From: rbg41782@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (Richard B. Grady)
Subject: Dangerous Journeys/Mythus
Summary: Not the Gygax war, but some comments
Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana
Date: Sun, 30 Aug 1992 19:24:46 GMT
Keywords: dangerous journeys, mythus

	I have copies of both the basic Dangerous Journeys game and the Magick
Book.  IMHO, it's a pretty good game system.  There are a few flaws, but most
of them are typos that will be fixed by the next printing (things like omitting
a step from character creation and the like).    
	Character creation is pretty complex the first time you make a 
character.   There are nineteen dice rolls to be made merely to decide your
SEC (Socio-Economic Class, which determines which vocation you can follow),
and the eighteen attributes (yes, 18).  Then, you chose a vocation (class)
and arrange the attirbutes to suit.  The attributes are:Mnemonic Capacity,
Power and Speed, Reasoning Cap, Pow and Spd, Muscular Cap, Pow and Spd, Neural
Cap, Pow and Spd, Metaphysical Cap Pow and Spd, and Psychic Cap, Pow and Spd.
(Wow!).  Each group of three (Cap, Pow and Spd) combine to determine the score
for a Category (Mnemonic, Psychic, etc), and then the Categories combine to 
form Traits (Mnemonic & Reasoning form Mental Trait, Muscular and Neural form
the Physical Trait, and Metaphysical and Psychic form Spiritual).   However,
when you are placing Attributes, the Capacity must _always_ be at least as
high as the Power and Speed.
	Sounds confusing, doesn't it?  Don't worry, the hard part is then done.
Having chosen a vocation (which has a primary Trait which you want to maximize)
you should decide your age (the book has this as a last step, but do it now).
This is because age changes attributes and STEEP (Skill) points.  You get what-
ever skills are in the vocation package, plus a few others (about three in each
Trait area).  Skills (called K/S areas) are divided into three categories, to 
match the Traits.
	One thing which I do before having people choose their skills is have
them roll (or chose) their quirks.  Quirks are little advantages (and disadvan-
tages) that a character has.  You don't have to take any quirks, but if you 
take any good quirks, you have to take a bad quirk (It does say that a DM can
allow players to choose quirks, and I let them.  But I get to choose the 
counter-quirk).  If you roll up a quirk that is inconsistent with your 
HP (Heroic Persona, or character), you get to roll again. (I do this step now
so that you don't take swimming as a skill and then get the quirk of cannot 
swim).
	Equipment is pretty easy, with each SEC getting different amounts of
cash (BUCs).  There are also adjustments for age for starting income.
	As far as combat goes, Dangerous Journeys/Mythus is okay.  There are
no locations per se, but rather areas (Non-vital, Vital, Super-Vital, and 
Ultra-Vital).  HPs roll against their skill in Combat, Hand Weapons adding in 
modifiers for the weapon they are using, advantage of ground, and other 
variables. 
	Armour is a piece-by-piece affair, with pieces protecting locations 
like UVN (which means that it gives protection to the Ultra, Vital and 
Non-vital regions).  Armour offers protection in varying amounts from Piercing,
Crushing, Fire, and a couple other types of attacks (and yes, the negative 
defense against electrical attacks is correct for the metal armours--chain mail
and the like is made out of conductive materials).
	That's all I have time for right now.  I'll post something about the
Magick book in the next couple of days.  If there are any questions, either
post them here, or email them to me, and I'll try to answer them.

Richard


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