Chaosium's BRP line does have some nifty looking stuff, but I don't really own the Big Gold Book; I'm hesitant to pick it up when I already own some 3 or 4 versions of BRP (CoC, MRQII/Legend, Openquest, RQ6).

So I have half a mind to get some of these supplements and plug them into RQ6.

Any reason why this wouldn't work?

Conversely, any reason why this would work? Meaning, are there any BRP supplements that bring novel and/or interesting crunchy bits to the RQ6 table?

I'm thinking of non-fantasy stuff, esp. the Western (Aces High, Devil's Gulch) and "pulp" (Astounding Adventures, I think?) ones, but I'm taking suggestions. Something with stats for modern vehicles (price, range, weight, HP and locations, chase rules, etc.) would be particularly appreciated.

Even though you're hesitant, I'd definitely recommend getting the BRP book. I, too, have CoC (like 4 editions), Runequest 2/3/4, Openquest, Stormbringer, Superworld, and a bunch of other Chaosium games that use the system. The gold book distills everything down into easily usable modules, applicable to other games. And the hardcover isn't that expensive.

That said, if you use RQ6, those supplements will probably work without any real issue. RQ6 handles hit points a bit differently than straight BRP, but that's really about it from what I can tell.

Devil's Gulch is fantasy, just in case you weren't aware.

Astounding Adventures is riddled with typos. I personally found it disappointing in its overview of the pulp era, but if you have no other books for resources it might be useful if you don't mind cringing at the poor proof reading.

I find it pretty easy to use all the d100 versions with each other. Since you have CoC you know how non-Runequest BRP works so should be fine in deciphering BRP supplements. I do think that the BGB is worth the price though, especially if you buy it from Amazon.

The Big Gold Book is great for having a tool kit to use on any other BRP-related system. Loads of options and ideas. I wouldn't hesitate to draft one of the BRP supplements into use with RQ6... or visa versa.
For Western themed games though, you want Aces High, not Devil's Gulch. Aces High has supernatural elements as well but the setting remains mostly historical and it's easy to ignore the spooky bits.
 

Quote from: Matt;806285Astounding Adventures is riddled with typos. I personally found it disappointing in its overview of the pulp era, but if you have no other books for resources it might be useful if you don't mind cringing at the poor proof reading.

I'll second that.
I was looking forward to the book but I came away from it with the impression that the author did not have very deep knowledge of the subject matter. The overview of the 'pulp' era is a brief two pages which spoke more about modern derivative works than the original sources. I think there are more references to Sky Captain and The Rocketeer than there are actual period heroes such as The Shadow and The Spider. When he brings up radio shows the author makes no mention at all of 'I Love A Mystery'... despite it being a perfect archetype for the sort of adventuring party this book is designed for. There's a timeline section that seems no more RPG-related than what a GM could quickly grab off of Wikipedia. It's all woefully insufficient for anyone not already familiar with the subject matter.
There's a lot of filler... IMO... too much space devoted to descriptions of generic NPCs.

It does have some nice art though and three adventures that looked OK.

Three major issues are combat skills, magic and HP/Hit Locations conversions - that's what you need to watch out, the rest is good to go.

Most obvious suggestion'd be to grab Stormbringer/Elric, for additional baddies/monsters.

Other worthwhile suggestions:

Stupor Mundi - set in High Middle Ages.
Deus Vult - XVII century Inquisitors vs Evil
Age of Treason

I'm hoping Pulp Cthulhu will improve on Astounding Adventures where necessary.

Butcher, have you looked at Cakebread & Walton's stuff for their Renaissance rules?

Quote from: 3rik;806326I'm hoping Pulp Cthulhu will improve on Astounding Adventures where necessary.

Regular CoC is already a better 'pulp' game than Astounding Adventures. Pulling in some of the powers from the BGB goes a long way to letting me run proto-supers like The Shadow and The Avenger.

Quote from: Simlasa;806322I'll second that.
I was looking forward to the book but I came away from it with the impression that the author did not have very deep knowledge of the subject matter. The overview of the 'pulp' era is a brief two pages which spoke more about modern derivative works than the original sources. I think there are more references to Sky Captain and The Rocketeer than there are actual period heroes such as The Shadow and The Spider. When he brings up radio shows the author makes no mention at all of 'I Love A Mystery'... despite it being a perfect archetype for the sort of adventuring party this book is designed for. There's a timeline section that seems no more RPG-related than what a GM could quickly grab off of Wikipedia. It's all woefully insufficient for anyone not already familiar with the subject matter.
There's a lot of filler... IMO... too much space devoted to descriptions of generic NPCs.

It does have some nice art though and three adventures that looked OK.

You said it much better than I.

Sky Captain and the Rocketeer... I like them both but both are derivative and imitative of the ACTUAL pulps...that bothered me a lot as a guy who actually has a stack of Black Bat, Purple Mask, Crimson Scar, Avenger, Doc Savage, Spider, etc. And those are just the crime fighters, to say nothing of the sci fi, mystery, "spicy," and Western pulps.

Quote from: Simlasa;806327Regular CoC is already a better 'pulp' game than Astounding Adventures. Pulling in some of the powers from the BGB goes a long way to letting me run proto-supers like The Shadow and The Avenger.

I may have to rip off that idea.

Ever tried GURPS with Cliffhangers plus Supers for some of the more exotic pulp heroes?

Yes, more or less a brp supplement will be compatible. I would probably ask though, why not just use CoC? -(or similar BRP setting) so much of RQ6 is background, culture, skills, magic systems, equipment, combat styles, creatures....almost all of which have no relevance in a modern setting. Its not so much that it wouldn't work but that you would have so much to do for the bits that aren't in the rules. Of course it's great for fantasy, sword, sandals & sorcery...not sure its worth the effort re-engineering it.

Quote from: Bilharzia;806769Yes, more or less a brp supplement will be compatible. I would probably ask though, why not just use CoC? -(or similar BRP setting) so much of RQ6 is background, culture, skills, magic systems, equipment, combat styles, creatures....almost all of which have no relevance in a modern setting. Its not so much that it wouldn't work but that you would have so much to do for the bits that aren't in the rules. Of course it's great for fantasy, sword, sandals & sorcery...not sure its worth the effort re-engineering it.

I agree with this.  While I'm a huge fan of RQ6 -- indeed, I think it's the best FRPG currently on the market -- I wouldn't use it for a modern-ish setting.  It would be too much work, IMO.

I would recommend using either CoC (perhaps beefed up with some options from BRP gold book), or the Renaissance system (which would be easier to tweak into a modern era, and is based upon Open Quest, which is a simplified version of RQ).

Another option would be the Laundry RPG, which is probably the most developed version of BRP, set in the modern era.  Just strip out the setting details if you don't want to use Stross's quasi-Lovecraftian setting.

Quote from: The Butcher;806267Chaosium's BRP line does have some nifty looking stuff, but I don't really own the Big Gold Book; I'm hesitant to pick it up when I already own some 3 or 4 versions of BRP (CoC, MRQII/Legend, Openquest, RQ6).

I like the Big Gold Book, but you can do fine with the corebooks you already own. Call of Cthulhu would be a great basis.

QuoteSo I have half a mind to get some of these supplements and plug them into RQ6.

Any reason why this wouldn't work?

There is a caveat. Characters (and monsters) usually have more HP's per location in RQ6/MRQ2 than in BRP, and weapons usually do less damage. This, along with RQ6/MRQ2 special effects, means that RQ6/MRQ2 is less lethal than BRP.

Other than that, no problem. I once read in a blog about a game using RQ6 and Crusaders of the Amber Coast (a BRP supplement), no issues whatsoever.

QuoteConversely, any reason why this would work? Meaning, are there any BRP supplements that bring novel and/or interesting crunchy bits to the RQ6 table?

I don't know if BRP supplements like Rome, Crusaders of the Amber Coast, and Mythic Iceland bring interesting rules to the table, but I do like them a lot. And I'd like to get more historical supplements, like Merrie England.

QuoteI'm thinking of non-fantasy stuff, esp. the Western (Aces High, Devil's Gulch) and "pulp" (Astounding Adventures, I think?) ones, but I'm taking suggestions. Something with stats for modern vehicles (price, range, weight, HP and locations, chase rules, etc.) would be particularly appreciated.

I don't have any of these supplements, so I can't say anything about them.