[Chaosium] Announcing the Basic Roleplaying System Reference Document and Open Game License

Michael O'Brien · Mar 27, 2020

Chaosium is pleased to announce the release of the Basic Roleplaying System Reference Document (SRD).

The Basic Roleplaying SRD is based on Basic Roleplaying, the simple, fast, and elegant skill-based percentile system that is the core of most Chaosium roleplaying games, including Call of Cthulhu, RuneQuest, SuperWorld, and others.

Under the provisions of the Basic Roleplaying Open Game License (OGL), designers can create their own roleplaying games using the Basic Roleplaying rules engine, royalty-free and without further permission from Chaosium Inc.

For further details and to download the SRD document, see our Basic Roleplaying SRD information page.

Please note: the BRP Open Game License for use of the Basic Roleplaying system differs from the Wizards Open Game License and has different terms and conditions.

Enevhar Aldarion · Mar 27, 2020

Does this mean we will not get an updated edition of BRP in print and have to keep using the last one from several years ago? Is the SRD more up to date, with new errata and changes, or the same as the last print version?

Dreamscape · Mar 28, 2020

Enevhar Aldarion said:
Does this mean we will not get an updated edition of BRP in print and have to keep using the last one from several years ago? Is the SRD more up to date, with new errata and changes, or the same as the last print version?

If you look at the document you'll see that the SRD does not have the same content as BGB. There are less than 20 pages of rules, including 1.5 pages of introduction to roleplaying games. As far as I can tell the (only?) purpose of this licence is to allow the use of the new BRP logo.

Michael O'Brien · Mar 28, 2020

Dreamscape said:
If you look at the document you'll see that the SRD does not have the same content as BGB. There are less than 20 pages of rules, including 1.5 pages of introduction to roleplaying games. As far as I can tell the (only?) purpose of this licence is to allow the use of the new BRP logo.

The Basic Roleplaying SRD is a basic framework, and the BRP OGL explicitly allows derivative works. For example, you can add such things as hit locations, add your own magic system, psychic powers, rock god songs, archetypes, funky mechanics, psychonautical exploration mechanics, alchemy rules, spell systems based on the Sefirot or talking to angels through crystals - whatever, go for it. You are welcome to add literally anything to it as long as you avoid Prohibited Content. The SRD was not released to help facilitate creating retroclones of existing Chaosium games, it's for people to publish their own original creations, settings, games, and unique ideas using the BRP system.

Dreamscape · Mar 29, 2020

Michael O'Brien said:
The SRD was not released to help facilitate creating retroclones of existing Chaosium games, it's for people to publish their own original creations, settings, games, and unique ideas using the BRP system.

So far the only people who keep bringing up retroclones are Chaosium, and I wish they would stop and instead engage with the questions actually being raised. On the topic of using this licence to publish original creations, presumably they are aware that people could use it to publish something utterly unrelated to BRP (avoiding all prohibited and "substantially similar" elements), and still put your logo on it? Not sure how likely that is but why would anyone expose their brand in that way?

Michael O'Brien · Mar 31, 2020

Dreamscape said:
So far the only people who keep bringing up retroclones are Chaosium, and I wish they would stop and instead engage with the questions actually being raised.

Well, plenty of people continue to ask questions about the rationale for the prohibited content in the license, and that's the answer.

In any case, over on our forums at BRP Central we've established a thread to answer questions related to the Basic Roleplaying System Reference Document and OGL. Questions will be responded to by Chaosium staff:

BRP System Reference Document/OGL Questions Thread