The Inside Scoop on Gaming

The Pitch

[Note: This will be a shorter review than usual, because it’s a 16 page product, and a new format for me because I’m trying not to be longwinded. Feel free to critique and advise me on whether or not this format works, but I’ll be on vacation so I won’t be able to respond for two weeks.]

Basic Roleplaying: The Chaosium System, bills itself as “A Complete Game” but seems more appropriate as an introductory product for new game-masters, or players new to the BRP system. With very few pages available to cover the bases, the book does an adequate job of introducing the system and roleplaying in general, far better than similar products I’ve seen that bill themselves as “introductory versions” or “demo packs.”

Basic Roleplaying will also be of use to those who want a stripped down version of BRP to work with in order to design their own variations on the system.

The Book

Clocking in at a scant 16 pages for $5.95, some might argue that the book is a little small for the asking price. The cover is a well done piece of art depicting a ragged ship caught in the grip of a giant squid, while all interior art is of average quality and in black & white. The layout is a workmanlike two-column job, with a decent font size and narrow margins. There are no obvious spelling or grammar errors in the book, and it's been well-edited.

To be honest, I was surprised when I found out the book was only 16 pages – there is a lot of information in it, and I found it worth the asking price.

The System

The system is a stripped down version of the same Basic Roleplaying system that was used in every other Chaosium game I’ve ever owned – essentially, random character generation wedded to a percentile skill system. The book includes very stripped down rules for character generation and combat, including examples of combat and skill use.

Given the advice on what roleplaying is, the examples of play, the examples of combat, the examples of how to use the Resistance Table, one could clearly claim that this is an excellent primer for new gamers, and it is – but there are a few omissions which make it hard to give a perfect score to. For instance, items like the Idea and Luck rolls are present on the character sheet, but there’s no guidance in how to figure them or what they actually do. Combat skills are described in detail but non-combat skills, while listed and figured in, are given no descriptions whatsoever. All in all, it’s a good job, but it could have clearly been so much more.

It really is possible for a gamer to muddle through with just this product and the introductory scenario that comes with this book – at the bare minimum, it does pass the criteria for “roleplaying game.” But whether or not that’s really satisfactory is another matter.

The Setting

There’s no setting to speak of outside of a vague medieval one used in the examples. The glimpses of setting in the examples are … odd. Some of the examples themselves were presumably not meant seriously, but there’s no hint of that for the new gamers that the game suggests it’s targeted at. One example of lifting objects, for instance, uses the example of a man telling the reader’s PC to fill up a wagon with various objects, but at the bottom of the list are things like dinosaurs... Another one has a woman with makeup giving the reader’s PC a potion of some kind, but there’s no hint about what the context is, really, and what sane PC would take a vial of potion from what appears, for all intents and purposes, to be a streetwalker?

Reviewer’s Spin

With all of that said, it’s my opinion that the items like Luck and Idea rolls, which were excluded from description but kept on the stripped down character sheets, should have just been removed from the book entirely if they weren’t deemed important enough to use in the stripped-down rules. In addition, a few scant sentences should have been set for skills that clearly have some use but are left undefined, like Climb. As it stands, like most roleplaying games, it seems like most of the text in the book is about combat, but this time it comes at the expense of very basic skill writeups. I think if you’re going to do a solid, stripped-down version of the BRP system, Chaosium could have spent perhaps a little more time on it – little things like the art involving “Old Burly Bob” (who appears to be a primitive headhunter in a medieval village) just seem out of place and give the product a slightly odd appearance and feel.

Overall, however, Basic Roleplaying is a solid product and it definitely gives the basics of the Chaosium house system. Given the price, it’s recommended to anyone who might be bringing new players into their own BRP games like Call of Cthulhu or Stormbringer/Elric. It’s also recommended to anyone who wants just a stripped down basic example of the game engine in order to create their own games for a decent sum of money. Although it’s only 16 pages, there feels like there’s a lot more in the book, and I feel it’s an adequate value for what it provides, despite the fact that much, much more could have been accomplished.

Basic Roleplaying: The Chaosium System
Basic Roleplaying: The Chaosium System Capsule Review by Eric Brennan on 01/01/03 Style: 3 (Average) Substance: 2 (Sparse) Basic Roleplaying: The Chaosium System is a short and inexpensive book that accomplishes all of its design goals but clearly could have been so much more if a different tack had been taken. Product: Basic Roleplaying: The Chaosium System Author: Greg Stafford & Lynn Willis Category: RPG Company/Publisher: Chaosium Line: Cost: $5.95 Page count: 16 Year published: 2002 ISBN: 1-56882-168-9 SKU: CHA2006 Comp copy?: yes Capsule Review by Eric Brennan on 01/01/03 Genre tags: Fantasy Other	The Pitch [Note: This will be a shorter review than usual, because it’s a 16 page product, and a new format for me because I’m trying not to be longwinded. Feel free to critique and advise me on whether or not this format works, but I’ll be on vacation so I won’t be able to respond for two weeks.] Basic Roleplaying: The Chaosium System, bills itself as “A Complete Game” but seems more appropriate as an introductory product for new game-masters, or players new to the BRP system. With very few pages available to cover the bases, the book does an adequate job of introducing the system and roleplaying in general, far better than similar products I’ve seen that bill themselves as “introductory versions” or “demo packs.” Basic Roleplaying will also be of use to those who want a stripped down version of BRP to work with in order to design their own variations on the system. The Book Clocking in at a scant 16 pages for $5.95, some might argue that the book is a little small for the asking price. The cover is a well done piece of art depicting a ragged ship caught in the grip of a giant squid, while all interior art is of average quality and in black & white. The layout is a workmanlike two-column job, with a decent font size and narrow margins. There are no obvious spelling or grammar errors in the book, and it's been well-edited. To be honest, I was surprised when I found out the book was only 16 pages – there is a lot of information in it, and I found it worth the asking price. The System The system is a stripped down version of the same Basic Roleplaying system that was used in every other Chaosium game I’ve ever owned – essentially, random character generation wedded to a percentile skill system. The book includes very stripped down rules for character generation and combat, including examples of combat and skill use. Given the advice on what roleplaying is, the examples of play, the examples of combat, the examples of how to use the Resistance Table, one could clearly claim that this is an excellent primer for new gamers, and it is – but there are a few omissions which make it hard to give a perfect score to. For instance, items like the Idea and Luck rolls are present on the character sheet, but there’s no guidance in how to figure them or what they actually do. Combat skills are described in detail but non-combat skills, while listed and figured in, are given no descriptions whatsoever. All in all, it’s a good job, but it could have clearly been so much more. It really is possible for a gamer to muddle through with just this product and the introductory scenario that comes with this book – at the bare minimum, it does pass the criteria for “roleplaying game.” But whether or not that’s really satisfactory is another matter. The Setting There’s no setting to speak of outside of a vague medieval one used in the examples. The glimpses of setting in the examples are … odd. Some of the examples themselves were presumably not meant seriously, but there’s no hint of that for the new gamers that the game suggests it’s targeted at. One example of lifting objects, for instance, uses the example of a man telling the reader’s PC to fill up a wagon with various objects, but at the bottom of the list are things like dinosaurs... Another one has a woman with makeup giving the reader’s PC a potion of some kind, but there’s no hint about what the context is, really, and what sane PC would take a vial of potion from what appears, for all intents and purposes, to be a streetwalker? Reviewer’s Spin With all of that said, it’s my opinion that the items like Luck and Idea rolls, which were excluded from description but kept on the stripped down character sheets, should have just been removed from the book entirely if they weren’t deemed important enough to use in the stripped-down rules. In addition, a few scant sentences should have been set for skills that clearly have some use but are left undefined, like Climb. As it stands, like most roleplaying games, it seems like most of the text in the book is about combat, but this time it comes at the expense of very basic skill writeups. I think if you’re going to do a solid, stripped-down version of the BRP system, Chaosium could have spent perhaps a little more time on it – little things like the art involving “Old Burly Bob” (who appears to be a primitive headhunter in a medieval village) just seem out of place and give the product a slightly odd appearance and feel. Overall, however, Basic Roleplaying is a solid product and it definitely gives the basics of the Chaosium house system. Given the price, it’s recommended to anyone who might be bringing new players into their own BRP games like Call of Cthulhu or Stormbringer/Elric. It’s also recommended to anyone who wants just a stripped down basic example of the game engine in order to create their own games for a decent sum of money. Although it’s only 16 pages, there feels like there’s a lot more in the book, and I feel it’s an adequate value for what it provides, despite the fact that much, much more could have been accomplished.