I assume that a stunned character would be able to stagger around a bit and perhaps take an action but I am interested in what Larry & Bill have to say on the matter.
Stunned would allow a character to stagger (MOV is a free action) and take an action.
Any time you roll dice, it counts as an action. If the character sprinted (requires a DEX check) then he has taken a single action.
Is initiative rolled only once at the start of the encounter or is it rolled every round? That is once every player and NPC has taken their turn and it has gone back round they roll initiative again. The manual doesn't seem to explicitly state this but hints that it should work like this.
It says that multiple actions are cumulative adding -20 -40 and so on. These penalties must happen within 1 round and once the round is over these penalties are reset to zero until the characters accumulate more actions within the round. Is my understanding of this correct?
Initiative is rolled at the beginning of each turn in combat.
Multiple Actions - Each action taken after the first (in the same turn) results in a cumulative -20 to skill and ability checks. At the start of a new turn, all Actions begin at 0.
The first 31 pages would make a sweet player guide product. :)
That is a totally cool idea. We're going to chew on that a bit... thanks for the idea!
(copied here from forums)
In other words, how many times can they increase 'statistics' before they hit a ceiling
We originally had a more complicated graduation for ability score increase that made it tougher to advance at the upper end of the % spectrum, but dropped it because we didn't feel it gave us anything in the way of FUN. So yes, you can advance beyond 100%. This is cool for players because it allows them to attempt ridiculous actions that have huge penalties and still succeed, creating memorable stories. However, it can prove complicated for GMs trying to challenge players who do that. As a GM, you can impose some restrictions if you'd like to add more realism to your game. Share your ideas with us here on the forums if you decide realism trumps player-simplicity in your setting (some settings are more gritty!)
Skills are a different matter. There is a hard level limit of 6 for any skill. Levels 1-2 represent a novice or journeyman status. Levels 3-4 represent a professional or specialist level of achievement. Levels 5 and 6 become increasingly more expensive to purchase but represent the true achievement of the dedicated master.
I NEED printed books. Capitalized NEED. :)
That way I can buy the books and give them to my gamers.
Thanks for the excitement, Jasales. We want to provide a POD option of some sort. Right now we're working on getting quotes for doing a print run of books and then perhaps doing a kickstarter project so folks like you who want them can pre-order and fund the release. It's all preliminary, but it looks like that's the direction we're leaning.
EDIT: 11/12 Now that the game as been out for a couple of weeks we are finalizing any edits and will make a POD option available through RPGNow in the next week or two. There is a topic in the forums "BBF Edits | Final Call" if you have any edits to discuss.