RPGs Made Easy
BASIC ROLEPLAYING : UNIVERSAL GAME ENGINE
Designer: Jason Durall & Steve Perrin | Publisher: Chaosium Inc. 264 10+ £39
Basic Roleplaying: Universal Game Engine is far from a conventional RPG book. It doesn’t contain a fictional world for players to inhabit, nor is it packed full of specific lore to ponder over. It isn’t brimming with named NPCs to utilise, and it cannot act as a standalone book without the player’s input. It is in fact the ultimate guide to building an RPG from the ground up, using a system that has been perfected and applied to a whole host of pre-existing titles.
Originally deployed by Chaosium in RuneQuest in 1978, the BRP formula is now integral to games like Call of Cthulhu, Elfquest and Stormbringer. Basic Roleplaying is thus not a game unto itself, but instead acts as a blueprint for readers to take the principles of the system and form their own game, campaign, characters, and concepts around these basic rules. Beautifully written by Jason Durall and Steve Perrin, the book specifically caters to all. One of the great strengths of Basic Roleplaying is that it is utterly accessible, regardless of whether the player is well-versed in BRP, or is a complete newcomer. The introduction sets out the choice players face, making note that the book can be explored at the reader’s own pace based on their level of understanding. It even highlights a few points that veterans might want to stop for, so that a reader’s time is maximised.