Feats/Edges for BRP

[Mankcam]

This has come up before, and I just thought I'ld post my take on it. Occasionally there are 'gaps' in the BRP skill system that could be served by a Feat/Edge system. A number of responses to previous posters who have looked at this were along the lines of 'meh' or 'we don't need these', 'the BRP system skill system is fine how it is' or 'no munchins here please' etc. That's fine, and it was also how I used to view things as well. However if you are porting characters from other rpgs into BRP then not every Edge/Feat is best served by putting it simply into a preexisting BRP skill.

We have seen MRQ2's Heroic Abilities which is not a bad way of doing it., although I would prefer them to be even a bit more 'powerful' or 'heroic' actually, but I like the idea that a character can strive for these abilities. This still leaves problems for characters from other rpgs who are not masters in their skill use, yet also have Feats/Edges which are part of their character concept.

I have ported characters from other rules sets to BRP and often there is a problem with how to import the Feats/ Edges, such as 'Dual Wielder' or 'Martial Artist', etc etc. The simple way to do it is to try and cover most Edges with skills, so for example, a 'Master Swordsman' Edge is simply a high skill in Sword Attack in BRP.

This works for some Edges and not for others, so I still found myself wondering how to do it. The easiest way is to port over Edges as mere skill bonuses, but to me this seemed a bit bland and not BRP at all, kinda like a BRP-GURPS pastiche. If I wanted to play GURPS I would have stuck with it, so I was looking at a solution that felt like it fitted with the BRP rules, rather than grafting something foreign onto it.

My solution actually came from inspiration when looking at how BRP does it's Martial Arts skill. You roll your normal Fist or Kick attack, but if you have found that the result is also under your Martial Arts ability then you get double-damage. This struck me as a very simple solution to how to cover Feats/Edges - my idea is that you roll your usual BRP skill, but if the result is also under the chance for a relevant 'Feat' ability as well then something additional occurs. As a rule of thumb, I decided that the 'something additional' is usually a Special Success, but this effect could vary depending upon what Feat being used.

The mechanic is pretty simple and it is consistent with BRP mechanics, rather than duct-taping another games's mechanic into the system. It has worked well with my troupe, and I just thought I'ld share the idea so anybody who has had the same quandary may want to look at how to do it in a BRP fashion.

Two examples that my players are currently using:

* Rune/Sphere Specialty (Specific Type): A character who performs magic that has trappings of this sphere receives a Special Success if the result is also under their Rune Specialty when they attempt their usual spell casting roll. In my setting it requires the 'Rune Touched' trait as a prerequisite.

* Fighting Style (Dual Wielding/Florentine Sword fighting): A character who makes a successful sword attack and the result is also under their Dual Wielding Specialty can receives an additional free sword attack or parry within the same strike rank. Requires Sword min 50% as a prerequisite.

Note that I restrict the advancement of the 'Feat/Style' to training/research only (no EXP skill checks), and the characters can only advance at +02% at a time, unless there is some occasional unusual way at receiving more advancements, peculiar to the setting. The idea is still for the characters to focus on their core skills, so this mechanic doesn't become an overbearing feature, I see it more as an occasional bonus effect that they can slowly improve with over a long campaign.

I just thought I'ld throw these rules out there, as it is a quandry how to portray Feats/Edges if you are porting in characters to BRP from either D&D, GURPS, Savage Worlds etc. I'ld still go with attempting to portray the ability purely with skill use first, but if that doesn't feel right then these mechanics are a reasonable way to approach it without doing a cut n paste from the other rule sets.

They have worked well for my troupe, so I just thought I'ld post it for others to check it out.

Edited January 4, 2012 by Mankcam

[Chaot]

I can dig it.

I need lo look at my copy of Classic Fantasy but I'm pretty sure Rod does some similar things in there. What I like about it is that it gives the players some fiddly bits to play with. In general, I see this as a good thing. When I'm a player, I sometimes like fiddly bits. It gives me something to hang my hat on. It gives me a named trick I can pull.

When I run a game, I tend not to like fiddly bits as much.

This has come up before, and I just thought I'ld post my take on it. Occasionally there are 'gaps' in the BRP skill system that could be served by a Feat/Edge system. A number of responses to previous posters who have looked at this were along the lines of 'meh' or 'we don't need these', 'the BRP system skill system is fine how it is' or 'no munchins here please' etc. That's fine, and it was also how I used to view things as well. However if you are porting characters from other rpgs into BRP then not every Edge/Feat is best served by putting it simply into a preexisting BRP skill.

I'm a heretic, man. Chop that BRP up and see what you get.

[Mankcam]

Glad you think it may be a reasonable rule, I was quite happy when I introduced this to my troupe a year or so ago, I couldn't believe I hadn't thought of it before or there wasn't something along these lines in the BRP core rules.

In regards to chopping the core rules up, I used to bolt on new rules all the time, but I'm reasonably particular about what rules I import into BRP these days. I want the game to still feel like it is BRP, so any new mechanic I bring to the table is usually a reworking of a current mechanic that is being used elsewhere in BRP. Having said that, the BRP system is pretty simple at its core and bolting on imported rules from other systems often works okay, albeit prone to changing the flavour of the system somewhat. Hopefully these rules I present here don't do that, as they don't overshadow the core rules and they are already using a preexisting mechanic. I can't see too many glaring issues down the track with them, and they appear to have worked well with my current gaming group.

They're not really fiddly either. You just make one roll. If you roll under your usual skill, then thats a success as usual. If the roll also happens to be under your Feat/Speciality's skill then you have earned yourself an additional effect. Pretty simple to play and GM from where I sit.

I'ld like to see how its handled in Classic Fantasy though - I wasn't aware that Feats were addressed in that publication.

Edited January 4, 2012 by Mankcam

[threedeesix]

I'ld like to see how its handled in Classic Fantasy though - I wasn't aware that Feats were addressed in that publication.

Actually, I did not include feats as they are presented in D&D3/3.5/4 as Classic Fantasy is more of a conversion of what I enjoyed about 1st and 2nd ed AD&D. Class abilities such as weapon proficiencies, subterfuge proficiency, lightning reflexes, etc. are included however, and could be a good starting point. A system was included to aquire more powerful ones in play, but generally only those abilities that the class would have aquired at higher level in AD&D.

I just don't want anyone picking up a copy without knowing exactly what they are getting.

Rod

[Skunkape]

That's a great idea for incorporating Feats/Edges into BRP! Glad you presented it Mankcam, as I didn't think of it either! I'll be using something similar in my fantasy BRP campaign. Thanks again for posting it!

[rust]

... my idea is that you roll your usual BRP skill, but if the result is also under the chance for a relevant 'Feat' ability as well then something additional occurs.

We use something similar, but until now I did never see it as related to Edges / Feats,

only as an additional level of skill specialization, where a special success with a skill

roll can be (pre-) defined as one of several possible advantageous results. When his

character reaches a specific skill level, we use 75 %, the player can choose the result

of a special success with that skill from a short list tailored to the skill in question. For

example, the player of a character with a Repair skill of 75+ % could choose whether

a special success with that skill would increase the speed of the repair work or reduce

the amount of spare parts needed for the repair, and so on.

[Zit]

my idea is that you roll your usual BRP skill, but if the result is also under the chance for a relevant 'Feat' ability as well then something additional occurs. As a rule of thumb, I decided that the 'something additional' is usually a Special Success, but this effect could vary depending upon what Feat being used.

I totally agree with this, in particular to introduce specialties. This is a very simple and flexible way. It works for any kind of skill (I used it for archery and litteracy in different settings).

[Mankcam]

...Classic Fantasy is more of a conversion of what I enjoyed about 1st and 2nd ed AD&D. Class abilities such as weapon proficiencies, subterfuge proficiency, lightning reflexes, etc. are included however, and could be a good starting point.

It sounds like its covering different things, but I'ld be interested in seeing how you portrayed Specialities and all the old fantasy tropes. I've only read good words about your monograph Rod, so I might look into purchasing it one day. It will always be useful to help 'bridge the gap' with players who are familiar with D&D in its many forms, and it sounds like there's plenty of ideas to mine from it as well.

That's a great idea for incorporating Feats/Edges into BRP! Glad you presented it Mankcam, as I didn't think of it either! I'll be using something similar in my fantasy BRP campaign. Thanks again for posting it!

Thanks! I hope it works out well, and let me know if you come across any major issues with it. It's been one of my better house rules over the years...

This is a very simple and flexible way. It works for any kind of skill (I used it for archery and litteracy in different settings).

Yes, I think it has many applications actually, ranging from Skill Specialities through to entire Backgrounds if you want it to have a wide scope. I guess the charm of portraying Feats/Specialties in this manner is that it is a very simple rule, and it is already being done with the Martial Arts skill, so its no big changes to the mechanics. Actually it's such a simple house rule that I expect many forum members have been using something along these lines for quite a while. Edited January 4, 2012 by Mankcam

[DreadDomain]

Dragon Lines can also serve as an inspiration. In DL, there are many Martial Arts schools granting various additional elements :

Style attacks : attack mentioned are granted +20% (it could be head-butt or puch or dagger or grapple)

Style skills : skills mentioned are granted +20%

Techniques : For every 10% in your martial art skill you can take a technique. These usually grant a +10% bonus to succeed with a skill with some extra benefits. Random examples taken from the book : None shall pass (+10% to parry and negation of knocback effects when guarding a door/bridge/passageway); Stunning blow (+10% to club or punch, cause a knockout roll); Sentry dispatch method (+10% to grapple if attacking from ambush. If a success, the sentry cannot make any noise to raise the alarm)

Style powers : These "powers" are built/based with the various powers in the BGB

I guess what you are looking at is more akin the the techniques as described in DL. One could also build professions/classes/styles/schools of magic using a similar set-up

[Mankcam]

Yes I have 'Dragon Lines' and I really like the Martial Arts packages, I think it was this product that got me thinking initially actually. It certainly gives alot of flavour to Martial Arts. However translating that into a generic rule is a bit time-consuming, which was why I opted for something more simple that I could throw into any genre with a minimal of fuss. But, yes, I do like the way Martial Arts is presented in Dragon Lines, it does portray alot of additional effects which is along the lines of what I was after.

Edited January 4, 2012 by Mankcam