I guess I'll ask...what BRP-based game is the coolest, most fun, and most elegant? Which has the "best" rules, and why? And what edition of said game rocks most? I'm curious about the various BRP-based games.
The only BRP-based game I own is Call of Cthulhu, sixth Edition, which I purchased from Chris Aylott's store some years ago. I'd be pleased as punch if some good folks here could share their insight on various BRP-based games.
Also, what are the differences between the various BRP-based games?
Stormbringer 1e.
I always liked that 'Worlds of Wonder' set that Chaosium released in the early 1980s. It was a pretty straightforward version of BRP that covered three different genres (Supers, Fantasy, and Sci-Fi). Unfortunately, I lost my copy over 15 years ago.
Hopefully something like the magic of that set will be realised again when the 'Deluxe' BRP rules are released soon.
what else was/is there? as far as i can remember these would all qualify, to some degree:
RuneQuest
CoC
worlds of wonder
stormbringer/elric
and i guess you could add cthulhu rising, which seems to me to be a mix of BRP elements as well.
oh yeah, and GORE too i suppose
the only one i've played is CoC. i have the 3rd ed. from GW, and the "cthulhu now" book that came out in the 80s. i'm hoping to get back into it as my house system this summer, adding ". . . rising" elements as well.
as far as system, i've always liked the skills and experience systems. just the most intuitive, IMO.
I'd say Pendragon, but this mostly has to do with the stuff that is actually pretty independent of the core BRP system - traits and passions, specifically.
Quote from: ColonelHardissonI'd say Pendragon, but this mostly has to do with the stuff that is actually pretty independent of the core BRP system - traits and passions, specifically.
I'm inclined to agree with you, though I also think it's worth emphasising that
Pendragon technically isn't
BRP. It's still a close kissing-cousin, and in many ways represents what
BRP might have (should have?) evolved into as it bridged the late-80s into the 90s. Much of the best of
Pendragon showed up in the defining games of the early 90s.
!i!
Elfquest.
Ringworld.
One of those two.
Hrm. I dunno. Some stuff from Elric/Stormbringer iterations was pretty wicked, but it seems like the ones that were more balanced (the newer ones) are a little less "cool".
Quote from: Caesar SlaadSome stuff from Elric/Stormbringer iterations was pretty wicked, but it seems like the ones that were more balanced (the newer ones) are a little less "cool".
See, I think that's where "balance" doesn't really do the source material justice. You put your finger right on it when you called some of the stuff "wicked", because that's what adventuring in the world of Elric and Stormbringer should be about -- wickedry and tragedy.
I believe I have a representative of just about every
BRP variant game produced, and some in multiple editions.
Elf Quest never really registered in my mind, mostly because I wasn't intimately familiar (or interested) in the source material, so I don't know how well it really captured the feel of the comic.
Nephilim would have been better served by a
Pendragon-esque adaptation, elements of which started getting tacked on after the fact in early supplements.
Ringworld was a very solid application of the system to a SciFi setting, so much so that it tempted me away into an adaptation of the
Traveller setting material to fit the mechanics.
Superworld was a very good adaptation of the mechanics to a point-build superhero game, and while it never took off on its own it has proven highly influential on the recent superhero game,
Wild Talents.
All in all,
BRP has proven an incredible workhorse, and occasionally risen to the role of quarter horse. Seldom a thoroughbred, though.
!i!
I would say Runequest 2nd Edition. I had the Games Workshop Boxed set from the 80s.
Runequest 2nd Edition, is a classic
Which of the stormbringer's has the best combat system?
I'd have to go with CoC 3rd ed+, mostly because I hate hit location charts.
I've often hear serious BRP fans say that Elfquest is the best incarnation of the system, but I've never seen it myself, so I'm not sure why they say that.
Anyone?
Doesn't Cthulhu, Dark Ages, have some form of attribute point buy? I forget.
Quote from: grubmanI've often hear serious BRP fans say that Elfquest is the best incarnation of the system, but I've never seen it myself, so I'm not sure why they say that.
I own the 2nd edition, collected volume. It has a neat integrated magic system, and very clever optional streamlined combat. As I stated earlier in the thread, I was never really interested enough to sit down, read it, and play it, so I'm not sure how significantly it differs from other incarnations of
BRP. Maybe I'll have to sit down and give it a go.
!i!
Quote from: grubmanI'd have to go with CoC 3rd ed+, mostly because I hate hit location charts.
I'm with you on that one. :)
Quote from: grubmanI'd have to go with CoC 3rd ed+, mostly because I hate hit location charts.
Quote from: Jason CoplenI'm with you on that one. :)
HERETICS!!!! :thepope:
RuneQuest 3rd edition
Elfquest is elegantly simple. Its a streamlined version of RQ2
CoC - now I would have voted for this version of BRP, but it really is a bare bones system that while could handle decent sword fights, spells and missle weapons/guns - the rules are fairly empty of rulings for things outside the investigator remit.
Quote from: LawbagCoC - now I would have voted for this version of BRP, but it really is a bare bones system that while could handle decent sword fights, spells and missle weapons/guns - the rules are fairly empty of rulings for things outside the investigator remit.
Notably absent in my commentary on the
BRP system -- my go-to mechanics for 20 years -- is any incarnation of
CoC, and I think it's for the very reason that you cite here. It's a lot like the popular guy in high school who remained popular mostly by virtue of the fact that he'd always been popular -- once you got to know his personality, there wasn't much special there. Which in no way condemns
CoC, in any of its iterations, as a bad game. It's one of the workhorses I mentioned earlier in the thread.
!i!
Quote from: LawbagElfquest is elegantly simple. Its a streamlined version of RQ2
Care to elaborate on the differences? It's been a while since I played RQIII, but I'm currently stuck in my old apartment, where the only remaining RPGs are Atlantis:2nd Age, Elfquest and Spacemaster...
Quote from: LawbagElfquest is elegantly simple. Its a streamlined version of RQ2Quote from: SosthenesCare to elaborate on the differences?
I second that request. I'd always thought RQ2 was a pretty streamlined system in itself, so it would be interesting to know how Elfquest does it better. :emot-ham:
Quote from: grubmanI'd have to go with CoC 3rd ed+, mostly because I hate hit location charts.
I like RQ2, and not only because I like hit location charts. :deviousgrin:
Ringworld. Love it!
-clash