BRP 2e - Basic RolePlaying (2nd Edition).pdf - Core - Dihercen

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An Introductory Guide

by GREG STAFFORD

LYNN WILLIS

Illu strated by WILLI AM CHUR CH;

Ad ditional Illu strati o ns by RI CK BE CKER

DEDICATED

To Steve Perrin and and the other authors of

RuneQuest for their work and inspiration in the

RPG field.

Reserved. Published by ChDosium Inc., Box 6302.

Albany CA 94 706. Printed in the U.SA .

Second Edition

This PDF produced by a Sword of Humakt.

This book i s copyright Chaosium Inc. This file i s for illus trati on and

discus sion only. If you do not already own this book,

delete this file immediatelyl

I. Introduction

WHAT IS A FANTASY ROLE-PLAYING GAME?

A fantasy l ole -playing (FRP) game is one wherein the play-

ers constru ct characters who live out their lives in a specially

made game-world. The charac ters need not be anything like

the people who play them. Indeed , it is often more rewarding

and enjoyable for players 10 create characters entirely unlike

themselves . For instance, the most popular sorts are warriors

and magicians- how many knights or wizards do you know in

this world?

The game world Is operated by a referee (sometimes called

a game master, adventure master, dungeon master, etc.) who

sets up the si tuations which the players confront and who also

plays 'the world. '

An FRP game, then, is an interaction between players, who

ope rate (run) charac ters, and a referee, who runs the world in

which the adventures occur.

Most of the play is verbal exchange. The players tell the

referee what they wish or intend to do. The referee then tells

them if they can or may do it and, if nol, whal happens

instead.

The actual game rules are important only when th ere is

some qu estion of success or failu re. for the rules are the agreed·

upon ' reality' which makes the game world understandable.

The rules represent the common experience of the player-

characters as well , and provide ways of determining the likeli·

hood of success or failure before a situation is actually met.

The rules also are the court of appeal : whenever there is a con·

flict between what th e player~haracters wish to do and what

their game.world seems to 11:1 them do, then !he ruJ es are used

10 settle the dispute.

Suppose that a player tells the referee that he wishes t o

open a door and enter the room . The referee tells the player

that the door is locked. The playe r says he will open it. With·

out rules, an argument or an arbitrary decision might result.

The rules tell you how t o discove r the outcome of game

actions.

Rul es commonly use various die-rolling methods to deter-

mine the outcome of actions. Sometimes dice are use d to rUld

out whether or nol something happened, such as the door

whlch did or did not open. And sometimes there is a greater

variety of outcomes possible, such as in combat when an attack

succeeds o r fails and is ampli fied or modified by a critical hit

or weapon fumble. The amount of damage done by a success-

ful attack depends on a die roll, as well.

In FRP, the referee has the immense responsibility of pre-

paring a game world and playing it without bias. Most o ften he

or she will set up a lair of some hostile monsters and bandits,

and then he or she will play !hem against the player~haracters.

It is the referee's duty to make the opposition smart and mean,

or there will be little challenge for the players, and th ey will be

bored. But the referee must refrain from arbitrary decisions

even though the players out-fight , out-wit, o r out-guess him in

the end.

The players also have a duty to play their characters within

the known limits of the characters they run. Remaining un-

biased is as difficult for them as for the referee. Just beca use a

player happens to be a science major and knows how to con-

coct subtle and potent compounds does not mean that his

shepherd character (without learning or training) can 5trolilo

a game·world village and open an alchemy shop.

Operating within the limits of their characters presses the

imagination of every player, and it is just that situation which

name.s this genre of games, role-playing. The playen them-

selves act out the roles endowed to their characters as Ihough

only those characters existed. Doing this is the most difficult

and most satisfying part of the game .

like anything else, role·playing is easier when you have

done it a few times. Always have some idea of your character

before you start, but also allow the events of his or her life to

help shape the character's personality. Allow yourself diffe rent

roles for different characters.

As you go through this book, you'llieam a basic role-playing

system. The booklet explains the game mechanics which de·

rUle the 'world machine.' But you must do the character crea-

tion whlch dermes the character's personality. You do not

need a prepared ch aracter to begin role-playing. By the time

you rmish this book you will have one, though, and this is a

good time to get him started.

EXAMPLE

Your character is a young person, male or femille (you

get your choice). He knows little of the world, htll'ing

always livm on a farm located in quiet countryride far

in the middle of somewhere. His childhood has been

happy and SIlfe, and his adolescence has been innocent

and ignorant. The game you play will start his chroncle

ofadulthood.

Today is exCiting. The foreman ofyour father's farm

is going to town to pick up supplies, and he has asked

your chilracter to go along. Since you \Ie nn;er been to

town before, you can Juudly wait.

The wagon trip is uneventfuL You hove seen the trees

and fields ofthe [arm before. The rutted dirt road passes

by more farms, now ones you \Ie neller seefL From the

wagon you spy a do.rk tower, broken and mysterious,

atop a distant knolL Th e foremlln tells you (hilt it is

Crag~ Ruin, and that ghosts dwell there, and thot his

father once helped kill a troll nearby. He also tells you

not to won')', because he has hu jfI\/elins with him and

tkat you are SlIfe.

(How does his talk make you {eel? Are you worried

by being JO close to the ruins? Curious to see if ghosts

really Iille there? Reossured by his statements? Confutent

in his j(Illtiins? Wish you hod ont younelf. even though

you wouldn't know how to uu it?)

The wagon trip takes three hoon to complete. The

village ofShinown (»ruuned because you can buy cot·

ton clothes there) is snwll, $Orne 20 buildinp scattered

along a stream. To you, who /unit never seen anything

bigger thtm Q famuteod. Shirtown is a rel'ewtion.

The [o remtJII hitches the horse and wagon to a rail at

the troding post and waten the animal. Seeing your cur-

iority. he tells you to take Q walk around. "Be careful,"

he saY.f. "You 'rejus( Q kid- there're /oreignen;n town."

(How do you {eel about being CtZlIed a kid? Willyou

talk back to him to prove you oren '17 Does the idea of

foreigners scare you or make you want to see them?)

Walking around the village, yoo see that the 'main

street' has the trading post on it, a boardiTIC house with a

painted sign overhead, an office with words written on

the d oor, a stable, and a number offancy houses painted

with colon much brighter than any used o n your farm.

A dozen or SO people wflik along also, most briskly on

busineu.

You tum from the tnQin street mong one ofthe small

trails which weave behind building and along garden

plots. You suppose that the people who tend the fields

around Shirtown actually live in town, and that these

are their penonal gardens. A baby cries fretfully {rom a

house on your left. Geese waddle toward the creek.

Bored, you Ttttlm 10 the main street. The foreman is

not visible, eviden tly inside, conducting businen.

Suddenly a man, wearing helmet and amror with a

shield strapped to his bock and a sword at his side, stag-

gen out of the building near you, stumbles, and crashes

into you. You are knocked down and look at him from

the ground. lIe.rwean at you and tums his back, moving

OWQ)'.

(Are you angry? Frightened? Do you swear back <It

him, possibly angering him further? Or are you impress'

ed, wishing you had weapons and amlor and a bellyful

a/drink?)

As you watch, he turns the comer and falls down, ly-

ing in a heap and snoring. Looking quickly around,

you see that no one is nearby, to see either you or him.

A money bag is lying o n the ground near him, obviously

dropped from his hand.

( What do you do? Want some quick cash? 1I0w about

an easy sword? Maybe he won't even wake up if you

take off his helmet. Here iJ an opportunity which may

~/I shape the nst of your life. What will it be, an easy,

if dishonm, chance to get ahead in the world quickly?

An honeu attempt to help thiJ stranger? Should you

leave him to his troubles and go o n? Whatever you wish

wiIllwppen, since then is no referee right now to wake

him!)

Farther down the street a Iody sits atop a bam! She

is Imlike any you've seen before. Her face is heavily

made up, something you've heard ofbut never seen. She

smiles at you when you approach and calls you o ver. She

offen to sel/you ajlask ofmagical drink.

{Want to buy? Got any money? If not, you honest

soul, then she will give it to you for {ree ifyou'll promise

to do her a fQllor, unspecified, sometime in the future.

She will make you swear on your soul if you do take it,

an oath which has some import to you o r anyone living

here. She doesn't even insist that you drink it now. You

may take it and save ii, orask the f oreman what it is. ... )

You wander back to the wa,gcm.

There you have the start of it . Not a lot to do , for su re, but

several opportunities to present your character with some pe r-

sonality. Honest or dishonest? Gullible or wary? In debt to

that old con-woman or still free? These are traits and events

which can come up again in you r you ng life, and maybe with

far.reaching effe ct.

Developing a characte r will also depend upon the basic

abilities which the cha racter has, and th ose will be discussed

below . But you must clothe th e numbe rs with imagination,

and that is the real play in the game.

IS IT FUN? -COOPERATION AND COMPETITION

Gaming is social. Ifyou want to use your imagination alone,

you could read a book. But be warned: when a number of

people ge t togethe r cooperative ly , they can fonn a communal

fantasy far more interesting and imaginative than could any

one person, and the joint effort results in an extremely satisfy·

ing expe rience for all invol ved.

Players must work together. Fo r instance, a patty ofadven-

turers will not survive against a batch of monsters if they are

not willing to aid each other, heal each other, and guard each

other. This is not to say that you cannot playa back-stabbing

thief, only to sugges t that if everyone plays that way, there

will be no incentive to play together. There must be honor

eve n among thieves , so far as gaming goes: if all of your cha r-

acters are cut·throats, who will want to play with you?

There also needs to be cooperation between players and

the referee. Though the referee does mastermind the world

and does set up and run the details , it's also tru e that the game

remains a game for him as well, and that he likes to have fun

playing too. The player-eha racters should pit themselves against

the world , not the referee. The referee should not be afraid to

ask othe rs for the ir opinions on game mailers, and the players

shou ld not be afraid of debatin g rules questions or play oppor-

tunities with the referee. Refer ee rulings should be final ,

though, and players must be willing to take losses if the referee

is adamant in his thinking. Work out questions by discussion,

not fiat , and players and referee should be willing to change

their minds if necessary , and occasionally change the game

somewhat 10 adjust to th e si tuati on at hand .

Simple communication will build an enjoyable and under·

standable world to play in. The rewards of cooperation are

great ; hostility and rese ntment are fatal to play. Remembe r,

the object of all this is to ha ve fun .

WINNERS AND LOSERS

Uniquely and admirably, in FRP the re are no winners and

losers in the nonnal compe titi ve se nse. Play is cooperative,

whe rein the participants work together fo r a common goal.

The opponent is some alien or hostile situation controlled by

an impa rtial referee, not another player.

Winning in such a situation depends on whether or not the

player-charac ters succeed in their goal. Losing is what happens

if they fail (they may just try again later). Th e only real losers

are those chuacters- not players-who die in the attempt.

Even then th ere is satisfaction in dying gloriously, and recou nt·

ing such a deed of honor.

ber which is face up on the die as th e result. This is the meth-

od used for reading D8 as well . The top number is the number

rolled.

D4s are more difficult. Th ey are pyramid-

shaped and have no apparent top to read. In

their case the number rolled is the one which

is right-side-up on the sides of the die after it

is thrown. These dice rarely roll, and it is ad-

vised thai you get a random result by tossing

them so that they tumble in the air before

landing.

Though 020 Is also read from the top, as

wi th 06 and 08, they have only two sets of

sin gle digit numbers 0-9 on their 20 sides.

Wh at to do?

There are two usual ways to make a 020

yield 20 differe nt numbers. You can take a

marking pen and mark one each of the num-

bers from 0·9 to distinguish them from the

other sel of ten numbers , and then decide

whether the ma rked o r the unmarked num-

bers represent the single digi ts. The others

will be the 'Ieen' numbers. Green pens will

yield 'teen is green,' but any color will do.

As a 0 20, the low ze ro will be 10, and the

high zero will be 20.

An a1ternale method does not mark the dice. Roll the 020

and any o th er die at the same time. The other die result deter·

mines whethe r the 020 is a single digit or a double digi t num-

ber: low equals 1-10, and high equals 11·20.

0100 rolls are actually easier. If you have one 020, you

need to roll it twice. The first roll is the ' tens' roll, and the

second roll is the 'ones.' If you roll a 5 the Iirst time and an 8

the second time, you've rolled 58. "00" always equals 100.

With two 020 of different colors, you need only roll both

at the same time to read the 01 00 number. Decide which color

is the 'tens' and which is the 'ones.' Then always read the dice

the same way . If you are using th e chit-dice , the first numbe r

you tum up is the tens number.

LIFE AND DEATH

Danger is a common part of role·playing. There is satsi fac·

ti on in non·dangerous occupations, and players are urged 10

have some non-combative characters if time allows. But the

sharpest spice is the pe rfonnance of characters in Iife-o r-de ath

situations. Dying is the one experience we cannot know more

than once, and few of us are interested in hurrying-up ou r

chance for the knowledge. Role-playing gives us surrogate

danger without the ris k.

Even so, you will experience real emotion whe n your char-

acters gain victories, and undergo real agony when they die.

Players and their cha racters have a very intimate re lation, and

the longer a player runs his character well, the more likely there

will be a sense of loss when death comes and resurrection is

not possible. This can be traumatic if you arc too close to the

characters at hand. For this reason, peoplc a rc advised to never

play themselves in a game. Always maintain a proper mental

attitude towards the game, and remember that it is only imag-

ination, no matter how real it seems during play.

Possibility of loss makes success rewardi ng. Commit your

characters to ba ttl e and play without reSlnin!.

020

II. Materials

DICE, AND HOW TO READ TIlEM

Basic Role-Playing uses a number of different dice. If you

boughl thi s bookle t separa tel y, chit-dice are included on the

ce nt er in sert. Dice sets are availab le at game stores or by mail.

For convenience, players use their own sets, but aho will share.

Four types of dice will commonly be used: th ey are 20-sided,

8-sided, 6-sided, and 4-sided dice. When two 20·sided dice are

used together, or when one 20-sided die is rolled twice , a num-

ber between 01 · 100 is generated-a 'perce ntile roll.'

Abbreviations are used to designate these dice . The letter 0

stands for the word Dice. This letter will be followed by a

number denoting the number of sides on th e die being used.

Thus a 020 is a 20-sided die , a D6 is a 6-sided die, and a 0100

is a pair of20·sided dice used as pe rcentile dice.

Designations may be preceded by a numbe r. This number

tells the playe r the amount of that kind of dice 10 roll. For

instance, 206 means that two 6·sided dice should be rolled

and th ei r results added together. If you don'l have the right

number of that kind of die , roll the one you have for th e num-

be r of times indicated, and total the resu lt.

Sometimes additions must be made to die rolls. You might

see " 106+ I". The numbe r following the plu s sign should be

added to the resul t of the I 06 roll. " 106+ I" means that the

fina l res ult must be between 2 and 7 , though the exact resu lt

depends on the actual roll of the D6.

Finally, there are occasional results requiring that differen t

dice be ro Ued at one tim e. If a weapon does 106+204 damage

the actual damage will be fou nd by rolling the th ree requested

dice and summing their results.

READING THE DI CE

Most of us are familia r with the good old cubical 06. We

read it by thrOwing it so that it rolls, and then taltin g the num.

CHARACTER SHEET

On the nexl page are three BRP character fonns. Anyone

fonn holds all the immediate characte r info you 11 need about

a particular character. You'll learn laler to ftll out the fonn

and what the sections mean. Photo-copy the page so that you

can reuse the fonns; a completed fonn is on page 16.

FIGURES ANO FOCUS

BtlSic Role-Playing can be played as a slrictly ve rbal game,

as you can see from the example about the fa nner's child com·

ing to the big ci ty . But many games go farthe r than this, and

play with miniature figures and a battJeboard.

Focus is always useful, fo r all the players can the n weave

their imaginations into the same framework. Fo r instance, se t·

ting up a marching order for a party of Adventurers to travel

ove rland shows which characters will be in a pOSition to speak

to each; this may be signi fi cant late r if a character must choose

one person out of many to aid.

Ai ding rules interpretations is an excell ent reason fo r using

figures. When the figures are on the table, it is possible to see

that your friends are blocking the field of fir e your bow might

have, or it will show which characters are first assaile d by giant

wasps strilting from the flank, or how long it will take for one

character 10 aid another. Wi th figures , measuremen t provides

BRP 2e - Basic RolePlaying (2nd Edition).pdf

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