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Big Eyes, Small Mouth (BESM) Revised Second Edition – GOO-02-201 $12.99
Average Rating:4.6 / 5
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Big Eyes, Small Mouth (BESM) Revised Second Edition – GOO-02-201
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Big Eyes, Small Mouth (BESM) Revised Second Edition – GOO-02-201
Publisher: Dyskami Publishing Company
by Yann E. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 07/07/2017 17:02:56

The best version of BESM even if the 3ed edition has its lots of improvement, it is also more hearvyweight rulewise. This book has all : mecha, magic, sentai, shojo, shonen with very light rules.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Big Eyes, Small Mouth (BESM) Revised Second Edition – GOO-02-201
Publisher: Dyskami Publishing Company
by ROBERT H. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 03/29/2016 21:50:55

Nice game, simple rules. just wish it was in print and I wish more of the books for it were in print.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Big Eyes, Small Mouth (BESM) Revised Second Edition – GOO-02-201
Publisher: Dyskami Publishing Company
by Robin C. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 05/03/2013 22:10:43

The game is great. Too bad it's out of print as our local game shop would offer them for sale if they were available in paperback.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Big Eyes, Small Mouth (BESM) Revised Second Edition – GOO-02-201
Publisher: Dyskami Publishing Company
by Timothy B. [Featured Reviewer]
Date Added: 09/25/2012 11:44:55

I came to this game late. I picked up BESM 2.0 at a game auction and really dug it’s simple style, flexibility and shear “funness” of the game. GoO may be no more and BESM 3.0 is the current version, I still need to do something with all the BESM/Tri-Stat books I bought.

BESM uses (used) Guardians of Order's Tri-Stat system, which they use for a variety of Anime-based games. The main feature of the Tri-Stat system is the Tri-Stat, or Body, Mind and Soul. All skills, attributes and defects as well combat roles are made with these three in mind. They range up to 12, but cannot go over.

Skill Levels are similar, ranging 1 to 5, with 0 as unskilled or unable to use this skill and 5 representing the human maximum in most cases. Tri-Stat's Attributes and Defects size up pretty well to other games Qualities and Drawbacks respectively.

Of particular interest to me is magic.

Magic vs. Dynamic Sorcery Where do you use what where? To me Dynamic Sorcerery feels more like Mage's magic system while Magic seems more like WitchCraft's the Gift with extra points for metaphysiscs. In BESM d20 dynamic sorcery allows you to cast d20 spells of the same level. So in that respect it is more like Cine Unisystem's Sorcery or Magic. In BESM 3.0 Magic (now called Power Flux) feels more like Magic from Mutants & Masterminds. So there is still some debat even among BESM players about which one does what. My prefernce to scrap the whole deal and use Cine Unisystem's Magic system.

I picked up "Cold Hands, Dark Hearts" a while back and there are a lot of really cool ideas in it. It really plays like a dark horror animated game. It is also largely compatible with other flavors of BESM, though some of the points seem a bit high to me. But if you wanted to play a BESM game out of the box that feels like an Eden or White Wolf game it is a great place to start.

In the end, I really, really liked BESM 2nd Ed revised. But it was missing something...I am not sure. I am going to talk about BESM 3.0 in a bit, so maybe that will help.

What Did I Get Out of This? Well my journey into discovering Anime went hand in hand with BESM. The roots for a couple of on going projects started here. While I never got the chance to try out much of an "Animated Series" it did give me ideas to use in my second season Unisystem game "Season of the Witch". I also started work on a multi-genre, multi-game idea of a school for magical kids. It would be part horror, part anime "magical girl" trope, and part supers. Over the years "Generation HEX" would morph and change, but the ideas are still growing.

Anime Action The combat and action in a typical BESM game is fast and deadly. It actually sort of spoiled me for other so called fast and furious combat systems. BESM is a great design, hampered though by some flaws, but nothing that can't be overcome.

All in all. BESM 2r is still the standard in which all other Anime games must be measured against. Despite (or maybe even because of) it's flaws the game has style and character that no other game (even BESM d20 and BESM 3) have been able to duplicate.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Big Eyes, Small Mouth (BESM) Revised Second Edition – GOO-02-201
Publisher: Dyskami Publishing Company
by Curt M. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 09/30/2010 13:34:08

I do have a physical copy of the fabled third edition, and while it's a beautiful book, I prefer the 2nd edition rules because they are less crunchy. BESM2 was the pennacle of Tri-Stat development because it provides a lot of options with little number crunching, while still running like a "traditional" RPG. The third editon is more like a "roll-over" version of Silver Aged Sentinels. The one "stock-genre" of anime the BESM2 doesn't run well out of the box is pet monster, but there is a supplement here on rpgnow for that. If you buy this pdf, I suggest geting the Fantasy Beastiary, Cold Hands, Dark Hearts, and maybe Space Fantasy, but really, with the core book, you should be able to run what you want.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Big Eyes, Small Mouth (BESM) Revised Second Edition – GOO-02-201
Publisher: Dyskami Publishing Company
by Hamilton R. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 07/12/2010 02:34:59

BESM is a generic-mechanics game based on the Tri-stat system, for use with any genre that you want to play in. The term “Big Eyes, Small Mouth” refers to the premise that the game is based on common Anime tropes and story settings. You can create any type of game you like, from swash-buckling fantasy to inter-galactic space opera, all seasoned with a Japanese animation flair. If you see it on TV “Anime-style”, then you can play it at home “table-top style” with BESM.

This is the second edition of the rules; I do not currently have the third edition yet. Actually, I think that this is an advantage for the following reasons: (1) this PDF is a solid, economical purchase when compared to pricing of the third edition PDF (2) it follows the Tri-Stat System more closely than does the third edition (from what I have read about it) (3) most of the supplements seem to be native for the second edition rules here - not for the third edition

In a nutshell, the TS(d6) system is very simple to learn: you have three primary attributes, a few derived scores using simple formulas, some background information creation requirements, and two lists - one for skills and traits, the other for defects and hindrances. (I like simplicity in games, because most of my players are not lawyers, doctors, bank managers, or accountants -- they are actually people who have time to play games. A simple concept like this could revolutionize the industry; less is truly more.)

  • I suggest that you buy this game BEFORE you get the free copy of the Tri-Stat rules. BESM explains the TS(d6) system core mechanics better than does the free PDF, in my opinion. Plus, you get a nifty game universe to play in. (I got the free PDF and did not like it; I got BESM later, and now, I like the Tri-Stat system. Graphic art and layout really does matter when it comes to entertainment and communication of a complex idea …)

BESM 2nd revised delivers a solid, yet simple game system to create your own fantasy / fictional world. This is book is not short on information, flavor, or creativity. If you are looking for an easy-to-learn-and-use system, that has many supplements to support it, BESM 2 will be a good game system for your group.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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