Q&A with the new BRP Author

[Jason D]

Any changes to the way automatic weapons work in COC?

Controversially, no. Though the rules aren't beloved, they do work, and I tried to minimize changing rules when they worked.

[Jason D]

Just for clarification...I am a 1st ed. SB man as well...the base weapon stats are based on 1e Stormbringer, you say?

They're from Elric!, also known as Stormbringer (5th edition)

And I am not quite sure from the above, are there demon generation rules, per se?

There are two sample demons (a little implike one and a somewhat Balrogian one), and the spells just provide you to summon "a demon".

A complete demonic creation system was, again, outside the scope of the rules, which was a generic BRP framework. A magic book or a fantasy setting might have more detailed rules about demon summoning, creation, artifacts, etc.

[Jason D]

Jason- Thank you for you kind consideration in addressing this forum. You are a brave, brave man. l

No problem. This pales in comparison to the morning diaper routine with my 9-month old daughter, so it's a welcome change. And my experience working for MMOs have hardened me to the roughest of message boards.

What market is BRP aimed at?

Any gamers, really, but especially those who like a system-light experience, and want to be able to slot mechanics and and out of their games with ease.

Do you expect to compete head-to-head with GURPS and HERO?

I think those games have their audiences, and BRP has its audience. If anything, they're competing against one another and we're sort of on our own.

BRP seems to have always been weak on gearhead stuff like rules for making things, vehicles, new weapons, as well as breaking , burning, and breaching obstacles. Has this been addressed in the core book? If not are there plans to do so?

There are rules for doing a wide variety of things to environments (remember that BRP is a misnomer... we're actually talking about games as diverse as Superworld, Ringworld, and so on.

There are rules for making stuff using powers, but they're admittedly light. Again, it's generally not a big part of the BRP game, and we were very strongly opposed to trying to make it just another generic rules kit like HERO, GURPS, etc.

BRP seemed content to operate within a strictly game sense i.e. an abstracted SIZ instead of mass and volume in English or metric measures. Has the system been tied into the real world any better?

SIZ is still abstracted.

Was it planned for the powers to balance against one another so that one does not dominate?

It wasn't planned, and they don't really balance against one another. The expectation is that a GM will only be using one of them in a given campaign. Mutations don't balance against magic, and psychic powers are woefully underpowered compared to sorcery. Super powers are probably the most flexible and powerful of all of the five.

Will the optional rules bring BRP up to the level of other multi-genre games in terms of tactical options and finesse?

Perhaps. But again, BRP has never been about tactical options - it's a core game framework that can be made as complex or as simple as desired. In the past that's been by the designers at Chaosium, but now is in the hands of each GM.

What parts of it are you not content with as a designer?

Hmm...

I'd have liked to have made Sanity work in the same fashion as HP, power points (formerly magic points), fatigue, etc. But that's too big a change to do in non-CoC rulebook.

I think that given the choice now, I'd have pulled critical successes out of the book entirely and just kept special successes as the default.

I've never been a fan of even using fatigue or encumbrance rules. I tend towards making those things "GM discretion".

I'd have scaled the whole thing back somewhat and gotten it done much earlier. Overlapping three moves, two job searches, a marriage, and the birth of a baby during the course of one manuscript wasn't really ideal.

[Jason D]

'up to the level of'...you really think GURPS is better. Wow.:eek:

I look at it just the reverse, but we have been over that already, I guess.

So whadya think, Jason, is BRP going to be 'brought up to the level of GURPS, err "other multi-genre games"' with the release of this book? I'd sort of like to know, myself.

Because if I thought that was the case, it would be a deal-breaker.

See above.

Having BRP become a substitute for GURPS, HERO, Action!, Tri-Stat dX, d20, etc. was ever a consideration or a goal. It's a different kind of game.

I was heartened during playtesting about the number of people who contacted me on the forum and outside about the ease they'd had changing existing systems over to BRP, and how much more fun they were having. I don't know if that would have happened if we'd gone down the "just another generic rules set" path.

[Jason D]

Perhaps Jason could convince the Chaosium staff to authorize some pre-publication sneak peeks?

It's out of my hands, but I suspect there are plans afoot to entice players and GMs ahead of time.

[Jason D]

What were the goals you had in mind when revising and updating the rules?

Consistency and completeness. The original title I submitted was The Complete BRP but it got changed to Deluxe, then to the current title. I was amused that they announced the newest title before letting me know.

Just to get them to work together?

See above.

Make them model certain types of play better?

No. If anything, making them more modular so GMs could do that.

Reality testing them?

Not a huge consideration, to be frank. I'm much more in the "does it play well" than "is it realistic" camp.

Other?

Turning it into a lingua franca for future BRP games. Basically, I wanted to write the core set of BRP rules I (and other writers) could use to create new BRP games with.

BTW saw your post on RPGNet of the addition to the family. Congratulations! You will get to sleep again someday.

Thanks!

[Jason D]

Charisma or Appearance? Or something else?

We kept APP, because it's the most current version of the characteristic, but the characteristic roll (characteristic x 5, used for simple tests) is the Charisma roll.

P.S. Congratulations on the new baby! At least that is what I assume it is. I have a 2-month-old baby myself.

Thanks! Now go get some sleep!

[Jason D]

First off, welcome to the boards!

Thanks!

1) Do you think you'll get sleep anytime soon with all of the questions from this board directed at you?

This is nothing. Fun to do.

2) Do you really like the cover of the book? (I kinda do, actually. But I don't think it will play in the current marketplace. I actually like someone's suggestion of a black background with a grey Chaosium dragon logo filling the cover. Also, I acknowledge that this is a loaded question. Feel free to ignore.)

I should probably ignore the question.

3) Was it worth it? As a playtester, I believe you've provided a great manuscript. From you're live journal, I know there's a lot of change happening in your life. What about the process would you like to have been different?

See the answer to the previous post.

4) How's your daughter doing? Too bad you're on the other side of the continent. We could set up a play date with my Fiona and your little girl.

She's awesome. Best thing I've ever done with my life, which I am astounded now to think. Every day is a joy.

Maybe we'll have them meet up at a future Gen Con!

[Jason D]

Something tells me this will be a busy thread. Especially after I spread the word to draw more people to the forum!

Spread the word, though I'll likely be doing a bunch of evangelism for the book on various forums over the next two-to-forever months.

Sanity?? Allegiance?? This is optional spot rules I hope?

Optional rules in the GM's chapter.

CoC skill modifiers? Do you mean like RQ3?

Like from the Call of Cthulhu Keeper's Handbook. If a skill is being performed under ideal conditions and isn't essential to the plot, the GM can make the skill Easy (double the chance of success). If it's going to be hard, the GM can rule that it's Difficult (1/2 chance). It's a simple means of quickly resolving issues, or for making them tougher. There are also rules about when you'd add a modifier from -20% to +20% for various things, applied after a skill is either doubled or halved.

The rumoured scenario pack, which might get cancelled because the sci-fi scenario was not handed in. Would be great if you could get som news on this.

I wonder if the sci-fi scenario was mine? It is admittedly late. I'll ask Dustin about it.

[Nightshade]

Got just one big question for you at this time, as its been a bit of a sore point in adapting BRP based games to more general use in the past. How did you end up setting up character generation? Some simple build/roll attributes mode and a skill point distribution system? Or something else?

[Atgxtg]

Jason,

Thanks for the answers. Hope you get through the BRPer stampede!

More Questions (sorry, answers tend to spawn them)

1) You said all stats will get characteristic rolls. While most such rolls seem to be pretty intuitive, does this mean that the characteristic rolls will replace the resistance table for things like lifting or pushing?

2) Any there any settings in the works, and what are they?

[Jason D]

Got just one big question for you at this time, as its been a bit of a sore point in adapting BRP based games to more general use in the past. How did you end up setting up character generation? Some simple build/roll attributes mode and a skill point distribution system? Or something else?

Character generation is normal BRP, but allows for point-based character generation. Skills are "get a dump of points and spend them as appropriate for profession and personal interest".

The rules for different character power levels (normal, heroic, epic, and superhuman) allow for different starting characteristic bases and more skill points.

The super powers system also includes skills like "super characteristic" and "super skill" which let you put character points into characteristics and skills.

[Jason D]

1) You said all stats will get characteristic rolls. While most such rolls seem to be pretty intuitive, does this mean that the characteristic rolls will replace the resistance table for things like lifting or pushing?

They're not intended to replace the resistance table in any way. Instead, they're there for things that might not have an immediate or obvious opposing value.

Some examples:

- Idea (INTx5), Knowledge (EDUx5), and Luck (POWx5) rolls are already a known quantity

- doing a hundred pushups might require an Effort (STRx5) roll

- eating 50 hot dogs might be a Stamina (CONx5) roll

- catching a drink you've dropped might be an Agility (DEXx5) roll

- attracting the notice of a total stranger to come over and speak to you in a social situation might call for a Charisma (APPx5) roll

and so on...

2) Any there any settings in the works, and what are they?

I think a couple have been mentioned on the front page of this very site.

[tired librarian]

hiya jason!

is there a SIZ chart included? a simple one-pager with silhouettes of different SIZ scores would help understanding the numbers.

can't wait for this to come out!

[Jason D]

is there a SIZ chart included? a simple one-pager with silhouettes of different SIZ scores would help understanding the numbers.

I'm pretty sure there's a SIZ chart, but nothing like a silhouette, as the value is a pretty nebulous one (which drove me a bit crazy).

[Nightshade]

Character generation is normal BRP, but allows for point-based character generation. Skills are "get a dump of points and spend them as appropriate for profession and personal interest".

Pretty straightforward then, and much like the optional character gen in RQ3.

The rules for different character power levels (normal, heroic, epic, and superhuman) allow for different starting characteristic bases and more skill points.

The super powers system also includes skills like "super characteristic" and "super skill" which let you put character points into characteristics and skills.

Yeah, I'd figure that was probably the case since it was derived from Superworld.

[Jason D]

Just because I'm curious, how is that handled if someone is using the rolled system (the different characteristic bases I mean)?

It changes the default dice rolls. I'm not going to give away too much (and don't have the manuscript handy), but it goes something like this:

Normal - every characteristic is 3d6 (except for maybe SIZ)

Heroic - every characteristic is 2d6+6

For epic and superhuman level campaigns, the GM is advised to provide a pool of character points and let players modify the heroic-level rolls as desired.

[Nightshade]

It changes the default dice rolls. I'm not going to give away too much (and don't have the manuscript handy), but it goes something like this:

Normal - every characteristic is 3d6 (except for maybe SIZ)

Heroic - every characteristic is 2d6+6

For epic and superhuman level campaigns, the GM is advised to provide a pool of character points and let players modify the heroic-level rolls as desired.

Ah. Thanks, Jason.

[tal]

Are all the creatures/monsters from the BRP monograph included in the book?

[Simlasa]

Are all the creatures/monsters from the BRP monograph included in the book?

He gave a listing of what critters were in the book farther up-thread... I'm not sure if they were the ones out of the monograph, which would have been most of the non-Gloranthan critters from RQ3... yes?

[Jason D]

He gave a listing of what critters were in the book farther up-thread... I'm not sure if they were the ones out of the monograph, which would have been most of the non-Gloranthan critters from RQ3... yes?

It was a dramatically reduced list of those, plus some classics from other sources.

[Rurik]

I've been trying to follow and keep up with this thread but have been busy lately. Forgive me if any of these have been covered.

First off thanks for taking the time to answer our questions (not to mention, y'know, writeing a comprehensive collection of the BRP rules), and congrats on your daughter.

First, how do the opposed roll mechanics work (Spot vs. Hide for example)?

Second, Are armor points fixed or variable by default? Also, do armors have different values based on attack types (melee, ballistic, energy)?

Third off, it seems from upthread that most of the questions I've been wondering about have been answered, and it seems for the most part BRP will be a collection of previously publications collected and fit together (which is pretty much in line with my expectations). What parts would you say are new, or which sections have the most original content?

That's it for now, thanks.

[Jason D]

First, how do the opposed roll mechanics work (Spot vs. Hide for example)?

Off the top of my head (and the rules were written early in 2006), they go as follows:

Both parties roll.

If one is successful and the other isn't, then the one who made it achieves their goal.

If both succeeded, compare quality of successes (special or critical vs. normal). Best result wins.

If quality of success is still tied, a few options are provided (actually, I think a side box has three separate options from "compare the highest successful value" to "who had the greater spread between their roll and the success"). The GM can pick the system she likes best.

Second, Are armor points fixed or variable by default? Also, do armors have different values based on attack types (melee, ballistic, energy)?

Fixed by default. Variable results provided as an optional rule.

No different armor values by type of attack - though there is a note in the weapons section that states that the GM may (optionally) decide that non-ballistic armor is worth only 1/2 value against high-velocity weapons such as firearms.

Playability over additional detail for the sake of "realism" was the guiding principle here.

What parts would you say are new, or which sections have the most original content?

Off the top of my head:

• Skill success values (for each skill - optional stuff but nicely useful)
  
• Professions that haven't appeared before
  
• Different player character levels (normal, heroic, epic, superhuman)
  
• Some spot rules are new, others have been reworked for congruence with current system
  
• Mutations and psychic powers were extensively reworked and expanded
  
• Some new super powers and magic spells
  
• Many pieces of equipment
  
• The GMing and Settings chapters are almost entirely original
  
• Some monsters never seen in BRP
  

[TRose]

How character improvement going to be handled? Is it going to be like in old BRP where you then have players climbing trees and swimming in the lake for improvement roles or similar to MRQ where there a set number of improvement roles per game?

[Jason D]

How character improvement going to be handled? Is it going to be like in old BRP where you then have players climbing trees and swimming in the lake for improvement roles or similar to MRQ where there a set number of improvement roles per game?

I'm not familiar with how MRQ handled it.*

However, the BRP book uses the traditional system, but there are guidelines as to when a skill check is appropriate. If a skill is not being used to further the story and no dramatic purpose is achieves, or no reasonable threat is implied (climbing a tree or swimming in the lake), the skill use is Easy (double skill). Success at an Easy skill roll does not merit a skill improvement check.

Similarly, the GM should be able to tell players when a skill improvement roll is called for, and when it's clearly just a part of the "golf bag of weapons" exploit.

* I didn't want to deal with any cross-pollination from that vector, and my extremely unpleasant experiences as a onetime freelancer for Mongoose have soured me on giving them any of my money or reading a word they've published.