The first RBRBWXRP thread (on the Pub)

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I should have Ruthless Blades and Those Dark Places next week. Eager to compare the latter to Hostile, Mothership and Alien. Great time for Industrial Horror SciFi.
 
Séadna said:
I should have Ruthless Blades and Those Dark Places next week. Eager to compare the latter to Hostile, Mothership and Alien. Great time for Industrial Horror SciFi.
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...next week? How did you manage that:shock:?

As I read, I'm comparing Righteous Blood to WHoOG (Brendan can't lose that one:grin:), Age of Wuxia, Tianxia, Jadepunk, Outlaws and LotW. So far, I like what I'm seeing!
 
AsenRG said:
OTOH, now I'm curious about two more Osprey RPGs, Those Dark Places and Paleomythic.
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I haven't dive too much into the current version, but the book is well done. Being Stone & Sorcery (like regular S&S, just set in a stone age) is a nice touch, and fits where I'm at when it comes to fantasy gaming outside of Wuxia
 
OK, I finished reading it...kinda: didn't look at the NPCs - but then I hope to lure someone to run it for me! (Probably in vain, but I'm not giving up hope yet:tongue:).

So, let's get the proofreading out of the way first: unless it's a quirk of the reader I used*, the proofreading might have been better.
Editing is fine: it's just one ability name (one of the whip-related ones) that seems to be missing. It seems it's not, but the actual name it's under is different from the one in prerequisite for/required for).
Also, the wording of a couple Counters is less than clear. For example, in some cases I got the impression it's not really rolled against the attack to defend, but only if the attack fails, to apply an additional effect.

Proofreading, though... the first time I saw "Butterfly word" it was funny. (Then I read it and it was clearly about butterfly swords, so it's not leading to mistakes of comprehension).
The next couple of times, it was less funny. And it's by far not the only example, alas:wink:
Let's hope those aren't in the print copies, or it's my PDF reader (as mentioned above and below).


The actual game: It's great:grin:! Even better at emulating the genre than Wandering Heroes of Ogre Gate** & Art of Wuxia. Definitely on par with Tianxia and possibly a competitor of Legends of the Wulin.
And if you know me, you'd know that the latter is the highest praise I can give any wuxia game:shade:.
Maybe I should start a new thread on it.


*My hardcopy is still travelling towards me, I read it on Kindle - so maybe there are bugs in the Kindle PDF reading app, after all it's probably made by Amazon).
**Only thing I don't like as much: seems like Total success on the attack doesn't improve the damage roll as in Ogre Gate. Or maybe it was me who missed it? Well, that and I like the Ogre Gate "grappling sequence" better...but I also realize that when you've only got an External MA skill, it's harder to differentiate between na and shuai (wrestling and locking/grappling).
 
I have the same issue with missing letters in titles in the PDF. Hopefully a fixed file can be uploaded sometime.
 
johnmarron said:
I have the same issue with missing letters in titles in the PDF. Hopefully a fixed file can be uploaded sometime.
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The header problem is apparently a formatting issue that was unique to the PDF (I just noticed it myself on Friday when I was running an adventure with my group and they were using PDFs). It is kind of strange error. I heard back yesterday about the details. My understanding is they are working on fixing this and that the problem arose after the PDF was proofread (so it actually entered the document after the editor did a final pass and was probably part of the process of exporting it from Indesign or formatting it for PDF). I do apologize for this. Once they get an updated file up I will let folks know.
 
AsenRG said:
**Only thing I don't like as much: seems like Total success on the attack doesn't improve the damage roll as in Ogre Gate. Or maybe it was me who missed it? Well, that and I like the Ogre Gate "grappling sequence" better...but I also realize that when you've only got an External MA skill, it's harder to differentiate between na and shuai (wrestling and locking/grappling).
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The Total Successes on attack rolls still add +1d10 to your damage roll (this should be on page 19 under Attacking). In Ogre Gare (and most of my own books) I tend to reiterate rules a lot because I am in control of things like final page count. With this book we had to work a little harder to keep it under word count to keep page count at a certain level (so I backed off some of my reiterative tendencies).

If you want to port in the Ogre Gate restraining rules, I think that probably wouldn't be too much of an issue (may be some detail I am not thinking through but I don't believe it would hurt anything---the only difficulty would be the martial skill thing you point to).
 
AsenRG said:
Also, the wording of a couple Counters is less than clear. For example, in some cases I got the impression it's not really rolled against the attack to defend, but only if the attack fails, to apply an additional effect.
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Which counters? I can see if I can weigh in on them (some are intentionally left for the GM to rule on, but if it is one where there is meant to be a clear way to do it, I can tell you what the Counter is intended to do).
 
AsenRG said:
Editing is fine: it's just one ability name (one of the whip-related ones) that seems to be missing. It seems it's not, but the actual name it's under is different from the one in prerequisite for/required for).
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Do you know which ability this is? (it might be too late if it is a proper error to fix, but I can at least track it in case there is room to re-edit prior to future printings-----not sure what the plan is on this front but having the information for errata is useful)
 
AsenRG said:
The actual game: It's great:grin:! Even better at emulating the genre than Wandering Heroes of Ogre Gate** & Art of Wuxia. Definitely on par with Tianxia and possibly a competitor of Legends of the Wulin.
And if you know me, you'd know that the latter is the highest praise I can give any wuxia game:shade:.
Maybe I should start a new thread on it.
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Thanks Asen! Appreciate the kind words.
 
AsenRG said:
Proofreading, though... the first time I saw "Butterfly word" it was funny. (Then I read it and it was clearly about butterfly swords, so it's not leading to mistakes of comprehension).
The next couple of times, it was less funny. And it's by far not the only example, alas:wink:
Let's hope those aren't in the print copies, or it's my PDF reader (as mentioned above and below).
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See my response to this topic above, but yes this is something that I spotted on Friday during a session of the game (actually Kenny, one of my players spotted it in his PDF). I heard back yesterday about it. This occurred after the proofreading, after it left the editor's hands (at least that is my understand, I am not 100% clear on what exactly the error was). But basically it looks like a PDF formatting or layout issue. This is not an error that appears in any of the print copies I have seen. And due to the nature of the error (basically the same headers throughout the document have the same missing letters) it is probably something to do with formatting in indesign. I used to lay out my own books and have seem some wonky things in Indesign. This one left me scratching my head a little but I could see it maybe being related to how headers are styled and formatted (it has been a while since I have done the layout for anything so it is possible the features are different and it is something else entirely). They said they will have an updated file up and when that goes live I will let folks know
 
Sure enough, BedrockBrendan BedrockBrendan here are the details:
Ferocious Whipping Style
Required for: Ferocious Whip Immortal

...there's no ability named Ferocious Whip Immortal. But here's what you have on the next page.

Flawless Whip Immortal
Prerequisite: Ferocious Whipping Style

So basically I think it's there, just under a different name. The next in the series, Flickering Whip Deity lists its Prerequisite: Flawless Whip Immortal correctly.


Now for counters:
Closing Defence
You know how to close the distance when someone attacks with a spear or other long weapon and misses. Roll External Martial Arts against Evade. On a success, you slip in and deliver normal damage plus 2 extra Wounds.

So basically, this lists as a prerequisite the enemy missing. That's no longer a counter, it's punishment for someone who misses you with a spear.

Lijuan’s Deadly Dagger
When someone attempts to attack you in melee and is close to you, if they miss their attack, you can stab a vital area like the neck with your dagger. Roll External Martial Arts against the target’s Evade. On a success, you do normal damage plus 1 extra Wound.
This only works with inside-bladed weapons like daggers or butterfly swords.

I'm not sure what "inside-bladed" means, but I guess it's a short blade that can be used on the inside? Regardless, it's punishment again.
 
AsenRG said:
Sure enough, BedrockBrendan BedrockBrendan here are the details:
Ferocious Whipping Style
Required for: Ferocious Whip Immortal

...there's no ability named Ferocious Whip Immortal. But here's what you have on the next page.

Flawless Whip Immortal
Prerequisite: Ferocious Whipping Style

So basically I think it's there, just under a different name. The next in the series, Flickering Whip Deity lists its Prerequisite: Flawless Whip Immortal correctly.
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That is an error. It should definitely say Flawless Whip Immortal.


Now for counters:
Closing Defence
You know how to close the distance when someone attacks with a spear or other long weapon and misses. Roll External Martial Arts against Evade. On a success, you slip in and deliver normal damage plus 2 extra Wounds.

So basically, this lists as a prerequisite the enemy missing. That's no longer a counter, it's punishment for someone who misses you with a spear.
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It is technically a counter because it won't count as your attack that round (I think we have one or two of these, where you can counter a missed attack).


Lijuan’s Deadly Dagger
When someone attempts to attack you in melee and is close to you, if they miss their attack, you can stab a vital area like the neck with your dagger. Roll External Martial Arts against the target’s Evade. On a success, you do normal damage plus 1 extra Wound.
This only works with inside-bladed weapons like daggers or butterfly swords.

I'm not sure what "inside-bladed" means, but I guess it's a short blade that can be used on the inside? Regardless, it's punishment again.
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This one is the same as above in terms of countering. Basically what 'inside-bladed' means is up to GM judgement, but it that definitely looks like my wording and not Jeremy's so I what I meant by that was any small blade suitable for fighting someone on the inside (as opposed to fighting just out of reach at arms length). It is intended as an inside fighting maneuver where you get real close to the person to deliver a lethal attack once they've missed you.
 
BedrockBrendan said:
That is an error. It should definitely say Flawless Whip Immortal.




It is technically a counter because it won't count as your attack that round (I think we have one or two of these, where you can counter a missed attack).




This one is the same as above in terms of countering. Basically what 'inside-bladed' means is up to GM judgement, but it that definitely looks like my wording and not Jeremy's so I what I meant by that was any small blade suitable for fighting someone on the inside (as opposed to fighting just out of reach at arms length). It is intended as an inside fighting maneuver where you get real close to the person to deliver a lethal attack once they've missed you.
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Yup, everything is about the way I figured (but then I've been doing this since before I first played an RPG:thumbsup:)! Well, obviously I didn't realize you had to restrict your "reiterative tendencies", but then that's between you and Osprey:grin:!

And since we mentioned the action economy, how many counters can you perform in a round? Can we get an experienced xia to oppose a squad of spearmen, kill them all in a single round with Closing Defence, and then attack their leader with his actual action:devil:?

Regarding the grappling system, of course I can backport it. It's even easy to distinguish them - it's just "grappling to throw" and "grappling to restrain/lock". They're different in reality* as well, so it's just a different set of options.

*Throws require you to open the way for your opponent to fly, while restraining requires you to take space away:shade:.
 
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AsenRG said:
Yup, everything is about the way I figured (but then I've been doing this since before I first played an RPG:thumbsup:)! Well, obviously I didn't realize you had to restrict your "reiterative tendencies", but then that's between you and Osprey:grin:!

And since we mentioned the action economy, how many counters can you perform in a round? Can we get an experienced xia to oppose a squad of spearmen, kill them all in a single round with Closing Defence, and then attack their leader with his actual action:devil:?
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Counters are basically free attacks. There is no explicit limit on if you can counter more than one attack a round (that is left for the GM to decide). But we do state in the GM section, you are not supposed to be able to counter a counter (doing so is presented as an optional rule, but not the default).
 
BedrockBrendan said:
Counters are basically free attacks. There is no explicit limit on if you can counter more than one attack a round (that is left for the GM to decide). But we do state in the GM section, you are not supposed to be able to counter a counter (doing so is presented as an optional rule, but not the default).
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Yeah, I read that part. But in practice, a long string of Counters is going to be impossible anyway, since you can't consistently get 10s on your roll. And since an attack needs to roll higher than Evade, and the counter needs to equal or beat the attack roll, you're soon going to get in the "only Total Successes" territory:shade:.
In fact, against some enemies only total successes can hit (like the Evade-11 Butterfly Sword starting PC:grin:).
 
BedrockBrendan said:
The header problem is apparently a formatting issue that was unique to the PDF (I just noticed it myself on Friday when I was running an adventure with my group and they were using PDFs). It is kind of strange error. I heard back yesterday about the details. My understanding is they are working on fixing this and that the problem arose after the PDF was proofread (so it actually entered the document after the editor did a final pass and was probably part of the process of exporting it from Indesign or formatting it for PDF). I do apologize for this. Once they get an updated file up I will let folks know.
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I quoted this over on rpg net, as it was brought up there as well. Figured people there should be aware what happened
 
urbwar said:
I quoted this over on rpg net, as it was brought up there as well. Figured people there should be aware what happened
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Just an update on this. I was informed that the fixed PDF should be uploaded by next week (unless there is some difficulty in making the fix, in which case it could take a little longer).
 
A little over a week before (hopefully) my print copy arrives from Amazon. I watched Reign of Assassins yesterday in anticipation and really enjoyed it.
 
johnmarron said:
I watched it after seeing it suggested as part of the RBRB wuxia crash course on your blog. I agree, it's a great intro. I think I'll do a watch party with my crew to get everyone in the mood before launching the game.
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It's a great one. If you prefer the more modern stuff, another good one is Brotherhood of Blades which is available free on YouTube.
 
johnmarron said:
I watched it after seeing it suggested as part of the RBRB wuxia crash course on your blog. I agree, it's a great intro. I think I'll do a watch party with my crew to get everyone in the mood before launching the game.
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The Four Trilogy is pretty good too (and it is a good set up for a group of player characters)
 
I think I jinxed us with that post about it only being a week away. Just got notice from Amazon that they are pushing back the delivery date to what looks like February 9.
 
johnmarron said:
I think I jinxed us with that post about it only being a week away. Just got notice from Amazon that they are pushing back the delivery date to what looks like February 9.
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I am really sorry about this. I just found out a moment ago. What I was told is it is due to 'congestion at port' and that the release date was pushed back in the US to February 9th (I was also told there isn't really anything that can be done about it). Hopefully the books reach everyone at the newly appointed release date.
 
BedrockBrendan said:
I am really sorry about this. I just found out a moment ago. What I was told is it is due to 'congestion at port' and that the release date was pushed back in the US to February 9th (I was also told there isn't really anything that can be done about it). Hopefully the books reach everyone at the newly appointed release date.
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Not your fault at all, and I'm not upset, just disappointed that I won't have the physical copy in hand for a while yet. My hardcopy of Strange Tales that I ordered long before Christmas finally showed up yesterday, so I have something to keep me occupied :smile:
 
I know armor is not particularly a thing in wuxia, but if I wanted to introduce a simple armor system for use with RBRB or Strange Tales (for soldiers and the like), would this work:

Light Armor = 1
Medium Armor = 2
Heavy Armor = 3

Subtract the armor rating from Evade, and add the armor rating to Hardiness (thus, armor makes you easier to hit but harder to hurt).
 
FWIW I just realized that armor that makes you easier to hit makes my head hurt:gunslinger:. That's actually a new development, but makes total sense to me!
 
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