Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
The
VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX
is coming! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
What is your Opinion of GURPS?
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="tauton_ikhnos" data-source="post: 1455176" data-attributes="member: 16195"><p>First, my definition of powergamer: Characters built on number crunching concept rather than narrative concept. <strong>This would be me.</strong> I <em>have</em> narrative concept, but it is <em>second</em> thing I come up with, rather than first.</p><p></p><p>Second, can a system encourage or discourage this? Yes.</p><p></p><p>Does the system make me this? No.</p><p></p><p>Can I do this in <em>any</em> system, with some variance for degree of encouragement? Yes.</p><p></p><p>Have I ever built a troubleshooter in Paranoia that maxed out his ability to lie? No, Friend Computer <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite2" alt=";)" title="Wink ;)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=";)" /></p><p></p><p>Does GURPS encourage this? Yes. Specifically:</p><p></p><p>- You can build a very beefy character.</p><p>- Said character will issue all kinds of smackdown on less beefy builds.</p><p>- This is a reward.</p><p></p><p>Does D&D encourage this? Yes. Specifically:</p><p></p><p>- You can build a very beefy character.</p><p>- Said character will issue all kinds of smackdown on less beefy builds.</p><p>- This is a reward.</p><p></p><p>Which system allows beefier (in comparison to default) builds? Depends on your point total/level. At low end (50 pts/under 5th level), GURPS fighters can be very beefy compared to any other concept. At mid range (100-200 pts/6th-15th level), D&D definitely allows 'teh uber', with builds that can do 160+ damage in a single round, over and over and over again. At high range (250+ pts/16th+ level), both systems kind of break in terms of character vs character balance.</p><p></p><p>Also depends on what optional books you use. Complete Warrior gives some really powerful builds at any level. GURPS Ultratech 1 & 2 makes the Wealth option insanely powerful.</p><p></p><p>But aren't points more abusable? No more so than stacking modifiers. What matters is not the method, but whether or not the method breaks at some point, allowing numerical superiority that matters in the game. Points and stacking modifiers both break pretty easily, IMHO.</p><p></p><p>Are points asking for it? Definitely. Points do one thing that D&D doesn't do: it <em>tells</em> the player that powergaming is <em>possible</em>. Many players do not know this, or don't know how. A point system, essentially, offers advice on character building. D&D, on the other hand, makes it something esoteric, thus ensuring that powergamers will always have superior characters. While this cuts down on <strong>number</strong> of power gamers, it also increases the ability of the remaining power gamers to smack you around. Which is superior? Hard to say. I like both.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="tauton_ikhnos, post: 1455176, member: 16195"] First, my definition of powergamer: Characters built on number crunching concept rather than narrative concept. [b]This would be me.[/b] I [i]have[/i] narrative concept, but it is [i]second[/i] thing I come up with, rather than first. Second, can a system encourage or discourage this? Yes. Does the system make me this? No. Can I do this in [i]any[/i] system, with some variance for degree of encouragement? Yes. Have I ever built a troubleshooter in Paranoia that maxed out his ability to lie? No, Friend Computer ;) Does GURPS encourage this? Yes. Specifically: - You can build a very beefy character. - Said character will issue all kinds of smackdown on less beefy builds. - This is a reward. Does D&D encourage this? Yes. Specifically: - You can build a very beefy character. - Said character will issue all kinds of smackdown on less beefy builds. - This is a reward. Which system allows beefier (in comparison to default) builds? Depends on your point total/level. At low end (50 pts/under 5th level), GURPS fighters can be very beefy compared to any other concept. At mid range (100-200 pts/6th-15th level), D&D definitely allows 'teh uber', with builds that can do 160+ damage in a single round, over and over and over again. At high range (250+ pts/16th+ level), both systems kind of break in terms of character vs character balance. Also depends on what optional books you use. Complete Warrior gives some really powerful builds at any level. GURPS Ultratech 1 & 2 makes the Wealth option insanely powerful. But aren't points more abusable? No more so than stacking modifiers. What matters is not the method, but whether or not the method breaks at some point, allowing numerical superiority that matters in the game. Points and stacking modifiers both break pretty easily, IMHO. Are points asking for it? Definitely. Points do one thing that D&D doesn't do: it [i]tells[/i] the player that powergaming is [i]possible[/i]. Many players do not know this, or don't know how. A point system, essentially, offers advice on character building. D&D, on the other hand, makes it something esoteric, thus ensuring that powergamers will always have superior characters. While this cuts down on [b]number[/b] of power gamers, it also increases the ability of the remaining power gamers to smack you around. Which is superior? Hard to say. I like both. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
What is your Opinion of GURPS?
Top