Can anyone comment on BESM? It got recommended on another thread. From the one review I found for 3rd it looked pretty cool as a generic system when the characters have powers. The review did note that there's no bestiary for it.

I had the first two editions, then White Wolf buried the third as fast as they could, so the odds of getting a legal hardcopy is nigh impossible now.

Drive through rpg has print on demand for the 3rd edition along w/ pdf

Quote from: PencilBoy99;900081Drive through rpg has print on demand for the 3rd edition along w/ pdf

They still have it?  Good to know.  I was told that it was removed from printing (both electronic and hard copy.)

Quote from: PencilBoy99;900071Can anyone comment on BESM? It got recommended on another thread. From the one review I found for 3rd it looked pretty cool as a generic system when the characters have powers. The review did note that there's no bestiary for it.

BESM 2nd edition was my got-to game for about 3 years. Its a solid system that can handle any variety of genres or genre-combos as one is likely to find in anime, has a light, upbeat flavour to it that suits the source material well, and is a snap for players to pick up. This is not an "anime" gameinsofar as the system forces any tropes onto you, rather its a traditional system of the 90s (Atrributes, skills, and an encyclopedia of merits/flaws, with a roll vs target number universal task resolution), streamlined quite a bit in comparison to WoD or Unisystem, that provides framework and advice for anime-flavour games. Whether this is a plus or minus depends on individual taste, but I prefer this over a system trying to produce genre tropes mechanically.

The supplements are, with only a few exceptions, exemplary, and to this day I hold the Tenchi Myuo RPG & Sourcebook to be the absolute pinnacle of an existing media series translated into an RPG.

Never saw the 3rd edition. By that point my tastes in games had changed a bit and I was off my BESM kick.

In general, BESM 2e is considered superior to BESM 3e for everything except physical appearance. BESM 3e is a bit of a mess mechanically with little or no guidance on how to utilise the rules to achieve the effect you want.

I know a lot of people have moved from BESM to OVA as it has a similar and simpler system approach, with even better physical appearance.

I greatly enjoyed BESM - especially Silver Age Sentinels.

I used it for running Nightbane with a group who didn't like the Palladium system. My buddy used it for his Marvel campaign which was awesome.

I am familliar mostly with 2nd ed. Though one of my players has 1st ed.

It is an interesting Gurps sort of "be anything" system rather than one tied to a setting or genre. Despite appearances its not even ties to its anime theme. The expansion books tended to cover a theme like vehicles or fantasy, etc and covered a fairly diverse range.

One of the big selling points is that it does not bog down in mechanics like Gurps. Its more skill and trait driven. Its also easier to tailor to a setting style than Gurps overall.

I'm fond on BESM 2nd and have most (if not all) of the books for it still.  (Not all of the anime reference guides, though.)

It's a pretty light and easy game to play, although IIRC the 2d6 range did cause problems with glass ninjas - people who had little chance of missing, but when they missed it was a critical failure.

I'm a huge fan of BESM, especially 1st Edition, which I own a physical copy of.

The biggest issue I ever had with BESM 1 and 2e was the subtractive mechanic.  It always felt clunky and unintuitive to me.

Quote from: Christopher Brady;900254The biggest issue I ever had with BESM 1 and 2e was the subtractive mechanic.  It always felt clunky and unintuitive to me.

That is one thing that 3e removes.

Take a look at Tri-Stat dX, which is the free generic version of the more complicated/fiddly version of the BESM rules used for their superhero games (Silver Age Sentinels and the licensed Authority game).

Bought 2e, 3e, and Tri-stat!

Got 1st through 3rd edition, since the creator of the game lives in my home town. Of the three editions, 3rd is the best - if you'd been following the system. It solved a lot of mechanical problems (dispensing with the roll under mechanic), and came with a good setting concept in the back. It had become akin to a GURPS light by the end of its run, which is my criticism of the game. 1st was a small book you could read in a few hours, and play that same day. It was very simple, very elegant, and mechanically problematic. OVA is a better animal for anime, by far, with a much cleaner system. GURPS/Hero System are better shoebox systems. BESM really has the issue that there are just better products around to do what it did. 2nd edition felt like it was on the right track - everything in one book (it was really just a compendium and clean up of the 1st edition and supplement line). Thing is, I still like it - there are parts of the system that just feel right. I like the Tri-Stat, I like how your OV is your three stats averaged (feels very anime), and I like one-book systems. But when I'm going to run a rules-lite game nowadays, I tend to look at SW or Fate over BESM.

Sadly, I sold my copy of 3rd edition, and have regretted it since. I still have my copy of 1st edition...