Things to Watch Out For?

[Arch0n]

Hey! Getting ready to run my first BRP session this Thursday. What do I need to be careful of? What are the "Gotchas" for the first-time GM? (Experienced generally, so just looking for those nightmare rules to know/watch).

[Al.]

Hey! Getting ready to run my first BRP session this Thursday. What do I need to be careful of? What are the "Gotchas" for the first-time GM? (Experienced generally, so just looking for those nightmare rules to know/watch).

Starting chances in skills are LOW. This can lead to a real comedy of errors.

Have an idea of what skills players have boosted (easier if you did pregens!) this will show you what they are interested in and also have a chance of succeeding.

There are lots of available skills

Linked to the above. If I have put all of my Personal Pool of skill points into Arts and there is no chance to test them then do not be surprised if next time I create a combat monster to better cope with the challeneges which you pose for me.

There are lots of potential modifiers

Let the players have an idea of what they are.

'Ah ha so even though I have no Shortsword skill I can default to half of my Mace skill? And attacking from behind adds this much, ganging up this much, from higher ground this much; now I can make an intelligent decision rather than throwing my dice out of the pram at having no chance to succeed or giving up and letting the Big Bad take over the world'

You might also find it EASIER to choose either ONLY multipliers (half, double, triple skill, etc) or linear (+10, +20, etc) rather than combine both and get bord of the Mathematics.

Finding Clues about the world

It is very easy to ask for a 'Spot' or 'Listen' roll to find a vital clue. (I mean clue in the broadest sense, not just finding the footprints of the Butler what killed the scullery maid but also the Hellhound padding around just around the corner)

But what happens if they all fail?! Do you then allow an Idea roll. And if that fails a Luck roll? In which case with that many second chances they obviously needed the information so badly that you should probably just have given it to them! Or do you just with hold a vital piece of info?

IMMOO there should be a bare minimum piece of information which anyone who does not fumble will get and then juicier tidbits for those who do succeed (or special or critical)

Vanilla BRP combat is dullsville

Some of the spot rules make it much more fun. The Savage Worlds fan community have created a combat survival guide suggesting different strategies and cool rules to make use of if slugging it out is not working. If you have time hunt it down and reformat the combat spot rules in a similar manner.

BRP Combat can be deadly

It really can. So make sure that NPCs are prepared to surrender, ransom or run away and that PCs know that they can too.

There are lots of different Powers

For the first game just choose 1 (or even none) to avoid having to guess what the interactions will be. There are some very bright and very BRP-savvy GMs on these forums who have not yet unearthed all of the possible combinations and complications. Don't expect to be able to yourself straight off the bat.

FWIW Sorcery looks simplest. Renaming it makes it suitable for most settings. Of course I ran Elric! games for a long time so I may be confusing my familiarity with simplicity.

Character Creation takes time

Even with the marvellous double-page spread aide memoire it is time-consuming. That is fine if you want players to have control of their alter egos and see it as a price worth paying but just be aware.

Two slightly more general points but might be of use if you are running your first game with a system.

Referring to the rulebook is weak and slows play

Let the PCs know that you are not going to do it. That you will make fair judgment calls. But that AFTER THE GAME you will be happy to talk them through with players and so maybe change what you would do NEXT TIME.

Players who throw hissy fits are boring

So do not invite them and don't accept it at the table

All of the above quite clearly correct and needing no qualification or justification.

Al

[rleduc]

This is a great answer. AI, I think you should consider adding to the Wiki under “Gamemastering”.

[Arch0n]

Thanks for the pointers. I'm following your advice regarding powers and limiting it to just sorcery to start with....

[Aycorn]

Vanilla BRP combat is dullsville

Some of the spot rules make it much more fun. The Savage Worlds fan community have created a combat survival guide suggesting different strategies and cool rules to make use of if slugging it out is not working. If you have time hunt it down and reformat the combat spot rules in a similar manner.

Some very good suggestions!

Any link for the Savage Worlds thing?

[Aycorn]

[quote=Al.;18501

Character Creation takes time

Even with the marvellous double-page spread aide memoire it is time-consuming. That is fine if you want players to have control of their alter egos and see it as a price worth paying but just be aware.

[Atgxtg]

I think the "BRP Combat can be deadly" comment bears repeating.

Unlike a lot of RPGs, PCs can go from being up an active to dead and gone with one lucky hit at any time.

Now add

Raise Dead is uncommon or unavailable in most BRP settings

and you can see that it is usually best to let the PCs outclass the NPCs by a fair margin most of the time.

Also,

Double teams and surprise attacks are murder in BRP

Again, unlike what a lot of players are used to and expect, two or three wimpy fighters pose a very serrious threat to an experienced warrior. Without a bunch of hit points to fall back on, the fact that the foes are getting two or three attacks per combat round usually compensates for a difference in skill. Also, the realtive low number of hit points mean that any surprise attack/ambush has a very good chance of crippling or killing a PC rather than "softening" them up as in most level based RPGs.

[Al.]

This is a great answer. AI, I think you should consider adding to the Wiki under “Gamemastering”.

Done

Its in the 'Gamesmastering' section. I also nicked Atgxtg's comments on combat deadliness and cellotaped them on.

Al

Edited December 3, 2008 by Al.

[Al.]

Any link for the Savage Worlds thing?

Sure

Pinnacle Entertainment Group Downloads

You want the link 'Combat Survival Guide (By Paul Casper)'

Al

[Harshax]

I'd add that the GM should carefully weigh when a skill deserves a Skill Check. It is too easy to give in to players who want an improvement roll every time they use a skill. The pitfall is that characters gain power to quickly, or worse yet, have high percentiles in skills that are secondary to how the character is actually played.

A good example is the spot/listen checks. Just because a character succeeds, they don't necessarily deserve a check. Especially when there wasn't anything to find.

[Harshax]

Vanilla BRP combat is dullsville

Some of the spot rules make it much more fun. The Savage Worlds fan community have created a combat survival guide suggesting different strategies and cool rules to make use of if slugging it out is not working. If you have time hunt it down and reformat the combat spot rules in a similar manner.

I've been wanting to give some time to translating these options to spot rules for BRP. Care to start another thread?

[Turloigh]

Lots of good advice, AI.

BRP Combat can be deadly

It really can. So make sure that NPCs are prepared to surrender, ransom or run away and that PCs know that they can too.

The big thing to watch out for is critical hits. Most characters can take a normal hit and survive to think about surrendering or running away, but a critical hit from pretty much any weapon can kill most characters very dead. (Which of course is the point of critical hits, but it can frustrate players, especially newbies.)

I believe it's safe to completely ignore critical (or even special) hits from NPCs unless you're sure the players know the risks.