Why You Should Try Chaosium's Basic Roleplaying TTRPG

Chaosium's Basic Roleplaying System (BRP) is one of its best TTRPG (in my personal opinion). So I thought why not discuss one of my favorite system agnostic games. So whether you like Dungeons and Dragons, Pathfinder, or PBTA games, stick through to learn about BRP
Correction: 7th Sea does not use the D100 system. That is a correction, that folks told me about. Thanks y'all!
BRP PDF 2020 Quickstart [Affiliate]: preview.drivet...
Basic Roleplaying Universial Game (2023): www.chaosium.c...
#dnd, #callofcthulhu, #dungeonsanddragons #ttrpg #dungeonsanddragons5e #ttrpgs #safetytools #ttrpgs #rpg #discord #gming #dnd
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Polyhedral Dice Set: amzn.to/3M4cRj5
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D100: amzn.to/42dJWia
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[@Parker8752]

One thing I love about this system is that character advancement is diagetic - skills and abilities increas through use or training, and anyone can learn to cast spells so long as they find someone willing to teach them.

[@dannylampron9879]

7th sea is not BRP... It is more like legend of the five rings because it is the same creator Its based on dice pool and raise

[@Blerdy_Disposition]

Oh snap, I just checked you and you are right. When writing this, I had only very briefly read about 7th Sea without diving too much into the game. I thought it used the same dice mechanic (d100) as Chaosium games like CoC or Runequest. Thanks for catching that mistake, Danny!

[@dannylampron9879]

@@Blerdy_Disposition It's human to make mistake. Thanks for covering BRP

[@tijn2237]

Was already looking into BRP and your enthusiasm helped me convince to take the plunge. Now there is just the struggle of trying to find out what skills I want and what mechanics I will borrow from BRP and mythras.

[@Blerdy_Disposition]

I say look at the priorities of your game. Also keep it simple rather than pulling loads of specific spot rules. It will definitely save time on Prep. Of course that is my method.

[@ElwoodShort]

You can run literally anything using BRP, and you can easily tailor the complexity to suit your group play style. Not only that but you can place more complexity in the areas you need it, to suit the genre. For example, if you want a film noir style Cyberpunk game, with lots of investigation, but not so heavy on tactical combat play. You can make the combat system faster and more pulpy , and place more emphasis on diverse investigative skills to suit. Conversely, if you are running a survival horror story, you could make combat more deadly, and tactical, include psychology etc. it’s a really well designed, easy to use, flexible and robust system.

[@Blerdy_Disposition]

That is the fun to BRP so much flexibility within the system to play all sorts of characters and systems. I will likely make another video in the coming weeks on the system. I gotta give Runequest a check out too in the future!

[@CitanulsPumpkin]

It should be noted that the difference between how d100 skill based games run their dice math compared to how d20 games like D&D and others drastically changes the difficulty curve of the game. In Call of Cthulhu and BRP, the main die roll is a d100 where you have to roll under the number of skill points you put into the skill in question. In D&D, you roll a d20 or two and add or subtract the very small number on your character sheet, hoping to a number usually above 15 but sometimes above 25. These two dice math routes make two very different play experiences. The numbers are stacked in your favor in D&D by default. So the epic heroic fantasy genre comes easy. In Call of Cthulhu and BRP, depending on how many points you get at character creation and how many skills are on the list for the campaign/setting, you may be able to make a character that has almost assured success in one or two specific areas, and no chance of success in any other field. Or you may over generalize to the point where your character can't succeed at any task. Also, a task or series of tasks that may be accomplished in one turn with one skill check in D&D may take multiple turns and require five or more different skill checks. None of this is to say Call of Cthulhu is a bad game. Just that if your only experience with ttrpgs is D&D 5e, you'll get a significant "culture shock" jumping straight over to BRP. It's similar to going from 5e to classic gray book "original" D&D.

[@TheNerdySimulation]

Though I am not a big fan of BRP myself, I still appreciate this video a lot to help introduce folks to the wide world of TTRPG systems out there. Would love to see more videos like it from ya. Keep up the great work c:

[@Blerdy_Disposition]

Thank you so much. It is greatly appreciated! I hope to cover more and various TTRPGS! If you got any rpg ideas, I am always ears!

[@TheNerdySimulation]

@@Blerdy_Disposition Related to your past videos and this one, I think it could be cool to demonstrate character concepts in specific systems. Also be a great way to delve deeper into a game and show off what it does well, possibly helping those otherwise struggling where to start with trying out new systems.

[@DeathCatInHat]

I had no idea they had this book. I love both CoC and Runequest so I am going to have to pick this book up for sure.

[@Blerdy_Disposition]

That is awesome to here. I love CoC and have yet to try Runequest. Let me know how the games are!

[@ElwoodShort]

As a RQ veteran, I can promise you it is like no other fantasy game out there. An Utterly Magnificent rpg and setting. Though for a different, more pulp fantasy vibe, the BRP “Magic World” book is absolutely fantastic.

[@brockenwitch]

Great overview!

[@Blerdy_Disposition]

Happy to help!

[@christophertooley1]

So many great genre supplement books for this system. Currently running QUASAR Space Opera with my players. Played fantasy campaign using Magic World for awhile as well. BRP can handle most anything

[@Blerdy_Disposition]

Quasar Space Opera I have never heard of. What is that supplement book? :-D

[@dracopticon7788]

Totally agree with everything you say about BRP, my fav system!

[@Blerdy_Disposition]

I have fallen in love with it so I am glad others are too!

[@msouthard8144]

Excellent video! Thanks for the info definitely going to check out BRP

[@Blerdy_Disposition]

I am glad I can help. Hope you enjoy reading and checking out BRP.

[@DaveTheGM]

I have the old BRP BGB, hoping to get this newer edition soon.

[@Blerdy_Disposition]

Let me know how it goes. I have ran a game using BRP and it was awesome. I hope to do it again!

[@jimabbott453]

After the ill-fated D&D 4E our gaming group searched around. I had Chaosium;s, Dragon Lords of Melnibone (D20 Elric!) that I'd never actually played, an add there led me to Chaosium and BRP, then to Mongoose's Elric of Melnibone for MRQ2 - an absolutely sensational game if you're into The Eternal Champion vibe. Anyhow, much more experienced with D100 games now after playing that game and Mythras (RQ6) . I finally got into CoC March last year and I'm loving it. I finally get it and this new edition of BRP with its better presentation and ORC license has inspired me to try my hand at creating my own game! Brilliant in its simplicity.

[@matthewconstantine5015]

I'm biased, for sure. I started with Basic Roleplaying in the form of Worlds of Wonder back in the 80s. It's always held a special place in my heart. A wonderfully adaptable system that really does work for most (not quite all) genres and styles of play. I've been mostly using Call of Cthulhu for introducing new people to the hobby, but with the new edition of BRP coming out, I'm planning to pick it up and may have to finally dip back into using it for some homebrew Fantasy stuff, especially since it tends to be so difficult to lure folks away from the D&D/Pathfinder rut. Not that there's anything wrong with playing those games, but there's also nothing wrong with trying something else, and I figure I can try to meet people halfway by keeping things on the Fantasy side of genre.

[@Blerdy_Disposition]

Let me know when you pick it up Matthew! I want to compare the old BRP book with the new one so I am excited. It's always good to hear from longtime fans on BRP!

[@sullyb23511]

@07:16 You really don't need miniatures, to be honest. Just use your imagination. If you have them, then carry on. However, I haven't used them in a long time. Great video, though. 🙂

[@Blerdy_Disposition]

Fair on that. I don't have any miniatures myself in real life. But I do recall seeing some folks use them. When in doubt use your imagination!

[@colbyboucher6391]

I've picked up so many BRP games. CoC, RuneQuest, Mythras, OpenQuest, M-Space... The best thing I can say about it is that it's boring in a way that lets you legitimately do anything and personally, that's perfect.

[@Anomajulia]

So it's like GURPS but actually good? That's nice

[@Blerdy_Disposition]

I mean dont shoot down GURPS 4E, it has its qualities! (No I won't learn to run it any time soon ((maybe)) :-P)

[@Anomajulia]

@@Blerdy_Disposition Just kidding lol :v, but yeah, i really like some of GURPS features but god that shit is so overcomplicated to run :(

[@Blerdy_Disposition]

@@Anomajulia that is why I would much rather play it then run it

[@AndrewDayMortgage]

Do I need the newest BRP? I have gold edition, is the newer version a significant improvement?

[@Blerdy_Disposition]

I don't think you need the newest version (BRP Engine). In fact, you can use the Basic Roleplaying System without it. This review does a brief break down of the changes if you need that to help make a decision vorpalmace.blogspot.com/2023/11/review-basic-roleplaying-universal-game.html

[@fmaynor1]

Does it work for super hero genre?

[@Blerdy_Disposition]

Yes it does. There are plenty of ways to create super heroes. Page 90 or of the Basic Roleplaying Engine discusses Super Powers in BRP. I recommend reading the chapter on Characters and Powers overall to better understand it!

[@daddystabz]

7th. sea does not use BRP. It uses its own unique system.

[@Blerdy_Disposition]

You are correct. I added a note in the description box as a fix! Thank you!