Quote from: ClaudiusWell, 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.

Could I bother you to tell us a bit more? How did they implement this?

If they were smart, Chaosium would be offering a fee-based license for publishers to support BRP.

However, I doubt this will happen.

Despite conventional wisdom, most of the troubles experienced by Chaosium over the past 10 years have NOT been because of the hit they took during the CCG boom-and-bust.    The problems have been in management and vision.

Quote from: GMSkarkaIf they were smart, Chaosium would be offering a fee-based license for publishers to support BRP.

However, I doubt this will happen.

Despite conventional wisdom, most of the troubles experienced by Chaosium over the past 10 years have NOT been because of the hit they took during the CCG boom-and-bust.    The problems have been in management and vision.

If Chaosium were smart, the history of the rpg industry would I suspect be very different.

But they ain't.

Agree entirely with your post.

Quote from: GMSkarkaIf they were smart, Chaosium would be offering a fee-based license for publishers to support BRP.

And potentially compete with a certain other game that stole their thunder (and mechanics)?  Nah.

QuoteDespite conventional wisdom, most of the troubles experienced by Chaosium over the past 10 years have NOT been because of the hit they took during the CCG boom-and-bust.    The problems have been in management and vision.

Like I said up-thread, financial and organisational problems.  But like I also said up-thread, I hope that this marks a significant turning point in their fortunes, to which I should perhaps add a turning point in their business sense as well.

!i!

Quote from: Ian AbsentiaI hope that this marks a significant turning point in their fortunes, to which I should perhaps add a turning point in their business sense as well.

I would hope for that as well, but having seen how things operate (as a result of some time I spent as a consultant for Green Knight, which shared an office with Chaosium; as well as a period where I was an assigned freelancer for a project that never got off the ground; and finally when I tried unsuccessfully to negotiate a support license for CoC d20, which they had announced they were abandoning).....

...well, let's just say that I'm not convinced.

Quote from: SosthenesHey, 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.

Fair enough.

Quote from: SosthenesOh, 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.

Ha!  Okay, I'm just coming from the perspective of someone who's run/played a lot of BRP, and a fair amount of D20.  What I found is that in the D20 games I ran, and played in, the players more often than not locked themselves in to what was specifically written on their sheets.  But maybe that's just my experience.

Quote from: GMSkarkaIf they were smart, Chaosium would be offering a fee-based license for publishers to support BRP.

However, I doubt this will happen.

We shall see.

Quote from: GMSkarkaDespite conventional wisdom, most of the troubles experienced by Chaosium over the past 10 years have NOT been because of the hit they took during the CCG boom-and-bust.    The problems have been in management and vision.

The "CCG boom-and-bust" did, however, cause the initial troubles which Chaosium have been slowly digging their way out of.

Quote from: GMSkarka...but having seen how things operate (as a result of some time I spent as a consultant for Green Knight, which shared an office with Chaosium; as well as a period where I was an assigned freelancer for a project that never got off the ground; and finally when I tried unsuccessfully to negotiate a support license for CoC d20, which they had announced they were abandoning).....

I hear you.  I was somewhat intimately familiar with the situation between 1995 and 2000 myself and earned my own share of dismay and bitterness.  However, they were a better company before the crunch, and given the cyclical nature of things they can become a better company now.  This new BRP is a step in the right direction.  If it's marketed well and is received well...who knows?

!i!

I think if Chaosium can be truthfully said to have one major problem, it's their lack of communication.  I think if most people knew the 'truth' of what's been going on there over the past ten years, they'd have more respect for what Chaosium has gone through, and what they've been trying to accomplish.

The truth of the matter is that Chaosium just don't go out and make a big deal about what they're doing, and what they've accomplished in digging themselves out of the hole they were in.

Quote from: zombenI think if Chaosium can be truthfully said to have one major problem, it's their lack of communication.  I think if most people knew the 'truth' of what's been going on there over the past ten years, they'd have more respect for what Chaosium has gone through, and what they've been trying to accomplish.

The truth of the matter is that Chaosium just don't go out and make a big deal about what they're doing, and what they've accomplished in digging themselves out of the hole they were in.

While I don't doubt that I lack the full picture on the company, Dragon Lords of Melnibone was like a stake through the heart to me.  Those guys could have made themselves the big source for d20 dark fantasy.  Instead they blew their wad on a shoddy product for a license that no one cares about any more.

Quote from: zombenFair enough.
Ha!  Okay, I'm just coming from the perspective of someone who's run/played a lot of BRP, and a fair amount of D20.  What I found is that in the D20 games I ran, and played in, the players more often than not locked themselves in to what was specifically written on their sheets.  But maybe that's just my experience.

With the same players? I've seen a lot of the same, but usually as a sign of new players, or players who previously run by a rules-lawerly GM. For some kind of reason, most of them Shadowrun players...

Anyway, there is some truth in that. Some players have a hard time coming up with stuff of their own. It's always nice if the game offers some precedence for "cool stuff". I definitely agree that the D&D rule book doesn't do a good job there. It offers lots of options, but doesn't actually show that the players can add to that. Elric! was quite interesting in this regard, as the format of all those "point rules" (IIRC) made it look like they were just some kind of pre-fabricated GM decisions.

I'm all about clear and concise writing (sorry, Gary), but some of the more generic games are a little too bland and not evocative enough. To remain on-topic, Elfquest was at times more interesting than RQIII. And that comes from someone who can't stand those frikkin' wolf lovers...

Quote from: SosthenesTo remain on-topic, Elfquest was at times more interesting than RQIII. And that comes from someone who can't stand those frikkin' wolf lovers...

I think my kids like the big eyes.

!i!

Wasn't BRB release as a generic RPG in the past also ?

My question is this: Does it contain a billion or so ways to break a person?

Hit locations?
Critical hit locations?
Called shots?
Hit points?
Tiered hit points?
Penalties from damage?
Sanity and disease mechanics?

What's it got as far as all that detail?

Quote from: LacrioxusWasn't BRB release as a generic RPG in the past also ?

Yes, originally as a wonderfully brief, 16-page freebie contained in many of the boxed sets (also available by mail-order for something like $2 plus postage).  Then, in the late-90s, early-00s, an expanded (but rather sloppy) version was published for sale, followed more recently by the monograph editions that expanded upon that.

!i!