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well, consider this. Under "standard" rules, you have to have a 50 in devotion and exhort to be an initiate, which is what is required for Lightning. Magnitude and Intesity are 1/10th of the Devotion score, rounded up. Let's say they are a career priest (the only way they can get those skills at character generation) with 15 points from career and 15 points from bonus in each. now he's got an 11 POW/INT/CHA. Right there he's already looking at an Intensity of 6.

So the lightning is doing 3d6 out of the gate with virtually no optimization outside of putting bonus points into your spellcasting.

Average on that is 10.5 (as we all know, literally off the top of our heads), which is enough to REMOVE legs, arms, and heads. Not serious wound, Major Wound, instantly, on most humans.



well, i might say it has exactly the right amount if they have access to a temple. I suppose that is a matter of preference.



I would look at some other parameters, like ability to recharge. frequent access to temples allows them to recharge pretty quickly.
Yes, some very good points.
What I really needed here was a sounding board before I made any rash changes, and yourself and others here have done a good job of this.
I am hesitant to make any changes to fundamental parts of Mythras because I know the system functions so good.
Thanks for giving me some clarification here, it is greatly appreciated.
I will definately leave this as it is now :thumbsup:
 
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I didn't understand your objection, I can see it looks like you had a different idea about how intensity works. As Raleel has gone through it, an initiate Theist straight out of character creation can blast 3d6 with lightning, which having done the same as a GM against PCs I can tell you they found it quite powerful enough. I blasted one PC's arm "clean off" with a single hit, which would have been a Major Wound had they not luck-pointed it.

Theism is the last thing I would change with Mythras. I especially like the power difference between Folk Magic and Theism. Previous RQ made Battle Magic often superior to Rune Magic spells that Rune Magic always looked awkward and iffy to use. I like the re-design of Folk Magic into its current form. You have to choose your moment with Miracles far more than Folk Magic, but Theism can hit very hard.
 
Here's an odd question, forgive me.

BRP is a foreign country to me. However, there's a piece of trivia about it from a different hobby that I've always found intriguing.

Sandy Petersen was one of the designers for the video game Quake. Sandy Petersen is also responsible for the CoC RPG and everything that has grown out of it.

The question is, which version of BRP could one use to run a Quake-style adventure?

1MCynNh.gif
 
Here's an odd question, forgive me.

BRP is a foreign country to me. However, there's a piece of trivia about it from a different hobby that I've always found intriguing.

Sandy Petersen was one of the designers for the video game Quake. Sandy Petersen is also responsible for the CoC RPG and everything that has grown out of it.

The question is, which version of BRP could one use to run a Quake-style adventure?

1MCynNh.gif
Delta Green would probably be a good bet. The default assumption is that every character is part of a secret extra-governmental agency, that pulls its folks from branches of the military, special operations groups, intelligence agencies, etc. Either that, or you could use the BRP BGB "Big Gold Book", but you'd have to tinker and tune it to fit, since it's more of a toolkit that smashes together a whole bunch of different rulesets published by Chaosium over the years. It's still in print in soft-cover at their website as a POD.
 
Even Mythras doesn't do rocket-jumping.
Combat Style Trait - Rocket Jump
When wielding a bazooka (Luther Arkwright, p106), you may point it at the ground, fire, and jump simultaneously as a single action. Roll damage for the rocket and add this value to the number of meters you can vertically or horizontally jump. You take minimum damage from the explosion itself to each leg. Jumping to a lower elevation will cause the character to suffer the effects of a fall equal to the difference between the starting and ending elevations.

does now!
 
Well, they first said it wasn't going to happen, but I guess the international pressure got to them
Free League has announced (and I'm late with reporting this news) that the new edition of Drakar och Demoner will get an English language release as well. The kickstarter campaign starts on August 30th. So now the Swedish branch of the BRP system will become available to an international audience for the first time in a while.

The English name will be Dragonbane. I'm ... less than impressed with the name honestly, but I can understand that releasing it as Dragons and Demons simply wasn't an option.
 
Here's an odd question, forgive me.

BRP is a foreign country to me. However, there's a piece of trivia about it from a different hobby that I've always found intriguing.

Sandy Petersen was one of the designers for the video game Quake. Sandy Petersen is also responsible for the CoC RPG and everything that has grown out of it.

The question is, which version of BRP could one use to run a Quake-style adventure?

1MCynNh.gif
BRP won't capture the pulpy flavour of DOOM or QUAKE - I'ld go with Savage Worlds, Fate, Tricube Tales etc for something like this - but if you are after a more realistic gritty take on it then BRP can easily do it. I'ld go with Mythras, including Mythras Firearms rules (although Delta Green 2E could be easily retooled for it as well)
 
I'd go with Big Gold Book BRP, maybe use some of the options for tougher and more experienced characters like CON+SIZ=HP and Heroic starting skill points. Theres already a bunch of sci-fi weapons and armor in the equipment tables too.
 
Here's a link to the League's press release about Dragonbane, and a picture of the box art.

913ec0bf-113c-4e13-9252-a5abecffb544.jpg
Interesting. I will have to take a look at the earlier system to see how much is BRP influenced.

Having Johan Egerkrans as an illustrator is another drawcard, alongside the usual good production values of the Free League products.
 
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Interesting. I will have to take a look at the earlier system to see how much is BRP influenced.

Having Jphan Egerkrans as an illisyrator is another drawcard, alongside the usual good production values of the Free League products.
Drakar och Demoner is not BRP-influenced, it's BRP. It started off as a translation of the old BRP rules booklet and Magic World from World's of Wonder. Sure, the game developed, but in the end, it's a BRP game. The biggest change came in the late 80s when the game switched from a D100 to a D20, but all that did was divide all skill values by five.

edit: sorry if this seemed a bit aggressive, but yeah, Drakar och Demoner, at least the older editions that Free League is looking to update, is most definitely a BRP game, no less so than say Mythras.
 
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Drakar och Demoner is not BRP-influenced, it's BRP. It started off as a translation of the old BRP rules booklet and Magic World from World's of Wonder. Sure, the game developed, but in the end, it's a BRP game. The biggest change came in the late 80s when the game switched from a D100 to a D20, but all that did was divide all skill values by five.

edit: sorry if this seemed a bit aggressive, but yeah, Drakar och Demoner, at least the older editions that Free League is looking to update, is most definitely a BRP game, no less so than say Mythras.
Not aggressive at all - in fact, thanks for the clarification! :thumbsup:
 
'Mirth and Mayhem'... what's the 'Mirth' bit about? Is it 'mirthier' than WFRP? Is it 'mirthier' than Paranoia? What about Toon?

It means jokey as per Tunnels & Trolls, and back to d20 rather than back to d100.
 
Ah then we get back to what defines a BRP game

Is Pendragon a BRP game I wonder?
It uses a D20 Roll Under mechanic instead of a percentile dice, so on one hand I would say its not. However it has many of the other facets and structure inherent in BRP, so on the other hand it is.

So maybe this Dragonbane (Drakar och Demoner) is like Pendragon, it's a Schrodinger's BRP :grin:

I read that at least one version used a percentile dice, although I think most editions use a D20 core mechanic.

Given the profile of Free League games, this may become reasonably popular.
 
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While there are BRP things adapted from Pendragon, the whole roll high as you can but under your score (so you can determine the result/ effect) is very different. It is really not a BRP game, but it is a cousin, probably twice removed.
 
While there are BRP things adapted from Pendragon, the whole roll high as you can but under your score (so you can determine the result/ effect) is very different. It is really not a BRP game, but it is a cousin, probably twice removed.
That's pretty much how I view it, but I have also read some rather robust debates regarding whether or not Pendragon is BRP
 
Aren't the recent Trudvang Chronicles and LexOccultum also Drakar och Demoner-derived and therefore somewhat BRP-related games? I'd love OpenQuest (con)versions of those games.
 
That's pretty much how I view it, but I have also read some rather robust debates regarding whether or not Pendragon is BRP
here is the question - are we talking about the brand BRP or are we talking about the colloquial BRP. Because brand wise, it definitely is, by it’s own admission (right in the BGB). I don't think we are though.

personally, I think it’s left the station. Once you remove d100 or roll low, I think you’ve left the station. There may be additional ways, but just changing the die is enough. Too easy to use other dice, and ones that can’t go into 100 easily. *shrug* it’s also not important to me literally at all ;)
 
Ah then we get back to what defines a BRP game

Is Pendragon a BRP game I wonder?
It uses a D20 Roll Under mechanic instead of a percentile dice, so on one hand I would say its not. However it has many of the other facets and structure inherent in BRP, so on the other hand it is.

So maybe this Dragonbane (Drakar och Demoner) is like Pendragon, it's a Schrodinger's BRP :grin:

I read that at least one version used a percentile dice, although I think most editions use a D20 core mechanic.

Given the profile of Free League games, this may become reasonably popular.
The early editions of DoD used D100, but all skill values were rounded to the nearest 5%, and the resistance table was always in 5% steps, so what they did was just divide all these values by five. There isn’t really a functional difference between rolling a D100 against a skill of 60% and a D20 against a skill of 12.
 
here is the question - are we talking about the brand BRP or are we talking about the colloquial BRP. Because brand wise, it definitely is, by it’s own admission (right in the BGB). I don't think we are though.

personally, I think it’s left the station. Once you remove d100 or roll low, I think you’ve left the station. There may be additional ways, but just changing the die is enough. Too easy to use other dice, and ones that can’t go into 100 easily. *shrug* it’s also not important to me literally at all ;)
I certainly don’t see the D100 as particularly important for being BRP. This is almost certainly because I grew up with DoD with both the older D100 editions and the newer (as in from the late 80s on) D20 editions and there just wasn’t any functional difference. If you go back through this thread you’ll find a lot of discussion on this already though.
 
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About mirth and mayhem, this is what the press release I linked earlier said.


Drakar och Demoner / Dragonbane is a classic fantasy RPG full of magic, mystery, and adventure. This new edition is designed from the ground up to facilitate fast and furious play, with very little prep time and adventures that are a breeze to run.

Although a toolbox allowing you to tell fantasy stories of all kinds, Drakar och Demoner / Dragonbane is a game with room for laughs at the table and even a pinch of sillyness at times – while at the same time offering brutal challenges for your adventurers.

We call this playstyle "mirth and mayhem roleplaying" – great for long campaigns but also perfect for a one-shot if you just want to have some quick fun at the table for a night. The core set will include at least one complete adventure and we hope to unlock many more as stretch goals, offering a complete campaign to play even in the core game set.
 
That blurb doesn't actually explain what makes "Dragonbane" mirthful though. Are there joke spells in the game, silly races, exploding bunnies, puns throughout the text?
 
So, that leads to the question, what's required for a game to be called a BRP game?

(I mean this in the sense that fans of the BRP system would play it, and recognize it as at least "close enough" to provide the same entertainment that say Mythras or OpenQuest does).

Rough stab:
  • Skill + Attribute with figured characteristics
  • No classes and levels
  • No hit dice / gaining hit points over time
  • gameplay based skill advancement (bare minimum is some kind of "experience rolls", extra points if these are limited to skills used)
  • Skill based magic system
  • Opposed rolls for combat
  • Armor reduces damage, skill(s) reduce opponents chance to hit
Agree? Disagree? What would you add to or subtract from this list?
 
So, that leads to the question, what's required for a game to be called a BRP game?

(I mean this in the sense that fans of the BRP system would play it, and recognize it as at least "close enough" to provide the same entertainment that say Mythras or OpenQuest does).

Rough stab:
  • Skill + Attribute with figured characteristics
  • No classes and levels
  • No hit dice / gaining hit points over time
  • gameplay based skill advancement (bare minimum is some kind of "experience rolls", extra points if these are limited to skills used)
  • Skill based magic system
  • Opposed rolls for combat
  • Armor reduces damage, skill(s) reduce opponents chance to hit
Agree? Disagree? What would you add to or subtract from this list?
  • I don't know what you mean with your first bullet point. Skills are either stat+stat+skill points, or stat x2+ skill points, or base+skill points. Are you talking about derived attributes calculated from primary characteristics?
  • Some BRP systems use experience rolls for skill improvement, others are "get better with use", so there's no universality there.
  • Not all magic systems are skill-based across BRP systems. It's pedantic, but combat is usually handled with differential rolls, where degrees of success are compared, not just straight opposed rolls, but in general you are correct, that attacks and defense are active.
  • Last bit: armor is ablative, but skills don't reduce opponent chance to hit. Avoiding a hit is an active skill.
But you are correct that hit points are fairly static (there can be exceptions, but not worth getting into here), there are no classes and levels.
 
That blurb doesn't actually explain what makes "Dragonbane" mirthful though. Are there joke spells in the game, silly races, exploding bunnies, puns throughout the text?
I think it does pretty well, it says it's "a game with room for laughs at the table and even a pinch of sillyness at times – while at the same time offering brutal challenges for your adventurers."."Not super serious all the time and sometimes room for silliness" doesn't mean Toon or exploding bunnies, not sure where you're getting that idea from.
 
I think it does pretty well, it says it's "a game with room for laughs at the table and even a pinch of sillyness at times – while at the same time offering brutal challenges for your adventurers."."Not super serious all the time and sometimes room for silliness" doesn't mean Toon or exploding bunnies, not sure where you're getting that idea from.
What elements exist within the written game, that make it "mirthful"? Simply saying that there are room for laughs and even a pinch of silliness does not in any way shape or form explain why that is so.
 
So, that leads to the question, what's required for a game to be called a BRP game?

(I mean this in the sense that fans of the BRP system would play it, and recognize it as at least "close enough" to provide the same entertainment that say Mythras or OpenQuest does).

Rough stab:
  • Skill + Attribute with figured characteristics
  • No classes and levels
  • No hit dice / gaining hit points over time
  • gameplay based skill advancement (bare minimum is some kind of "experience rolls", extra points if these are limited to skills used)
  • Skill based magic system
  • Opposed rolls for combat
  • Armor reduces damage, skill(s) reduce opponents chance to hit
Agree? Disagree? What would you add to or subtract from this list?

I would describe it as a skill-based system using character backgrounds and professions rather than classes and levels to determine competence. Skills are expressed as a percentage chance to succeed. Characters can progress and skills can be improved over time through play.
 
So, that leads to the question, what's required for a game to be called a BRP game?

(I mean this in the sense that fans of the BRP system would play it, and recognize it as at least "close enough" to provide the same entertainment that say Mythras or OpenQuest does).

Rough stab:
  • Skill + Attribute with figured characteristics
  • No classes and levels
  • No hit dice / gaining hit points over time
  • gameplay based skill advancement (bare minimum is some kind of "experience rolls", extra points if these are limited to skills used)
  • Skill based magic system
  • Opposed rolls for combat
  • Armor reduces damage, skill(s) reduce opponents chance to hit
Agree? Disagree? What would you add to or subtract from this list?
I'll quote myself from earlier in this thread (back in 2021) on this.
As I have outlined earlier in this thread, the Swedish branch of the BRP system abandoned the D100 and went over to D20 fairly quickly, yet are still clearly BRP games. I don't think you'll be able to find a certain set of criteria that are always able to clearly define whether or not something is a BRP-game or not, and the use of percentile dice is obviously not a necessary condition. I think you need to instead draw up a list of criteria, and then say "anything that fulfills X number of the Y criteria is a BRP game".
 
What elements exist within the written game, that make it "mirthful"? Simply saying that there are room for laughs and even a pinch of silliness does not in any way shape or form explain why that is so.
Because it's a roleplaying game, I don't know what to tell you. You don't really need rules for people having fun or being silly, nor for being serious for that matter. Not just that, you really can't enforce it that way either. What you can do is emphasize a certain style through art, examples, published adventures etc. The rules stuff they do explain is that they want the game to move fast, and if you want an adventure to be able to be finished in a session, you're better off without too many rules that make the game run slow.
 
What elements exist within the written game, that make it "mirthful"? Simply saying that there are room for laughs and even a pinch of silliness does not in any way shape or form explain why that is so.
Yeah, because I'd say WFRP is 'mirthful' while still being gritty and not having any comedy baked into the rules... or claiming such on the front cover.
Not really an issue for me... though I'm not sure why I might want Dragonbane, yet.
 
How do they have the rights to show Elric? (random side question, probably rhetorical).

Also, the kickstarter for the game has gone live: Drakar och Demoner / Dragonbane Kickstarter Campaign.

There's a link for a QuickStart version of the rules a bit down the page of the campaign. Seems like its going gangbusters.
 
How do they have the rights to show Elric? (random side question, probably rhetorical).

Also, the kickstarter for the game has gone live: Drakar och Demoner / Dragonbane Kickstarter Campaign.

There's a link for a QuickStart version of the rules a bit down the page of the campaign. Seems like its going gangbusters.
Probably the same way Chaosium was able to use the same image for Stormbringer 4th ed., they licensed it?
 
How do they have the rights to show Elric? (random side question, probably rhetorical).

Also, the kickstarter for the game has gone live: Drakar och Demoner / Dragonbane Kickstarter Campaign.

There's a link for a QuickStart version of the rules a bit down the page of the campaign. Seems like its going gangbusters.
Swedish rpgs have had a tradition (sometimes broken) of really good art, and a lot of the cover art was licensed from existing fantasy or science fiction art. The fantasy line Eon used Keith Parkinson for all their covers for instance, while Drakar och Demoner used a lot of Michael Whelan stuff, especially Stormbringer.
 
speaking of conversions, does anyone have COC -> Mythras conversion notes? trying to save myself some work on converting some pulp cthulhu stuff.
 
Aren't the recent Trudvang Chronicles and LexOccultum also Drakar och Demoner-derived and therefore somewhat BRP-related games? I'd love OpenQuest (con)versions of those games.

Yes, but they are more like distant cousins.

I have my Trudvang Chronicles original rules with me if you are curious about anything just ask and I will take a peen when I have the time :grin:. It's been a while since I read It and even though I liked it, rulewise I did not think the system is good, but It ain't bad either, kind of bloated and overcomplicated here and there, but it works and appears to be fun (never run any games with it). The old company (Riotminds) released a subset for 5E later, but I mostly ignored it, sadly Trudvang Chronicles has been sold to CMON recently, and will probably never got the 2 missing region materials in english (Mittenland and Ostenmark).

I say that because TC and WFRP pointed towards RuneQuest/BRP as the ancestor, but by the time I read RuneQuest Glorantha, I found the RQG rules way, WAY better than the branched versions. I would not put them together as they are their own thing now, except for historical references.
 
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