Big eyes, small mouth
| Big Eyes, Small Mouth (BESM) | |
|---|---|
| publication | |
| Author (s) | Mark C. MacKinnon |
| Original publisher | Guardians of Order |
| Original publication | 1999 |
| original language | English |
| World and system | |
| genre | Anime and Manga |
| Basic system | TriStat system |
| cube | W6 |
Big Eyes, Small Mouth is a pen-and-paper - role playing game , which was developed to anime and manga to simulate. References to this system usually use the abbreviation BESM. The title is a nod to the usual manga drawing style with large, expressive eyes.
BESM uses a point-based character creation system similar to that of GURPS . Characters are based on three stats that all trials are made to. These are supported by attributes that give the character unique abilities.
The original version, which was developed by Mark C. MacKinnon , was published by Guardians of Order in 1999. Shortly afterwards, role-play author David L. Pulver began to write extensions for this originally simple system. For example, he added a detailed mecha combat system in his book Big Robots, Cool Starships . With the next release, a genre book called Hot Rods & Gun Bunnies , skills were added. At the same time, MacKinnon and his colleagues were using the BESM system (from now on referred to as the TriStat system and forerunner of Tri-Stat dX ) as the basis for licensed games based on animes such as Sailor Moon , Dominion: Tank Police , Demon City Shinjuku and Tenchi Muyo! . All of these innovations were carried over into the second edition, which appeared in 2001.
Since then, BESM's system has also been used as the basis for other anime licenses that Guardians of Order had acquired. Instead of releasing full games as it had before, the new books were marketed as Ultimate Fan Guides . In addition, numerous genre-based expansions have been published for the game, as well as two separate settings: Centauri Knights and Uresia: Grave of Heaven .
A BESM expansion caused controversy in 2002 when several traders refused to add a book called Cute and Fuzzy Cockfighting Seizure Monsters . The book, a satire on the monster gladiator genre made famous by Pokemon , was reprinted under the title Cute and Fuzzy Seizure Monsters , but at the same time printed under the original title.
A d20 adaptation was published in 2003. A third edition of BESM was planned for summer 2005, and it was released one year late.
Due to financial problems at Guardians of Order, which ultimately led to the company's closure, the third edition was published by ArtHaus, a subsidiary of White Wolf . Despite good sales figures, there was no information about a reprint of the 3rd edition or the development of BESM's own extensions for a long time. A fourth edition was announced in April 2019 and subsequently funded through Kickstarter.com .
So far there is no German translation.
Web links
- Christopher W. Richeson: Review of Big Mouth, Small Eyes Third Edition. In: RPG.net. January 19, 2007, accessed January 24, 2020 .
- BESM in the White Wolf Wiki ( Memento from July 14, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
Individual evidence
- ↑ BESM d20 ( Memento from August 23, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Guardians of Order on the publication of the third edition ( Memento from September 28, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Big Eyes, Small Mouth Anime RPG announced by Dyskami Publishing. April 29, 2019, accessed January 24, 2020 .
- ↑ BESM Fourth Edition. In: Kickstarter.com . Accessed January 24, 2020 (English).