Defining the core rules

[Joseph Paul]

While we all eagerly await the release of the new BRP there is, I note, some apprehension in the posts of some of us concerning what rules will be alternative and what will be part of the core rules and presumably unable to be ditched if they are not liked.

It made think about BRP and what had to be minimally part of the core rules for it function at all.

1. Stats of STR, CON, SIZ, DEX, POW, INT and APP
   
2. Hit points, loss and recovery
   
3. Damage bonus
   
4. Action rank/DEX rank
   
5. Skills
   
6. Task resolution

Can anyone think of anything else?

Fatigue, any powers, weapons rules are all alternatives because not having them does not affect the essential rules but those rules affect everything else.

Anything that I forgot that does affect the other rules?

Having pared BRP down to this essential list I am amused when people make a distinction between an alternative rule and any rule that is not actually essentiallike those above. Like not being branded 'alternate rule' would keep any of us from modifying or excising it on the spot if we didn't like it.

Joseph Paul

[Trifletraxor]

Having pared BRP down to this essential list I am amused when people make a distinction between an alternative rule and any rule that is not actually essentiallike those above. Like not being branded 'alternate rule' would keep any of us from modifying or excising it on the spot if we didn't like it.

Joseph Paul

That's true, but the big difference btw the "default" and the "optional" rules are that the default rules are those who will be supported in future supplements.

(By the way, Gianni's basicrps site have a transcript of the original "core" rules, stripped down to the absolutely minimum needed for play).

Sverre.

[badcat]

...and the author, who went to the trouble of writing this book, had all the rights to define what was 'essential' and 'optional'. Fortunately I seem to agree with his decisions more often than not. I am absolutely sure that I would not buy the book if certain others had written it (if the Chaosium guys were to publish such a version to start with, that is).

[lawrence.whitaker]

The pre-pub version I have is very clear on what's core and what's optional. Jason's done an exceedingly good job pulling together, sifting, and optionalising what needs to be optionalised. It really is a modular game that you can plug the bits you want (or need) into the core mechanics to get the kind of game that suits the setting.

[Aycorn]

While we all eagerly await the release of the new BRP there is, I note, some apprehension in the posts of some of us concerning what rules will be alternative and what will be part of the core rules and presumably unable to be ditched if they are not liked.

It made think about BRP and what had to be minimally part of the core rules for it function at all.

1. Stats of STR, CON, SIZ, DEX, POW, INT and APP
   
2. Hit points, loss and recovery
   
3. Damage bonus
   
4. Action rank/DEX rank
   
5. Skills
   
6. Task resolution

Can anyone think of anything else?

Fatigue, any powers, weapons rules are all alternatives because not having them does not affect the essential rules but those rules affect everything else.

Anything that I forgot that does affect the other rules?

Having pared BRP down to this essential list I am amused when people make a distinction between an alternative rule and any rule that is not actually essentiallike those above. Like not being branded 'alternate rule' would keep any of us from modifying or excising it on the spot if we didn't like it.

Joseph Paul

Resistance Table? Or am I dating myself?

I'd prefer CHA to APP, but that's my trip and it's been addressed anyway.

[Joseph Paul]

...and the author, who went to the trouble of writing this book, had all the rights to define what was 'essential' and 'optional'. Fortunately I seem to agree with his decisions more often than not. I am absolutely sure that I would not but the book if certain others had written it (if the Chaosium guys were to publish such a version to start with, that is).

I don't think that you are getting the point of the exercise Badcat. This is an examination of what is the bare essential of BRP that has to exist for the game to function at all. Anything else is in fact optional whether a designer designates it as a default condition or not because if it was removed it would not crash the game.

Do you have something that you want to add to the list or challenge the "essentialness" of?

Joseph Paul

[Joseph Paul]

Resistance Table? Or am I dating myself?

I'd prefer CHA to APP, but that's my trip and it's been addressed anyway.

Hmmm. Good point and yes you are dating yourself. Further you have 'outed' me for knowing what you are talking about.

As useful as the resistance table is if you take it away do we not have any other way to resolve things. For that matter you can still compare stats, figure the percentage, and roll so I am going to disagreee that the table itself is necessary.

Joseph Paul

[Trifletraxor]

D100 skill resolution. :cool:

SGL.

[Enpeze]

While we all eagerly await the release of the new BRP there is, I note, some apprehension in the posts of some of us concerning what rules will be alternative and what will be part of the core rules and presumably unable to be ditched if they are not liked.

It made think about BRP and what had to be minimally part of the core rules for it function at all.

1. Stats of STR, CON, SIZ, DEX, POW, INT and APP
   
2. Hit points, loss and recovery
   
3. Damage bonus
   
4. Action rank/DEX rank
   
5. Skills
   
6. Task resolution

Can anyone think of anything else?

Fatigue, any powers, weapons rules are all alternatives because not having them does not affect the essential rules but those rules affect everything else.

Anything that I forgot that does affect the other rules?

Having pared BRP down to this essential list I am amused when people make a distinction between an alternative rule and any rule that is not actually essentiallike those above. Like not being branded 'alternate rule' would keep any of us from modifying or excising it on the spot if we didn't like it.

Joseph Paul

A good list of what should be in the core rules. I would like to add a list of my own (based on your list):

1. Primary Stats of STR, CON, SIZ, DEX, POW, INT and APP
   
2. Secondary Stats like Hitpoints, Magic Points, Damage Bonus, Initiative, stat rolls (Luck roll, Charisma roll etc.) and examples how to use them properly in game, eg. as stat roll or on the resistance table
   
3. Resolving combat and damage (melee, missile, poison, fire, falling)
   
4. Skills and how to use them
   
5. Improvement rolls
   
6. How to generate a character (including ideas for developing character templates)
   

The reason why I added all those "...how to use them..." is that IMO its important for newbies to "learn" the usage of the wonderful and simple tools BRP has included quite in the moment they read the system. There seem not to be a general standard out there and much guessing and interpretation instead. I sometimes have the impression that there is sometimes even between experienced players a disagreement how to use skills. (from "according to the fumble rules 1% of all airplanes should crash down" to "I dont let roll any air pilot for routine situations at all") This problem should be taken care of in the core rules with sufficient tipps and examples.

[badcat]

The last couple of editions of CoC (in particular) had a page or two of optional suggestions to modify the game system to ones taste already. It appears that Jason has taken the tendency and run with it.

It has always been a hallmark of BRP anyway. As someone else has already said, RQ2 had a bunch of appendices that did the same thing, for instance.

[Joseph Paul]

And what I think I am groping towards here is the idea that there is so very little of BRP that is essential for there to be a game that everything else is optional because if you take it out it doesn't crash the game.

It might crash a setting such as CoC if you did not have SAN but that is just an example of an optional rule that doesn't affect the rest of the rules when it isn't present.

Triff's point is well taken. The defaults given will be what is supported so we all might need to sharpen our pencils to make those corrections to fit things into our own games. I wonder if it is easier to provide bare bones 'default only' stuff or go whole hog and use all of the options for describing an NPC/equipment/whatever and let the GM pare it down to what they want to work with. I think Runelords did that.