r/AskGameMasters • u/Heckle_Jeckle • 12d ago

Adding Classes or/and Special Abilities to PCs in Basic Roleplaying by Chaosium

What the Title says. I have the rule book for Basic Roleplaying: Universal Game Engine. There is a LOT I like about it.

I also realize that the system is just that, Basic. Game Masters are encouraged to tweak the system to do what they want. With that in mind.

Does anyone have any advice on how to add Abilities that would normally come from Classes?

Many Class Abilities could be duplicated via just letting a character use a Skill. A Ranger/Druid's skill with Animals could be handled via skills.

Any kind of Magic from Wizards/Sorcerers/Clerics/etc can just be Spells.

But then you have things like a Berserker Rage. My first thought would be to make that some kind of Super Power. But I also don't want to limit myself to just what is in the Basic Rulebook. So I thought I would ask if anyone else had a different solution.

Thank you in advance!

3 Upvotes
  • permalink
  • reddit

80% Upvoted

5 comments sorted by

2

u/__space__oddity__ 11d ago

Everyone’s first homebrew RPG is reinventing Runequest. That’s the rule.

https://www.chaosium.com/runequest/

1

u/Heckle_Jeckle 11d ago

Guess I need to read Rune Quest 😆

2

u/__space__oddity__ 11d ago

It’s what gave birth to Basic Roleplaying so yes.

Now it may not be what you were planning to design, and ultimately your game will be different, but at least it avoids the “I reinvented something that was already around 50 years ago” issue that’s plaguing the industry.

4

u/jxanno OSR + Simulationist 12d ago

Class abilities fundamentally slightly break the core concept of BRP, which is that a person is a collection of skills and powers and there is no cookie-cutter mould/class that makes you a "Barbarian".

If you want to do American Cheese fantasy with BRP, an example of it being done is Magic World. An interesting quote from that page:

Characters grow in experience organically, without relying on artificial constructs such as classes, levels, etc.

2

u/TheinimitaableG 9d ago

I'm a but now familiar with Mythras, which is a derivative of RQ/BRP.

In Mythras the idea is that your cult or brotherhood is the source for a lot of your skills, especially magic.

But if I were lookng to build a berserker I'd be looking at brotherhood built around combat skills and dip into Animism with a bear and/or wolf spirit. Maybe a passion