I have always been puzzled when someone says something like that, the part about percentiles having no connection with what the character can do. There are all kinds of ways to sort it out, of course. The primary one being...you can do whatever it is no matter the percentage score with no roll, until a situation comes up which will have significant consequences: then you roll. And then you have several mechanisms in place to adjust and/or modify the roll...+/- modifiers, critical/special levels, halve or double the chance, roll two skills at once even (do you climb the wall quietly?), resistance rolls. I cannot understand why this isn't a no-brainer to some people, I really can't.
Even more irksome to me is the refrain I have seen so very often over at rpg.net, in particular, that BRP is old, obsolete, out-of-date. And doesn't have useful 'new' mechanics like the ads/disads as you mentioned. Snort. Truth is the system is so easy to modify you can add any of that stuff without breaking the system. If you want to. Other games are very intricately designed and many break down if you take away some of those 'essential' mechanics. Essential to them, not BRP. I am sure you can name some of those other games.
BRP has always been the best 'sweet spot' for me, the best combination of elegance, 'realism', playability, robustness. Not too complex, not too simple, but it can be made complex or simple if that is what you want. I don't want to trash somebody elses' fun, but I will never be able to understand why some people are so down on such a great game.
I really hope the new book is still the BRP that some of us understand and appreciate, and never gets 'modernized'. Personally I believe it can stand the test of time just as it is, like chess, even if it is never as popular as certain other games. No need to ruin something good to keep up with the Joness.
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