Blue Rose Fast-Play

Blue Rose Fast Play is an introduction to the rules and setting, and includes a short adventure designed for starting characters. It is available for free at the Green Ronin website: http://freeronin.com/gr_files/blue_rose_fast_play.pdf

The character portraits on pages 5 and 20 (pp. 63-66 of the core rules) depict Dorian, Jann, and Brianna. [Suggested by IMAGinES, 1/10/2005, "The three characters sketches in the Fast Play doc…"; confirmed by developer Steve Kenson.]

pp. 6-8, Damage: Bruised and Hurt have no tick box, because a character can take multiple Bruised and Hurt results, but only one of each more serious damage result. [In response to Jorjowsky, 2/16/2005, "[BR Fast Play] Newbie questions"]

p. 7, Damage Conditions:

Do the BR rules at all attempt to use standard d20 terminology? (I sincerely believe BR best serves its customers by avoiding confusion by inventing new condition names for conditions that truly are different from their standard counterparts)

    […][Staggered and] Wounded: [I]f you use Stunning then you should add "dropping hand-held items" to the description.

    Disabled: You should clarify that you fall unconscious *after* performing the standard action. A beginner might well read the current text as "you fall unconscious when you try to perform a standard action, so no action gets performed".

    […] I note that the conditions of Shakened and Stunned are used, but not defined as conditions of their own. [Zapp, 11/23/2004, "fastplay rule mechanism glitches"]

    The Damage Conditions text in the Fast Play appears identical to that on p. 159 of the core rules. Shaken and Stunned are defined in the core rules (p. 160, Condition Summary), and apparently already included in the effects of Staggered and Wounded.

pp. 11-14, Bones & Flowers: In the monster stat blocks, attack and damage bonuses already include ability modifiers. [In response to Jorjowsky, 2/16/2005, "[BR Fast Play] Newbie questions"]

p. 11, Skeletons: Under the Unliving trait, "(like the Surprise Strike feat)" should read "(including bonus damage from the Surprise Attack feat)".

p. 13, Eldreth's Ghost (Possessing Kiya): Knowledge (arcana) should be +7 (6 ranks, +1 Int). Notice should be +10, Search +9 (no ranks, +8 racial bonus, + key ability). She is missing most of the skills and feats she should have.

    According to the ghost template in the Blue Rose Companion, a ghost retains the base attack bonus, saving throws, skills, and feats of the base creature. Choose a role for Eldreth, then modify her stat block to match the abilities of a 3rd-level human of that role. Assuming Eldreth is most likely an expert, change stats as follows: Defense 13 (+3 role) [+5 (+3 role, +3 Cha) when not possessing Kiya]; Tough +1; other saves and attacks are correct; add 7 skills (6 ranks each) to the corrections above; add Armor Training (light) and 6 other general or expert feats.

p. 13, Unliving Bear: This creature is a brown bear that has been animated as a zombie (see the core rules, pp. 189 and 207, and the Blue Rose Companion, p. 112). It is a 6th-level unliving creature. Under Defense, "Reflex" should be "Dex". Under Saves, increase Fort, Ref, and Will saves by 1 each. Under Feats, "Toughness" should be "Great Toughness". As a zombie, the bear can only perform a single move action or standard action each round. (The Fast Play rules do not cover the rules for a charge, which is the only way a zombie can move and attack in the same round.)

    Note that the bear can be a very deadly opponent for 1st-level characters. The heroes will have to either need good tactics and luck to defeat it, or resolve the encounter with Eldreth by nonviolent means. [In response to Jorjowsky, 2/16/2005, "[BR Fast Play] Newbie questions"]

pp. 15-18, [sample characters]: The listed Melee and Ranged modifiers have already added base attack bonus to the relevant ability score (Str and Dex, respectively). The weapons table does the same, and includes Str in the listed damage. [In response to Jorjowsky, 2/16/2005, "[BR Fast Play] Newbie questions"]

Also, in the character sheet, the last entry in the "Combat" column is labelled "Total" (13 for Dorian,15 for Jann...). What is this used for? I found no mention of it in the text. [Jorjowsky, 2/16/2005, "[BR Fast Play] Newbie questions"]

    This entry seems to have no use in play.

    Note that the heroes each start with 3 points of Conviction, per p. 5.

p. 16, Jann, and p. 17, Brianna:

Applying the core book rules to the quickstart, I've noticed that Brianna has a shield that she is not proficient in (since Armor Training (all) no longer grants proficiency in shields), and Jann has a short sword that she is not proficient in (since short swords are martial weapons).

    So, any suggestions on what these items could be replaced with? One could replace them with... nothing. Jann still has a dagger, and Brianna can have a free hand to make obscene gestures in the middle of combat.

    Taking a cue from the noblewoman illustration in the quickstart, maybe Jann could have a cane. I'd define it as a masterwork club. A masterwork club would cost even less than a short sword, and it gives +1 to attack rolls. This would be particularly handy against those skeletons!

    Brianna could have a spear. I'd let her use it as a quarterstaff, if she wanted to bludgeon the skeletons. Or maybe Brianna could keep the shield. It only has a -1 penalty to attack rolls and Str/Dex-based checks for nonproficiency. [nephandi, 2/23/2005, "Quickstart fixes"]

p. 16, Jann:

Page 16 (Jann): it shows her Melee attack at +0, yet her Shortsword has a +1 Attack Bonus? [Banesfinger, 12/27/2004, "Re: fastplay rule mechanism glitches"]

    The attack bonus should be +0.

p. 17, Brianna:

Brianna's Longsword stats should read +5 (it should automatically include Str). [skywalker, 2/16/2005, "Re: [BR Fast Play] Newbie questions"]

p. 18, Asta:

Page 18 (Asta): it shows his Melee attack at +2, yet his Bite/Claws have only a +1 Attack Bonus? [Banesfinger, 12/27/2004, "Re: fastplay rule mechanism glitches"]

    The attack bonus should be +2.

    Asta has one too many known skills. Redue Climb to +10 (no ranks, +2 Str, +8 background). Add Jump +10 (no ranks, +2 Str, +8 background).

    Under Asta's Shadow Nature, "Compassion" should be "Conviction". [Noted by Jontu Kontar, 12/4/2004, "Blue Rose and Tarot Cards…"]