BRP Poll at Chaosium.com

[Jason D]

There's a new poll at Chaosium.com asking the question"Which Genre would you most like to see as a Chaosium BRP setting?"

The options presented are:

• Fantasy
  
• Historical
  
• Horror
  
• Post Apocalypse
  
• Pulp
  
• Science Fiction
  

Click here to go to the poll!

[Ars Mysteriorum]

No Modern Horror or Modern Fantasy subgenres?

[NickMiddleton]

It's a bit of a quick straw poll effort, and I suspect one would need to get in to some rather lengthy discussions to clearly define Modern Horror and Modern Fantasy as distinct from each other - AND explain how both aren't already to some degree addressed by Call of Cthulhu.

But I'm sure Chaosium would listen to / read a pitch on either one - and they might revise the poll in response to an email.

Be interesting to see what the results look like when it has more respondents...

[Jason D]

No Modern Horror or Modern Fantasy subgenres?

It's not the most detailed poll.

It's missing topics like Superhero, Action, and Western.

I suspect it's just out there as a bellwether.

[danbuter]

Fantasy, please. (Runequest with NO Glorantha would be great).

[Dredj]

Yeah, the poll really could use some detail. Personally, I would really like to see ultra-realistic slasher horror. Maybe even Gothic horror--something different and more "juicier" than CoC. And I would definitely like to see space opera as well as Hard SF.

Pulp is always good. BRP could use some more of that.

[Dredj]

I voted for science fiction because that seems to be most lacking genre (besides post-apocalypse, which I'm not too interested in) from the Chaosium repertoire. And one I'd like to see more of.

However, looking at the vote results, it seems I should have voted for Pulp--as that offers a very wide range of possibilities to explore.

[AikiGhost]

Voted Sci Fi, since those type rules are the ones that historically have had the least action. Id quite like to see post apocalypse as I think BRP would handle that kind of grit quite well.

[Jarulf]

Voted Fantasy but the poll seems to think I already voted and got an error.

I want a semi-realistic fantasy setting, more Harn than Glorantha though not necessarily based on the European middle ages.

[RosenMcStern]

Fantasy, please. (Runequest with NO Glorantha would be great).

It is already out there: take RuneQuest and use all the non-Glorantha sourcebooks with BRP.

The point is rather: "What will the new main setting for BRP Fantasy be?", given that both classic fantasy settings used by Chaosium with BRP (Glorantha and Young Kingdoms) are now Mongoose's domain?

[frogspawner]

The point is rather: "What will the new main setting for BRP Fantasy be?", given that both classic fantasy settings used by Chaosium with BRP (Glorantha and Young Kingdoms) are now Mongoose's domain?

And it's a very good point.

The answer could be SharedWorld. And/or one of our own GateWorlds (or several of them, linked), if any are posted...

[Dredj]

My problem with this poll is if 'Horror' won out, would that just mean we're going to see a whole lot more of CoC? I really like CoC, but like I said previously, I would like to see 'juicier' horror; stuff people can relate to on a personal level.

And what kind of fantasy would Chaosium have in mind, since that seems to be the most popular vote?

Despite the fact that I gravitate more towards gritty "real world" and sci-fi stuff (one of the main reasons I chose BRP over any other system I looked at, as I think that the system can do these better than most and with the least amount of effort), I would like to see all of the categories supplied. Who knows when I want to do a fantasy game with elves? So, I hope the next poll like this is more about actual ideas or very specific genres instead of very broad genre classifications.

I wonder how BRP would do with anime?

Basically, I would like to see this system flex its muscles a lot more than it has.

[Jason D]

My problem with this poll is if 'Horror' won out, would that just mean we're going to see a whole lot more of CoC?

I think Chaosium is putting out as much CoC as they're able to, given their resources.

And what kind of fantasy would Chaosium have in mind, since that seems to be the most popular vote?

Good question.

Given that three of the currently-in-development sourcebooks or monographs (I forget which is which) are fantasy, it remains to be seen which ones they'll support more.

I know that during the final writing of BRP, Dustin was very interested in seeing a "house" fantasy setting for BRP.

I wonder how BRP would do with anime?

I don't know. What, to you, is anime in a gaming sense? Is it superdeformed stuff? The art style? Martial arts? A mix of sci-fi and fantasy? Ridiculously oversized weapons?

Personally, I don't think there's much reason to do a BRP Anime generic rulebook, but a sourcebook based on a particular setting is a possibility.

Basically, I would like to see this system flex its muscles a lot more than it has.

"Hallelujah, amen" to that.

[Dredj]

I guess I was thinking about anime, overall, as a lot of genres within it does have its conventions. Basically, just pick and choose the conventions.

I wish I could think of a really good setting for a BRP game. One that would sell really good.

[frogspawner]

Well, now there's over 100 votes, Fantasy & Sci-Fi are running neck-and-neck (though maybe it's just some tech-aware SF fan has hacked the system ).

But if we take it at face value, both are 3x as popular as Horror. Shouldn't that mean each of these genres might get triple the sales of CoC stuff...?

[RosenMcStern]

But if we take it at face value, both are 3x as popular as Horror. Shouldn't that mean each of these genres might get triple the sales of CoC stuff...?

I am afraid it is just the fact that nobody voted horror because BRP already has the best Horror RPG (I would say the best selling, but unfortunately WoD is technically a horror game and it sells more).

[RosenMcStern]

I guess I was thinking about anime, overall, as a lot of genres within it does have its conventions. Basically, just pick and choose the conventions.

I wish I could think of a really good setting for a BRP game. One that would sell really good.

BRP Anime superobots? BRP Gundam?

This niche has a lot of fans and very few games available in the West (FASA Mec. I only remember a Palladium game about Macross/Robotech. The only time I actually touched my GURPS rulebook was to try a game set in the Universal Century (Gundam universe), and just because at that time "Advanced TFT" was the only system flexible enough to represent that setting. Now that we have a BRP with rules for sci-fi and psionics, though....

But Japanese licenses cost too much :mad:

[Tywyll]

I guess I was thinking about anime, overall, as a lot of genres within it does have its conventions. Basically, just pick and choose the conventions.

I wish I could think of a really good setting for a BRP game. One that would sell really good.

Honestly, I'm far more interested in generic material to a static world. I think the anime idea is great, a book about running different kinds of Anime would appeal to many more gamers than one about a specific kind of anime, which would then mostly appeal to specific fans of that show.

Some of my favorite gaming books have been the generic Hero supplements (specifically Ninja Hero and Ultimate Martial Artist, with Fantasy Hero a close second). Yes, specific settings can be great, but they are very dicey in my opinion and frankly I wouldn't pick up a specific setting unless there were mechanics in it I could yank for my own setting/campaign.

[frogspawner]

I am afraid it is just the fact that nobody voted horror because BRP already has the best Horror RPG...

Sigh. I guess so... :ohwell:

[Dredj]

I am afraid it is just the fact that nobody voted horror because BRP already has the best Horror RPG (I would say the best selling, but unfortunately WoD is technically a horror game and it sells more).

Yeah, but they could still branch into other styles of horror. I realize you can already do that with CoC, but there are a lot of refinements that could be put into a system to better exemplify other styles of horror, and not just Cosmic Horror.

Maybe have suppliments about serial killers and stuff that a normal human might run into. Again, I realize that this stuff can easily be covered with what's in CoC, But like I said before, I like my horror 'juicy', so there would be some rules adjustments or add-ons.

I guess what I'm getting at is that a game that doesn't rely so much on "Cosmic Horror" as CoC would be cool. I think everyone really likes that scenario that's in every edition of CoC where the investigators are exploring a haunted house with the undead, mummified dude in the basement. Why? Because it's a "human level" game where things are just bizarre enough to freak out the players. The only thing that's missing is a great set of "splat" rules. The overreliance on the loss of SAN and not enough splatter annoys me.

Besides, has Chaosium ever released a horror setting/scenario that doesn't revolve around the Mythos?

But, now that I think about it, maybe CoC is the perfect setting for a horror rpg, as you can do virtually anything within it. So, maybe, nevermind

[Jason D]

Besides, has Chaosium ever released a horror setting/scenario that doesn't revolve around the Mythos?

They did two Blood Brothers anthologies of non-Mythos adventures.

I suspect also that they might not want to delve too deeply into horror, as they've licensed BRP for Deadworld, and a new horror setting might impact their Call of Cthulhu sales.

[Dredj]

They did two Blood Brothers anthologies of non-Mythos adventures.

I suspect also that they might not want to delve too deeply into horror, as they've licensed BRP for Deadworld, and a new horror setting might impact their Call of Cthulhu sales.

I didn't think of that:o:p

Argh! We have to wait till next year for Deadworld's release. Oh well, I can buy the whole series on disk and get inundated in the Deadworld universe, by then.

DEADWORLD home page

I looooove zombies!

[danbuter]

I'd like a generic "Greyhawk" style fantasy world. Not anything tied to any book series or license.

[Puck]

The answer could be SharedWorld. And/or one of our own GateWorlds (or several of them, linked), if any are posted...

That would be a lot of fun! Not too much discussion going on over there right now though.

[fmitchell]

I'd like a generic "Greyhawk" style fantasy world. Not anything tied to any book series or license.

I'd rather see a fantasy world that got a reasonable distance away from D&D, one with its own character. Glorantha was a little too strange and convoluted, but maybe something with its own distinct flavor ... or maybe a neglected sub-genre, like:

• Sword and sorcery (admittedly already handled by Conan)
  
  
• Non-european fantasy (e.g. Chinese, Japanese, Arabian Nights, Ancient Greek, Indian, African, Central/South American)
  
  
• Modern or historical fantasy (e.g. Mythago Wood, Neverwhere, the Lord Darcy series, nearly everything by Tim Powers)
  
  
• Pre-Tolkien fantasy literature (e.g. Oz, Gormengast, the worlds of Lord Dunsany)
  

I just get tired of pseudo-medieval Europe with elves, dwarves, orcs, etc.