New to BRP

[Laxton]

I'm very sick of running 5e.  I've been looking for a new rule set to convert to, and I discovered BRP this morning. I just purchased the universal game engine and am excited. 

 

While I homebrew most things in D&D and will likely do the same here once I get comfortable, I'm wondering if there are any good beastiaries or monster manuals to pull from. I know there are is a decent number in the rulebook but I would like more of course. While I'm trying to learn the system I would like as much content as possible.

 

Are there any other supplements?  Is mythras compatible? I was looking at that when I was turned onto BRP.

[Nakana]

Welcome to BRP! I’m sure others will answer but the short of it is: yes. All of the BRP derived games (and there are many) are compatible with varying degrees of tweaks/conversions needed (usually not that much work). 
 

it’s hard to point you in a specific direction without knowing more, but I’d check out the downloads section on this site for some material to get started. Plenty of free material via QuickStarts as well on Chaosium’s website and probably a lot of good stuff in drivethrurpg for d100/BRP based games. 
 

Happy gaming!

[Mugen]

1 hour ago, Laxton said:

Are there any other supplements?  Is mythras compatible? I was looking at that when I was turned onto BRP.

Mythras is mostly compatible, but you need to keep in mind that its health system is quite different.

It doesn't have general hit points, only hit points per location, and the values used in the game are also different : damage values are lower, and HP/location are higher.

Expect an average fighter with 1 handed weapon to deal between 1d6+1d2 and 1d8+1d4 damage, whereas its BRP counterpart will surely deal 1d8+2+1d4.

Mythras also doesn't have weapon skills, but rather Combat Styles, skills that he can use with multiple weapons.

You can use its magic systems, but they won't be fully compatible with the ones in BRP. For instance, all Folk Magic in Mythras only cost 1 Magic Point to cast, whereas their closest equivalent in BRP Sorcery cost 1 to 4 MP.

[Mugen]

Also, keep in mind that BRP is often more deadly than 5e. BRP characters tend to be as vulnerable as 1st or 2nd level 5e characters for a long time.

[Atgxtg]

8 hours ago, Laxton said:

I'm very sick of running 5e.  I've been looking for a new rule set to convert to, and I discovered BRP this morning. I just purchased the universal game engine and am excited. 

 

Welcome, you just stepped into a whole new world of gaming. 

8 hours ago, Laxton said:

While I homebrew most things in D&D and will likely do the same here once I get comfortable,

 

 

I'm wondering if there are any good beastiaries or monster manuals to pull from. I know there are is a decent number in the rulebook but I would like more

Yes and no. Pretty much all BRP games use basically the same stats and are mostly compatible with each other, and most of the BRP related games have similar stats and can generally be converted over with little fuss . Bestiaries and creature stats for RuneQuest 2 and Runequest 3, Call of Cthulhu, Strombringer/Elric! are practically interchangeable. Bestiaries and creature stats for BRP related games such as Mythras and OpenQuest are easily adapted. There is also a free fan made bestiary for BaSiC that is pretty much compatible, too. 

8 hours ago, Laxton said:

of course.

Just a slight caution here, but BRP generally doesn't have the infinities types and subtypes of monster you see in D&D. It mostly doesn't need them, too. You see in D&D the GM needs to find new tougher threats to challenge the PCs as they level up, find more powerful magic and so on. In BRP, this escalation isn't as much of a problem becuase hit points are fixed, skill ratings are fluid, and PC hit points are fixed- so PCs in BRP  can never really just walk over the opposition the way they can in D&D.  There is always the chance of a (un)lucky critical hit taking out a PC, and in most forms of BRP dead is usually dead and stays that way.

 

8 hours ago, Laxton said:

 

While I'm trying to learn the system I would like as much content as possible.

Well there is tons of it. Which much is no longer in print, there is still quite a bit available. BRP is really a collection of related RPGs that derived from the RuneQuest game system. It has been around in some form or another since the late 1970s, and there is lots of content out there. In fact the vast majority of what is in the BRP book is a compilation of rules and variant rules taken from previous RPGs published by Chaosium. 

Now most of the content pre-dates the current BRP rulebook, and quite a bit post-dates it as well. Still, there is a lot of stuff out there covering different genres and settings. What you might want to do is figure out what type of setting you are most interested in and then we suggest the stuff most relevant to that style of play.

Also, since the basic game mechanics haven't changed radically over the past five decades the game is fairly backwards compatible with older stuff. Much moreso that D&D/D20 is. A GM could literally take a adventure printed decades ago for RuneQuest and run it in BRP  fairly easily.

 

8 hours ago, Laxton said:

Are there any other supplements?  Is mythras compatible? I was looking at that when I was turned onto BRP.

Yes, there are other supplements, both for BRP and for BRP-adjacent stuff. 

There are probably dozens of related games that are mostly compatible with BRP- as it you can look at an adventure or NPC stats and know what 90%+ is without ever seeing another game system. 

If you are looking to run a fantasy RPG Magic World might interest you, and if you are fond of old school D&D you might want to look at some version of Classic Fantasy (which kinda blends BRP and D&D) for BRP or Mythras (CF was originally written for BRP but switched to Mythras a few years ago, I believe because the licencing rules at the time made BRP less appealing to third parties).

But there really is a lot of stuff so you will probably want to narrow your focus to some specific style of play or setting to start with.

Edited May 31, 2023 by Atgxtg

[Lloyd Dupont]

I would highly recommend the (Mythras variant) of Classic Fantasy.

They promised us a "Classic Fantasy Imperative" for 2020, that should be a complete rulebook on its own... Sadly it's still not there (though it's "in production" we are told) so , right now, you also need Mythras to use Classic Fantasy.

There is also a BRP variant of Classic Fantasy, but it's not as good. Though it has more spells 🙂

It even have the old class classes! 😮 🙂
Anathema to BRP style systems? Not really you realize once you read it.... 

Edited May 31, 2023 by Lloyd Dupont

[lawrence.whitaker]

Quote

They promised us a "Classic Fantasy Imperative" for 2020, that should be a complete rulebook on its own... Sadly it's still not there (though it's "in production" we are told) so , right now, you also need Mythras to use Classic Fantasy.

Erm... no.

Classic Fantasy Imperative was announced in January this year. And yes it's in production. It is a complete set of rules, and will be available as both a laid-out version, and a text-only SRD.

[Lloyd Dupont]

In module SQ1, troubles in Nevermind they announced (last page / back cover), coming in 2020, ... (checking) The Unearthed Companion.

Ok, different one, sorry. Still waiting on that other one though! ^^

Edited May 31, 2023 by Lloyd Dupont