Wherein your humble scribe presents an adventuring party for Magic World, from the Worlds of Wonder boxed set. This is BRP at its most basic, but that just makes it more enjoyable if you ask me. These four adventurers were created completely by-the-book. If I were to run something using this iteration of the BRP rules I’d definitely want to tweak a few things (like adding in the Dodge skill), but on the whole I think the “original” BRP + Worlds of Wonder is downright awesomely playable as-is.
Setting out from the village of Barnswallow Bend in the Duchy of Thraesborn, this curious group of travelers are headed to the Duke’s palace in Cardoun to ask for assistance in the fight against the raiding armies of Prince Harwyck of Fennais. The journey is long and perilous, as the road to the capital runs straight through both the Troll Hills and the Lost Forrest. But with the strong arm of Dolphinia, the stealthy blade of Shyle, the wits of Velturn, and the arcane power of Ordomox the Flame Wizard, the group has a fighting chance to reach their destination. Whether they can convince the crown to send help, though, is an altogether different matter.
Dolphinia Kinnet, Warrior
STR 15 CON 13 SIZ 10 INT 9 POW 11 DEX 8 CHA l0 HP 13 DB +1d6 Gold 13
Weapons: Battle Axe (1d8+2+db), Broadsword (1d8+1+db), Throwing Axe (1d6+1/2db)
Armor: Ring Mail (4), Shield (12)
Skills: Jump 50%, Climb 55%, Listen 45%, Spot 25%, Stealth 25%, Throw 45%, Brawl 45%, Hide 55%, First Aid 45%, Riding 40%, Swim 20%, Cut Purse 5%, Fine Manipulation 5%, Shield 60%, Battle Axe 60%, Sword 60%
Shyle Gantz, Rogue
STR 11 CON 14 SIZ 9 INT 11 POW 10 DEX 18 CHA l2 HP 14 DB none Gold 192
Weapons: Shortsword (1d6+1), Dagger (1d4+1)
Armor: Cuirboilli (3)
Skills: Jump 65%, Climb 65%, Listen 65%, Spot 65%, Stealth 65%, Throw 45%, Brawl 45%, Hide 65%, First Aid 45%, Riding 25%, Swim 20%, Cut Purse 90%, Fine Manipulation 90%, Short Sword 65%, Dagger 65%
Velturn the Builder, Scholar
STR 13 CON 6 SIZ 12 INT 14 POW 9 DEX 10 CHA 7 HP 6 DB none Gold 74
Weapons: Hammer (1d8+2)
Armor: Leather (2)
Skills: Jump 45%, Climb 55%, Listen 45%, Spot 25%, Stealth 25%, Throw 45%, Brawl 45%, Hide 55%, First Aid 45%, Riding 25%, Swim 20%, Cut Purse 5%, Fine Manipulation 5%, Literacy 70%, Lore 42%, First Aid 45%, Mercantile 42%, Philosophy 42%, Linguist (Barghrun, Kallestine, Ryellic) 42%, Mechanical 70%, Hammer 25%
Ordomox, Sorcerer
STR 5 CON 10 SIZ 6 INT 15 POW 16 DEX 13 CHA 14 HP 10 DB none Gold 66
Weapons: Staff (1d8), Dagger (1d4+1), Shortsword (1d6+1)
Armor: Leather (2)
Skills: Jump 45%, Climb 55%, Listen 45%, Spot 25%, Stealth 25%, Throw 45%, Brawl 45%, Hide 55%, First Aid 45%, Riding 25%, Swim 20%, Cut Purse 5%, Fine Manipulation 5%, Literacy 50%, Shortsword 45%, Staff 45%, Dagger 45%, Blast 45%, Conjure/Dismiss Fire Elemental 45%, Light 45%, Vision 45%
BRP without Dodge? That’s the most important skill in the game–followed closely by Parry and First Aid.
Does Odromox’s fire elemental work like the fire elementals in Stormbringer?
I phrased that somewhat poorly (but not completely so) – the slim “original” BRP volume that powers Worlds of Wonder makes Dodge a characteristic roll (like Luck and Know and such in CoC and other BRP games), and it’s equal to a relatively generous DEX x5. But as such it can’t be trained up or improved in the way skills are. I can see an argument for both approaches, but I think I prefer Dodge as a skill, over all.
Also of note is the fact that the slim BRP doesn’t really appear to account for Dodge to be used in combat per se. The brief description (which resides under the entry for DEX) states that a character “can dodge when they see something coming from a distance, such as a rolling rock or a charging bear.” A reference to dodging thrown weapons is made, but that’s about it for using Dodge in combat. And since you mention the value of Dodge, I imagine you can understand why I’d be keen to expand the functionality a bit. 🙂
The elemental summoning is generally similar to the rules in Elric! & Stormbringer 5e, yes. I can’t remember if you have the Big Gold Book version of BRP, but if you do, the Magic system in that book is pretty much the system from Magic World in all respects (as opposed to the Sorcery system in the BGB, which is pretty much the system from Elric! with the Moorcock prints wiped off). If you don’t have the BGB, the spells work similarly enough, with the primary difference being that in Magic World you have to roll to cast the spell.