Gurps? Where do I start?

[Clueless]

As for point values - they take all the bennies and none of th disads - remember... they've only got so many points to work with - they have to *buy* the race with something, it's not a freebie. It'll balance out in the end.

If you're having them use only the races you build or ok, and given what you've said about your group I think having that choice restricted in their first game may be a wise decision to avoid overwhelming them, then you won't have any problem at all.

It may have gotten lost in the shuffle so far, but with what you've said about your group I would suggest the first game you build their characters for them to what they tell you their concept is. Of course withhold about 20 to 40 points for them to apply after they've played the character a few games if they play them differently than you designed. And then for your first game, just show them how to play, with the characters you designed and tell them about the extra points to be used later. That way they get the fun first and then the lengthy option filled character building that you can't be sure they'll enjoy second.

 

[Jürgen Hubert]

Excellent, that leaves only 4 books to buy (although how necessary is GURPS Powers for a fantasy game?)

It's not necessary at all - I ran my first GURPS Eberron game with only the Basic Set and GURPS Magic.

It's still extremely brilliant and very inspiring in all sorts of ways, so if you have decided to run GURPS for longer games and have the money to spare, I strongly recommend you buy it.

 

[Clueless]

Heck, *my* first GURPS game was the Basic book only. (3rd ed) Thankfully it's a system where you can pick up what you need later on once your groups is committed to it.

 

[RFisher]

Here are some thoughts on race building I had for GURPS.

1) Should it be a Gm fiat, or a resource for creative players?
2) should playing a race other then human restrict the character point wise?
3) if players are to have authority to create races, then how do you inforce consistency. (Ie: Players just don't take all the things they like about the race with none of the drawbacks.)

One of my favorite campaigns ever was a Gurps 3/e game in which the GM allowed everyone to use Fantasy Folk to create their own race. I don't know that I'd want to do that every time, but it can work & be a blast.

4/e should make this work even better since it eliminated the racial discount for stats. You may have to watch out for other racial discounts, though. e.g. Toughness in Fantasy Folk was cheaper than in the Basic Set. I ruled that it cost the Basic Set price in either case.

The thing about a system like Gurps is that character points provide the balance. There's nothing wrong with a player building a character without disadvantages. It simply means they'll have fewer points to spend on the cool stuff. No need to penalize non-humans point-wise because they are already paying character points for anything the race gives them.

Edit: There is a loophole here. A GM can require an Unusual Background in order to buy certain things. This effectively allows the GM to upwardly adjust the cost of certain things to fit the "setting". (Magery is effectively part Unusual Background--an extra price you have to pay to get access to spells.)

Of course, the other thing about such systems is that a single point scale can't really reflect all the different axes on which balance can turn. Plus--a 10-point feature might be a bargain in a particular GM/group's style but a rip-off in another. It's not perfect, & it really can't ever be. As long as you're willing to recognize that, adjust it when necessary, & live with it the rest of the time, you'll be fine.

 

[DungeonMaester]

Keeping in mind that I only have 4e lite and a 1980 something GURPS book, I have to say that I am not impressed with the creation process thus far. 3e rules where horrible, the skill and attribute point system where a huge disappointment and the advantages/disadvantage was in every way lacking in selection.

---Rusty

 

[sjmiller]

Keeping in mind that I only have 4e lite and a 1980 something GURPS book, I have to say that I am not impressed with the creation process thus far. 3e rules where horrible, the skill and attribute point system where a huge disappointment and the advantages/disadvantage was in every way lacking in selection.

Wow, as someone who as played and loved GURPS for almost 20 years, I am surprised by this particular set of comments. I've created fun, interesting, exciting characters using: just GURPS Basic 3rd; using Basic with a host of different supplements; using GURPS Lite (both 3rd and 4th); and using just GURPS 4th Edition. The advantages and disadvantages are quite broad, and can be tailored to fit whatever you desire.

What sort of characters are you making that made you come to this conclusion? I know that GURPS can be a bit difficult to grasp at first, but once you get the hang of it you can do just about anything with it.

 

[Kafkonia]

I am interested. Where can I contact you at?

Thanks GURPSheads!

---Rusty

Start with: raccie (underscore) ballot
then end with: (at) hotmail (dot) com

And bear in mind, when I say mine's falling apart, I mean it's in multiple sections, the back cover has come off entirely, and some pages are bent.

 

[thedungeondelver]

Keeping in mind that I only have 4e lite and a 1980 something GURPS book, I have to say that I am not impressed with the creation process thus far. 3e rules where horrible, the skill and attribute point system where a huge disappointment and the advantages/disadvantage was in every way lacking in selection.

---Rusty

GURPS?

GURPS?! That tears it. Mail me my books back, you traitor.



(I'm kidding! I keed!)

 

[Ashrem Bayle]

Keeping in mind that I only have 4e lite and a 1980 something GURPS book, I have to say that I am not impressed with the creation process thus far. 3e rules where horrible, the skill and attribute point system where a huge disappointment and the advantages/disadvantage was in every way lacking in selection.

---Rusty

I've got zero experience with GURPS 3rd edition, but with 4th, the number of Advantages/Disadvantages are darn near overwhelming. As of yet, I haven't found ANYTHING I haven't been able to model in GURPS.

 

[DungeonMaester]

Wow, as someone who as played and loved GURPS for almost 20 years, I am surprised by this particular set of comments. I've created fun, interesting, exciting characters using: just GURPS Basic 3rd; using Basic with a host of different supplements; using GURPS Lite (both 3rd and 4th); and using just GURPS 4th Edition. The advantages and disadvantages are quite broad, and can be tailored to fit whatever you desire.

What sort of characters are you making that made you come to this conclusion? I know that GURPS can be a bit difficult to grasp at first, but once you get the hang of it you can do just about anything with it.

With my 3rd ed books, I have made every one From Dread Pirate Roberts to Fezzik, from Hornswagle to The Undertaker. It is making supernatural characters that I am having trouble with.

Wow, as someone who as played and loved GURPS for almost 20 years, I am surprised by this particular set of comments. I've created fun, interesting, exciting characters using: just GURPS Basic 3rd; using Basic with a host of different supplements; using GURPS Lite (both 3rd and 4th); and using just GURPS 4th Edition. The advantages and disadvantages are quite broad, and can be tailored to fit whatever you desire.

What sort of characters are you making that made you come to this conclusion? I know that GURPS can be a bit difficult to grasp at first, but once you get the hang of it you can do just about anything with it.

In my experience, the old GURPS book I have had the same amout of advantages and Disadvantages as 4th lite.

GURPS?

GURPS?! That tears it. Mail me my books back, you traitor.



(I'm kidding! I keed!)

The only problem I had with 1st ed was after the first session, the assassin was totaly broken, and every one wanted to play the assassin.