The Basic Role-Playing game is one of those systems I always had a soft spot for, like Tunnels & Trolls or even Mercenaries, Spies, and Private Eyes. My brother and I tried playing this but ran into the generic game wall; what do you do with it? It was a little bit of everything, fantasy, modern, and sci-fi, but not one specific thing. We never had a setting or campaign for this game, so it fell flat.
I get it; this is the Call of Cthulhu system and Runequest. It is a solid system for those games. But for any game? I always liked GURPS better for generic games because the character designs were so strong, and the system leaned towards realism and meaningful combat options based on skill and abilities. BRP is the more straightforward percentage version of a GURPS-like game.
So, we have a new version, which is now under the ORC license. Some of the things unique to the CoC or RQ games are left out since this is more of a generic system, and those games need things that make them unique and flavorful - I get it. The ORC license is a very nice touch here, and it makes me far less likely to support older versions under the now-worthless OGL. Going forward, the ORC license will be good enough and allow the community to build on an excellent system.
The licensing here is better than a GURPS, to be sure, but I get why Steve Jackson Games likes to tightly curate publications for their game. They do business by keeping the system (and every book for it) higher quality. However, the OSR has proven the opposite; you can have many high-quality books on an open license and let the market decide.
If you convert, I would be careful about cross-pollinating OGL content with ORC-licensed content if you are building something for the community or for sale. If Paizo is any guide, rebuild it all and base it on historical sources, then fill in the rest with your imagination. The Pathfinder 2 remasters would be good sources of ORC-licensed inspiration, and you probably want to stay away from anything OGL or D&D.
Conversions for yourself? Have fun.
Keep it ORC, and ditch the old stuff. I am tired of the old standard monsters; yes, they are like comfort food and familiar, but the red dragon, goblin, orc, etc., are a bit overdone. I love my classic rock, but there is other music to enjoy. Something tells me that the classic "chroma dragons" limit our imaginations, and some of them are poorly designed. Why would a white dragon have ice breath when most of their enemies would resist cold damage in their home environment?
You get into this D&D synergy mindset, and your imagination suffers.
The same goes for the axis alignment system, the great wheel, and having an X version of Y for everything. Where are the ice orcs? Fire orcs? Sea orcs? Air orcs? Orcs of law and order? If you only have one type of dragon in your world, called a dragon, that is fine. If you have new monsters that players don't know what to expect from, that is great, too.
I like the game, but I need something it can do. Perhaps I will read it, and it will come to me.
It is an excellent system that deserves another chance.
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