[Skarg]

Originally Posted by Jim Kane

From what has been described as a method, when renering a DX 10 TFT figure in GURPS, you simple slide 10 value right on over to GURPS, and this is supposed to be the same... okay, and if you take the same figures ST of 10, and slide that over, and it is still okay..... hmmm..

I would say that does work.

Originally Posted by Jim Kane

Yet.. the TFT figure just became 500% Faster and 160% Stronger; not an exactly equivalent conversion when the TFT attribute values are transferred directly to the GURP scale; is it?

No, it's crazy, but that's just because I was trying to engage your thought problem of what it would look like to try to run one ruleset for one character and another for another in combat against each other. I think that is where the messy chaos is.

But just converting doesn't seem like a big deal to me. I still think in terms of both TFT & GURPS even when playing campaigns that aren't a conversion, sometimes even when playing/inventing other games, or even thinking about real life.

Originally Posted by Jim Kane

I *really* was trying to avoid this discussion at all costs, but that fact of the matter is, in order to convert between systems of differing scales with any reasonable degree of accuracy, unless you are okay with *really really fudgey* as I said in my initial comment - you have to find the functional mathematical center between the two systems of different scales, which will then reveal the differential.

Otherwise all you have done is to say: 10 Kilometers equals 10 Miles - when in point-of-fact 10 Kilometers converts to 6.21 Miles.

Now, if you want to do what Anthony is talking about, that's good; but understand, that is simply creating *an analog* figure in the other scale/system and specifically for the other system/scale - is not the same thing as *a conversion*.

In short, creating an analog figure and performing a conversion of a figure from one scale/system to another are not the same things.

So why is this so important to understand?

If you consider RobW's OP, he stated: "Looking at the GURPS material on sale, so much of it! But despite several attempts I've never gotten into it. So does anyone have guidance or pointers on how to approximately convert GURPS characters to TFT? I figure there must be a lot of expertise on these boards.

And he is right, the GURPS' back-library is ripe with material for TFT, *but* there is no way to *convert* it easily; it would all have to re-estimated as *an analog*, one figure at a time, one weapon at a time, etc.

Those are the cold, hard facts of the math.

I don't think the completely-accurate translation you call a "conversion" is entirely possible, because it's not even close to a one-dimensional problem. Not only does TFT have fewer data points, but the games use the common datapoints differently, and play very differently.

On the other hand, I think what you call "analogs" are quite easy to come up with, and are the sane approach (compared to trying for an impossible perfect translation). And there are a variety of styles for doing that, ranging from "just use the GURPS stats for TFT" (which I think can actually work fairly well in many cases), to "be an expert in both systems and apply GM discretion" (which works well for me but not for people who don't know both systems well), to quick & dirty guidelines (a few of which were posted above, and are pretty good), to more thorough systems which can be developed.