[rust]

Well, I am back from Lanzarote, and my BRP Edition Zero copy (thank you for
all the good tips !) and I are still in a comparatively good condition.

I did some real world research for my science fiction water world setting (e.g.
Aquarium, Whale and Dolphin Museum, Submarine Trip, etc.), and while my
girlfriend made her various shopping expeditions (she should have used the
Encumbrance and Fatigue Points options ...), I spent some time figuring out
how to adapt the new BRP to my favourite setting.

With the Point-Based Character Creation option, the Education option and the
Cultural Skills option this will not be difficult at all, although there are some
minor problems with skills.

Right now it seems that I will have to introduce only two new skills, Animal
Handling (Communication) and Astrogation (Mental). All other typical skills
of my setting can be handled as skill specialties, for example Aquaculture as
a specialty of the Craft skill, or Diving Suit as a specialty of the Technical
Skill.

However, I have some problems with the high number of Cultural Skills my
setting requires.
Of course, all the human colonists on the water world are rather good swim-
mers (Swim 50 %), they all can Pilot a Skimmer/Grav Car (20 %) as well as a
Boat (20 %), and they know at least the basics to Pilot a Submarine (10 %)
or use a Diving Suit (10 %).
Moreover, all colonists learn the basics of their world's main Craft Aquaculture
(10 %) and some of the Animal Handling (10 %) required for it, as well as the
basic understanding of the sign Language Avalese (10 %) that is used by di-
vers and to command the trained sea mammals introduced to the water world
by the colonists.

All the other general knowledge (basic computer use, marine biology, oceano-
graphy, survival, etc.) necessary for humans on a water world is covered by
the Know Roll, which will be at least 55 % because the education system of
the colony will give each of the characters born there an Education of 11 or
more.

But all those Cultural Skills base chances add up to a rather high number of
skill points.
This could become a problem, because there are immigrants (and also other
characters) from other worlds, and they should have at least a similar number
of Cultural Skills base chances, tailored to their homeworlds. I am still looking
for a good idea how to handle this problem.

Otherwise, there are no problems with the new BRP. I have used the techno-
logy rules of GURPS and the economy and trade rules of GURPS Traveller to
create my setting's technology and economy, so the lack of generic systems
for technology and economics in the new BRP does not cause me any trouble
- I will just continue to use the systems I had started with, although it would
of course be very nice to see BRP-based systems for technology and trade.

All in all, the new BRP is almost exactly the system I was looking for. It can
be modified to fit my setting almost perfectly well, without forcing me to
change any part of my setting. It even has some ideas that enrich my set-
ting, for example the very interesting Status skill.

And, most important: It was both easy and much fun to work with the new
BRP, on and off the beach.

I would therefore give it at least nine and a half out of ten alien octopoids.