Chaos & Catacombs

[threedeesix]

This has been highlighted? Fantastic, as it fills a hole that I think Chaosium has with their new product. In fact, I've been planning on running 'Dungeonland' Magic World pdf in honor of Gygax. However, with two job changes and a move in my local group, gaming's been scarce recently. Consider me sold.

Chaosium has given me the go ahead and asked when I can have it done but won't make it public knowledge until I come through with a finished manuscript. After all, I'm an unpublished author and they have gotten burned before.

The initial release will more than likely be a monograph for the same reasons listed above but if it does well it could see an expanded release. I'm thinking Advanced Chaos & Catacombs (AC&C) and have tons of things than may have to be cut due to space limitations, the monster section for example could get a trimming.

Uhh... yeah, probably going to skip this optional rule... (Although, rules for chainmail bikinis are awesome! I've no need to add the slippage.)

The chainmail bikini rule came out of a serious campaign conversion of John Carter of Mars. I always use hit locations in my campaigns but didn't think his chest and abdomen should be "completely" armored. So I use a variant of the variable armor rules on locations. For instance, his chest would be 1D8-2 armor points due to his harness and his arms would be 1D6-3 from bracers/ arm bands while his head and legs would be unarmored.

The optional wardrobe malfunction table was just plain funny.

Rod

[Trifletraxor]

threedeesix, do you have an illustration I can use for the front page article? have you or your brother drawn anything for it yet?

SGL.

[threedeesix]

threedeesix, do you have an illustration I can use for the front page article? have you or your brother drawn anything for it yet?

SGL.

Sorry, been busy. My brother is working on some illustrations now and hopes to have something this weekend.

Rod

[Doctor Jest]

Yeah, this sounds great! Normally I'm wary of Chaosium's monographs but this is one I'd actually pick up. I'd love to take part in the playtesting as well. Good luck with it!

[Trifletraxor]

Sorry, been busy. My brother is working on some illustrations now and hopes to have something this weekend.

Rod

Good to hear! Tell me when you got something and I'll put it on the news page! :thumb:

SGL.

[Trifletraxor]

ETA for the project?

SGL.

[GianniVacca]

Funny.. I did something similar (in French) a few years ago: BaSIC Donjons et Dragons

[threedeesix]

ETA for the project?

SGL.

I can’t even guess at an actual release date because as a monograph I'm responsible for the layout and art as well. What I can tell you is what I have done at this time.

Chapter 1: Introduction; 3 pages briefly describing C&C

Chapter 2: Characters; 21 pages consisting of character creation, new and changed professions to correspond to some “other games” character classes, new and changed races etc.

Chapter 3: Skills; 10 pages of new and changed skills

Chapter 4: Powers; 12 pages of new “Magic” spells. A system modifying the magic system for cleric spells, several cleric spells, and an equivalent to the “magic” staff for clerics called a sanctified relic.

Chapter 6: Combat; A 22 page miniatures combat system. Not a whole new system, just a new way of looking at the normal BRP combat rules. DEX ranks replaced with Actions. What took 5 DEX ranks now takes 1 action. Includes diagrams for illustrating everything from facing and zones of control, to reach and line of sight. Even rules for where your arrow went after it missed that orc.

Chapter 11: Creatures; 34 pages of classic creatures like different colored dragons, sub-types of giants, and everything from the lowly kobold to the fearsome lich.

All of the above are first drafts and 12 point type, single column so will be less when laid out, it includes many notes of things to add or change as I came across problems after writing later chapters. Once these problems are corrected and the additions added I will choose some playtesters for the new combat and magic system as well as character creation before I move on to the final 6 chapters.

I suffered a setback after planning on writing all weekend when my computer got some “vondu” virus thing that I could not get rid of, so I spent the weekend backing everything up and reformatting my hard drive.

Finally, I figured I would release as a bonus, the background for humans. I wasn’t sure how to handle them as being a spoof, and essentially taking all the stereotypes and blowing them all out of proportion, I realized humans didn’t really have one particular stereotype in fantasy gaming, then I remembered all the “half” races.

Human

Humans are the dominant race of the World of Fantasyland™. They can be found inhabiting just about every piece of real estate on the planet. This has brought them into conflict with everyone at one point or another and compared to the other races they breed like rabbits on prom night. Each race has a different view of humanity. The dwarves think humans are nothing more than children who can’t take care of themselves, construct items of shoddy workmanship and sometimes just need a good beating. The half-lings view humans as easy marks, and have weaseled there way into human society, slowly plotting. Finally the elves think humans are clumsy, wasteful, destructive backwater hicks that will mate with anything. This has already resulted in the half-elf, half-orc and more than likely the half-ling, although no trace of the original ling race survives to this day. It’s an unpleasant and embarrassing fact that just about every half human - half animal species on the planet, from the gnoll to the rakshasa, can trace its origins back to the human race, and probably one lone ranger.

Rodney Leary

[threedeesix]

Funny.. I did something similar (in French) a few years ago: BaSIC Donjons et Dragons

I downloaded it years ago when I was looking for a D&D type conversion of BRP for my home game. As I don't speak French I didn't get much out of it though.

I do love your website though. Lots of great stuff.

Rod

[NickMiddleton]

... This has already resulted in the half-elf, half-orc and more than likely the half-ling, although no trace of the original ling race survives to this day...

Isn't Ling a type of fish?

:eek:

Nick Middleton

[GianniVacca]

It’s an unpleasant and embarrassing fact that just about every half human - half animal species on the planet, from the gnoll to the rakshasa, can trace its origins back to the human race, and probably one lone ranger.

ROTFL

(and I haven't used 'ROTFL' in a forum for a very long time!)

[Chaot]

By the way, 3d6, check your PMs.

[threedeesix]

By the way, 3d6, check your PMs.

Done Chalot. Sorry I always forget to check that.

Rod

[sladethesniper]

It’s an unpleasant and embarrassing fact that just about every half human - half animal species on the planet, from the gnoll to the rakshasa, can trace its origins back to the human race, and probably one lone ranger.

Very nicely done, sir. Very nice indeed. Sounds a lot like GI's.

-STS

[frogspawner]

Nit-pick alert! Saying "hybrid" would work better there than "half human - half animal". Still funny though!

And to think, all these years it's the poor old Orcs that have been reviled for fecund miscegnation...

[Ars Mysteriorum]

I'm wholly sold on this. This sounds more like the D&D I played than what the D&D rulebook itself tried to present itself as.

I think it's brilliant.

[Greymagius]

Sounds great! I've ran a home-brew (A)D&D campaign for far too long (decades now) and having seen previews of DnD4 was in near physical pain. Conversion from 1st to 2ns and then to 3rd was traumatic enough.. 4th was NOT lookimg good. I actually started RP with Runequest and love the BRP system. The idea that someone might save me untold hours of conversion sounds great. Looking forward to seeing the end product. Probably will start my own campaign conversion once I nab a copy of the BRP Deluxe.

A humor aspect never hurt and it sounds like you're making it be viable as serious or not as the GM desires.

Thanks,

Grey

[FunGuyFromYuggoth]

If D&D 4th edition falls flat on its face, you will have alot of legacy 3.5 and OGL gamers floating around. It might be a good time to consider marketing to them (hint, hint, Chaosium).

[Ars Mysteriorum]

If D&D 4th edition falls flat on its face, you will have alot of legacy 3.5 and OGL gamers floating around. It might be a good time to consider marketing to them (hint, hint, Chaosium).

Looking at the tidbits of info out already, now integrated to support epic characters and with a modular system for abilities, as well as the WoW-like terms, such as "tiers," I think D&D4e will not fall flat by any means.

That said, BRP will be for the gamers like us. And I think Chaos & Catacombs is for gamers like us... and the switch to 4e will inevitably create more "gamers like us" as many decide that the game has lost the charm it once had when they were young, and they will turn to BRP.

Like I did.

[threedeesix]

A minor setback, but almost back on track.

I had Monday off from work and spent seven hours touching up chapters 1-4 plus 6 and 11, adding a few new sections and generally getting ready to send out a couple playtest copies. At 7:30 Monday night I overwrote the whole folder with an older version and lost all seven hours of work.

I did manage to remember most of the additions and have almost got chapters 1-2 back where they were before I "fumbled" my Perform (Writing) roll.

Anyway, I just had to share my frustration.

Rod

[Shaira]

Anyway, I just had to share my frustration.

Yowza. That's gotta hurt. We feel your frustration, buddy!

Your post just made me run off and backup my files onto a memory stick. Losing work like that is a horrible, horrible thing.

Good luck getting it all back together! :thumb:

Cheers,

Sarah

[threedeesix]

I "fumbled" my Perform (Writing) roll.

I would like to clarify that the fumble would have been Technical (Use Computer)

Rod

[frogspawner]

Everything's better for a re-write, anyway!

[Steve Mitchell]

This sounds like a lot of fun.

I'd prefer to see Chaos & Catacombs as a self-contained rule book (keep the parts of BRP that apply, drop the psionics and superpowers and options that don't), but if the monograph route is the only way to get this project launched, I'll be happy to buy the monograph when it comes out.

And it should be very easy to port in the Lovecraftian monsters. I think any fantasy campaign is vastly improved by the addition of Shoggoths and Dimensional Shamblers and Star Vampires!

[Trifletraxor]

A minor setback, but almost back on track.

Got an image for me?

SGL.