Core Concepts of Beyond the Supernatural

[Xar]

BTS was one of the earliest urban fantasy/horror games. But what makes it special now?

Full transparency that it has been a long time since I have read it, I brainstormed as to what I remember being core to the setting...not as a tool kit to run whatever kind of modern horror you want, but what was unique to BTS as written.

Magic and the supernatural are real, and few people accept the truth.
P.P.E. inherent in all humans, doubling at time of death.
Places and times of power.
Proximity to power (power boosts/I.S.P. Multipliers).
The Lazlo Agency/Society's existence.

P.C.C.s
Latent Psychic
Physical Psychic
Psychic Sensitive
Psi-Mechanic
Psychic Healer
Nega-Psychic
Genius/Natural Psychic
Parapsychologist
Mage/Arcanist
Autistic Psychic Savant
Diviner
Fire Walker
Ghost Hunter

What am I leaving out?

[Grazzik]

Want to just call out that, within the PB library of books, Boxed Nightmares is pretty special given it focuses on full adventures rather than HLS or plot suggestions.

However, in the broader scheme of TTRPGs, it was the fact that when it first came out, it was a great way to play a low power contemporary ordinary setting without superheroes, laser guns or bionic aliens. Just the occasional cultist or monster down a back alley. Ordinary non-powered PCs fit in well to any campaign. Sure, psychics figure centrally, but the setting was highly relatable. Still is.

[Xar]

Yeah, loved BN, and still have my yellowed tabloid tucked into the book . But, I don't know if those are adventures that are specific to the setting. They're great. But I think you can port the adventures and the newspaper staff to any other system pretty easily.

I'm looking for what makes BTS unique unto itself.

What I'm hearing you say is: psychics in a relatable setting. What other setting elements?

[Xar]

And, maybe the answer is that there isn't. Much like the tv show Seinfeld appears now to use so many common tropes yet was the first to use them. (https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/ ... dIsUnfunny), maybe BTS was just novel in being the first, but didn't have all that much specifically unique to it that hasn't been replicated many times now...And I just have heavy nostalgia.

[Warshield73]

For me it is how much of the game can be used in other time periods. I have run or played BTS games set in Victorian London, the old west, WWI (All's Quiet from the Rifter), 1930's Chicago (yes it turns out the Capone was a dark priest for a demon lord and when we banished that demon he lost his protection and was then sent to prison), and WWII (Operation Minotaur from the Rifter and a Tales of the Gold Monkey style adventure in the pre-war Pacific) plus I have seen others run games colonial America, the age of sail and the Cold War.

Unlike most other games you really can do just about anything.

[Xar]

BTS games set in Victorian London, the old west, WWI (All's Quiet from the Rifter), 1930's Chicago ..., and WWII ... colonial America, the age of sail and the Cold War.

What elements of the BTS book were present in these settings? Were there precursors to the Laslo Agency in Victorian London? Were the P.C.C.s used in WW1?

I suppose you could run a horror-themed game in 1930s Chicago, or colonial America and use very low powered Heroes Unlimited and basically achieve the same result. (I once got to play in a game ran by Julius Rosenstein with WW2 supers, and I think the most powerful thing my character had was psychometry. Otherwise, she was a normal human with some special training.)

Horror can be in any genre, so I'm trying to distill what makes the BTS setting unique. Basically, what I'm trying to figure out is if anything makes the BTS setting special, as opposed to just running a horror game using the base line Palladium rules set. (ala low powered HU2).

[Warshield73]

BTS games set in Victorian London, the old west, WWI (All's Quiet from the Rifter), 1930's Chicago ..., and WWII ... colonial America, the age of sail and the Cold War.

What elements of the BTS book were present in these settings? Were there precursors to the Laslo Agency in Victorian London? Were the P.C.C.s used in WW1?

The setting of BTS is its PCCs, monsters, the mythos and for lack of a better term the atmosphere you create. So while there was no Lazlo Society in Victorian London there were, multiple, secret societies. The WWI and WII scenarios are both in Rifters, I believe 83 and 84, and they have skill packages and weapons for that period and you can probably find some of it on the House of BTS.

The hardest part of putting any of these in a different time period is the skill packages and weapons/equipment. The PCCs all work just fine which is a big difference with the other settings like Heroes Unlimited or Nightbane. If you try running normal humans against Nightlords in a less technological age they will get slaughtered and HU characters really have to be nerfed to match the time. BTS PCCs and the monsters of the setting still work largely as is.

I suppose you could run a horror-themed game in 1930s Chicago, or colonial America and use very low powered Heroes Unlimited and basically achieve the same result. (I once got to play in a game ran by Julius Rosenstein with WW2 supers, and I think the most powerful thing my character had was psychometry. Otherwise, she was a normal human with some special training.)

HU is different as its setting has expanded greatly over the last 20 or so years. It is Century Station, it is SCRET, it has something of a timeline and LOTS of NPCs. It requires a lot of work to port it over to other periods that BTS just doesn't. I believe I played in a game like you mentioned at a POH and the character options were a fraction of what is available in HU. The PCCs you can use in almost any period.

Horror can be in any genre, so I'm trying to distill what makes the BTS setting unique. Basically, what I'm trying to figure out is if anything makes the BTS setting special, as opposed to just running a horror game using the base line Palladium rules set. (ala low powered HU2).

The biggest setting difference is the variable power level (how PPE and ISP go up with level of threat) and how hyper specific the BTS PCCs are. If you play a cosmic horror campaign in HU you are just playing HU. Your SP characters always have there powers, your wizards and magic weapons people always have their magic and your psychics and mutants with psionics have all their ISP and a wide variety of powers. You are also most likely in a situation where the world knows that there are SPs, psionics and maybe even magic. BTS is a very different feel with very different player characters.

[Xar]

Ok, thank you very much. I think you've adequately answered my question.

[Warshield73]

Ok, thank you very much. I think you've adequately answered my question.

Glad I can help, make sure you check out The House of BTS he has some great stuff over there that can really help you fill in the setting and some good pre-gens for any games you want to run. Dawes Creature Feature book also has a lot of great advice for how to run BTS so it is a must have.

[Xar]

Ok, thank you very much. I think you've adequately answered my question.

Dawes Creature Feature book also has a lot of great advice for how to run BTS so it is a must have.

I confess that I bought it when it came out, and it's on my "shelf of shame" never read books. In fact, I forgot about it existing.

[Warshield73]

Ok, thank you very much. I think you've adequately answered my question.

Dawes Creature Feature book also has a lot of great advice for how to run BTS so it is a must have.

I confess that I bought it when it came out, and it's on my "shelf of shame" never read books. In fact, I forgot about it existing.

The creatures themselves are interesting and each could center a short campaign. However, the best parts of the book is at the end. Deeper Insights and Clarifications and the Arts of Monsters & Horror which really gets to what you were asking in the OP. If you want to GM BTS you need to read those end sections.