For decades, Fantasy RPG's were dominated by... the game that shall not be named. This presented a problem for those of us who first tasted a fantasy game that was a little more... gritty... as in ACTUALLY gritty... not based on the setting, or on the... aviance... no... a game where your MIGHTY WARRIOR can literally be killed with a single assassin's blow. Where your MIGHTY WIZARD still fears a dagger in the spleen, and your MOST EXCELLENT HIGH HOLINESS CLERIC might get his throat cut by an unscrupulous rival.
Well, here is Classic Fantasy, translated to Rune... right, can't say that... to FRP. Same crunchy bits, same devious foes... but now, you hold in your hands the translation from the... game that shall not be named... to a more RQ... BRP... or Mythras.
You will never be SO high a level, that the dagger in the dark is not a threat... your Warriors, Wizards, Paladins, etc... will have to rely on their skills, their wits, and ultimately, their own abilities.
Like RQ... you have your backgrounds: Barbarian, Civilized, Nomadic and Primitive. If you choose another race (other than human), you will choose your Racial background. Half Orcs and Half Elves can choose either their Demi Human parent's background, or their Human parent's background.
Then choose your class. Keep in mind that this is an RQ/BRP system... so though the usual complexity of the magic system isn't here, you still must put points into the requisite skills to cast spells (for Magic Users: Arcane Casting and Arcane Knowledge, for Clerics: Channel and Piety). You'll recognize the classic classes from the 1st edition of the.... the game that shall not be named. But here is the difference... YOU define your character's skills, etc... based on what you select. If you choose a fighter, are you a Melee fighter, or more of a ranged fighter... are you a Fighting Cleric, or more of a Medic type? You are provided a standard set of skills, then you take your skill points and build from there.
Now... Rank. Rank is like level, the only difference is: Rank is defined in words, skill points, etc... the equivalent of a 1-4th level character is called a Fresh character... then comes Low Level, Mid Level, High Level and Epic... each with a range of "levels" per the old system.
Magic. All the classic spells are here. Those who can use Magic or Clerical Magic use Magic points to cast.
So... this is a translation from BRP to Classic RPG's.
If you've ever wanted to translate your classic high level character to a BRP type... this is your guide. All in all, a tremendous effort that really brings the OTHER game, to a BRP style game.
Oh... and don't mess with dragons... in Classic... they are fearsome creatures that will SERIOUSLY eat you for lunch...
This is Heroic Fantasy without the classic "damage sponging."
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