Is the BRP System Tough to Learn for "Casual Gamers?"

[Atgxtg]

Originally Posted by Shaira

Nooooooooooooooooooooooo *thunk*

This is clearly some weirdo sex fetish thing I've managed to miss all these years... Fluffy clams! And the t-rex... well that thing just looks PERVERTED.

I'm gonna haf to sit down a while after all this... it's all a bit too much...

There's gotta be a CoC scenario in here somewhere... I mean, their eyes just follow you all around the room...

I liked the "Suggest a Puppet" link, though... Chimp in zoot suit with Thompson smg and cigar, I think... Or Fetish Rabbit with Spiked Collar...

And I thought we were all weird...

Sarah

Ooh, Sarah finds puppets sexy! I wondered what episodes of Sesame Street I missed? Maybe I should be more careful.

Playfrog. Available at finer bookshops, lily pads and pig pens.

[drohem]

Well, here in the USA there is a sub-culture of people who dress up in furry animal costumes (full body) and have sex.

[Shaira]

Originally Posted by Atgxtg

Ooh, Sarah finds puppets sexy! I wondered what episodes of Sesame Street I missed? Maybe I should be more careful.

Hey, buddy, who you been talkin' to? It was all a long time ago, and I needed the money, and anyways, I didn't know he was this big movie star, I jus' thought he was this regular frog, is all...

[Atgxtg]

Originally Posted by Shaira

Hey, buddy, who you been talkin' to? It was all a long time ago, and I needed the money, and anyways, I didn't know he was this big movie star, I jus' thought he was this regular frog, is all...

I had to use the Albuterol inhaler after that.

[CthulhuFnord]

Originally Posted by drohem

Well, here in the USA there is a sub-culture of people who dress up in furry animal costumes (full body) and have sex.

Right-o. Time to pour bleach into my ears again.


Anyways. Of all the RPG's I've got BRP is pretty simple at it's core. Any of the complicated bits are up to you to add or not.

[seneschal]

Originally Posted by punc_e

I've taught the BRP mechanics successfully to six year olds. In my opinion, it's one of the easiest, most intuitive games on the market.

As a BRP newbie, I'll have to look things over and make up my own mind. The problem is, you can teach ANY game mechanics to a 6-year-old (I had my little brother and sister playing Melee, Toon, Traveller and Champions). Once folks hit 8 or 10 years old something changes in the human brain and the rules become harder to learn. My parents couldn't grasp the basics of Melee, which is why I corrupted, er, taught my siblings.

[soltakss]

Funny Cartoons (RQ is the Best) and Puppet Sex aside, BRP is very easy to learn, in essence.

• Skills are expressed as percentages and rolled on D100.
• Characteristics represent how physically able you are and show your physical presence.
• Damage is done to your body, or to parts of your body, and is protected against by wearing armour, putting something between you and the thing damaging you or moving out of the way of the thing damaging you.
• You get better by thinmking about what you have recently done and attempting to roll an increase on D100.

And that's about it, really.

In essence, very simple.

So why does it need a 1000 page rulebook?

[Atgxtg]

Originally Posted by seneschal

As a BRP newbie, I'll have to look things over and make up my own mind. The problem is, you can teach ANY game mechanics to a 6-year-old (I had my little brother and sister playing Melee, Toon, Traveller and Champions). Once folks hit 8 or 10 years old something changes in the human brain and the rules become harder to learn. My parents couldn't grasp the basics of Melee, which is why I corrupted, er, taught my siblings.

It took my MoM 20 years to learn how to record with a VCR. I still haven't work up the courage to tell her than VSH is nearly dead and that she can now record to DVD.

With RPGs, I also think that is is easier to teach someone who is "fresh" to gaming that someone who is very experience, but in one system. I've seen people who start to think that things should work a certain way ("There can't be a Gorgon in here, we're only 2nd level!"), and have a hard time trying to unlearn what they have learned ("Frontal charges on missile troops is a great tactic!").

[jarulf]

I ran a little adventure in RQ3 for my nine year old nephew last summer. He was completely new to rpgs and had a very vague idea of what it really was about, but after a few minutes explaining things he got right into it.

The rules faded into the background as he really started roleplaying. I was quite impressed actually. By his performance, how quickly he grasped the essentials of the system and how little the system got in the way. I did play fairly loosely with the rules, but still.

I'm not sure it would have been as easy with D&D or GURPS for example.

[Atgxtg]

Originally Posted by jarulf

I ran a little adventure in RQ3 for my nine year old nephew last summer. He was completely new to rpgs and had a very vague idea of what it really was about, but after a few minutes explaining things he got right into it.

The rules faded into the background as he really started roleplaying. I was quite impressed actually. By his performance, how quickly he grasped the essentials of the system and how little the system got in the way. I did play fairly loosely with the rules, but still.

I'm not sure it would have been as easy with D&D or GURPS for example.

While I'm not a fan of D&D, I'll state that a lot of this depends on the GM and how he presents/teaches the game. If he keeps it simple, and starts slow, focusing on the fun and adventure part rather than rules and math, most RPGs are easily grasped.

The approach you used for a 9 year old is probably the right approach for a 15 year old of a 50 year old, too.