jp42

RQ6 has a chaos creature called a Boar Man that might be useful to you.

Status is actually the first thing that I change about bare-bones BRP when I'm putting together a campaign. It rubs me the wrong way that Status is the only "skill" that isn't actually a skill. So I promote it to Social Standing, and I make it a Characteristic alongside strength and dexterity. If I need a roll, Status is computed from SOCx5. I still use it in many of the same ways, but I don't like the idea of it being the only non-skill in the skill system.

So, regardless of how one feels about advantages and disadvantages, edges and flaws, talents and complications - whatever you want to call them - is there anything approaching a consensus on how to balance them against one another, and perhaps even against attributes and skills?

And not just superhuman gifts (covered in Superworld and BRP) or magic (covered all over the place, but rarely balanced against other skills) but even normal traits like ambidexterity, eagle eyes, hard of hearing or vow of poverty?

Since you're asking about monographs, there's a little bit in Rubble and Ruin. Maybe two pages.

If I ever have a game that involves Psionics to a good extent I will probably lean on GURPS Magic 3ed. There's a lot of good psionic stuff in there and it's fairly easy to adapt to BRP.

If you do, you may want to look at the GURPS: Powers - Psionic Powers PDF as well. A well-worked example of how to do psionics with GURPS 4th edition.

I'm a fan of most of the magic systems. I loved spirit magic in RQ back in the old days, really liked but didn't fully understand sorcery in RQ3, and am fond of both the individual spell as skill model and the distinct sorcery from BRP. I think I'd be inclined to use them all, sprinkled throughout the setting.

Problem is that this is in tension with the improvement system which requires successful skill rolls. so you have one part of the system steering you one way (no need to roll unless it's meaningful) and another part encouraging players to roll as often as possible in order to increase in skill. That's one of the reasons I prefer RQ/Legend's improvement roll system.

But what to do if you're also a fan of RQ3/BRPs more finely grained skill system? Just double the number of Improvement Rolls?

Many games that are otherwise quite detailed in their rules have features that many GMs either read and don't remember, or read and don't really feel comfortable implementing. Even GURPS is quite explicit that when you're not under any stress, most tasks you're trying get a +10, so even a character whose skill might warrant a 10- on 3d6 has a nearly 100% chance of avoiding failure under normal circumstances. You get the same result from the "don't make them roll for something if it doesn't matter" rules that many games have anymore.

Though, to be fair, if you know it doesn't matter as a GM, you might still make them roll just to keep the tension high and avoid giving away anything you didn't intend to give away.

I seem to understand that the very popular Savage Worlds (which I never read nor played) occupies a similar niche to that BRP, although it tends more to the emulation of pulp fiction than to that of "realistic" fiction.

I would agree with the assessment that Savage Worlds occupies the same space as BRP. I tend to recommend them to many of the same audiences. My own tastes run more to BRP, as I find the dice mechanics, plus the use of playing cards and other variants on randomization, to be clunky comparatively, and to have some quirks I'm not pleased with.

But, everyone knows that RPG books should not be subject to inflation and should cost the same now as when we started playing.

In fact, they should be cheaper because of the savings that modern technology brings.

Especially PDFs, because you cut out the printing service entirely! No paper, no ink! Ought to be cheap as old chips.

The exact language:

The intention to parry must be declared before any attack roll is made. However, if the attack

misses then the parrying participant can opt not to complete the parry, thereby saving his CA

from being spent. This does mean, though, that he will not gain a defensive Combat Manoeuvre

(see Combat Manoeuvres, page 134), for the exchange.

The semantics are odd - there doesn't appear to ever be any reason not to declare a parry before the attack roll is made, as there's no drawback if the parry proves not to be needed.

Prefacing this with the fact that I'm a fan of all three game systems, it was interesting to note that this year, neither Hero Games nor Steve Jackson Games won any ENnies - in fact, SJG wasn't even nominated (Hero had five nods). In the realm of small companies making generic systems, BRP and BRP-alike games seem to have done very well for themselves in this annual contest.

I suspect there's just too much reliance on the thought that "Illusion == Hologram" instead of allowing it the flexibility that it deserves. You can have an illusion of something *not* being there, for example.

I joked on this very board just after the rules came out that we needed to set up an itunes-like store. Core resolution mechanics are free. Want static armor? 99¢. Want random armor? 99¢ Want spell system? 99¢ for the resolution mechanics and 99¢ per each spell.

Nice!

I agree with most of your thoughts, Pansophy, it would need to be a "print" on demand style app, that generated a dynamic document based on the selected values. I suspect you're right that the layout issues alone would be a nightmare, without some pre-planning to make the various components into standard sizes and shapes to promote the modularity of the process. The elimination of art would go a long way to helping with the process - to create a purely functional document to supplement your core rules copy.

Hm, I don't see the point. There is a "Optional Rules Checklist" in the book that does exactly this. It also refers to the page the rule is mentioned. So for a physical or PDF book I do not see the necessity.

Perhaps it's different with a physical book, but with the PDF, all of the options, and all of the different locations of them, just becomes so tedious. It's not as bad as, say, GURPS with it's one hundred and eleven sourcebooks, but it would be lovely to just have all of the things that don't matter culled, and the things that do inserted where they belong.

In a perfect world, you'd open up an app - maybe a web app, maybe not - and you'd be presented with all of the modules and optional rules and alternate rules in the BGB. There you would check boxes next to the ones you wanted to use and leave the others unchecked. Some, mutually exclusive rules, would involve radio buttons instead of check boxes. Some would activate additional sub-rules that only pertained if the main rule was checked.

And then you'd hit submit, and a custom BGB PDF would be produced with only those rules that you opted for presented, and presented in-line, like they weren't optional at all, but just the default rules.

Somebody get on that, won't you?

Yup. I think there's something to be done with replacing the 3-21 range on primary stats with percentile scores.

I don't think you'd break anything there. Just a little easier for the very healthy to heal, for the very lucky to control their own destinies, and the very charismatic to increase in power more quickly. If those aren't issues for you, I suspect you'll be just fine.

Still doesn't get rid of breakpoints. I mean, what's the value in a CON, CHA or POW over 16?

Unfortunately, I'm not that clear on Traveller rules and don't have a feel for what a DM +/- 2 means, so I am not the best person to ask.

It's a 2d6 + skill level + DMs > 8 system for the most part, so a gentle bell curve.

What would be more valuable? A generic "here's how to do Sci-Fi with BRP, now go make your own universe" book, or specific settings, whether based on existing fiction or not?

Another way to look at it is in BRP/Legend/RQ, you aren't stuck with the Characteristics you begin with, as its pretty easy to raise them in play, especially the low ones. So even if you start out below what an average NPC may have, you'll catch up.

This is actually not true in RQ6 - one has to dedicate a huge amount of one's improvement rolls to maintain bonuses to characteristics. The rolled/bought value is your "optimal" value and requires unnatural focus to exceed. But that is the exception, rather than the rule, in d100 systems.

I suspect I would want a little finer-grained system than most that have been proposed. A little more Hero/GURPS-y, honestly. But that's me - always a quest for greater detail.

You already have one ... the Failings section of the Super Powers chapter.

You know, I've never played a supers game with BRP. I tend to bolt back on the Basic Magic rules from RQIII, but haven't used much of the Powers chapter. I'll have to give a look.

I've wondered how hard it would be to adapt a rudimentary advantage/disadvantage system for BRP - something that involved a trade-off of points for characteristics or skills.

TSR's Star Frontiers

This is an odd one, as you roll d100, but then compare to a chart for a result that is 30-75 (I think) by fives. Could have been a d20 system without much jiggering.

And while the actual game mechanics may have been different, still D100...

ICE's RoleMaster

ICE's Middle Earth Roleplaying (MERP)

Pacesetter's Chill (later Mayfair)

Pacesetter's Timemaster

Pacesetter's Star Ace

All used a 1-100 system for characteristics

Yeah, remembered Rolemaster after I'd posted. It has some strengths, and I had the PDFs of the public beta hanging around somewhere. I really should give it a longer look.

Discussions about various breakpoints in the way that some d100 games handle figured stats makes me wonder - has there ever been a d100 variant that used 01-100 values for primary Characteristics?