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DnD Feats, GURPS Advantages, HERO Talents?


jkeown

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Hmmm, as much as the idea of "adding" all of that stuff to BRP strikes me as really nifty, BUT since I have done just that over the years, I can say there is really pretty much no reason to do so if you haven't done so already.

One, BRP is about Basic, Simple, Fun gaming rules...adding more "crunch" to it, in my opinion, just detracts from the simplicity.

Plenty of BRP versions have been plenty crunchy over the years; I really don't think even the current version is particularly simple if you're using many of the options. I don't see additional options as somehow making this work.

Two, IF you want to use DnD, GURPS or HERO stuff, play those games...

This is kind of a tiresome response when people use it. Games have many features; someone can want things like GURPS Advantages and Disadvantages, yet want most of the other traits that BRP has--reflexive advancement, percentage skills and so on. Setting it in either/or terms is fundamentally not reasonable, and doesn't seem to understand what a game system is about to most people.

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Please don't feel excluded. Your translation of Feat-type abilities into BRP Super Power equivalents is interesting and useful (even though, for reasons stated, I'd prefer abilities which don't use PP). At very least, the POW rating gives a good check they are not too imbalanced.

Um, none of the feats I suggested use PP, and the the 'Alway On' modification is available for too.

EDIT: I just realized your confusion. The cost I layout above is the cost in currency (POW, Hero Points, whatever) to purchase the ability. The one I suggested are of the `always on` variety.

Edited by Harshax

And don't forget Realism Rule # 1 "If you can do it in real life you should be able to do it in BRP". - Simon Phipp

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Um, none of the feats I suggested use PP, and the the 'Alway On' modification is available for too.

EDIT: I just realized your confusion. The cost I layout above is the cost in currency (POW, Hero Points, whatever) to purchase the ability. The one I suggested are of the `always on` variety.

Ah, I'm with it now. I'd assumed the numbers were PP cost to use, not realizing they were "character points" to gain the ability. So, some Super Powers don't cost PP to use, eh? Even more interesting... ta!

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Ah, I'm with it now. I'd assumed the numbers were PP cost to use, not realizing they were "character points" to gain the ability. So, some Super Powers don't cost PP to use, eh? Even more interesting... ta!

Cool. Hopefully you get what I was trying to say all along. The framework is already present in brp. By expanding on that framework, you do more than add a pervy mechanic, you broaden brp's application and illustrate its versatility. The more new material that adheres to the cost/framework of BRP, the more useful the material is to a greater populace.

As GM, it's easier to alter things like cost, or scope of a new power or ability, if it adheres to brp's baseline first. I tend to lose interest quickly, when new rules are offered that do something brp already does, because it is fatiguing for me to evaluate an author's interpretation of his material balanced against the RAW.

Granted, not everything will fit, and there is room for completely new material, but my argument is that most things classified as binary attributes (feats, ads, disads) are meanlingless or already present in brp.

For example, if I were to allow some Super Power abilities [feats] in a Fantasy setting, I'd probably alter the cost of Extra Energy, because the RAW would be overly exploited by magic users. What mage wouldn't sacrifice 1 POW for 10 Magic Points? Decisions like this are personal, and I wouldn't assume that the change would be appreciated by a larger audience.

And don't forget Realism Rule # 1 "If you can do it in real life you should be able to do it in BRP". - Simon Phipp

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For example, if I were to allow some Super Power abilities [feats] in a Fantasy setting, I'd probably alter the cost of Extra Energy, because the RAW would be overly exploited by magic users. What mage wouldn't sacrifice 1 POW for 10 Magic Points? Decisions like this are personal, and I wouldn't assume that the change would be appreciated by a larger audience.

In fact, this is an example that came up when someone got on here complaining about what happened with powers and magic interacting, when Jason tried to patiently point out that he mentioned not all the systems are entirely compatible together. He apparently wouldn't take this as an answer as I recall...

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Ambidexterity, in my experience, was pretty substantial.

And, I disagree - all of those traits can be learned. I knew a kid in high

school who taught himself to be ambidextrous. He definitely wasn't when

he was younger, but by the time he graduated, he was.

-V

Which doesn't invalidate the need for representing characters who are born with such an ability.

I'm all for the system having a means for characters to buy the abilities after character creation. But the system should allow for beginning 'low-level' characters to possess special traits that set them apart, probably at a cost of skill points to keep the system balanced.

As for ambidexterity, it completely depends on the system. If ambidexterity means simply 'use other hand at no penalty, INSTEAD of normal hand' it's not really that big of a deal. If it means 'get extra attack' then it is.

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That's the real issue here; some things are simply not well represented by skill-like functions, or frankly anything with a die roll; they're steady-state traits where no die roll makes any sense. When I was younger, before the joys of age cut in, I had a much higher range (as in I could here frequencies above what 99.99% of the human populace could) hearing; while hearing at all was something a die roll could represent, there were sounds I was simply going to be able to notice than most people wouldn't. It was an either or sort of thing.

Exactly Nightshade! That is the absolute crux of the situation. Thanks for summarizing it so nicely.

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In fact, this is an example that came up when someone got on here complaining about what happened with powers and magic interacting, when Jason tried to patiently point out that he mentioned not all the systems are entirely compatible together. He apparently wouldn't take this as an answer as I recall...

Yeah, that's my problem with people saying 'just use superpowers'. While some of them can be modelled with that system, many, especially the really low-powered ones, cannot. And some just unbalance things full stop if you aren't running a full on supers campaign.

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Yeah, that's my problem with people saying 'just use superpowers'. While some of them can be modelled with that system, many, especially the really low-powered ones, cannot. And some just unbalance things full stop if you aren't running a full on supers campaign.

Well, the fact you're using some powers doesn't mean you can't use them selectively. More the issue is that the powers listing is currently limited enough that that doesn't really answer the question in many cases, and by the time you've added the things to do so, powers pretty much _are_ an Advantage system.

Edited by Nightshade
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...Here's what I've got:

  • Magic Item Creation
  • Magical Afflictions
  • Mounts and the Creation of Custom Breeds
  • Arcanomechanical (Created) Beings
  • Arcanomechanical Grafts
  • Necromechanical Matters
  • Magic Sinks, Calderas, and Springs
  • Mana Flows and Flowtapping
  • Contacts and Allies (From this thread, even)
  • Nemesis Characters
  • Undead Creation
  • Soulwind
  • Channelling and Formulaic Magic

My intent is to publish all of it as BRP PDFs. All of these have a common trade off during Character creation but I'm not sure of the exact mechanics just yet. I want to make sure that it's consistant with BRP.

Reactions?

Sounds great. When you're ready to start sharing, start a separate thread for this so isn't buried deep in another topic.

Steve

Bathalians, the newest UberVillians!

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