A Question for those producing BRP material for publication

[Thalaba]

The Question I have is:

Are you producing your BRP settings so that all options can be used, or are some of you making assumptions about the options that will work more or less well with the setting. And if the latter is the case, do you state flat out which options are not being supported, or do you only recommend that certain ones not be used?

I'm just curious about how this is being handled by people in general.

Thanks,

Thalaba

[NickMiddleton]

The Question I have is:

Are you producing your BRP settings so that all options can be used, or are some of you making assumptions about the options that will work more or less well with the setting.

In what I've done so far it's not so much a matter of assuming what will work as picking specific options because I think they suit the details of the setting. Ulfland doesn't have Psychics or Supers, but definitely needed hit locations for example.

And if the latter is the case, do you state flat out which options are not being supported, or do you only recommend that certain ones not be used?

Given I can't actually psychically tell what GM's do with the material once I've made it public nor can I, contrary to rumours circulating in some circles, call down divine vengeance on those who misuse my holy words , I mostly state flat out which options are NOT being used which ARE, so there is an unambiguous statement of what I was doing, and then leave it to the GM's using the material.

Of Coruse I AM compiling a list of transgressors... >:->

I'm just curious about how this is being handled by people in general.

Being less flippant, I think most settings are best served by being clear about what fits and what doesn't, and most people will appreciate the clarity of knowing when they are doing something that the original setting excluded or if it's something the setting was always built to cope with.

Cheers,

Nick

[Thalaba]

In what I've done so far it's not so much a matter of assuming what will work as picking specific options because I think they suit the details of the setting. Ulfland doesn't have Psychics or Supers, but definitely needed hit locations for example.

Yes, some options obviously must be chosen for a particular setting. Leaving the choice of which powers might be available or whether allegiance and sanity are being used would probably have do be decided in the design of the setting.

I guess I was thinking more about combat options like hit locations or strike ranks where most settings could be played with or without. Strike ranks is a good example. As a setting designer, do you include the stats for both Dex Ranks and Strike ranks, or only one of the above. I think that's more to the point of what I'm asking. It seems to me there are a number of options like this in the game, subtle enough to be overlooked if you yourself aren't using them (fatigue might be another).

I think most settings are best served by being clear about what fits and what doesn't, and most people will appreciate the clarity of knowing when they are doing something that the original setting excluded or if it's something the setting was always built to cope with.

This was my thinking as well, but since what seems obvious to me might not be to others, and vice versa, I thought I'd ask.

Thalaba

[Pete Nash]

Hi Thalaba

For 'Rome' I have left it completely open so that any options can be used. My philosophy is that since I'm writing a period setting I should be providing cultural, social and historical information; not defining which rule options a GM should use. Game style and power levels are going to vary wildly for each group who pick up my supplement, so its best not to alienate them!

However, I have added several new skills, chariot racing and rioting rules, a whole new magic system (which is tailored specifically to match Roman beliefs, and completely optional for non-supernatural campaigns), the Roman versions of Personality Traits (again optional), and Roman specific occupations. Base skill chances have been modified to match the historical period.

The only option which I've used specifically are Wealth Levels, with guidelines of how they work in ancient Rome, in order to avoid the very messy issue of how much things cost - which can vary wildly over a 700 year period!

In order to save space, creatures and monsters are described without locational HP, and I use static AP for all foes... although I give precise descriptions of ancient armour for those who desire to retroactively calculate what areas a panoply covers.

Oh, and I've written a new set of rules covering Republican diseases, which match (as close as I can design it) the actual real world effects and infection chances.

Other than that I haven't mentioned or included any other BRP rules. As I said, its a settings supplement, designed to work with whatever core BRP engine you want to run it!

Edited February 11, 2009 by Pete Nash

[frogspawner]

In order to save space, creatures and monsters are described without locational HP, and I use static AP for all foes...

Good decision. More room for the meat!

[Agentorange]

In order to save space, creatures and monsters are described without locational HP, and I use static AP for all foes

I feel precisely the opposite to Frogspawner...I want locational HP. Better to include it and people not want to use it, than not include it and people want to use it... Never mind, they can always be posted here as downloads.

I have the money put by for my copy already :thumb:

[Pete Nash]

I feel precisely the opposite to Frogspawner...I want locational HP. Better to include it and people not want to use it, than not include it and people want to use it... Never mind, they can always be posted here as downloads.

Sorry, I used the standard format for creatures as written in the core BRP rules.

If a GM wants locational hit points they can very quickly apply the 'Creature Hit Location' templates on pages 364/365. Its only 30 seconds work for an encounter!

[threedeesix]

For Sword & Spell I chose options that best fit the genre. Things like Total Hit Points for player characters and important NPCs, Extra Attacks for skills over 100%, etc. The game assumes the use of Hit Locations, but none of the monsters have them included in their write-ups for two reasons. One, I wanted the new monsters to use the same format as those from the BRP core book, and two, the page count is looking to already be well over 200+ pages. Rather than cut monsters from the book, I figured this was the way to go.

But all that being said, any options from BRP can be added easily, or my choices removed and the game even mentions how some spells may interact with things like Sanity (which is not a part of Sword & Spell) to keep the additions compatible for those that may be purchasing the book for some other campaign.

Rod

[RosenMcStern]

I want locational HP. Better to include it and people not want to use it, than not include it and people want to use it... Never mind, they can always be posted here as downloads.

Do not hold your breath. Current release has no locations in the stats. If, and I stress IF, we have the time for minor changes, and a couple pages' room, we might add hit locations for armor sets or for creatures/foes. But there are more important matters to look after before we can add any content to what Pete has already written.

[Puck]

This is a question that has been really gnawing at me. I have been attempting to put together a monograph and I often run into gridlock when pondering this question or set of questions.

The big one is:

Man, it would make things sooo much easier just to put in stats like the basic BRP book without hit locations. Hit location also eat up page count which may be a major factor....

On the other hand...

I always found the statistics books very very valuable when I was GMing. So much so they became my most used books. I constantly used Fangs, the encounter book from Borderlands, and later the encounter book from Monster Coliseum. Reading through books and scenarios was one thing and fun on my own time, but those premade hit location encounters were my bread and butter when it came to actual gaming.

So as a hopeful writer I would rather keep things very simple and keep the book at a decent page count, but as a gamer and consumer I am very much in favor of including Hit location charts and would gladly pay a good deal extra for them.

I am still very much uncertain about this stuff and what I should include, but it is good to hear from the experienced writers and how you are dealing with the issue.

Edited February 12, 2009 by Puck

[cjbowser]

So as a hopeful writer I would rather keep things very simple and keep the book at a decent page count, but as a gamer and consumer I am very much in favor of including Hit location charts and would gladly pay a good deal extra for them.

I am still very much uncertain about this stuff and what I should include, but it is good to hear from the experienced writers and how you are dealing with the issue.

As a consumer, I'd prefer the lower page count (and thereby lower price) with the optional hit location charts available as a download. If I want to use them, I can access them.

As a writer, I can understand the desire to fit in as much material you can, so the book can be everything to everyone (it never will be, but it doesn't stop me from hoping). However, I also realize that if I put too much material in the book, I run the risk of turning off the casual purchaser either through information overload or high price.

[Thalaba]

I would also like to see hit locations in a perfect world. Also strike ranks and fatigue. But I admit that space consideration never occured to me as an issue, maybe because it didn't seem to be an issue in any of my RQ books.

Because I have an ExCel spreadsheet that I put all my NPCs and mooks onto, I can fairly easily set it up to calculate these things from bare bones statistics, so I can live without them. When I enter the creatures stats into the spreadsheet, the HP per location, strike ranks, damage bonus, and fatigue are autmatically calculated anyway. So I would have to say that I can live without if there's a good reason for not putting them in. But occasionally, I don't have time to set up for a session or want to pull out an un-planned creature. In those few cases I would be wishing the stats were in the book.

If you create a creature that doesn't have hit locations that are covered in the main book, however, please let us know what they are!

Thalaba

[threedeesix]

If you create a creature that doesn't have hit locations that are covered in the main book, however, please let us know what they are!

Thalaba

I'm setting it up with the same format as the BRP core book. At the end of the creature chapter will be hit location charts for all the new creatures that need them.

Rod

[Jason D]

I'm setting it up with the same format as the BRP core book. At the end of the creature chapter will be hit location charts for all the new creatures that need them.

Rod

This is how I'm handling Interplanetary, as well.

[MrJealousy]

I always use Hit Locs and I think including the Hit Locations is kinda important. It adds a lot of colour to combat and makes the system stand out from all of those 'Hit Point blob' rpgs. As a GM I like having them readily available, because to have to create them when preparing a scenario or before a game can take up quite a large amount of time. I would rather do it and not use it than not do it ...

As for weapon SR or Dex ranks, I don't think its so important. Just so long as any weapon charts (or new spot rules) you create are workable for both and you include Siz/Dex sr details in the NPC stats.

I'm writing a monograph and most of the BRP specific stuff that really matters all occurs in character generation. So I included a rejigged 10 steps which tells the reader exactly what to include on the character sheet while including all of the location specific stuff that I want to use.

I don't really think anyone can tell you exactly what to do. Just remember that BRP is flexible and that someone will want to do something that you haven't been able to account for anyway

Oh, and good luck!

[PK Games]

Unfortunately when I did Berlin '61 I didnt have the new BRP rule book, it wasnt out yet. I was writing it for GORE OGL which in turn was based on MRQ OGL. And it was my first real foray into the subject, so it was kind of like spelunking with a blind fold on.

If I did it over again I would focus on atmosphere first, setting second and then make it more like Cthulhu, but with more spy-centric/level characters or something.

The new stuff I am working on, and the old stuff, as I have lots of stuff I tend to start and then stop as missions get in my way, I lose focus and bam totally forget about them or lose intrest, I am now focusing on just getting the background perfected and then work the rules into the frame work, not vice versa.

But I have a serious Dark Heresy Addiction and am jonesing bad.

Damn Afghanistan!