ORC products...

[SDLeary]

24 minutes ago, AndreJarosch said:

That was "Worlds of Wonder", the original BRP box, as Jason Durall would say. 

But they are not SETTINGS, they are settingless genre packs, and therefore not on my list (same as RQ3 or Mythras). 

Very true, but @NickMiddleton's original question was "what we wanted to see published" for the game. 🙂 

And, you will note, that I mentioned that they would be more than just genre books, but would provide guidance for GMs to introduce the provided concepts into their own settings. Many many GMs still like to use settings of their own creation. With the right guidance in these books, it could also open up opportunities for other aspiring writers.

SDLeary

[g33k]

2 hours ago, AndreJarosch said:

I added "OOP" to all products not currently available (as far as i know)... which is the majority of D100 settings. 

👍

A few other modifications:

1380's Mythic Russia is HQ, which is mechanically-unrelated to BRP.

"Val du Loup" shows the odd date-range of "10. Jh. – 13. Jh."

I believe d101's "The Company" is OOP; the author has apparently "vanished" from RPGspace & Newt has taken it down.
 

(Your list, by the by, is a really *excellent* list; please forgive my anal-retentive natterings, I'm just trying to stand on the shoulders of AndreJiant... )

Edited October 30, 2023 by g33k

[AndreJarosch]

4 minutes ago, g33k said:

1380's Mythic Russia is HQ, which is mechanically-unrelated to BRP.

"Val du Loup" shows the odd date-range of "10. Jh. – 13. Jh."

I believe d101's "The Company" is OOP; the author has apparently "vanished" from RPGspace & Newt has taken it down.
 

(Your list, by the by, is a really *excellent* list; please forgive my anal-retentive natterings, I'm just trying to stand on the shoulders of AndreJiant... )

Mythic Russia deleted. 

"10. Jh. – 13. Jh." is a remenant of the fact that i created this list for me and a german forum. Changed it to "10th-13th Century". 

Added OOP to The Company. 

Thanks for the compliment. 
Originally i made this list for myself, then i put it up to a german forum, and have tried to keep it up to date. 

[PoppySeed45]

16 hours ago, g33k said:

What would such genre books look like, contents-wise?  Why not just use the BGB or BRP:UGE? 

With sufficiently-advanced Clarketech, most of "full-on-fantasy" is plausibly needed to fullfill all sub-genres of sci-fi; and fantasy-driven magitech needs most of sci-fi...

Basically, a book with setting specific stuff. More stuff, and adding to, the core. GURPS Space or the Savage Worlds Companions are good models; they add things like cybernetics, planet generation rules, a bunch more equipment, explanations about tech levels and what that can mean (helps me as GM be consistent). Heck, something like M-Space (which started as a BRP fan book). Plenty of iterations. For example, we have no way to build spaceships in BRP. Or handle freighter trading (a sci-fi trope). Mapping interstellar distances and places. All kinds of stuff would be great in a generic book.

[Mugen]

@AndreJaroschit seems Nephilim is missing from your list.

[g33k]

In case anybody in-thread isn't aware, there ARE some products coming out.

For sci-fi, our own @tooley1chris is bringing a sci-fi game, "QUASAR"  <drools>

[DreadDomain]

Also Eden fall by @Crel

 

[g33k]

@AndreJarosch -- a couple of mod's to your master list:

TDM's "Star Wars" title was never anything "official," just a freebie; but it has been withdrawn (it's an expensive property, and has expensive lawyers attached).  OOP.

"Worlds Beyond" is not OOP!  It's available from "Precis Intermedia" -- I think one of their key schtick's is to find older properties and buy the rights, or just set up a POD / distribution-license or the like (n.b. I don't know the details, but they have a *lot* of older & smaller titles in their stable of games).

[AndreJarosch]

11 hours ago, g33k said:

@AndreJarosch -- a couple of mod's to your master list:

TDM's "Star Wars" title was never anything "official," just a freebie; but it has been withdrawn (it's an expensive property, and has expensive lawyers attached).  OOP.

"Worlds Beyond" is not OOP!  It's available from "Precis Intermedia" -- I think one of their key schtick's is to find older properties and buy the rights, or just set up a POD / distribution-license or the like (n.b. I don't know the details, but they have a *lot* of older & smaller titles in their stable of games).

Corrected.

[PlainVanilla]

BRP is a 'universal game engine', so there are two essential products that, to my opinion, Chaosium should produce for this game:

 

1 - The first one I would love to see would be a scenario book compiling scenarios for different eras/settings. That should feature high quality scenarios and serve as a demonstration of all the different things you can do with this game. Every scenario should be played with a different set of optional rules to change the system and adapt it to each setting/scenario accordingly. There could be a fantasy scenario in there, a sci-fi one, an investigation scenario and maybe something along the lines of ancient Rome. Different flavours. This could also be a good concept for a 'starter set' product for the BRP.

 

2 - The second one would be a campaign/setting book. I mean a book dedicated to the creation of campaigns/scenarios/games. Like a much extended version of the 'Gamemastering' chapter of the BRP. It would serve as a guide for gamemasters and for editors willing to create their own setting/scenarios for the BRP.

 

This way, we would have a scenario/settings book dedicated to players and gamemasters and that would be a good introduction to the BRP, and we would have a more creative book dedicated to gamemasters and to people who want to create their own games with the BRP.

[Ian Absentia]

2 hours ago, PlainVanilla said:

BRP is a 'universal game engine', so there are two essential products that, to my opinion, Chaosium should produce for this game:

1 - The first one I would love to see would be a scenario book compiling scenarios for different eras/settings.

[...snip...]

This way, we would have a scenario/settings book dedicated to players and gamemasters and that would be a good introduction to the BRP, and we would have a more creative book dedicated to gamemasters and to people who want to create their own games with the BRP.

This might be a little high-conceptual, but I'd like to see essentially the same scenario presented in different eras/settings as a means of underscoring how the same set of rules can emphasise and facilitate different genres.  Recognisably the same story, but told three different ways, à la Seven Samurai/The Magnificent Seven/Rebel Moon.

!i!

[Edit: Oh, kind of like what TDM has done with the cover of their forthcoming edition of Mythras Imperative.]

 

Edited November 1, 2023 by Ian Absentia

[Raleel]

Count me in on this BRP universal scenario manual. Showing how different tweaks will influence the flavor of the story would be wonderful. essenrially, giving everyone the benefit of a lot of years of d100 experience. 

[Atgxtg]

On 10/28/2023 at 5:22 AM, NickMiddleton said:

... which is not a euphemism.

BRP-UGE is out in both PDF and Print. What do people want to see published for it, whether as fan works or more commercial propositions? Leaving aside for now the question of a BRP CCP, what are people keen to see?

Scenarios? Campaigns? Settings? Supplements (e.g. a Fantasy Bestiary; an extended starship construction and combat system; extensions of existing powers systems, entirely new powers systems).

Hmm, I got a few answers for this, but the internet ate my original post. So I'll give it a second try:

 

 

Something Innovative

First and foremost what I want to see is something new and innovative. The thing about BRP-UGE is that it's all stuff we''ve seen before. Heck it's mostly the BRP-BGB under a new license. Now that was great back when the BGB came out, as it helped to reprint rules and game mechanics that had dropped out of circulation when Chaosium stopped producing RQ and Stormbringer supplements. But the UGE is pretty much stuff we've all seen before.

What I love about 80s Chasoium was how innovative they were. They didn't just come out with RQ, but they adapted the RQ rules into BRP and Pendragon to cover diverse setting such as the Eternal Champion series, Lovecraftian Horror, Larry Niven's RingWorld, Superheroes, and Arthurian Britain. They did things like the Thieves' World boxed set, Questworlds to open up RQ, and Worlds of Wonder to  open up BRP. You never knew what they would come out with next (especially if you read thier catalogs 😉 )

What I would love to see is a book that covers somewhere we haven't seen from Chasoium in the past, with the rules adapted again to reflect the new setting. Just what setting? I don't know. Maybe something swashbuckling, or 1950 s atomic horror, or a full of space opera type setting. Just exactly what it is isn't quite as important as the fact that it would do something that Chaosium hasn't done before.

 

Campaign Packs

I love the old boxed set campaign packs for RQ, such as Pavis, Borderlands, and Griffin Mountain. I think they really were the epitome of setting and adventure supplements for RPGs. In each pack a GM not only got a setting, fleshed out with locations, major NPCs, encounter tables, etc. They also got several adventures, as well as lots and lots of stuff that they could get ideas from for futher adventures. The packs were a much better value for the money than say a AD&D letter series of related adventures.  

Something along those lines, would be ideal supplements. 

 

Something Universal

Yes, we all love BRP but we're the choir. But what I think BRP needs is something that could get the attention of all those gamers who are only familar with class & level RPGs. TO do that, I think there needs to be one or more supplements that work for more than just the BRP game system. Kind of like how the Thieves' World boxed set was mostly system independent and had NPC stats for multiple game systems.

Now I don't know just how open the ORC liscene is and how practical is is to mix 'n match game stats these days, but something that could work for another game system as well as BRP, especially D20 with game stats for both, could really help with crossover sales and marketshare. FOr instance someone could be drawn to a particular setting or adventure, see game stats they understand and can use, so they buy it, and are intrigued by the stats for this "other" RPG, BRP and look into it.   

 

Nick brought up GURPs and it's setting books, but ICE also doid something similar with tier setting books, only their books had rules to work in Rolemester, HERO system, and sometimes even D&D. It made them very useful for people who wanted to game in any of those settings, but it also helped to cross pollenate Rolemaster and HERO system. 

 

 

Something Basic

The BRP book is a great toolkit for experienced GMs but it's got a steeper learning curve than is needed. The thing is all those options and alternate rules are nice to have when setting up your game world, but they can be confusing for new players and GMs, and require a GM to basically learn multiple ways do doing things. A new GM has to choose between sequencing methods (DEX ranks, Strike Ranks), fixed or variable armor, general hit points or hit locations, various powers systems, etc, etc before they can do anything witht he game. We've seen several threads from GMs trying to piece all this out and the hurdles they have depending on what game mechanic these choose to mix 'n match. 

Now all the BRP games in the past made all those choices up front,.making all those games more accessible. Someone playing RQ didn't need to know about variable armor or summoning. Someone playing Stormbringer didn't need to know about strike ranks, rune magic or impales. Neither had to know anything about the Cthulhu Mythos, Ringworld, or King Arthur. Each game came with a set of mechanics that decided all the game mechanics ahead of time. So GMs and players only had to learn one way of doing things.

What I'd like to see is a smaller book, no bigger than RQ2 or Stormbringer, that gives a basic or even semi-generic setting and set of rules, without the all the various options, that new players and GMs could start with. Something along the lines of the mechanics from  Stormbringer/Magic World wouldn't be too far off the mark. Simple and easy to learn and use, but with enough to run a campaign with. 400 page books can be intimidating and off-putting to new GMs and players. There were reasons why the old Worlds of WOnder boxed set put each setting into it's own booklet instead of doing one big book.

 

Now once a GM has his sea legs and feels comfortable with those rules they can opt to expand into the wilder world of BRP, grab new rules from the BRP-UGE and so on. But lets give them something easier to start with, like what we had.

 

 

Something Free

 

One thing that D20 type games have in abundance that BRP lacks is all the third party sutff. Especially short free (or low price) stuff. Now obviously Chaosium can't give everything away, but in the age of digital documents why can't we have something along the lines of "one-page dungeons" but for BRP. We ot a lot of GMs around here, so why could we all put together a short little adventure or setting or rule or something and then someone collect it into a PDF that could be put up on line for free. That would really help to draw in new players and GMs since it wouldn't cost them anything to downlad and read the PDF, and maybe get interested in BRP. This could be something that we could do that Chasoium wouldn't have to.

Something like a semi--regular fanzine wouldn't be a bad idea. 

Edited November 2, 2023 by Atgxtg

[tooley1chris]

On 10/31/2023 at 2:08 PM, g33k said:

In case anybody in-thread isn't aware, there ARE some products coming out.

For sci-fi, our own @tooley1chris is bringing a sci-fi game, "QUASAR"  <drools>

Looking at releasing core book November 10!

[muminalver]

I would love to see Frostgrave the rpg (or setting) for Brp and maybe other systems.. 

Or hacking the game for use with the d20 ( emm like sertain other swedish fantasy games)..

[g33k]

5 hours ago, muminalver said:

I would love to see Frostgrave the rpg (or setting) for Brp and maybe other systems.. 

Or hacking the game for use with the d20 ( emm like sertain other swedish fantasy games)..

Frostgrave -- like any established IP (Intellectual Property) -- would need to be licensed... whether produced by Chaosium or by any other ORC licensed publisher.

A skilled game-dev could "file off the serial numbers" and produce an ORC-licensed BRP game that would play "Frostgrave" very very smoothly; but all the colorful names, words, terms, & other "Product Identity" would need to be stripped out.

Edited November 6, 2023 by g33k

[muminalver]

Yes, that is true... so easiest way would be asking the author and Osprey if they would like to do such a thing...( the did do jackals, so it would not be the first brp related product that they wouldproduce..)

[Atgxtg]

On 11/5/2023 at 3:47 PM, muminalver said:

I would love to see Frostgrave the rpg (or setting) for Brp and maybe other systems.. 

I don't know if that sort of thing work work well in BRP due to the lethality of the game system, where big monsters can usually one-hit drop a PC. Something that might be an epic battle in Frostgrave would probably be very anti-climatic in BRP.Either the PCs drop the big baddie in the first round, or it wipes out the PCs.  

On 11/5/2023 at 3:47 PM, muminalver said:

Or hacking the game for use with the d20 ( emm like sertain other swedish fantasy games)..

Yeah, something like a BRP to D20 conversion. THere were some old RQ to AD&D conversions back in the day, but supplements that could work for either system could help to promote the game. Backin the 80s magazines such as as White Dwarf, and Different Worlds would cover games from different companies, and would sometimes print adventures with stats for more than one game system. I think that sort of thing could help to expose new players to BRP the way the magazines did in the old days. If BRP had a standardized conversion to d20 or, better yet,  Pathfinder, like many other games now do, it could generate sales to the d20 market and maybe bring some of those d20 players into the fold. Especialy since WoTC seems so intent on driving away their customers.

[rsanford]

There is also Myrmidon / Before Iron / Age of Bronze for mythic Greece under development. It’s my understanding the manuscript was turned in before Chaosium took in the Nocturnal stuff.

See http://igwilliams.blogspot.com/2012/08/age-of-bronze-more-like-before-iron.html?m=1

[rsanford]

Y’all got me thinking. There have been several recommendations for BRP implementations of specific genres but what if we have that backwards? A different way to think about it is to consider that base-BRP is a “simulationist” RPG and we might try to identify genres or specific implementations of genres that BRP is particularly suited for. And I’m not suggesting BRP only be used for super crunchy games, but clearly simulation-style mechanics is one area where it shines.

I know Quasar just came out which seems to target space opera type games, but what about hard science games, maybe akin to Orbital 2100, or 2300AD (Mongoose version)? I could see games like those benefiting from simulation-style mechanics?

Also are there genres that would benefit from BRP’s graduated success / failure mechanics or it’s ability to model conflicting forces minutely via the resistance table?

…

One other thought… I know it’s been done, but a lot of people consider D&D to be an “exception-based” game, and because of that prefer competing games, particularly those that don’t use “classes”. Is there a play for a BRP. fantasy game aimed at people that don’t care for “exception-bases” games?

Edited November 20, 2023 by rsanford

[g33k]

14 hours ago, rsanford said:

Y’all got me thinking... clearly simulation-style mechanics is one area where it shines.

I know Quasar just came out which seems to target space opera type games, but what about hard science games, maybe akin to Orbital 2100, or 2300AD (Mongoose version)? ...

I think the current "hard-science" darling is probably The Expanse 'verse... but that's already got an official ("AGE" engine) adaptation 😟  (I think BRP would have been very well-suited!).

But a general "hard science" game (where one could implement The Expanse (or 2001:SpaceOdyssey, or any other hard-sci-fi setting))... that could work!  Including a book that came with its own worked setting:  you could just start playing & running from the book, but also use the book to implement any other hard-sci-fi setting.  And I think it well worth taking Chaosium's lesson to heart:  BRP-based games with strong settings -- even idiosyncratic settings -- prosper; BRP-games with more-generic settings do not.
 

Of particular note, since you asked about Orbital2100/2300AD & the like:  there's @clarence Redd's M-Space (which began as "BRP Starships," which morphed into BRP-Space, which then moved over to the Mythras engine (largely for licensing reasons, AIUI)).  It's still close enough to BRP to be directly usable, for those used to FrankenBRP'ing stuff; but that's not the finished-book ORC-Licensed goal, I think.  However, he took lots of inspo from Traveller... so a similar-ish project could obviously be (re-)launched!  I think, though, that Clarence is seriously considering an ORC-based re-issue of an explicitly-BRP take on the project(?), so it likely makes sense to check in with him (before just digging into re-creating the wheels he may just be completing!).

I know that people have used M-Space to run adventures & campaigns that were written for the Traveller game-engine (I'm pretty sure some have also made explicit "conversion-notes" available), if someone's gristing their mill...

 

Edited November 20, 2023 by g33k

[kronovan]

I'd like to see Alephtar Game's BRP settings be made available again - especially The Celestial Empire and Dragon Lines. Their settings were mentioned already and I bought a number of the PDFs when they were still available, but currently they aren't even available on drivethrurpg. I'd also really like to see a republishing of Ringworld for BRP.  I have a lend of a buddie's Ringworld set, but it seems very cryptic and the layout very dated - I feel overwhelmed whenever I leaf through it. I Would love to see an update of it with better presentation and incorporating anything that's been changed or added to BRP. I just bought the BRP UGE hardcover (gave up on finding a print copy of the BGB in my country years ago) and I'd like to buy some shiny new editions of those settings and get them to the table.

Probably just wishful thinking, but one can only hope.

Edited November 20, 2023 by kronovan

[g33k]

1 hour ago, kronovan said:

I'd like to see Alephtar Game's BRP settings be made available again - especially The Celestial Empire and Dragon Lines. Their settings were mentioned already and I bought a number of the PDFs when they were still available, but currently they aren't even available on drivethrurpg. I'd also really like to see a republishing of Ringworld for BRP.  I have a lend of a buddie's Ringworld set, but it seems very cryptic and the layout very dated - I feel overwhelmed whenever I leaf through it. I Would love to see an update of it with better presentation and incorporating anything that's been changed or added to BRP. I just bought the BRP UGE hardcover (gave up on finding a print copy of the BGB in my country years ago) and I'd like to buy some shiny new editions of those settings and get them to the table.

Probably just wishful thinking, but one can only hope.

Ringworld is a licensed property.  As I understand it, someone moneyed in Hollywood bought a comprehensive license, and Chaosium wasn't in a position to counter-offer:  the RPG industry doesn't really have Hollywood-style money.  Until/unless someone licenses it again,  there won't be another Ringworld RPG.

Amazon was developing a Ringworld movie -- or maybe a TV series -- so a licensed RPG doesn't seem outside of the realm of possibility... but OTOH that's like 18months ago (as the most-recent) and a quick Google found nothing since then, so maybe it died quietly, unremarked...  😞

 

In other news:  Alephtar is now "Cloud Games" but I think their older BRP titles are more-likely to see new life under their own d100-variant ruleset, "RD100."  @RosenMcStern would know more; I think he plans to ORC some of what they publish, but obviously cannot ORC a licensed product.

Edited November 20, 2023 by g33k
more on Amazon's Ringworld

[RosenMcStern]

15 hours ago, g33k said:

In other news:  Alephtar is now "Cloud Games" but I think their older BRP titles are more-likely to see new life under their own d100-variant ruleset, "RD100."  @RosenMcStern would know more; I think he plans to ORC some of what they publish, but obviously cannot ORC a licensed product.

And instead no, we plan to re-release some of the original content for the new BRP ORC. Only some titles will be translated to Revolution D100, like Merrie England.

I cannot give you an ETA for these products , though. Work is underway. What I can tell you is that today we have released in PDF the first product bearing the Cloud100 logo (not BRP). More will follow.

[SDLeary]

56 minutes ago, RosenMcStern said:

And instead no, we plan to re-release some of the original content for the new BRP ORC. Only some titles will be translated to Revolution D100, like Merrie England.

I cannot give you an ETA for these products , though. Work is underway. What I can tell you is that today we have released in PDF the first product bearing the Cloud100 logo (not BRP). More will follow.

@RosenMcStern Drivethru?

SDLeary