How do you define BRP?

[Chaot]

Two things jump out to me as pretty iconic; the attack parry matrix and the Resistance Table. Other things would be the way the Stats and Skills are split and the use of D00. Another thing that jumps at me are the names Chaosium and Avalon Hill (also Perrin and Stafford). But do these things define BRP?

I'll put Pendragon with BRP. I'll put RuneQuest with BRP even though it's more like the system on which BRP was based. I'll put MRQ with BRP. I'd probably put GORE with BRP (I haven't had a chance to read it yet).

I wouldn't put RoleMaster with BRP despite it's similarities.

Thoughts?

[badcat]

A straight-forward, roll-under percentile role playing game published by Chaosium. I don't consider MRQ to be anything other than a badly thought out homebrew.

There is at least one other game published that was probably started off as RQ and published as a separate game, and it's pretty good, IMO. It has a game screen that could actually be used with RQ, it is so similar. Ever heard of Fifth Cycle? It uses everything you mentioned except the resistance table.

[Monteblanco]

I don't even consider the Resistance Table to be part of BRP as the numbers are easily calculated. However, I wouldn't call a game BRP if it lacks the characteristic roll over method of improving skills and the reduced or absent influence of abilities over skills.

[badcat]

The experience system, yeah I can see that. However the early editions of Stormbringer and RQ used bonuses that could impact the characters' skills pretty heavily.

[Enpeze]

BRP? Wots dat?

Well lets see:

-roll under 1d100
-scaleable skills and attributes
-SIZ (without it, no BRP)
-deadly and realistic
-multigenre (from cyberpunk to fantasy)
-modular
-resistance table
-CoC kick 1d6 damage
-melts with background
-very simple
-no levels and XP

Dats BRP (at least for me).

[Trifletraxor]

To me BRP is Chaosium's d100 systems, together with other systems that have copied enough from Chaosium to maintain the BRP "feel". Because MRQ have taken the d100 system so far towards the D&D market, I do not consider it BRP. GORE on the other hand, would qualify.

Sverre.

[Enpeze]

I would say MRQ is a kind of homebrewn BRP like andak...err... badcat already mentioned. I have played it several times and it is playable. But it lacks some fundamental BRP aspects, so I would rate it rather as a mediocre and not very well tested version of BRP.
It seems that Matt of Mongoose was a little bit too overconfident in his own design skills. Obviously he is also very influenced by D20. Nontheless I hope it will be successful as a product on its own because converting MRQ material to the only and true BRP is easy. As far as I heard some of the new MRQ source books are very good and I think the more material is out there the better.

Gore on the other hand is pure BRP. I like it but is it legal?

[Lord Twig]

For me BRP would have to be...

Roll under on d100.
No class and levels.
No assigned experience points of checks, you improve what you use.
Quick and deadly combat with fixed HPs.
Armor that absorbs damage.
Size stat.

[badcat]

It is interesting to me that several of you put emphasis on the experience check system. In my homebrew I did away with that and used an 'increase for experience point cost' system like Fifth Cycle. The SIZ stat has always been a sort of mixed blessing to me, as well. Unless there is some houserule to control it (like the use of a default value) it can result in very strange characters from time to time. Midget warriors, Herculean wizards, etc.

[Lord Twig]

So how do you determine how much Experience Points the characters get? How do you prevent it from just being arbitrary? The standard "get an experience check with successful use of the skill" system removes the need to guesstimate experience points.

As for the Size stat, I realize it is not always the best, just like the resistance table, but it wouldn't feel like BRP without it. It would be like D&D without Armor Class or levels. The game might be better, but is it still D&D at that point?

This is the main thing with MRQ. I think they tried to pull what Wizards of the Coast did with D&D3.x and make a new RQ that different, but still RQ. But in this case they kept the wrong stuff, or they kept the right stuff but changed it so that in didn't work well. They failed miserably in my opinion.