[RQ-Rules] Re: Performance Improvements

[Alan K. Crandall]

> From: Andrew Mellinger <andrew at crashbox.com>
> Everyone,
>
>    A few years ago I started engineering my own set of rules for a RQ like
> homebrew.  One of the areas I focused on was performance improvements.
> Like how do I roll fewer dice, or resolve a conflict easier.

RQ got "homebrewed" gradually over the last 20 years to where I'm at with it
now.  Where it is now (off the top of my head):

Combat is now more "Stormbringer" than RQ.  Hit locations are gone (but
retained as optionals for special cases).
Eliminated critical hits but retained Impale and the Slash and Crush
options - so those are now the "critical" hits.
Armor is an average of the AP the character is wearing.
Kept the "Stormbringer" major wound thing but bagged the table of inuries
that came with it.
Gave a more generous hit point bonus.

--- most of this is because we wanted a more "D&D" like kind of campaign,
where the characters were less brittle, a little more superheroic - BUT not
falling into the D&D "Oh, I'm tenth level - watch me wipe out an army of
orcs single-handed" thing.

PCs can be rolled up any reasonable way the players want (3d6, 4d6 and drop
lowest, whatever); or they can use a GURPS-type points system if they
prefer.  Also included some of the advantages/disadvantages from GURPS, as
an option.

NEVER ever ever substituted APP for CHA.  Never!  I found the whole concept
insulting - especially since the original RQ gave such a beautiful, accurate
description of the whole concept of CHA.  We use CHA.  Always have, always
will.

Also now use a FileMaker Pro file to complete character generation - player
provides the stats - plug `em into FMPro and it does all the calculations
for you.  Also use it to modify for XP checks.  Saves a lot of time!  And it
prints out character sheets for us.

I want to stress that I don't consider any of these things to be
"improvements" in any way.  They're just modifications made in order to meet
some particular preferences.  RQ as it is is superb.

I also learned that you can't just shoehorn everything into the Glorantha
model.  I've been developing a campiagn background with a kind of
fantasy/Celtic feel for several years now, and the sticking point was mainly
the religious and magic systems.  I really couldn't wrap my head around it
until I decided to stop trying to develop Glorantha-style cults and instead
take what I learned from GOG etc to develop something that felt more right
for my setting.  GURPS Celtic Myth helped a lot in the magic system, too ---
currently tweaking the Sorcery system to something along the lines of the
"Tree Magic" system in that book.

The thing I have always loved about BRP is that it's simple and fast, and if
you want to modify, change, or create new rules its very easy and very
intuitive to do so - as opposed to AD&D (where I started - probably very
much like many of you) where you had to basically reinvent the wheel to deal
with anything not already covered in the books.