TrippyHippy

I'm not trying to knock Savage Worlds, incidentally, which I think is a fine product. However, for me, the characteristics and skills of BRP have always provided a nice easy profile with which to interpret characters. The various advantage/disadvantage systems, whilst I can see their functional use in a number of cases, have always felt a bit of prescriptive to me - something else to list about a character rather than aiding the profile in my mind. As I say, it's different conventions what we are talking about here - and different gamers preferences for them.

I don't think there is anything stopping you using all five different power systems in one setting if you want to. None of them are mutually exclusive to the others. For me, though, Magic and Sorcery are more for fantasy settings, while Psychic powers, Mutations and the other Powers are more sci-fi orientated. Actually, I'd have preferred Mutations and Powers to have been integrated into one overall category - if only to satisfy those gamers who like advantage/disadvantage systems.

I guess it depends on how you define flavour, really. Much of these things are handled in BRP in different ways - but are still present. Things like Attractive/Unattractive, Luck, etc, are sinply scaled as Characteristics that aren't included in Savage Worlds. Things like Noble (Status) are handled through skills, while Edges that are bonuses to skills can merely be better skill scores, surely? Other things are handled as Powers. Whilst BRP doesn't necessarily produce an exact replica of Savage Worlds, in every case, I wouldn't state that you can't do the same things with it. Both games are attempting to be generic rule-sets, albeit with slightly different conventions of play. The major difference between the two titles has more to do with marketing than anything else.

Cybernetics are in the BRP core rules (ref: p269). They are treated as Gadgets, which are in turn considered to be devices that have Powers.

Well maybe it's just my perspective then - but it has been coloured by a fair whack of experience. A quick glance at the threads recently just reminded me that the place is not where I'd enjoy hanging out, and it's certainly not a place where my views are respected or liked. Too much baggage, I guess....but each to their own and all that.

I don't mind the LEN and MAS or Robotics stat at all (although maybe you could invert that into HUManity, btw, as they do in Cyberpunk), but the Traveler system already uses CHA as a replacement for SOC in some species (Aslan for example), whilst POW is already used for Psionics in BRP. I think the confusion is mainly due to this information not being in available SRDs as you say - but with POW in particular it's hard to know what to use it for if there is another PSI stat already. 'Magic' isn't exactly part of the Traveler-style sci-fi canon! The Lifepath system would take a bit of work - and you could still have it working with the points distribution system as an option. What you would need to do is take each career and have rolls provided to qualify for a term (4 years), survive it (or avoid a mishap - with a mishap table), be promoted (advance in rank), a random Events table, a Benefits table and the skills associated with the career. Most of these rolls can be based upon Characteristic rolls, and the Basic Training and Education should provide each career with the basic skills needed - but skills and benefits are usually randomly accumulated by experience, events and promotion in Traveler. Not by spending chargen points. It tends to create characters with very interesting backgrounds - and it's actually very fun to do.

I can't be bothered to post on RPG.net anymore. I am doing a lot of work and studying abroad this year (and next). Currently, I'm in NZ which gives me more scope for internet socialising, but for the most part I don't have time to get involved in the fracas I usually get on that site. This site is nice and relaxed, and everybody is pretty open-minded -so it's a good alternative for me I feel. I'm just tired of being spoken to like a pariah on that site by all sundry, every time I express an opinion. I've never felt welcome there for 10 odd years. Maybe it's just me - and the way I express myself. On the other hand, the last time I checked on their forum they had an 11+ page thread wherein somebody had asked the question 'what would you do with Chaosium if you have a million to spend?' (paraphrasing). I don't think I could have stomached getting involved**. Not one person seemed to come up with the radical notion of.....y'know...developing some new ideas and new settings or getting more support for the existing games! In almost all cases, there were just a bunch of people finding ever more elaborate ways of bashing the games they currently had, and/or suggesting ways to rui.....ah...modernise them in 101 incompatible directions. To me that just sums it up. I like critical analysis, and debate about tinkering and the like, but I'm just getting too old for that kind of crap. **If I had a million to donate to Chaosium, I'd set it up as a non-profit organisation that would protect the integrity of the game company, the titles and its fanbase from the sharks, but hey...

Ditch the extra characteristics. Choose either SOC or CHA (or APP), and have POW being PSI by default (what else would it be there for?). There is simply too much confusion to have to choose between different characteristics to roll, whilst the extra stats add nothing towards helping to visualise the character profile. Remember that BRP also has a Status skill that could be integrated into the rules too. There doesn't appear to be too much of a lifepath system going on here - it's steered more towards the RuneQuest way of doing things in this regard. I'd prefer the Traveler chargen system. The rest though, on cursary examination, seems like a really good effort. I'll keep reading....

Maybe it can, through the supplements? I mean, if it can be done for Classic Fantasy, and there is a tolerance for adaptation, why not? I mean, it would be pretty cool to have a verb/noun magic system as an option taken from a future supplement, whilst having Kult as the natural 'counterpoint' to Cthulhu's horror - integrated into a compatible system would be awesome (the players wouldn't know what to think about the cosmos....). I just like the idea of integrating ideas into a broad church system, but without sacrificing individual applications and styles to fit genres authentically.

I like the idea of having a single, unified game system to meet all my rpg needs, but practically this has always been a difficult thing for me to achieve. It was one of the factors that, ultimately, stopped me from committing to GURPS a while ago - whilst it provided a generic system that could handle nearly all settings and genres, it didn't provide the very specific flavour I had been accustomed to in my favourite games. In particular, I liked GURPS: Horror, but never felt I could ever ditch my preference for the style and tone of Call of Cthulhu. Likewise, GURPS: Traveller has always felt like a setting for GURPS: Space rather than an authentic representation of the original Traveler game. The character generation system, for example, is almost totally opposite to the approach used in the classic game. Now BRP has, almost from the off, established itself as an equally comprehensive and universal system but with a much more liberal and eclectic feel in it's approach. This may be due to the fact that it's more driven as an 'open system' rather than merely a house one, and consequently fans are continually exploring new avenues. Historically though, there has always been a tolerance for variation and adaptation in BRP - note Pendragon and Nephilim for example. I have noticed that there has already been a push towards producing a 'classic fantasy' D&D feel to at least one supplement. I was wondering what other games could considered 'classic', which components make them that way, and how could these aspects be brought into the BRP system? Let me start.... A 'Classic Space Opera' system, AKA Traveler - with career based lifepath generation, UWPs and spaceship design. Paranoia - secret police team, with secret societies and incriminating secrets. Actually, this could be done in the 'straight style' with an gamestyle effect that would probably not be dissimilar to John Wick's recent 'Digging for the Dead God' scenario. Alternatively, try to emphasise the comedy aspects. Ars Magica - the verb/noun magic system. Houses for group affiliations. Amber - 'Politics amongst super-powered immortals' - attribute or maybe powers auction?, diceless? Freeform magic. Kult - 'Mental Balance'; authenticised occult magic system and integrated cosmology. Wraith: The Oblivion - gothic 'Shadowland' setting for the restless dead society; Shadowplay. Feng Shui - customisable archetypes; streamlined play for specific action motif. These are just some of my favourites, but could they be done? What others are there?

Malory (at least, the period he wrote in)? Shakespeare's plays? Or failing that, Blackadder I?

I think there is a big question of interpretation as to what is 'rules lite' or not. For me, FATE is not a rules lite game system. It's more complex than BRP in it's application, even if it has a shorter skills list.

Actually, if you go the calculated route, then wouldn't it be better to have STR = SIZ + CON/2? I mean, I've never really got how a robust and healthy individual with a big frame can be physically weak? But there you go: RPG systems, like physics, aren't perfect.

I would point out that Castle Falkenstein did the whole 'write a narrative' Chargen before HeroQuest (or Hero Wars) did. Under-rated game, in terms of it's influence, I feel.

Any plans of doing something in later period England? The War of the Roses-era is criminally under-represented in historical RPGs, I feel. It's the most exciting (and violent) period too.

Technically, BRP has five physical stats (STR, SIZ, CON, DEX, APP), one mental stat (INT), a spiritual stat (POW) and the option of another mental stat (EDU). Indeed, if you take a holistic view of Intelligence (which most modern psychologists, neurologists and cognitive scientists do), then you could actually argue that INT is a physical stat too (i.e you can lose INT through physical brain damage). In terms of it being used for cognitive uses (percention, memory, etc) it's as much of a physical stat as DEX is in some aspects. Just because the stats don't fit into a classic body/mind dichotomy doesn't mean they aren't balanced. You could group them in other ways: STR/SIZ/CON (Body), DEX/INT (Mind) and POW/APP (Soul), for example. Also, I would add that it is one of the curiosities in RPG simulation, that APP (or CHA) is frequently referred to as a 'dump stat' when the real world places so much stock in appearance. Good looks sell yourself, attracts attention and can facilitate successful relationships, social confidence and favourable reactions. In the modern world that is a lot more powerful than being able to lift a few extra kgs over one's head, for example.

My favourite part of Amber Diceless was the Attribute Auctions - could this be reconciled with BRP? Actually, the diceless element of the game is quite easy to manage - simply make straight comparisons between skill levels or characteristics, to determine conflict resolution. Of course there is nothing in the Amber novels themselves that strictly require it to be diceless, but the power levels are obviously very high. Very good source of fantasy ideas though.

Ah...a slight variant on RuneQuest, actually - but the effect is pretty much the same! I consider them all to be different applications of the same basic system - even though others may argue about this. SimpleQuest also can be downloaded for free, incidently. In fact, if you really want to add some spice, you could download the first chapter of Unknown Armies, which isn't directly BRP at all, but is related enough (percentile based skills system) that you could mine lots of ideas from it. That's at the Atlas Games site.

Well, I'm a science teacher by profession, so I tend to pick up such scientific definitions. However, as much as it might bug you (and me), the use of mass and weight, in general English is actually interchangeable.

First of all, I think you did a great job on the Rome book, which was greatly appreciated. Secondly, would this be essentially usable a Wuxia sourcebook? What would the balance be between history/fantasy and the crunchy bits of martial arts rules be?

I'm not saying that you have to like the D20 system, or sell it to you - just that much of the setting stuff included is pretty much usable in any system (as are most games, on one level or another). What I am saying is that it isn't that difficult to convert D20 material into BRP normal operations - A Class merely becomes a Profession of sort, and so on. The complete Mongoose 'Deluxe' RuneQuest rules are downloadable on this site for free, btw, if you are interested in checking them out.

This is a very good idea for a supplement - probably making a straight competition for Castles and Crusades currently. It could spark of a series of titles, designed to specifically replicate the 'feel' and structure of other 'Classic' RPGs. A 'Classic Sci-Fi' game, for example, could incorporate Lifepath Generation and Career Term advancement, along with rules for Starship and Planetary design...... I honestly think, if the game system is allowed to be flexible, then there are very few games that couldn't be done with BRP. Amber, Everway and Nobilis might be tricky though!

HeroQuest takes a different approach to BRP, whereby characters are (often) generated in a freeform way, by highlighting keywords from a narrative description of the character. It uses a D20 for all rolls (no other polyhedrals) and the systems work differently accordingly. BRP is more structured - formally listed Characteristics, Skills etc. RuneQuest is, more or less, structured in the same way, but has some modifications and differing approaches to subsystems depending upon the edition.

Seriously, how difficult could it be to convert Conan D20 to BRP? The systems aren't that dissimilar - indeed I always thought that 3rd edition D&D was as much influenced by RuneQuest as it was by older editions of D&D. We are seeing a 'Classic Fantasy' version of BRP being written on this very site - so all it requires is to take the various classes, feats and skills and develop them into the BRP language. I don't think the source material of the Conan D20 game is in anyway lacking, through the multitude of supplements it has got. On a related note, I would like to see Mongoose put out a RuneQuest version of Conan at some stage. Imagine the possibilities of mixing the pulp worlds of Howard and Lovecraft together...

This looks a good project, but I'd be wary of calling it Brave New World. I actually thought it was going to be a BRP version of Paranoia from that title. Call it 'Land of the Brave; Home of the Free' or somesuch