BRP, as Basic Roleplaying came to be known, was first published in 1980 as a 16 page booklet derived from the Runequest rules. Conceived as a generic system for playing any genre of RPG, Chaosium evolved BRP into many of their products. Worlds of Wonder, Call of Cthulhu, Superworld, Ringworld, Elric!, Stormbringer, Hawkmoon, and Nephilim, all shared the same core ideas, expanded to suit their own genres. BRP also continued in its own form, culminating in the 2010 expanded version fondly known as the BGB – Big Gold Book, alongside a free starter edition. 2020 marks the release of the Basic Roleplaying SRD, an initiative to promote using BRP as the core for new genres.
The Big Gold Book is available from our online store, along with the free quickstart: