What I did about burnout

[Sebastian Ashputtle]

Rather than going the GURPS route, if you want to run Dark*Matter why not use the Alternity ruleset. Although it's a bit counter-intuitive after playing D20, once you learn the Alternity mechanic it's really a smoothly running, realistic system.

I'm actually quite familiar with Alternity. What I don't like about it is that it seems more complicated than it needs to be. Even the core mechanic seems like complexity-for-complexity's-sake.

D20: Roll a d20, add bonus or penalty. Beat target number.

GURPS: Adjust attribute by bonus or penalty. Roll 3d6. Beat target number.

Alternity: Roll a d20, then roll another die and either add or subtract total from your d20 roll. Adding raises your d20 total, which is a penalty. Subtracting lowers your total, which is a bonus. There isn't one target number, but various numbers, each indicating various degrees of success or failure.


Nah, sorry. I don't mind complex systems (I love GURPS and d20, after all ) but I don't like games that are *unnecessarily* complex.

Again, just my experience. I know Alternity has many devoted fans, and that's cool. Heck, I'm still a big fan of AD&D 2e, so that shows you how much I know.

 

[diaglo]

i hear PKitty is a Synnibar fan when he gets burnout.

 

[Psion]

How IS GURPS 4e? If I loathe GURPS before, are there any changes significant enough that I might like it better now? (Other than pretty art.)

- "Prefers Alternity too" Psion

AKA

- "Love GURPS sourcebooks, hate the system" Psion

 

[KenM]

How IS GURPS 4e? If I loathe GURPS before, are there any changes significant enough that I might like it better now? (Other than pretty art.)

- "Prefers Alternity too" Psion

AKA

- "Love GURPS sourcebooks, hate the system" Psion

One of the changes I heard they did with GURPS 4e is now you can take up to half your base character points in disadvantages.

100 pts. = 50 points in disads.
500 pts. = 250 points in disads.

 

[Psion]

One of the changes I heard they did with GURPS 4e is now you can take up to half your base character points in disadvantages.

100 pts. = 50 points in disads.
500 pts. = 250 points in disads.

Good lord, why?

As if disads weren't enough of an issue in GURPS.

Oy.

 

[maddman75]

Personally, d20 modern and future do nothing for me. Sorry, I can't hack classes and levels in anything but fantasy. Just doesn't feel right.

Going to a different system and genre can really get the juices flowing again. I've been known to dip into Unisystem and Storyteller from time to time.

 

[Belen]

I LOVE d20 modern. The base classes allow you to truly build a character based on history and personality without railroading your character into a certain path. Each class can have several different feels and with multi-classing there is little than you cannot do.

The rules set is a breath of fresh air after the super cheesy monkey hyperforce DnD and its endless add-on powergamer KEWL rules.

 

[Ranger REG]

Going to a different system and genre can really get the juices flowing again. I've been known to dip into Unisystem and Storyteller from time to time.

Sorry, I couldn't hack Storyteller-based games. The task resolution is one too many extra steps to determine not just success or failure but a degree of it. I mean, to perform a task, DM must give you the target number. You then count the total "dots" of two relevant traits (attribute + skill, or just attribute), roll that number of d10s, count the number of dice that meet or beat the target number, and you have a number of successes. You only need one die that meet or beat the target number to succeed. Any extra is just a degree of greater success.

On that note, I really don't like d6 (by WEG). You see, in most such roleplaying games, the majority of your dice-rolling is resolving a task to see if you succeed or fail in it. While I don't mind rolling many dice for damage, I don't like rolling many dice for resolving all tasks. That is why the "bucket o' dice" approach is not to my liking.

Which is why I am beginning to adore Mutants & Masterminds over D&D. Its game system needed only one die.

 

[d4]

Well... what works for me, is to go back to the DnD from before d20. Nothing like leafing through the old boxed sets, the original modules etc. to recapture that feel I had when starting to play (A)DnD.

actually, it's specifically the things 3.Xe D&D has in common with the older editions of D&D that i dislike. the feats/skills/tactical combat are the parts of d20 that i like the best.

(FWIW, the "feel" i had back when i played AD&D was "wow, i really hate this game system.")

 

[Sebastian Ashputtle]

How IS GURPS 4e? If I loathe GURPS before, are there any changes significant enough that I might like it better now?

Honestly, no. GURPS 4e is, IMHO, waaaay better than 3e. They've done a lot of streamlining of skills and really cleaned up the combat system, especially in the area of gunfire. However, it's still GURPS. I would compare it to the change from D&D 3.0 to 3.5. So if you hated GURPS 3, you'll hate GURPS 4.