[RPG]: Basic RolePlaying: The Chaosium Roleplaying System, reviewed by Lev Lafayette (4/4)

http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/13/13905.phtml

Lev Lafayette's Summary:

A "thin glue" method unites several BRP games in one publication. Above average in almost all regards; it is well written, well designed, with quite a good content to page count and good scope. What does happen when Elric hits Cthulhu with Stormbringer?

Go to the full review for more information.

[Lev Lafayette]

"Actions occur on DEX rank and for every 5 points less; thus a character with DEX 16 will act on 16, 11, and 6."

... and 1.

[smascrns]

Great review but some things deserve commenting:

"A better profession system (from Pendragon) is discovered as an optional rule on p294-295." Well, pages 294-295 has the optional Personality Traits and these are not from Pendragon, they are from the RQ2 campaign Griffin Mountain. Pendragon adapted these to the Arthurian context and turned them into PC descriptors, where in RQ and BRP they are directed towards NPCs.

"Effect explanations are given according to whether the skill check was a fumble, failure, success, special or critical which, along with the description". This is worth noting and highlighting. It is one of the really great features about BRP, one that justifies buying the game even for old-time BRP players. Often games with levels of failure/success just handwave the concrete results of these levels. IMO this is highly anoying and greatly diminishes the interest and playability of such games. BRP has concrete explanations and guidelines on what each level of success-failure for each skill means. 30 years of experience allowed the game designers to be able to go this deep. Even with the shortcoming you point to BRP goes much deeper and further away than any other game I know that uses similar alternative results for ability rolls.

I found it odd that BRP does not have a horror setting, what with CoC and Nephilim on its belt.

"There is also a sense that the game system is showing its age, and hasn't incorporated some of the features which are largely commonplace in design, such as advantage/disadvantage systems for social, personal and physical traits". Here I strongly disagree. I'm glad that BRP did not attempt to "rejuvenate" by going down that line. It would only mean another layer of complexity with no real advantage in game terms, and open to all kinds of ad hoc, poorly considered "coolness" as found in so many games these days. BRP has a very strong core but it is only strong if it sticks to it. I'm glad it does.

[Pig with Pen]

Originally Posted by Lev Lafayette

"Actions occur on DEX rank and for every 5 points less; thus a character with DEX 16 will act on 16, 11, and 6."

... and 1.

This system is not lifted from RQ2 or 3. Both had a SR cap, I think 12 and 10, respectivly. I think it is lifted from Stormbringer/Elric.

[Lev Lafayette]

Originally Posted by smascrns

"A better profession system (from Pendragon) is discovered as an optional rule on p294-295." Well, pages 294-295 has the optional Personality Traits and these are not from Pendragon, they are from the RQ2 campaign Griffin Mountain

Whoops. I meant personality system. And you're (doubly) right, they are in Griffin Mountain (p61, p62)

Originally Posted by Pig with Pen

This system is not lifted from RQ2 or 3. Both had a SR cap, I think 12 and 10, respectivly. I think it is lifted from Stormbringer/Elric.

I didn't say they were; the RuneQuest 3 SR system is provided as an option. Multiple actions based in DEX seem to appear in MRQ for the first time, iirc.

[Leo Comerford]

Does it have a single, well-designed system for varying the difficulty of skill checks yet?

[goeticgeek]

I fully support the authors' decision not to include an advantages/disadvantages system in the new BRP. When every game starts to incorporate every possible system then every game will start to look the same. Though universal, the new BRP definitely has a different feel than most of the other universal systems out there because it purposely doesn't make an attempt to be all encompassing.

ED

[Pig with Pen]

Originally Posted by Lev Lafayette

I didn't say they were; the RuneQuest 3 SR system is provided as an option. Multiple actions based in DEX seem to appear in MRQ for the first time, iirc.

You're right, my bad. Swell review

[smascrns]

Originally Posted by Lev Lafayette

I didn't say they were; the RuneQuest 3 SR system is provided as an option. Multiple actions based in DEX seem to appear in MRQ for the first time, iirc.

No, it was in Stormbringer but as ripostes, iirc.

[Lev Lafayette]

Originally Posted by Leo Comerford

Does it have a single, well-designed system for varying the difficulty of skill checks yet?

It has a simple method (p175, 177) which differentiates between "automatic skills", "easy actions" (double skill chance, no experience checks), "average actions", "difficult actions" (half chance). "impossible actions", and a variety of fairly reasonable circumstantial modifers.

Originally Posted by goeticgeek

I fully support the authors' decision not to include an advantages/disadvantages system in the new BRP. When every game starts to incorporate every possible system then every game will start to look the same.

I don't think this is the case, as there will be different methods of implementing such things and plus there are always new areas to scope.

I should also take the opportunity to mention that Steve Perrin's Quest Rules (SPQR) does incorporate an advantages/disadvantages system.