Designing with the Basic Role-Playing (BRP) Engine - Part 1: History, Goals, and Characteristics

[@grumpyoldcat8302]

3:08 I tuned out, and, when I came back, I heard “people will tune out during the technical things and then later complain about the technical things”. Big time feel called out. Big time feel it’s deserved lolol

[@RPGImaginings]

I forgive you. Your honesty is appreciated! :)

[@vincentcleaver1925]

As far as education theory, I got burned about ten years ago when I was convinced to take on a higher level course. Hindsight is 20/20, so I know it was my fault, but that class was about providing people who could do the work with accreditation, not bringing an adult up to a 200 level computer science course. I can do the work and figure it out on my own, now, ten years too late, but that's after I realized that education is not the skills to pay the bills or a piece of paper, but an attitude, research utilities and, frankly, the support of peers and mentors, which you can get anywhere there's a good group culture, in school, at work, in church, therapy, community theater, etc.

[@RPGImaginings]

It likely isn't entirely your fault. Systems can and do cause a lot of trauma to people. We can always do better. Preventing cases like yours are a big part of why I do what I do. I'm sorry that happened and hope you have recovered well. You are 110% correct that the reality of learning and systemic education are not necessarily in step.

[@vincentcleaver1925]

I was always a fan of percentiles mechanics, like with BRP and FASA Trek, but GURPS and especially GURPS Space, WEG Star Wars, D6, Traveller, Cortex, Savage Worlds, among others, have guided my world-building and GMing

[@RPGImaginings]

D6 systems and dice step systems are right up there for me as well. Great examples!

[@matthewconstantine5015]

Not sure it's my bag, but sounds interesting.

[@RPGImaginings]

It won't be for a lot of people, and I don't blame anyone for not vibing with the premise. It's essentially My Technical Field: The TTRPG. LOL. I'm hopeful that the game design decision-making is helpful to people.

[@matthewconstantine5015]

@@RPGImaginings, definitely. I'm hoping to do something with my Conquest of the Sphere setting at some point, almost certainly with BRP. Part of what I'd like to do is a robust harvesting & crafting thing (a la many video games). Maybe 2024 will be the year.

[@vincentcleaver1925]

​@@matthewconstantine5015 that's what I want in my hard Sci Fi space adventure game; on the solo end of things I need rules for world building and crafting

[@vincentcleaver1925]

Leadership is maybe what what you're talking about with charisma; the capacity to inspire others, to make them want to work together for a goal and, well, to do your will, which would be rizz... (I'm not good at this, of course, but it's fascinating and I've thought about it, lol, in the survivor groups in the stories I've written about, ahem the zombie apocalypse... Try 'Lifeboat Captains' or 'Grace and Courage' in tales of world war z, if you like that, you like existential horror. Thanks for the interesting episode! Vincent Cleaver)

[@RPGImaginings]

You make a really good point which I hadn't thought much about until your comment. Does a Charisma statistic make a Leadership skill redundant? My gut isn't sure because we know there are people with not as much raw Charisma who are successful leaders through decision-making and delegation. I'm also a little worried about sending the message that classroom success is "innate," because I had very little rizz when I first started, but learned it rapidly. How best to reflect that in game terms?

[@martinbowman1993]

I think that BRP does Call of Cthulhu very well. I am just not sure that it really does anything else to the same degree.

[@strixfiremind]

I'm using it for a setting I'm building. I'm yet to playtest yet, but what I'm writing with it *looks* like it'll work great. Here's hoping! Lmffao

[@martinbowman1993]

@@strixfiremind so are you doing the runequest thing where you use the adventure class.with background being the means to differentiate characters or are you building separate classes that have distinct professional skills?

[@strixfiremind]

@martinbowman1993 I'm using professions, though very few at this time: game is currently set in a fantasy Mesolithic (middle stone age) Era. Though, given a couple thousand years in game an Adventurer profession certainly can be a thing.

[@martinbowman1993]

@@strixfiremind are they narrative professions like in Call of Cthulhu or are they mechanical professions where there are skills that only that profession has - like a shaman/priest can have access to skills read cuniform, pharmacology, and surgical interventions like setting bones and healing various cuts. While a fighter might have access to different skills like inspire or demoralize, navigate by the stars, etc How do you deal with professional development?

[@strixfiremind]

@martinbowman1993 The specialties aren't really there yet, though I do have 2 professions with unique crafting skills, the Dwarven Mason and Elven Arborist; with Dwarven stonework, and Elven arboriculture respectively. My primary goal is to have a game, eventually, that spans from creation until Kardashev II spacefaring civilization, where magic and technology grow together. I have heaps of ideas for such, but I am going to rely a lot on players and other gamemasters to help fill gaps in my own knowledge.