by Fugli

Murphy's Rules

Sort of like Murphy's Laws, but different.

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT

In RuneQuest, an untrained assassin with a dagger sneaking up on someone asleep on the floor has a 50% chance of missing completely with the attack.
- PJS

THE SUPERMAN IN THE STREET

An average man in Golden Heroes will get up and walk away after having a safe dropped onto him from a height of 20 metres. This man would also be capable of throwing a television the same distance.
- PJS

TOTAL SUPERIORITY

In Tunnels and Trolls, after two minutes of melee combat, no matter how large the battle, everyone on one side will always be completely unscathed.
- PJS

THE CLASH OF FEET

In RuneQuest, characters who know martial arts do more damage with a critical hit when kicking than with a critical hit when using a battleaxe.
- PJS

IT'S TOUGH ON KIDS THESE DAYS ...

An ordinary adolescent in Rolemaster has around 15 Body (Hit Points) and skill of about +15 in a weapon. Using the Creatures and Treasures supplement, he would easily be defeated by a rat, while an owl would finish several such opponents. Even removing a spider from the bath could result in serious wounds.
- PJS

CICERO'S AD DIVERSOS BY MEGAPHONE

Civilised nobles in RuneQuest cannot read or write.
- PJS

DANGEROUS AS HOUSES

Rolemaster requires Movement/Manoeuvre rolls for almost any action a character takes. Using the tables given, the average person will fall down the stairs at home once every 3 or 4 years.
- PJS

UNBALANCED COMBAT

In AD&D 2nd Edition, a Ranger or Barbarian may use a weapon in each hand. He may use a longsword or a bastard sword in one hand and a shortsword in the other, but may not use two shortswords.
- PJS

DANCING IN CHAINMAIL

In GURPS, the more armour you wear, the easier it is to dodge.
- PJS

MAGNUS VER MAGNUSSON WHO?

In Champions: the New Millenium (Hero Games), a normal human at peak strength--without any super abilities--can *lift* a small semi truck.
Kevin Mowery (kemowery@freenet.columbus.oh.us)

WHO NEEDS STUN GUNS?

In GURPS, an unwounded person shot point-blank in the torso with an assault rifle, on a normal hit, may fall unconscious but has absolutely NO chance of dying from the wound. (Note: If optional bleeding rules are being used, someone has to bandage the wound within about 10 minutes for the above to be true. Big deal.)
Pee Kitty (Pkitty@cris.com)

FASTER THAN A SPEEDING BULLET

In WEG's game TORG, a character at maximum natural talent for speed and no running training whatsoever can run a hundred meters in 4 seconds with a roll of 15 or better on 1d20.
Staffan Johansson (d96sj@efd.lth.se)

57 WEAPONS AND NOTHING SHOOTS

While the pseudo-myelin based technology of BattleTech's 'Mechs is still beyond our ordinary production means, the range and apparent penetration capabilities of their "gun"-style weaponry is extremely close to those of 1940s-vintage hardware.

The short-barrel armament of a first-version M1 Abrams tank had better range and accuracy characteristics.
Bryan J. Maloney bjm10@cornell.edu

UP, UP AND AWAY

In GURPS Goblins, it is possible to have a character with a negative weight. My friend & I postulated that these floating goblins may be used as "fuel" for the elaborate balloons and dirigibles of the nobility.
David S. Miller (davmil@microsoft.com)

FASTER THAN A SPEEDING BULLET II

In Palladium's Ninjas & Superspies, a normal person with a maximum Speed attribute (24; already fast enough to break the world record for the mile, but within reach of current atheletes) and a maximum roll from the Running skill (+4D4 to Speed), can run 2-minute miles (~30 mph). And the duration of this running is based on the P.E. Attribute in rounds (15 seconds), so it can be kept up by an average (10) P.E. for 1.25 miles, and by a maximum P.E. (with no other physical skills but running, and +1 for the Running skill) of 25 for 3.125 miles, or effecively winning a 5k race in 6 minutes, 15 seconds!
Stan Bundysbundy@kih.net

IT'S HELL ON FASHION

In Palladium FRPG (1st edition, I don't know if it still applies to 2nd), if you wear soft leather armour and a heavy crossbow bolt hits you where the armour covers, you will take absolutely no damage, but the armour will be in tatters.
Torben Mogensen (torbenm@diku.dk)

HELLO? MAPMAKERS GUILD?

In "The World of Synnibarr", the world is hollow and the inner surface is inhabitable. Even though the inner surface is described as spherical, the map wraps both N/S amd E/W, so it depicts a toroidal surface.
Torben Mogensen (torbenm@diku.dk)

TINKERBELL NEVER LOOKED LIKE THIS

In Powers & Perils, the height/weight ratio of faerrys is such that an average faerry has the build of an 6' man weighing 400lbs. They sure don't look that way on the pictures. (The problem is that the racial weight is given as a linear factor of the height, so a faerry, being half as tall as a human, is given half the weight, where it should have been 1/8th).
Torben Mogensen (torbenm@diku.dk)

THEY'RE SHOOTING AT US - STAND STILL!

In Ars Magica (3rd edition), you shouldn't try to use your dodge skill to evade arrows, as you need a very good doge skill before dodging gives you a smaller chance of being hit than just being a moving target.
Torben Mogensen (torbenm@diku.dk)

VALLEY? WHAT VALLEY?

In Synnibarr, there is a "valley" so large that one cannot see the mountains on one side of it from the mountains on the other side of it... such a "valley" exists in North America - it is called the Great Plains...
Unknown...

WE CAN DEAL WITH THE GLASS JAW, GET DOWN THE GUN RANGE!

In Living Steel someone with any unarmed combat skill (like a heavyweight boxer) will be stunned by any blow 98% of the time, unless he is skilled in Gun Combat.
Gordon W. Rycroftgwr1@ukc.ac.uk

BOMBS AWAY

in first edition warhammer 40,000, if you drop a completely normal, naked, person from high enough then you can destroy anything upto a light tank if they hit it. In fact, three such human missiles can destroy any sized tank - even if it is the size of a continent(!)
Smedley

ENERGETIC OLD MEN

In ad&d, follow these steps:
1) get a mage character with constitution 3(or there abouts). have him adventure until he's level 20 or, and about 80 years old. he'll have about 40 hit points.

2) create an 18 year old, 18 constitution fighter. he'll have between 5 and 14 hitpoints.

3) compare hit points: funny, but it takes up to 26 more blows with a two handed sword to kill an 80 year old man with terrible health than it does to kill a young, strapping, ultra-tough eighteen year old.

4) is it just me, or did something go wrong?
Smedley

ALL THAT IS OLD IS NOT OBSOLETE

In WH 40K(1st AND second ed) a primitive musket and an ultra-hi tech boltgun are equal in deadliness, accuracy and rate of fire. The only differnce is that muskets take a little longer to load (you cant move and fire), and arent as good at penetrating armour. Good to see that in the 41st millenium we'll have made massive weapon tech. advances.
Smedley

FASTER THAN A . . . ER . . . WELL, FASTER THAN *HIM* ANYWAY

In Flying Buffalo's "Mercenaries, Spies and Private Eyes", all characters have a Movement rating, but there are no rules which use it.
Steven Howardblore@ibm.net

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