New System?

After I finish the Norukar Adventure and the Quick Start Adventure, I was thinking of creating a new custom system for Swords of Cydoria.

I'm currently thinking of a hybrid between d20 and BRP.

Stats: generated same as BRP, but each stat generates a skill bonus equivalent to stat / 5 (+0 to +4)
Hit points = same as BRP
Armor and weapons = same as BRP
Skills: rated +1 to +20, essentially the BRP percentile divided by 5.
Resolution: stat bonus + skill, target = easy (10), difficult (20), hard (30), impossible (40).
Combat: stat bonus + skill vs. 10 + target stat bonus + skill
Damage = same as BRP

For stats, I have created a working list:

Physical

Physique: strength, muscles, and power.

Agility: adroitness, dexterity, and reflexes.

Mental

Intellect: critical thinking skills, deductive ability, and memory.

Wits: intuition, perceptiveness, and common sense.

Personality

Charisma: charm, personality, and allure.

Presence: bearing, countenance, and aspect.

Fortitude

Willpower: resolve, perseverance, and discipline.

Endurance: stamina, constitution, and resilience.

I'll be creating a custom list of skills and not relying on the BRP list. My list will be shorter and will reflect the needs of the Cydorian setting.  My current list looks like:

Archery

Boating

Climbing

Debate

Deduction

Discipline

Driving

Gambling

Healing

Insight

Intimidation

Jumping

Knowledge

Mechanics

Melee Fighting

Notice

Persuasion

Piloting

Resilience

Riding

Running

Shooting

Stealth

Streetwise

Subterfuge

Survival

Swimming

Taunt

Technology

Throwing

Tracking

Unarmed Fighting

Or I might reduce it down even further:

1.       Academic                                            Intellect

2.       Athletics                                              Physique and Agility

3.       Awareness                                         Wits

4.       General Knowledge                        Intellect or Wits

5.       Guild Secrets                                     Intellect

6.       Healing                                                 Intellect and Agility

7.       Influence                                             Charisma

8.       Insight                                                  Wits

9.       Melee Fighting                                  Agility

10.   Ranged Weapons                            Agility

11.   Resistance                                          Willpower or Endurance

12.   Riding                                                    Agility

13.   Subterfuge                                         Agility or Wits

14.   Unarmed Fighting                            Agility

15.   Vehicles                                               Agility

16.   Wilderness                                         Intellect

Comments and suggestions are always welcome.

Gatan Warrior on a Cliff

Downton Abbey

The new adventure scenario I'm writing is a thrill-packed urban adventure filled with chases, evil snake cults, love, and betrayal, and heavily influenced by... Downton Abbey.

I'm not even kidding. I'm trying to infuse as much Downton Abbey style upstairs-downstairs intrigue as I can into the adventure. I'm watching the series on Netflix for inspiration (and am now quite hooked on it, I can assure you).

I'm also doing a lot of research on turn-of-the-twentieth-century English households to add an element of verisimilitude. Granted, the adventure begins in a high-rise penthouse apartment instead of a stately English manor house, but the same rules, the same hierarchy, and the same kinds of intra-house personal conflicts apply.

I'm kind of hoping this is the first RPG supplement to be inspired by Downton Abbey. If anyone can think of another, please let me know.

To this I am combining the art deco cityscape and class politics of  Fritz Lang's Metropolis, the evil secret foreign cults of  Young Sherlock Holmes, and the hedonistic decadence of Caligula or Eyes Wide Shut. I am shooting for a final result that is one part drawing room investigation, one part chase scene, one part dungeon-crawl, and one part James Bond.

Update

Currently, I am writing an adventure scenario for BRP Swords of Cydoria. This new scenario is set in the city of Norukar. In this story, the player characters are hired by a desperate aristocrat to quietly retrieve an object stolen from his study. The story takes player characters from the heights of the Cydorian upper class, to the lowest pits of the Under-City and the slaves that live there, and back up to the heights again.

I'm currently 75% done writing the main story parts. I just need to fill in some details and descriptions. Then I complete the NPC stats, maps, and chase rules.

When I'm finished with that I'll write an introductory adventure scenario designed for use with nothing but the BRP quick start kit. You won't need to own Swords of Cydoria or the Big Gold Book for BRP.

Welcome!

Welcome to the official Swords of Cydoria blog site. My hope is to post updates on what I'm doing with Swords of Cydoria and provide lots of free goodies for various systems.

If you are unfamiliar with Swords of Cydoria, here is the introduction:

Welcome to the Swords of Cydoria , a setting for Basic Roleplaying. Swords of Cydoria  is set on the fantasy world of Uruta. Whether Uruta is our own Earth in the far future, a mirror of Earth in a parallel universe, or a strangely-familiar alien world on the far side of the galaxy is unclear. Uruta is a savage barbaric world of flashing swords, mutant beasts, daring heroes, diabolical cults, ancient ruins, mysterious forces, and powerful artifacts. Against this backdrop of swords and sorcery is told a story of contact with alien worlds, the introduction of science-fiction technology, and the struggle for freedom against oppression.

Swords of Cydoria  offers many opportunities for intrigue and adventure. Using the rules presented for this setting, players may create brooding barbarians, dashing adventurers, desperate freedom fighters, cunning aero-ship pilots, and much more.

Setting

Swords of Cydoria  takes place on the continent of Markania on the mysterious world known as Uruta.

The continent of Markania is a land of extremes, with frigid tundra covering the northern third, poisonous jungles and swamps blanketing the southern third. The middle is characterized by regions of exploding volcanoes, baking deserts, vast plains, inland gulfs, towering peaks, floating mountains, and dense forests. The deserts are home to ravenous sand squid and giant wasps. Dragonflies the size of horses dart over the dark jungles of deadly plants and poisonous miasma. Massive four-armed mutant apes occupy cliff-side caves overlooking a fetid swamp. Monstrous saurians haunt the ancient ruins of lost cities deep in the vinechoked forests.

Civilization is centered in the city-states of Cydoria, most of which are ruled by the Vrildarian Empire. The Empire conquered the city-states twelve years ago using advanced technology supplied by the Rhakadian League, aliens from the planet Malus.

During the War of Unification, the Empire was opposed by the Coalition of Timan, an alliance equipped with advanced technology of their own supplied by the Phanosian Alliance, enemies of the Rhakadians. The Coalition was eventually abandoned by their Phanosian allies and ultimately lost the war. Afterwards, the cities of the Coalition were occupied and its population enslaved. Many Coalition prisoners were shipped to prison camps in the deserts of Arus.

Life for the civilized people of Cydoria is roughly equivalent to that of ancient Rome or China, with areas of relative technical sophistication in cities such as Norukar. Barbarians, of course, live a much more primitive existence. People wield swords and wear armor of leather and steel. They tame strange animals as mounts and food. In recent years, contact with aliens has introduced sorcerous wonders such as electric lights and motors, broadcast power, energy weapons, and motorized vehicles.

The Vrildarian Empire maintains power over the empire through its monopoly on access to alien technology. Such wonders are available only to a select few members of the nobility and the punishment for unauthorized use of technology is severe. The sentence for carrying or using a laser pistol, for example, is the amputation of a hand. Despite this, smugglers from other worlds are able to slip past the Rhakadian orbital blockade and gain entry through the Oudh, the magical force field that protects Uruta from alien invasion, to sell their wares on the black market.

The invention of the aero-ship, flying vehicles powered by propeller-driven engines, has opened up the Markanian interior for colonization and settlement. Cydorian pioneers and refugees from the War of Unification have streamed west to establish a new life on the frontier.

Into this land stride mighty adventurers, be they resolute soldiers of the Demetrian resistance, cunning members of the crew of the Tonbo, crafty artifact hunters exploring an ancient ruin, mystical warriors of the Adhara, deadly assassins of the Katari, devious rogues of the Hidden Hand, notorious sky-pirates of the Dazumi, or simple townsfolk on the Markanian frontier. They fight for freedom, riches, and fame against the tyranny of those who would oppress them.