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I'll preface this by saying that I don't run a straight BtS game. I run a contemporary world that is an amalgamation of Heroes Unlimited, TMNT, Ninja's and Superspies and BtS. I don't run a horror game but there is horror in my game.

When I started GMing, I stuck to the rules religiously if only because I was 15 and didn't know anything better about the real world. As I got older and learned how unrealistic the rules were, I practically rewrote the system. More recently, I'm back to what most people would recognize as the Palladium system as found in Heroes Unlimited with a few minor tweaks. Mostly because in my contemporary world setting, I prefer cinematic and comic book action. The system isn't perfect for that but what I have found is that no system is. I'm more likely to remove rules to streamline things than to add rules to make things more realistic and complicated.

Unless I'm running a military style game but that's a whole other ball of wax.

When it comes to LS.Org characters, I'm here and there. Nemesis and Technocrat were both made using BtS2 rules with attributes made using the quick roll method found in the Shadow Chronicles (I use that for rolling attributes in all my games now).

Cybermancer takes a refluffed Scientest/Observer from the distant future in TMNT Transdimensional and replaces "Human Looks: Free" with 15 Bio-E and two obvious mutant traits. Otherwise, he's a pretty normal human. So some light refluffing and house ruling from another system.

Cessiel doesn't have stats and if I were to write stuff down it would look something like this:

I.Q. Plot, M.E. Plot, M.A. Plot, P.S. Plot, P.P. Plot, P.E. Plot, P.B. Plot, SPD Plot.
P.P.E.: Plot
I.S.P.: Plot
Hitpoints: Plot
S.D.C.: Plot.
Powers: Plot.
Skills: Plot.

While Robyn has stats, they're irrelevant. She's just a voice and perspective.

I disagree that house rules are inevitable, although I understand why you wrote that. When I run a game, I try very hard to run the game as it was intended to be run. This is doubly important to me when there is a playher new to the game at the table. Since I game with a younger crowd, that is always the case for me. I don't like the idea of players walking away from the table with an inaccurate perception of a game based upon my own preferences.

That being said, I would consider running a streamlined game so long as everyone involved was familiar with the original rules already. The experience system in particular is a real pain in the neck, and I am probably the only GM I know who actually uses it. Someone I have a streamlined Palladium System thread if anyone is interested. Some of that streamlining got incorporated into the Revised Victims-Scream Queen Rules thread in this forum.

Lord Z wrote:That being said, I would consider running a streamlined game so long as everyone involved was familiar with the original rules already. The experience system in particular is a real pain in the neck, and I am probably the only GM I know who actually uses it.

You're not the only one who uses it.

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I use SDC, but it is ONLY for damage that does not penetrate the skin (fisticuffs, blunt weapon damage, falling, etc.) all other damage goes straight to HP.

I use 2d10 instead of a d20 for combat. This means two "1"s equal a fumble while two "0"s is a critical success. I have found that this reduces how often my party has either fumbles or critical successes.

Those are the biggest changes really. Although I do have a few more.

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I love the idea of the 'Investigative Combat Round' and I fully intend on incorporating into my game. Thanks caradoc1979!

I have a few minor ones that I use, for example: all critical attacks with a melee weapon will do AT MINIMUM, the amount of the max damage the weapon can do.

Example: a bat does 1D8, but even with a critical, if you roll a 1, you only do 2 points critical damage (before PS bonus if any are added). In my game its upjusted to do 8 points and then add in the double PS damage bonus (if any.)

Since my group does both BTS-2 and R:UE (we swap games back and forth), any rules that contradict each other, I choose the rule I like best and that works for both games (players are given a list of all these of course). This way the players only have to remember 1 ruleset.

For BTS-2 specifically
1) I do not use the Lazlo Society. Supernatural belief is so uncommon that beyond the actual players, they only know of 1 person who has psionic powers. The last person they met who did believe in the supernatural was found to be schizophrenic and his belief was incorrect. So a lot of my game is mundane things seeming to be supernatural- it REALLY was swamp gas, Russian missile misfires, and weather balloons. The few supernatural things that have appeared have thoroughly scared the crap out of them because of this. Especially the 'thing' that leaves peanut butter cookies at the bed of the child savant character. Each time about 1 cm more under the bed...

2) I have slightly altered the 'proximity = power' rule. character belief can shift it up or down 1 category. If they hear a cat knock a book off a table in the next room and do not see it, I up the category by 1 if they think it is something supernatural, because of their fears. Monsters who shapeshift to look mundane block the 'proximity = power' unless in non-mundane form. ALL investigations (mundane or supernatural) are at the investigation category X. This explains how 'psychic detectives' can work when it is just a serial killer or normal kidnapper as the antagonist. This way the categories are not an exact measurement for the players to know what they actually are up against.

3) I do not allow players to be magical. Even if there was an arcanum book- Magic takes 100% belief and any of the tiniest subconscious wondering will make it not happen. in my world it is the mentally imbalanced person who could do magic. every one else has a little doubt (until Chaos Earth Happens:P) Demons, supernatural creatures, crazy people, etc. as NPCs-may. Ley Lines are extremely faint.

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