very strong, the giant much stronger (and bigger of course), but the Thrall would be faster. Neither one would have a particularly high INT, but the Thrall would be conversant in combat skills other than weapon skills, such as Dodge, Tactics, Artillery, Ambush, Strategy, etc. in spite of that. The main advantage of the giant would be tremendous damage dealing ability, esp. in BRP.

Anyway, just think about the implications of the racial descriptions and create the stats and so forth, then tack on professions/skills/etc. Try to use the archetypes as guides only. You will find that it is pretty easy to capture the Talislanta 'feel' with BRP. Oh, the BRP ruleset I used was Stormbringer 1...I think it worked partly because that particular ruleset is very simple and straightforward. I don't think one of the more involved BRP rulesets would work as well (RQ3, for instance). The new rulebook will probably be fine, as my impression is that you can pick and choose what rules components you want.

Have fun, and rest assured that BRP is a very good choice for Tal.

[RMS]

I think it'd be very easy to convert Tal4 character templates into BRP templates. Skills are 5%xTal4 Skill level + standard adjustment. Some stats would convert different than others, so I don't think a universal rule would work across the board. Some stats would fold into BRP base skills (Combat, Perception, etc.). I would actually be tempted to keep all the Tal4 stats and simply build a new set of BRP skill category modifiers using those. Maybe I'll give it a shot over Christmas as a basic exercise...

I would say that the Tal4 game system is one of the few that I've read that I like as much, or almost as much, as BRP. I haven't run it and ironically don't find Talislanta to be that exciting, but the system should work very much like the lighter end of BRP. I like the freeform magic system very much.

[Atgxtg]

Is there an SRD for Tal4?

[drohem]

Is there an SRD for Tal4?

There is no SRD, but you can download a 50 page sampler of Tal4 at talislanta.com.

[Atgxtg]

There is no SRD, but you can download a 50 page sampler of Tal4 at talislanta.com.

I suppose I could if the site would come up. Oh, and it looks like Tal5 is out.

I haven't looked at Talislanta in 18 years, I supposed there have been some changes...

[drohem]

Yes, it seems the site is down currently.

Tal4 was a large change from 1-3 editions. Combat Ratings and Magic Ratings are no longer based upon an attribute formula; they now are a function of the racial archtype. The removed random damage, and now weapoins do a fixed amount of damage. The biggest change was the magic system. The went to a freeform system where the player creates his own spells; rather than having exhaustive lists of spells like D&D and earlier editions.

I have mixed feelings about the 5th edition. There really isn't anything new execpt for the path system. It didn't sparkle for me. It's like career paths or loose class templates. The biggest problem I have with the 5th edition is that they broke it up into Player's and Game Master's Guides when it wasn't necessary. Also, the Game Master's Guide was so poorly edited that the spelling and grammar errors seriously detract from reading it with any enjoyment. The Player's Guide and GM's Guide are each $40, and not worth it for a re-hash of previous material littered with spelling and editing mistakes.

/rantoff

sorry:o

[Atgxtg]

You don't have to apologize to me. I never had a very high opinion of Taslantia as a system, anyway. Sort of like, "Hey, I got a pick-a-path book that uses this."

It was the setting (and art) that gave it some merit. But then, since people are talking about running it with BRP rules, I take it that the game mechanics weren't what people are excited about, anyway.

[drohem]

I have always enjoyed the mechanics, and found them innovative. The Omni System, a universal RPG by Morrigan Press, is based off the Tal4 rules. The have printed several RPGs based upon the Omni System. They re-created the Atlantean Trilogy by Bard Games with the Omni System rules. It's called Atlantis: The Second Age.

I agree with you about the setting and artwork.

Morrigan Press -Games

[Atgxtg]

I have always enjoyed the mechanics, and found them innovative. The Omni System, a universal RPG by Morrigan Press, is based off the Tal4 rules. The have printed several RPGs based upon the Omni System. They re-created the Atlantean Trilogy by Bard Games with the Omni System rules. It's called Atlantis: The Second Age.

I agree with you about the setting and artwork.

Morrigan Press -Games

Ah, I've seen the Omni system. I have some other RPG that uses it. I think it was a medieval RPG.

What I was referring to was the STR+2, AGL +1 etc type characters. I recall it being very simple and character creation was literally picking one of the pre-written race & class writeups. Later I heard that they finally separated them so you could pick one from column A and one from column B to mix and match.

[weasel fierce]

well, runequest never concerned itself much with balance between races. In most games, you're mechanically better off playing a troll than a human. Or a griffon, as the RQ2 box advertises

So I think you should be fine

[drohem]

Well, it's an archtype system with room for customization at character creation. Tal4 greatly expanded character customization at creation. I rather liked the approach to attributes. Basically, the average Attribute level is zero, with the non-super levels in the -5 to +5 range.

[drohem]

It looks like the Talislanta website is back up.

T A L I S L A N T A - Official Website

[Atgxtg]

Well, it's an archtype system with room for customization at character creation. Tal4 greatly expanded character customization at creation. I rather liked the approach to attributes. Basically, the average Attribute level is zero, with the non-super levels in the -5 to +5 range.

I don't mind the baseline zero idea. Several other RPGs do that, and I'm rather fond of it. I've even done that with a couple of homebrew systems. Since most RPGs use the modifiers instead of the stat it makes a lot of sense, too.

But the system in the sampler has a LOT more to it than the system I remember. What I recall was basically pick your character add a couple of points and go.

It looks like the Talislanta website is back up.

Somewhat. SOme pages are up, including the downloads, but others are iffy.

Oh, and it was/is High Medieval where I saw the omni system before.

[drohem]

Yeah, in the 1st-3rd editions, the customization at character creation was limited. They greatly expanded this in the 4th edition. Tal4 is an elegant system.

[RMS]

I don't mind the baseline zero idea. Several other RPGs do that, and I'm rather fond of it. I've even done that with a couple of homebrew systems. Since most RPGs use the modifiers instead of the stat it makes a lot of sense, too.

But the system in the sampler has a LOT more to it than the system I remember. What I recall was basically pick your character add a couple of points and go.

That's how Tal4 worked. There was a recent thread over on rpg.net (last couple of days) and the concensus there was that Tal4 is superior overall to Tal5. Apparently, Tal5 tried to put a character creation system in but it has problems. Tal4 is pick your archtype, add/subtract some points, and play.

Based on that and my reading of it, I'd recommend looking for a used copy of Tal4 rather than purchasing Tal5. If you like the world already, I'd push it even harder. The world has a lot of well layed out information in the book. The system is very slick and very well put together. If BRP is as well written and editted as Tal4, I'll be happy.

Oh, and it was/is High Medieval where I saw the omni system before.

From what I've read, Tal4 is considered by most fans to be the best version of Omni over High Medieval, Atlantis, the general Omni book...

[drohem]

Based on that and my reading of it, I'd recommend looking for a used copy of Tal4 rather than purchasing Tal5. If you like the world already, I'd push it even harder. The world has a lot of well layed out information in the book. The system is very slick and very well put together. If BRP is as well written and editted as Tal4, I'll be happy.

I agree as well. Shooting Iron really put together a great book in Tal4. I've already talked about the issues I have with the 5th edition.

[Atgxtg]

From what I've read, Tal4 is considered by most fans to be the best version of Omni over High Medieval, Atlantis, the general Omni book...

I don't know. I miss theTalents from HM. I didn't see that in the preview for Tal4.

[RMS]

I don't know. I miss theTalents from HM. I didn't see that in the preview for Tal4.

They aren't in it. This is all 2nd hand info, as I only own Tal4, so take it for what you will. I'm guessing you can mix and match, like with various BRP, to suit yourself.

[drohem]

I don't know. I miss theTalents from HM. I didn't see that in the preview for Tal4.

I'm drawing a blank. What's HM in regards to Talislanta?