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Help Me Understand the GURPS Design Perspective
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<blockquote data-quote="pemerton" data-source="post: 7847622" data-attributes="member: 42582"><p>Sorry, no, don't know it (other than the references in this thread).</p><p></p><p>In a loose sense, I guess that's true. For instance, for Strength (p OM85):</p><p></p><p style="margin-left: 20px">* <strong>Enhanced Strength d8</strong> allows you to turn over cars, break through solid barriers, and bend ordinary iron bars.</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">* <strong>Superhuman Strength d10</strong> allows you to lift and throw vehicles, smash through stone and metal, and tear apart most barriers.</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">* <strong>Godlike Strength d12</strong> confers the power to hurl objects into orbit, push over tall buildings, and demolish most structures.</p><p></p><p>But there's more to it than that. (As I'm sure you know. But for those out there who don't . . .)</p><p></p><p>The descriptors (Enhanced, Superhuman and Godlike) each bring a default die size with them. They also set the parameters of fictional positioning and action declaration (in HeroQuest revised this is called the "credibility test"; MHRP doesn't have a label for it, but discusses it on p OM55). And those two things can come apart: for instance, a character might have an ability that allows stepping up a die (so eg turning the d8 Enhanced Strength die into a d10). But that doesn't necessarily mean that the character can, on those occasions, throw and lift vehicles rather than just overturn them. That would depend on the relevant fiction that explains the die step up ability.</p><p></p><p>This feature of MHRP - namely, that it assumes a <em>prior </em>fiction that serves as a constraint on action declaration and resolution before any dice are pooled and rolled - was a source of numerous complaints when it was first released, from RPGers who don't want to treat the fact that (say) Spider Man can't normally beat The Hulk in an arm wrestle as a fiction-derived constraint on permissible action declaration, but rather want the action resolution mechanics to produce this as an outcome.</p><p></p><p>(And this ties back to [USER=85870]@innerdude[/USER]'s OP. I think GURPS is definitely for that second sort of person, who wants the mechanics to establish what is possible in the fiction, rather than treating already-known fictional states of affairs as constraints on what is possible via the mechanics.)</p><p></p><p>This is something I like very much about MHRP. It's also a big part of what is fun in our Cortex+ Heroic Fantasy Hack game, which is mechanically pretty much the same as MHRP. (Our hack game is influenced by the Hacker's Guide, but makes fewer changes to to system than the suggested hacks in that book - only the speciality list (= skills, for non-MHRPers) is different.)</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="pemerton, post: 7847622, member: 42582"] Sorry, no, don't know it (other than the references in this thread). In a loose sense, I guess that's true. For instance, for Strength (p OM85): [indent]* [B]Enhanced Strength d8[/B] allows you to turn over cars, break through solid barriers, and bend ordinary iron bars. * [B]Superhuman Strength d10[/B] allows you to lift and throw vehicles, smash through stone and metal, and tear apart most barriers. * [B]Godlike Strength d12[/B] confers the power to hurl objects into orbit, push over tall buildings, and demolish most structures.[/indent] But there's more to it than that. (As I'm sure you know. But for those out there who don't . . .) The descriptors (Enhanced, Superhuman and Godlike) each bring a default die size with them. They also set the parameters of fictional positioning and action declaration (in HeroQuest revised this is called the "credibility test"; MHRP doesn't have a label for it, but discusses it on p OM55). And those two things can come apart: for instance, a character might have an ability that allows stepping up a die (so eg turning the d8 Enhanced Strength die into a d10). But that doesn't necessarily mean that the character can, on those occasions, throw and lift vehicles rather than just overturn them. That would depend on the relevant fiction that explains the die step up ability. This feature of MHRP - namely, that it assumes a [I]prior [/I]fiction that serves as a constraint on action declaration and resolution before any dice are pooled and rolled - was a source of numerous complaints when it was first released, from RPGers who don't want to treat the fact that (say) Spider Man can't normally beat The Hulk in an arm wrestle as a fiction-derived constraint on permissible action declaration, but rather want the action resolution mechanics to produce this as an outcome. (And this ties back to [USER=85870]@innerdude[/USER]'s OP. I think GURPS is definitely for that second sort of person, who wants the mechanics to establish what is possible in the fiction, rather than treating already-known fictional states of affairs as constraints on what is possible via the mechanics.) This is something I like very much about MHRP. It's also a big part of what is fun in our Cortex+ Heroic Fantasy Hack game, which is mechanically pretty much the same as MHRP. (Our hack game is influenced by the Hacker's Guide, but makes fewer changes to to system than the suggested hacks in that book - only the speciality list (= skills, for non-MHRPers) is different.) [/QUOTE]
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