Quote from: zomben....it will be a good cross-section of critters from 30 years of Chaosium games.

Chaos ducks? We gotta have ducks!

I too am looking forward for this book but will it's sales be affected by the free GORE game? The GORE book is pretty complete and very useable.

Quote from: BalbinusCheck it out:

http://www.chaosium.com/article.php?story_id=246

BRP is finally due out this year, only 20 years or so after I first started hoping for it.

I will check it out when it hits my local game store and if it's good I may pick it up.

I am looking for a good generic rpg system and haven't found one that fits my needs.

Looked at Savage World and I wasn't too keen on the system and the core book seemed alittle light.

Quote from: zombenI was a playtester on this, and still have the final draft files on my PC.  I'm putting my neck out and saying that BRP will be one of, if not the best generic "Toolkit" games ever done.

Assuming, of course, that you like the BRP system.  (Which I do.)

What has been done is they've presented a simple core system to the rules (much along the lines of SB5) and then included tons of optional BRP holdovers as sidebars, appendices, etc.  So, for example, in the Combat chapter it uses a simple 'DEX-Rank' initiative system.  But, if you like the old RQIII "Strike Ranks" a full exposition of those rules are in a boxed callout nearby.

Take the Powers chapter.  You've got your choice of the following "classic" BRP powers built right in: Magic (from Worlds of Wonder), "Powers" (from WoW SuperWorld!), Psychic Abilities (from ElfQuest, I beleive), Sorcery (from Stormbringer 5), and the Mutations from Hawkmoon.  Guidelines are given for mixing and matching, or using one independently of all the others.  Good stuff.

I honestly cannot think of a single genre, or style of play which I could not run nearly right out of the box with BRP.

Frankly, my only complaint about it at this point, is that I wish it were going to be a boxed set, instead of a book.

Ok my question is this:  Is it set for mostly fantasy or can it do present day and sci fi games?

Quote from: Blue DevilOk my question is this:  Is it set for mostly fantasy or can it do present day and sci fi games?

It is setting completely unspecific.  It's got equipment, profession packages and skill lists reflecting anything from Ancient to Modern and SF.

Let's put it this way: when I got the playtest files, I started working on four different settings using only material out of the book:

A Gloranthan Pavis/Big Rubble game (natch!)
A 'horror in the Old West' setting
A modern 'street-level superhero'/'looming biblical apocalypse' game ("Project: Wormwood"... you heard about it here first...)
A near future post-apocalypse zombie survival horror game

I know Jason Durall (the author of the BRP core book) has also used it to run an all-Jedi Star Wars game.

Quote from: Blue DevilI am looking for a good generic rpg system and haven't found one that fits my needs.

Well, I tell you what...  tell me what your 'needs' are, and I'll let you know if/how BRP addresses them.  More specifically, what is it exactly you want out of a generic RPG system?

Quote from: zombenLet's put it this way: when I got the playtest files, I started working on four different settings using only material out of the book:

A Gloranthan Pavis/Big Rubble game (natch!)
A 'horror in the Old West' setting
A modern 'street-level superhero'/'looming biblical apocalypse' game ("Project: Wormwood"... you heard about it here first...)
A near future post-apocalypse zombie survival horror game

I know Jason Durall (the author of the BRP core book) has also used it to run an all-Jedi Star Wars game.

i was sold on this before, but now i'm SOLD sold!
a lot of my group's adventures tend to world-jump a lot, and a good generic set of rules would help that.  i've used CT/MT in the past, but have been jonesin' to do it BRP-style.

Quote from: zombenIt is setting completely unspecific.  It's got equipment, profession packages and skill lists reflecting anything from Ancient to Modern and SF.

Let's put it this way: when I got the playtest files, I started working on four different settings using only material out of the book:

A Gloranthan Pavis/Big Rubble game (natch!)
A 'horror in the Old West' setting
A modern 'street-level superhero'/'looming biblical apocalypse' game ("Project: Wormwood"... you heard about it here first...)
A near future post-apocalypse zombie survival horror game

I know Jason Durall (the author of the BRP core book) has also used it to run an all-Jedi Star Wars game.

Thanks for the information.

I will check it out when it is released and decide whether it does what I need or not.

If it does then great, I will probably pick it up, if not then I won't

Quote from: enelsonChaos ducks? We gotta have ducks!

I too am looking forward for this book but will it's sales be affected by the free GORE game? The GORE book is pretty complete and very useable.

I doubt it.  My guess is that if anything BRP may sell a few more copies from people who got GORE, and want the 'full' version of the rules.

Quote from: Blue DevilThanks for the information.

I will check it out when it is released and decide whether it does what I need or not.

If it does then great, I will probably pick it up, if not then I won't

I certainly hope you enjoy the game.  I've been a fan for years, and it is still pretty much my 'go-to' system for most things.  If I run fantasy, or horror, for sure I use either RuneQuest III, or Call of Cthulhu as the system.  Even if I don't use their 'default' settings, I can make them work for whatever I want.  (For example, if I ever wanted to run an AFMBE-like zombie game again, I'd totally use BRP/Call of Cthulhu).

Did a version of BRP ever contain some kind of combat maneuver, akin to GURPS Martial Arts or D20 feats, or even Torg trick/taunt/test? I tend to miss those with straight attack/defense games, especially if they're not too gritty.

Quote from: SosthenesDid a version of BRP ever contain some kind of combat maneuver, akin to GURPS Martial Arts or D20 feats, or even Torg trick/taunt/test? I tend to miss those with straight attack/defense games, especially if they're not too gritty.

Not that I recall.  RuneQuest III did have such things as "Opportunity Attacks (D&D's "Attack of Opportunity" is based on this), Knockback, Shield Bashing, etc. But nothing really of the sort of stuff you're talking about.

My experience with combat-heavy BRP (IE: RuneQuest III) was that the players did focus a lot on combat tactics, and the sort of tactics that work in the real world, not D20-like crap.  Boxing your opponent into a corner, or getting him in front of a ledge, and then knocking him off with a well-timed shield bash was a favorite.

One of my PCs perfected a technique simply called "The Tactic".  In this technique, whenever he was fighting a large monster (like a dinosaur, dragon, giant, whatever) he would use a combination of Climb, Jump, Agility Rolls, etc. to climb up the back of the monster, and stab it repeatedly in the head.  Right there, that's the sort of thing you'd never be able to replicate with D20, because there's no Feat for it.  But the RQIII rules were so fluid, and so open to GM Fiat, that it was easy to do.

YMMV.

Yes, RQ/BRP is more "design for cause" rather than "design for effect", meaning that the the rules are meant to allow you to construct your own tactics--though ultimately I don't think they're as flashy as what you find in games that have specific talents or feats for different tactics. One other feature to bear in mind is the riposte rule from Stormbringer/Elric, which lets characters get in a free attack after a good parry roll--so that what might be a separate ability under other rules simply grows naturally out of skill improvement.

Quote from: zombenOne of my PCs perfected a technique simply called "The Tactic".  In this technique, whenever he was fighting a large monster (like a dinosaur, dragon, giant, whatever) he would use a combination of Climb, Jump, Agility Rolls, etc. to climb up the back of the monster, and stab it repeatedly in the head.  Right there, that's the sort of thing you'd never be able to replicate with D20, because there's no Feat for it.

I  believe there are in the Complete Guide to the Master Climber-Jumper-Stabber supplement.  You may have missed that particular publication.

By the way, my son and daughter got their hands on my 2nd edition ElfQuest book tonight and are clamoring to play some BRP.

!i!

Quote from: zombenMy experience with combat-heavy BRP (IE: RuneQuest III) was that the players did focus a lot on combat tactics, and the sort of tactics that work in the real world, not D20-like crap.  Boxing your opponent into a corner, or getting him in front of a ledge, and then knocking him off with a well-timed shield bash was a favorite.

Hey, let's keep the system-bashing for another time. It's not like that isn't done in D20 games either... In fact, it's all in the standard D&D rules.

The real world is full of specific combat tactics, and I kinda like it when different combat styles offer more variation than just weapon damage. This would actually be rather easy to model in a skill-based game, probably better than with straight binary abilities. From a separate "technique" skill (e.g. "spanish fencing", "eagle claw kung fu"), to simple pre-defined maneuvers. For cinematic games, some kind of "botta segrete" exclusive to one "school" can be quite interesting.

Quote from: zombenRight there, that's the sort of thing you'd never be able to replicate with D20, because there's no Feat for it.  But the RQIII rules were so fluid, and so open to GM Fiat, that it was easy to do.

Oh, have I entered a C&C thread now? We all have our favorite systems, but that "rules-heavy game hinder creativity" is getting pretty old.

Quote from: SosthenesDid a version of BRP ever contain some kind of combat maneuver, akin to GURPS Martial Arts or D20 feats, or even Torg trick/taunt/test? I tend to miss those with straight attack/defense games, especially if they're not too gritty.

Well, Aquelarre did have a sourcebook, "Villa y Corte", that included fencing maneuvers.

I know Aquelarre is not officially BRP, but it's clearly a derivation from it.