I wish for BRP Essentials to be ...

[Guest Vile Traveller]

To avoid the fine tradition of further speculation in the face of an absence of facts, here's a different spin on the issue: what would you, the lowly customer, want to see between the covers of BRP Essentials?

[K Peterson]

I voted the BGB. But I'd wouldn't have a problem with it if it modelled MW, or WoW. I'd have no interest in it if it was based on HeroQuest or CoC7.

[Guest Vile Traveller]

I voted WoW, because. 

Would a hardcover book containing Worlds of Wonder be of interest?

Rick Meints
President
Chaosium Inc.

Edited September 30, 2015 by Vile

[tooley1chris]

I voted BGB because it's still my hope the trimmed down version is a less expensive way of putting BRP in book stores and a  spring board to introducing BRP to the masses, which case the other systems might get noticed as well.

[auyl]

I voted BGB as well since it's always been a favourite of mine.

[Aelwyn]

Dear Chaosium:

Leave out the "What is a role-playing game" and "How to run a role-playing campaign" stuff. That is useful, but it really should be posted prominently on the company's website, available through a single click from the home page, and available as a free download in a one-page, free-to-photocopy format, for Chroniclers to consult or to hand out to newbies. That stuff is promotional material that will attract D&Ders to your website.

For BRP Essentials, from the BGB, use the chapters on character creation, skills, system, and combat. Leave out all the optional rules and stuff that many folks won't use because they're too crunchy--EDU, encumbrance, hit locations, personality bonuses, fatigue. Leave out magic, powers, spot rules, and creatures... those could show up in the setting-specific supplements you're going to package with BRP Essentials.

Also, I know this ship sailed a long time ago, but Chaosium really should call the new product just Basic Roleplaying and rename the BGB Advanced Roleplaying, or perhaps The Book of Gold. Basic Roleplaying makes sense as the name of a 16-page or 32-page handout... it's not a good name for the BGB, and it was only chosen because Chaosium owned the rights. In fact, I wouldn't mind getting a completely new name for the system, perhaps a play on the name of the company. I know it's probably too late to fix that, and trifletraxor will want to kill me if he has to go find another domain name. 

If you're going to tinker with the system, then...

I know I'm going to get hate mail for this, but... get rid of the resistance table. Replace it with opposed characteristic rolls. That's already part of the system. No need to have two mechanics for the same action. Keep the system as simple as possible. Imagine that every table that has to be consulted loses you half your audience... because it probably does. Resist the urge to make it longer than 32 pages.

[SDLeary]

I chose MW. Not because I necessarily prefer it over the BGB, but because its core system is already pared down somewhat. Pull out the Monsters, and some of the GM advice, and other bits and you have a core of whats in the BGB. I would then expect though a "BRP Companion", which would contain all the other bits, bobs, and subsystems from the BGB.

SDLeary

[Chaot]

I chose MW. Not because I necessarily prefer it over the BGB, but because its core system is already pared down somewhat. Pull out the Monsters, and some of the GM advice, and other bits and you have a core of whats in the BGB. I would then expect though a "BRP Companion", which would contain all the other bits, bobs, and subsystems from the BGB.

I voted the same for much the same reasons.

[Simlasa]

I voted BGB... but if they were going to do that why no just keep the BRP Quickstart?

MW or WoW would be fine for me as well... but not CoC 7e.

[fmitchell]

I chose Magic World, although in some places I'd prefer rules from other sources:

- Fixed/constant Armor Points (BRP, RQ6, CoC)

- Skill vs. Skill rolls replacing the Resistance Table; by extension, skills to replace Characteristic x 5% values like Stamina, Luck, Effort, Idea, etc. (RQ6)

- Special success = skill / 10, critical success = 1% exactly (RQ6 with a smidge of CoC7)

- No magic system; ideally a "roll your own magic system" section, but that will take lots of time and effort to write.

- Difficulty factors based on +/-20% increments or doubling / halving chances of success (BRP w/ RQ6 or a more restrained CoC7)

- Combat styles instead of discrete weapon skills (RQ6)

The parts I liked from Magic World, by the way, are Appearance instead of CHA, the streamlined skill allocation system, the Culture + Profession approach, a simplified skill list, no Fatigue scale (much as I like RQ6's), bare bones combat system, and above all Allegiance.  If they *have* to include magic, I'd rather they include the unpublished Divine Allegiance section from the MW Chronicler's Guide rather than the almost inevitable Elric Sorcery/Common Magic/Battle Magic/Folk Magic system.

P.S. I just realized my ideal BRP Essentials would look a lot like OpenQuest Basic, save for my magic aversion.  And we already have one of those.

Edited October 1, 2015 by fmitchell
postscript

[Thaenor]

BGB and Magic World mixture as much as the 32 page limit would allow.

Edited October 1, 2015 by Thaenor

[Sunwolfe]

Though I play Magic World (and will bloody well continue to do so!), I voted BGB because to me it represents the broad palette of BRP core rules colors from which RQ2 & 3, RW, EQ, SB, E! MW, etc were painted--yes, yes, I understand that the BGB came after the games I mentioned; I was there for their advent! A BRP Essentials derived from that comprehensive tome, however, makes more sense to me. I don't want it reversed engineered into the mold of either CoC7 or RQ6, though the relationship is there, nor do I want it brought in line with Moon-Wisdom's Glorantha material.

Cheers,

[The Venomous Pao]

I chose Magic World, but what I really meant was the BGB with the default settings at Elric!. But then I saw WoW in the list and wanted to change my vote

Bottom line for me is not HeroQuest, CoC 7, or Chaosium RuneQuest. Fine games and all, but not what I want out of a generic and simplified BRP book.

 

[Guest Vile Traveller]

But then I saw WoW in the list and wanted to change my vote.

Change it, change it! 

[The Venomous Pao]

Change it, change it! 

I would, but I don't seem to be able to. I'm usually not an idiot about these things, but if there's a way to change it that I'm not seeing let me know.

[Guest Vile Traveller]

I see what you mean. Silly forum software. Well, at least I now know that WoW would be in the lead, it's just that none of you have been able to change your vote after thinking about it and coming to the correct conclusion.

[Hexelis]

I chose WoW, but yeah BRP, MW, WoW. NO CoC7!

[Nick J.]

As a lifelong AD&D/d20 gamer up until my last group fell apart five or so years ago. I can say that when I started getting interested in coming back to gaming a couple of years ago (but wanting a new system) it was unequivocally Magic World & BRP that made the most sense to me out of all the d100 games I looked at and it clicked right away (I had owned the pdf of the Runequest 6 rules through a bundle of holding purchase for a year at that point, and while I liked it, I'll be damned if I could suss out how to make it go without being shown how to run it/play it). So I voted for the BGB because of its generic nature, but I suppose I mean MW just as much if not more.

In my humble opinion, if the new "Chaosimoonmechanism" wants to lure away disillusioned D&Ders (and other old and new gamers alike), then I think the BRP/WoW/MW model is perhaps just a bit more intuitive than RQ6 for d100 newbies (of course I say that having not read RQ6 Essentials).

[Aelwyn]

I am almost certain that it's going to be the BRP Quick-Start rules, minus Chapter 7: Adventures. The Quick-Start is now available for free from Chaosium Free Downloads or in print for US$11.95. BRP Essentials will be a renaming of that existing content, with the adventures removed for economic reasons. The print version will be similarly priced, possibly a buck or two cheaper, but they will likely still offer it as a pdf for free. It's a good business move, but it shouldn't be cause for either celebration or alarm. 

[Guest Vile Traveller]

Off-topic, Aelwyn! This thread is for wishes, not predictions. Now, if you wished for it to be based on, say, Worlds of Wonder, that'd be on topic. 

[Aelwyn]

I can't crush everyone else's wishes on the wish thread? Wait... did I wander off the Internet?

Okay, at the risk of being lynched, I wish they would base it on BRP but use the much easier to calculate Specials, Criticals, and Fumbles from Runequest 6, along with the really, really fun Special Effects. I voted BRP because it's what I'm most familiar with. I like the skills and character creation in BRP, and I find the system a little more intuitive than Runequest 6, but that might just be familiarity. Another thing I like from RQ6 is that you get an experience check for Fumbling, which in my experience is one of the best ways to learn.

I don't have Magic World, but it seems so popular on this site, I may have to break down and buy it just so I can discuss it intelligently.

Not so much a wish, just an idle thought: what would BRP look like without characteristics? With just skills? Give everyone 15 hit points and 15 power points. Power points could increase by experience; hit points could only be increased by magic or superpowers. Just wondering if that would work.

I really wish there was a version of BRP that was stripped down enough that I could teach it to someone and get a character generated and start playing in 15 minutes, even someone who had never played role-playing games before. An indie version of BRP that I could play with my mom or my three-year-old nephew. I don't know how you would get the realistic feel that BRP has and be able to achieve that. It might not be possible.

Edited October 2, 2015 by Aelwyn

[Guest Vile Traveller]

This is the thread of dreams.  

Not so much a wish, just an idle thought: what would BRP look like without characteristics? With just skills? Give everyone 15 hit points and 15 power points. Power points could increase by experience; hit points could only be increased by magic or superpowers. Just wondering if that would work.

Actually it would work fine. You just need another 7 skills to replace characteristic rolls (well, maybe you don't even need SIZ rolls), and away you go. I often feel that even now D&D casts a long shadow on other RPGs.

 

[Aelwyn]

The Thread of Dreams. Now that's a good name for an RPG. The cover art would show an impossibly old woman, in ancient clothes, sewing a tapestry. On the tapestry can be seen archaeologists confronting a mummy, a spaceship orbiting a ringed planet, a bronze-age warrior battling a giant lizard, and fragments of other scenes. I wish there were some universal game system where you could play all those different styles. 

[seneschal]

The Thread of Dreams. Now that's a good name for an RPG. The cover art would show an impossibly old woman, in ancient clothes, sewing a tapestry. On the tapestry can be seen archaeologists confronting a mummy, a spaceship orbiting a ringed planet, a bronze-age warrior battling a giant lizard, and fragments of other scenes. I wish there were some universal game system where you could play all those different styles. 

Hmmm.  BRP, Hero System, Mini Six, Action! System, GURPS, FATE Accelerated, TOON, Teenagers From Outer Space, Classic Traveller, Legends of the Ancient World.  In TOON you'd be playing the giant lizard.  If you wanted to do ALL those scenes in one scenario, Doctor Who:  Adventures In Time And Space or Mutant Future. 

[Guest Vile Traveller]

You could do a fold-out cover.

Edited October 2, 2015 by Vile