BRP and modern war

[Eric L. Webb]

I was just wondering if anyone has used BRP to run games in a modern military setting. If so, what style/type of campaign was it, did you alter the combat system or house rule at all, what optional rules did you include and how prevalent was combat?

[rust]

The closest I ever came to playing a modern military campaign with a BRP game

was with the adventures from the German Cthulhu supplement "Niemandsland -

Grabenkrieg und Heimatfront" (= roughly "No Man's Land - Trench Warfare and

Home Front"):

http://www.cthuloide-welten.de/747+M5a8c52eac7f.html

The supplement contains detailed informations about military history, military or-

ganization and military equipment of the First World War, and one of the adven-

tures takes place in the trenches of the Western Front at the height of the war.

Since this supplement uses its own military combat system based upon the Cthul-

hu rules (which could well be adapted for BRP without major problems), my expe-

riences with this system will be useless for you. Just let me mention that it was

extremely lethal.

From my point of view the main difference to a normal combat heavy game is the

military hierarchy that turns freewheeling adventurers into slaves who have to

follow orders instead of making their own independent decisions what to do and

how to do it. This does not necessarily go down well with all players, especially

if one of the characters is the officer or NCO who gives those orders.

It is also a bit difficult to come up with a series of truly interesting scenarios, be-

cause in the end most combat scenarios turn out to be rather similar in style. We

soon concentrated on the non-combat parts of the adventure more than on the

combat scenes, but this may have been a matter of taste.

[Guest Vile Traveller]

I once played in a short series of adventures in the early Vietnam War era. The players were SAS-style special forces (i.e. it wasn't a 100% fact-based campaign). We had to make up a few rules to bring the CoC firearms and explosives rules up to RQ3 standard, but otherwise no changes were necessary. We could have done with a better vehicles system, but it was easier to just steer away from scenarios which required them. This was quite easy in a largely jungle-based game. Being special forces and not in constant communication with HQ allowed the players a great deal of independence, the orders from HQ coming down more like "patron" assignments in Traveller.

Now, if you are taking "modern" as in 2010, I agree with rust that it would be more difficult to make things interesting for players, what with the ability to micro-manage your front-line soldiery.

[Guest Vile Traveller]

Oops.

[flunch]

I use it for modern war, to be more exact, i use it to play Twilight 2000. I find that BRP, with some tweaks to damage, rules for suppressive fire and more detailed hit locations works fine for any type of modern warfare. It's those mods that BRP-Util is based upon; Link

[Rob Thomas]

Modern is the only time frame I play - actually run since it has been decades since I was last a player. Playing within the confines of a military organization, with the inherent structure and regulations requires a bit of work but is certainly possible. Special Operations Forces, HUMINT oriented intelligence cells and CID have a level of independent operations capability well beyond Joe Grunt and can make a reasonable short term campaign - then tend to do the same thing over and over. Intelligence agencies, law enforcement advisors/trainers and PMCs are not in the military structure, but work with them and have considerable freedom. My next mini-campaign will be based around a DEA team operating in Afghanistan.

[Newt]

This might interest you.

Ever wondered what it is like to jump out of an aircraft 50,000 feet above a stricken oil tanker? Or how you’d handle defusing an IED? Or what it is like standing between a visiting VIP and that sniper’s bullet? Well now you can because The Company will put you right at the centre of the action.

In The Company you play an employee of The Company – an elite independent Private Military Service Provider, a global security concern capable of dealing with any situation from a high octane firefight to the tracking down of serial killers. If you can think of it, The Company can handle it.

The Company uses D101 games’ OpenQuest rules engine; a sleek and streamlined D100 rule set that enables you to maintain the tempo of your stories whilst keeping the rules simple and in the background.

* The Company-preview Aug 2010 – Pdf [1Mb]

The Company Operations Manual contains:

The OpenQuest rules engine – tailored to a modern day setting, and including combat rules covering all aspects of modern warfare.

Simple Character generation – enabling you to go from concept to fully finished character as quickly as possible.

Equipment – a comprehensive list of vehicles and equipment, providing your character with everything you will need to prosecute a successful mission; be that the latest in covert surveillance or the most accurate of rifles.

The world – in which The Company operates within, the global flashpoint locations that Company Operatives may visit, competitors to The Company, Company customers and organizations that Company customers may come into conflict with.

Story seeds – covering a wide range of possible genre, from the classic war-story,adventures with corporate espionage, helping with disaster relief and close protection work.

Two example scenarios – ‘Operation Bluebeard’ and ‘F.I.S.H & C.H.I.P.S’ which will introduce you not only to The Company but to the workings of the OpenQuest rules engine.

ETA early 2011. Broadly compatible with other D100 systems. Written by Rik Kershaw Moore.

Just finishing off the layout now

[Eric L. Webb]

This does indeed sound promising,i guess ill be picking up a copy of the OpenQuest rules.Thanks Newt! How compatible are BRP & OpenQuest?

[Newt]

The Company is a self contained game, so the OpenQuest rules are included with it

As for compatiblity with BRP I would say 'Broadly', its not an exact fit numbers wise here and there because I used the MRQ1 srd as a base.

A run down of the features of OQ which should give you an idea can be found here http://d101games.co.uk/books/openquest/contents/