Basic Roleplaying: a toolkit for soloists?

Discussion of what Basic Roleplaying Universal Game Engine by Chaosium has to offer #solorpg
quickstart and book available from Chaosium.com
#solorpg #ttrpg #asmr

[@Raddlesby]

The beauty of this system is that you can make it as simple or complex as you want it to be. Like crunchy, use a lot of the options listed. Want it as simple as attributes and skills? Then just use that and keep your game as bare as a newborn babe!

[@alejotm000]

Such a great system, it's difficult to say anything bad about it. Probably my favorite system. Thanks for the video!

[@colbyboucher6391]

The only "bad" thing about BRP in some people's eyes is that as a ruleset it's aggressively boring. To us BRP nerds that just means that it lets us do literally everything.

[@AceneDean]

Holy crap! Your timing is impeccable! I just picked this up yesterday and I've been trying to figure out how to approach it. This is awesome! Also, I would LOVE to see your take on the classic combination of Game Master's Apprentice, Bookmark No-HP RPG, and HandiQuest cards. It is easily my most played RPG. It is small and light enough that I played it on airplanes all the way to and from a different country. Such an elegant, simple system. Lester Smith and Nathan Rockwood are geniuses.

[@Kevin-Peter]

Would like to see this also, thanks @AceneDean!

[@matthewconstantine5015]

I'm absolutely biased, as this was my first TTRPG, but gosh, I love BRP. I had to hold off on getting this new book, but fingers crossed I'll grab it in January.

[@ElwoodShort]

It is a fantastic update on the system, hope you get a copy soon. This is my rpg bible.

[@williamroeben]

Amazing to see the system still being used/sold. I remember when this was all coming out, seeing it evolve through the years. I love the system

[@colbyboucher6391]

Personally I think Mythras is an even better evolution of it, if you're looking for something somewhat crunchy. Still effectively generic, the Culture / Profession system keeps the skill list for individual characters down and Special Effects are the best thing for combat since sliced bread.

[@shaneannigans]

​@@colbyboucher6391 What are the differences in the levelling systems between Mythras and BRP? I'm looking for a game that allows you to level up the things you ACTUALLY DO rather than 'buy' abilities for XP. Basically, I'm looking for something like the Skyrim levelling system. I like the idea of your culture/profession affecting your starting abilities, I just also want to have the freedom to develop the characters based on their in-game activities. I don't want to inexplicably gain new skills because I reached a new level like D&D. I'd also prefer to gain levels for FAILING (or passing by a small amount) as hitting a critical success, in my mind, means you achieve the goal spectacularly well is like "WoW... don't know what I did but that worked". But a near-fail would be more like "Ah.... I think I see what I did wrong there..."

[@colbyboucher6391]

@@shaneannigans OK, so, BY DEFAULT in Mythras you get Experience Rolls at an unspecified rate which you can use for any skill you have... and your INT potentially lets you gain more per Experience Roll, plus a CHA mod if there's people around to help you learn. It works that way because otherwise good luck ever leveling a skill like, say, Dance, that you don't use very often in most campaigns. Meanwhile your ability in combat is wrapped up in a single Combat Style skill which might be unique to your character (like a Meerish Infantryman skill meaning you know how to use shortspears, a particular sort of shield and sings, + a combat style "trait"). BUT it's also stated that not allowing players to increase skills they have no believable way of improving is something you can do, paying for someone to train you up is a thing (Elder Scrolls trainer style) and you do, in fact, get 1% in skills for fumbling (which doesn't happen much). Of course you can change all that if you want. That's one of the strengths of BRP-based stuff. Like, something I've considered is having the Experience Rolls but only letting people increase skills they've marked off, and skills get marked off each time they fail, making them harder to increase as the skill improves.

[@quickanddirtyroleplaying]

One of the strengths of BRP that I don't find has been attributed enough is the lack of extra doo-hickeys found in more mainstream games like D&D and Pathfinder. By doo-hickeys, I mean feats and class abilities. It's just "these are your characteristics, here are your skills, this is your gear...have at it." Yes, spellcasters are more involved (due to their doo-hickeys, that being spells), but that's the extent of it. BRP also serves to scratch the itch of character progression via skill use, which feels more immersive and believable than spending this game construct we call XP to raise any skill (whether it's been used or not), just because. You are what you do and you become what you do the most in BRP. Aside from that, this is a system that best caters to those most inclined towards simulation in their TTRPGs. For those more inclined towards generating dramatic stories, Fate Points, Passions, and Personality Traits definitely do help in that regard (with Pendragon's traits being a fantastic system for directing roleplay), but the more involved simulationist elements can definitely slow down pacing. geek gamers, what tips would you give to tweak or use BRP for a smoother solo experience?

[@GeekGamers01]

Thanks for the comment but as to your question: did you watch the video? That’s what I was talking about in the vid.

[@quickanddirtyroleplaying]

@GeekGamers01 I did. By and large, it just seemed like a review of BRP with mentions of how the skill's percentile ratings make it easy for the solo RPGer to not only figure out their level of proficiency, but how easy it is to implement in play (d100 roll under w mods to the skill rating). That's not a unique factor to solo roleplay. Perhaps I need to listen to the video again to pick up on points I potentially missed the first time around with regards to how BRP is more solo-friendly than, say, D&D or Vampire: the Masquerade.

[@GeekGamers01]

@quickanddirtyroleplaying I wasn’t making a video about how one system is better or worse than another…just about how this one offers useful tools for soloists. Sounds like you got the main points I was making. I wasn’t comparing it to any other system.

[@Sumrow]

Woot! Nice review! BRP/Percentile system is so easy to grok and logical. Thanks for showing off my Art on page 8! The model who posed is going to smile for a week. Thanks again. Game on! 🧡⚔️🎨

[@TheTabletopSolo]

I love crunch and this looks like it'll add that to my solo pursuits. Thank you for the video!

[@CavernadoLekkis]

I really like this possible skill checks results. They are really helpful.

[@LudoTechWorld]

Brings up a lot of memories! I've read Runequest's rule book countless of times when I was younger, always found the system fascinating but never had the time and/or group to play it (and at that time, solo roleplaying was not something that came to mind). I didn't know the system was still alive and on top of that in a universal system. Thank you for this review!

[@ElwoodShort]

Very much alive, I run 6 different games a week that are BRP derived [Runequest, Call of Cthulhu, Elric/Magic World, Rivers of London, plus a game I built just from this book]. It is one of the best systems ever made [imho] and this update is amazing. I can see how it would be great for solo play.

[@naomimarker451]

I like that there's art-based skills as well in this.

[@BenjaminMarra]

I've had my eye on this book (already have the PDF) but haven't looked into it too much. It looks excellent!

[@johnberry5296]

Great overview. I’m hoping to get this at Dragonmeet in London on Saturday.

[@tombouie]

Well done; I see youu have a high executive meeting skill

[@ConlangKrishna]

Thanks for this review! I really appreciate your approach focused on solo rpgs. Although I love RuneQuest and Call of Cthulhu, I did not expect too much from BRP, when I got it a dew days ago, knowing the system is quite old. But boy was I wrong. This is perhaps THE universal (medium-crunch) roleplaying game, with decades of rpg experience fused into one easy, intuitive, streamlined, but expandable system. It only has about 250 pages, but these pages are brimfull of ideas, rule suggestions, useful lists and tables, creature data, possible adaptations to the most diverse gaming worlds, different magic and power systems,... Just reading through the pages inspired me to many new ideas for playing.

[@GeekGamers01]

Help support the channel: Donating: paypal.me/geekgamersDeborah Get SOLO GAME MASTER'S GUIDE: order from Amazon: shorturl.at/vFMQ2 order from Modiphius: shorturl.at/npsL1 order from Modiphus UK: shorturl.at/kqsMN Get RANDOM HEXCRAWL book: tinyurl.com/5cj3d4jc

[@ajmunzi]

Love the background LoD video coming soon?

[@GeekGamers01]

Been there, done that: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gYuYk32ufcaqgJYsi=ZcjksLjAgH_uYgHw

[@Mantorp86]

The book looks really great if you are into crouchy TTRPGs. For me it's just too complicated. My go-to universal engines are: Kismet, FuRPG or Risus RPG.

[@a.l.dowdall1097]

Late response, but you might want to check out the beta for Comae Engine by Frostbyte Games. It cuts BRP down to the basics (the whole thing is 52 pages, including the covers), but if you need more details for something (like equipment), you can borrow them from any other BRP game. I've got no affiliation with the game, I just really like it. It just beats out FuRPG for my favourite light system.

[@Mantorp86]

@@a.l.dowdall1097 i checked the preview of the Comae Engine and looks pretty interesting. I will check it out. Thank you.

[@panthros7395]

My problem with BRP is the lack of adventures/modules available. Runequests Glorantha has never drew me in. I loved Elric/Stormbringer and the Magic World and Advanced Sorcery books are amazing but again lack of adventures. I do not have the time to build my own adventures.

[@gedece]

Just food for thought. D20 means each possibility has a 5% chance of appearing, that maps perfectly to a D100 system.

[@martinbowman1993]

What keeps me from adopting the universal engine is that it works well for investigative cosmic horror because the characters don't progress so much themselves as they progress through the story. So there isn't really class and leveling. Sandy Peterson said in an interview that it was kind of an anti-D&D where all the characters die or go insane. Plus the problem with D100 that I have is that the numbers are completely random. There is the same chance of rolling a one as a hundred on every roll and in real life skills have more of a bell curve - like things you are proficient in are in the middle of the curve and rarely turn into a fail. Sandy Peterson also invented the dice pool which is more representative of actually being proficient in a skill. I like the dice pool that FFG Star Wars uses because it moves beyond pass or fail and into success and failure, with advantage and threat, and triumph and dispair. These elements add a narrative element to skill resolution. The system works well to explore latent ability, proficiency, and luck with a narrative element that helps the story unfold; without doing the mechanics and then leaving the story as a secondary element.

[@GeekGamers01]

I love the points you’re making in this comment. I also enjoy dice pool mechanics and if I ever were to design something (I won’t!!), I’d build it around that.

[@pickpocketpressrpgvideos6655]

I've always been interested in this system but never checked it out, thanks for doing this video. What is that hex map on your desk? I love it!

[@GeekGamers01]

It’s from League of Dungeoneers. Glad you enjoyed the vid.

[@rpgchronicler]

I must admit, i was immediately turned off from basic roleplaying due to it being the basis for call of cthulhu and how combat's lethal + the worries of being either a one trick only or painfully average (though tbh it was from what i saw in seth skorkowsky's vids and other youtube sources). Im well aware that ttrpgs systems never truly die, considering BRP (and games using BRP like Call of Cthulhu and Runequest) and GURPS is still recommended to this day. Nonetheless, great as always. Also happy belated thanksgiving.

[@mistergoats4380]

Yeah but what about that hexmap in the background?

[@GeekGamers01]

It’s from League of Dungeoneers (LOD)-see other comment about this and a link to see the hex map in a video being used

[@sharpmountaingames9303]

Would this system work for superheroes, or is that perhaps too much of a stretch.

[@GeekGamers01]

It would and there is actually a “superhero” suggested build, if I remember correctly. Check out the free QuickStart to see for yourself what you think on that point.

[@sharpmountaingames9303]

@@GeekGamers01 Thanks so much. I didn't know there was a quickstart quide.