Cinematic Basic Roleplaying Rules

[p_clapham]

Does anyone else enjoy using either homebrewed or "borrowed" Cinimatic rules for Basic Roleplaying. I tend to run mostly Pulp inspired games, usualy an adaptation of the Call of Cthulhu Rules. These are the tweaks I've used in the past, and the originaly scources for them. The mechanic of "named" and "un-named" characters is a bit I swiped from Atlas Games Feng Shui. In esscence the cinimatic rules only apply to characters with names, with the idea that the un-named npcs are largly window dressing or mooks for the story.

1) Multiple Actions from Nephilim: When I first played this game, I wondered why Call of Cthulhu didn't use these rules. While CoC is a simplified version of Runquest, the Multiple Actions of Nephillium didn't seem as complicated as the RQ strike ranks. I ended up using these rules for the Player characters, and named NPCs.

2) Action Points/ Fate Points / Hero Points: I got the system for these from the Conan rpg put out by Mongoose, although I was initialy inspired by the rules found in White Wolf's Adventure! RPG. They seemed to fit nicely in a high action / adventure setting. Allowing the player characters to escape certain death, and deal a telling blow when needed.

3) Total Hit points: Prior to the release of the Zero edition BRP book I was allready using this rule. Again applying it only to important characters, I.E. named ones. Recently I've been re-reading worlds of Cthulhu, and in issue #2 they have rules for Westerns. In it there is an interesting variant on the total hitpoint rules.

Characters calculated hit points using Con+Size divided by two. However they have a three strikes and you're out sytem. When you fist hit zero hit points an injury is rolled for your character, and then the hitpoints reset to full. This happens a second time, you get another wound. A third time and there's a chance the character will die.

Not unlike the named / un-named character rules, Npcs fall under three tiers in the rules. First are the important NPCs, the primary villians and antagonists. Like a Player character they have fully fleshed out characteristics, traits and the three wound system. Underneath them are the head flunkies and mid boss types, they perish on their second wound. Finally there are the henchmen and mooks who perish on their very first wound. It's an interesting variant I intend to try out.

Anyone else care to share their own rules for making BRP a more cinimatic and pulpy game?

[NickMiddleton]

1) Multiple Actions from Nephilim: When I first played this game, I wondered why Call of Cthulhu didn't use these rules. While CoC is a simplified version of Runquest, the Multiple Actions of Nephillium didn't seem as complicated as the RQ strike ranks. I ended up using these rules for the Player characters, and named NPCs.

I never got on with these rules well enough to want to port them elsewhere (and the mangled translations into the early play test drafts in MRQ confirmed my distaste). If I was to use something like this (which clearly has a role in pulp games) I'd be tempted to borrow from Savage Worlds and similar games - each action on top of a characters basic two adds a -20% penalty to ALL the actions attempted. SO yes, you can try to do five things - but ALL at -60%...

2) Action Points/ Fate Points / Hero Points: I got the system for these from the Conan rpg put out by Mongoose, although I was initialy inspired by the rules found in White Wolf's Adventure! RPG. They seemed to fit nicely in a high action / adventure setting. Allowing the player characters to escape certain death, and deal a telling blow when needed.

Jason included an optional Fate Point mechanic in BRP - depending on the exact pulp setting I might well use something more powerful. But you would certainly need something like this to catch the feel of teh genre.

3) Total Hit points: Prior to the release of the Zero edition BRP book I was allready using this rule. Again applying it only to important characters, I.E. named ones.

I got it from RingWorld, which I think is the earliest "official" source. I'd be VERY tempted to include some sort of "mook" rules (search the forums, we've discussed them several times before), so the Characters can plausible wade through a crowd of minions to get at the main villain...

Recently I've been re-reading worlds of Cthulhu, and in issue #2 they have rules for Westerns. In it there is an interesting variant on the total hitpoint rules. Characters calculated hit points using Con+Size divided by two. However they have a three strikes and you're out sytem. When you fist hit zero hit points an injury is rolled for your character, and then the hitpoints reset to full. This happens a second time, you get another wound. A third time and there's a chance the character will die.

Not unlike the named / un-named character rules, Npcs fall under three tiers in the rules. First are the important NPCs, the primary villians and antagonists. Like a Player character they have fully fleshed out characteristics, traits and the three wound system. Underneath them are the head flunkies and mid boss types, they perish on their second wound. Finally there are the henchmen and mooks who perish on their very first wound. It's an interesting variant I intend to try out.

My (limited) experience with them was that, especially for Call of Cthulhu (even with a western flavour) they were just too fiddly. Get in to a moderately sized gun fight and the Keeper is tracking far too many hit point totals and the like. But possibly I went tin to it expecting something lower over head. I'd be intrigued to here how you got on with them.

Anyone else care to share their own rules for making BRP a more cinimatic and pulpy game?

Understand that I have never played Exalted - but for a seriously cinematic / pulp action game I'd consider either extending the Fate Point mechanics or adding a "Fortune" system where by for actions strongly in character / genre the character gets a fortune award which they can spend later to alter the outcome of a die roll by one step, affect a wound etc. The key thing would be to give game mechanical benefits for acting strongly in character / in genre.

Cheers,

Nick

Edited December 15, 2009 by NickMiddleton

[p_clapham]

I've played quite a bit of Exalted at this point, as well as it's Pulp Predecessor Adventure! I terms of adapting their cinematic rules, it's a bit problematic. At the core are the stunting rules, giving a character additional dice to roll (1-3), depending on how entertaining and descriptive their action is. Adventure! contained the rules for Dramatic Editing, which would work quite nicely in BRP. You would spend a certain number of fortune dice to alter the story, the more drastic the change, the more fortune points spent. Stunting could be represented by a reduction of difficulty to the task, but that doesn't sit well with me.

Understand that I have never played Exalted - but for a seriously cinematic / pulp action game I'd consider either extending the Fate Point mechanics or adding a "Fortune" system where by for actions strongly in character / genre the character gets a fortune award which they can spend later to alter the outcome of a die roll by one step, affect a wound etc. The key thing would be to give game mechanical benefits for acting strongly in character / in genre.

Cheers,

Nick

[Ian Absentia]

Two such rules work for me:

Superworld Actions - Superworld used a system of Full, Semi-, and Quarter Moves, combined with action-rank-like multiple moves based on your character's Dexterity. For each multiple of 10 in your DEX (rounded up), you received an action. For each action, you could perform either a Full Move, or a combination of Semi Moves and Quarter Moves. In effect, it played a little like GDW's Snapshot combat rules for Traveller.

Simplified Criticals - In Greg Stolze's Unknown Armies, which also used a similar d100 roll, criticals were determined quite simply by doubles. Let's say you have a skill rating of 70%. Rather than calculating a percentage of your skill level and trying to roll low, you'd simply note the doubles of 11, 22, 33, 44, 55, and 66 as critical successes; rolls of 77, 88, 99, and 00 would be critical failures. Nice, neat, and tidy.

!i!

[p_clapham]

In terms of the players receiving a beneifit in game when they act in character. Did the Pendragon character trait rolls give bonuses to a characters action? A lustfull character being given a bonus on seduction rolls, while at the same time suffering a penalty to resist them.

I'm kind of envisioning this as an add on. Not too unlike the tags or traits from Spirit of the Century. Characters would have one major trait and one to two minor ones. The former would start at 25%, the former at 10%. Each time the player roleplays a situation in game, they can petition the GM to let them use the trait. It would then be added to the relevant rolls for that round. Major traits would be broad and powerfull, like "HardBoiled' or "Behold the Power of Science!".

Hardboiled could be added to the Con roll to keep a character concious. Seduce, or give a bonus to seduce a Femme Fatal. Or when the character is at half hitpoints, it gives him a bonus to his attack rolls for the remainder of the fight.