Jürgen Hubert
First Post
maggot said:The system I enjoyed the least is GURPS. Whether it's a bad system or not, I don't know, but it does not fit what I want out of role-playing.
It's not that bad. The core mechanics, as condensed in GURPS Lite, are actually pretty simple (and since the whole thing is only 32 pages long, it better had be).
The problem is that with the full rule set, you can do pretty much anything. And inexperienced GURPS GMs will promptly attempt to do everything with it. Couple that with inexperienced GURPS players, and you have a recipe for disaster.
My standard advice for starting with GURPS is the following:
Pick a relatively simple campaign world for starting out with GURPS - and with "simple", I mean relatively low-powered characters from a limited number of backgrounds with only a limited number of "special powers". Generic low-powered fantasy works well. So does a modern-day setting.
Start with GURPS Lite, and give a copy each to your players. Then comb through the GURPS 4E Basic Set and copy the parts that you need for your campaign - and only the parts that you need. Ignore all those other advantages and disadvantages and skills, no matter how cool they might seem. The same goes for any optional combat and environment rules. Remember:
All of these rules are optional!
Not just "optional" in the sense of "you can simply ignore any rules in the rule books", because that's standard for all RPGs. They are "optional" in the sense that the rule system works just fine without them.
Now start the campaign, and you and your players should be able to learn and become comfortable with the system in no time. And then you can introduce all the other stuff - hit locations, new combat maneuvers, cool new powers, and so on. But don't try it before that point because it will just overwhelm everyone - both the players and the GM.
And I am speaking from experience here. I tried to introduce my group to GURPS once, and brought a half-dozen books to character creation. It only ended up confusing everyone and caused several players to develop a lasting dislike of the system.
But several years later, I managed to convince my group to try out GURPS again, this time for a Warhammer campaign. This time, I prepared and resisted the temptation to introduce all those cool additional rules except for the absolute minimum neccessary for starting the campaign. And lo! and behold! It worked like a charm! Everyone became used to the system and started to like it, even those who disliked it the last time. And though I have since moved away from them, they have started new GURPS campaigns of their own...
To sum it up: Even if you have had bad experiences with GURPS in the past, it might be worth it to give the system another look...