BMF Roleplaying system

After watching the Bourne Supremacy (a fairly decent movie) I came up with the following basic framework for a RPG system.

The basic idea behind it is to simulate poeple that are over the top, extremely good at what they do, and also do it with style. Ethan Hawk, James Bond, Leon and Marriachi from Desperado all fall into this category.

The Character

Characters are made from archetypes that correspond to different character types seen in movies or read about in books/ comics. These types can then be tweaked to fit the exact character you want.

The base of the character is a number of abilities. A couple of these are fixed from the archetype chosen and some of them are picked from a generic list of abilities. Some sample abilities could be:

• Sneaky Guy
• Marksman
• Strong Guy
• Demolitionist
• Stunt Driver

And so on.

For each ability there is a value (1..5) and Side Effects. A side effect is something that can be used to increase the value of the ability temporary, but with a cost. This cost is that something bad happens to or around the character. In addition to specific drawbacks for the different abilities there is also a generic list of drawbacks that can be used by anyone.

Example:
Steve Saduko, the renowned hitman, has the ability Marksman with the following Side Effects

• Collateral damage (+1) - When in a fight, Steve usually ends up destroying much of the surrounding area to the annoyance of the people around him.
• Endangering friends (+2) - Through brave, but careless stunts, Steve has put his friends at risk more than once.
  
• Final Rush (+3) - As a last resort, Steve can put himself at risk to get his enemy. This usually means that he ends up being shot or hurt in some other way.

Task resolution

When a character wants to do something, either an everyday thing or using one of his abilities, he normally succeeds. Some occasions though, are a bit tougher and requires even a hero to put some effort into it. Hence the Opposing Value (OV). This includes fighting a large number of opponents or very skilled enemies.

Compare the value of the ability to the OV. If the ability is >= to the OV the action is a success. If the ability is lower than the OV then it's a failure. This is where the side effects come in. In order to increase the effective value of the ability the player can call one or more of the side effects into play. This will add the bonus written with the Side Effect to the value of the ability, but at the same time something bad will happen. If the new value (old value + side effects) is equal to or better than the OV it is a success, but if it's still under it is still a failure. The bad side effects still happen though.

The actual effects are decided by the game master, and shouldn't be known in detail to the player. This is where dice could enter the game. By rolling for the details around what happens some suspense and gamble about what is going to happen is kept.

Finishing comments

This is a short draft of a possible RPG system. It still needs a lot of details filled in, and might be subject to a lot of changes before being ready for actually play. Any comments and critique is welcome.

Dice

How come we always use dice? Now, I know that they are handy to generate random numbers and to give as good, predictable spread. They offer a tool that's dynamic, exciting andeasy to use.

But, what other ways are there to judge the outcome of a situation. There have been games throughout the ages that don't use dice but still are seen as exciting and dynamic. How come we as RPGers are so reluctant to use these? I won't go into pros and cons of different methods today, but I'd just want to do a short brainstorm on different types of techniques apart from numbered, plastic primitives.

• Cards
• Ordinary playing cards or special cards
  
• Numbered or Thematic
• Draw from a stack or use cards from your hand
• Compare card combinations
  
• Resource management
• Pure non-random (like chess)
• Rock - Paper - Scissors
• Different actions counter other actions etc
  
• Pure narrative
• Bidding/ auctions
• Thumb sentence/ word from a book

This list is definately eligable for expanding later on, but for now it seems like there are a few alternatives to dice. Later on we will look into if and when these methods can be used

McWolfe

Creating characters is a small hobby I've got. I usually start out with a core sentence or idea, and after that I add detail as I see fit.

Why is it that so few RPGs work according to that method? Almost all RPGs I've seen have some kind of set order in which you decide things. And furthermore, you cannot design your character from a top-down perspective, at least not when it comes to the straight values and mechanics.

I consider this a pity, and am both looking for and working on a system that works more according to my preferences.

"You got to cry without weeping
Talk without speaking
Scream without raising your voice"

-Mother, why did dad have to go?

The young boy looked at his mother. His eyes where red from tears.
-I don't know..He just had to..

Mara closed her eyes. She could remember when she met her husband the first time. They both knew that their bond was a difficult one, but their love was bigger than that. Her appearance had changed, his had not. Although he always assured her that he always saw her as the same, unchanging as he was, she knew that she wasn't the same. She had gotten old.

-Sorry if I made you cry, mom.

Realising that tears run down her face, Mara looked up and wiped her face dry with the sleeve of her tunic.

- It's alright, son. My loved son. Know this in all times: You are special, so very special. Your father gave you a heritage that no one can take away from you.

- You know mom, he comes to me sometimes. In my dreams. He doesn't speak, but I know that he watches me. It's just that...

The boy fell silent, and Mara could see tears swelling up in his eyes.

- He doesn't come as often anymore. And I miss him. I don't feel... whole.. when he is not there. I wake up in the morning.. and parts of me has gone.

Mara couldn't help but smile. Although Rahnasto, her son, hadn't seen his dad for many years, almost an entire lifetime for a young boy, somehow he could express himself in ways similar to his father.

- Well then, let's hope that he comes to you tonight, I wouldn't want to you to lose any important parts.

She knew that Rahnasto wanted a better answer, more consolation, but she was in deep need of that herself. In the morning, she thought, then I'll have better answers.


"I disappeared in you
You disappeared from me"

The 30-year old Rahnasto looked at his aging mother. Winter had finaly released it's grip on the fields and the nearby woods. Each winter had weakened his mother more and more. He wasn't sure that she could survive another one.

But then what? He had always been told that he was special. The kids and the adults in the village didn't seem to think so. They only thought that he was different. Lately he had felt so alone. He loved his mother, and would miss her if he lost her, but not even she could make him feel less lonely. The only time he felt complete when was he had his dreams about his father. These dreams, however, didn't come as often anymore.

He wanted his father. Somehow he knew that he had to know who his father was to feel complete again. All he could remember was a man of light and warmth. A man of wisdom and brilliance.

He and his mother had talked about this for some weeks. She had promised that it was alright for him to wander the wilderness for a time. He had some hopes that this would help him find more of himself. But when he left home and looked back home, seeing his mother, he felt a twing of sorrow in his heart.


"I left with nothing
But the thought you'd be there too
Looking for you


Yeah I left with nothing
Nothing but the thought of you
I went wandering
"

He had been gone two months when he returned. His travels
had made him grow. He had learned to shoot with a bow even better, he was more experienced in hunting and living on what the forrest could give him. In short, he had grown more able to take care of himself.

When he returned, he could see his mothers cottage from across the fields. It was quiet and still. No smoke rose from the chimneystack and no flowers was planted in the flower bed.

Bursting through the front door, the sight that met him filled him with sorrow. His mother lay in her bed, looking pale and weak.

The night that followed, his mother died. Her last words was that he should never forget that he was special. So very special, and that she loved him as much as she had loved his father.

In the days that followed, he buried Mara under the peach tree behind the cottage. He then packed his things and saddled the pony. After a final goodbye to his mother and his old home, he left.

He was more alone than ever. Missing his mother, missing his father and, more important, missing himself.

"I am still enchanted
By the light you brought to me
I listen through your ears
Through your eyes I can see"

At the age of 34, Rahnasto has begun meeting other people. His adventures has made him grow even more. At first he only followed others orders, always unsure about what to do. As time went, he has shown more initiative and has become slightly more secure in himself. He still doesn't know who he is, and when he is in new groups, his old insecurity shows again.

Not to far ago, he met a lady in one of the courts he visited. Even though they are not a couple, Rahnasto has vowed to return to her. The knowledge that she is there, waiting for him, has given him a sense of purpose and self that he has lacked earlier.

Lately, the dreams of his father has returned. This time his father is more active. Still not speaking, but his eyes are more focused, his face more open. In the dreams, ancient battles can be seen, heroic deeds and great realms. At first, this visions frightened Rahnasto, but after a while he felt connected to them. Somehow he knew that in these dreams lay the key to who he was.

Following his dreams, and gaining more and more experience, Rahnasto is slowly starting to grow and realise who he realy is.

Yesterday one of our regular players had to cancel the day before our planned gaming session. Instead of canceling the evening entirely, we decided to give MURPG a try (thar is, the new marvel game). I thought I would share some of my thoughts about it.

Char gen:

Abilities was rather straightforward. The one thing I noticed was that it was very easy to get a whole bunch of speedsters. The thing is that if you buy strength or agility to a level of 3 or 4, you can still be considered human. But, if you buy the attribute speed to a similar level, you can run over 100 MPH.

This could be interpreted as "any kind of ground movement". Since the two characters that had these levels of speed was agilitybased martial artists/acrobats, we explained it with leaping around, jumping of flagpoles etc. Still, this felt a bit awkward.

Other than that, buying of actions and modifiers was just as any other rpg.

The adventure we tried out was the intro mission that came with the game, with some small changes by me.

My main problem would be that it is demanding for the gm when controlling 4 or more NPC's. I solved this with a written protocol rather than a lot of piles of stones.

Second, I found that it helped if you had a very loose, style-oriented gaming style. In most cases I went with the "if it sounds cool, and the character could possibly do it, go for it". Only when it mattered or there was a lot happening at the same time I asked for expenditure of stones.

But, all in all we had a good time, and will certainly play it again.

McW