Steve Jackson Games Forums - View Single Post - Best Tool for the Job

JLV · 04-07-2019, 12:57 PM

I used GURPS Dungeon Fantasy until Dungeon Fantasy RPG came out. I had just started with DFRPG when TFT came back. So I switched back to TFT; my very favorite RPG. To be brutally honest, the only reason I picked up DFRPG is because it was "closer" to TFT in complexity and I didn't think (at that time) that there was any possibility I'd ever see TFT back in print in my lifetime. If TFT had been available and in common usage, I wouldn't have bothered with GURPS or DFRPG at all...

So, I used them in that order as they became available (which, you will note, is also in order of decreasing complexity). I didn't use TFT straight through, because a lot of players didn't want to play an "old" game, but now that everything old is new again, that's changing. TFT is the latest shiny whistle now.

I also used TFT to introduce my sons (and quite a few other people, over the years) to role-playing (but this was back in the late 90's now, when TFT was "only" 15-20 years old), because a new player can pick it up in five minutes and because they can "see" what their characters are actually doing on the map. From there, the basic concepts are understood, and they can pick up more "difficult" games more easily. I still think that TFT is the best all around RPG out there, but I can also attest to how easily it sucks in brand-new, never-before-played, people.

04-07-2019, 12:57 PM	#2
JLV Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Arizona	Re: Best Tool for the Job – When would you use TFT/DFRPG/GDF? I used GURPS Dungeon Fantasy until Dungeon Fantasy RPG came out. I had just started with DFRPG when TFT came back. So I switched back to TFT; my very favorite RPG. To be brutally honest, the only reason I picked up DFRPG is because it was "closer" to TFT in complexity and I didn't think (at that time) that there was any possibility I'd ever see TFT back in print in my lifetime. If TFT had been available and in common usage, I wouldn't have bothered with GURPS or DFRPG at all... So, I used them in that order as they became available (which, you will note, is also in order of decreasing complexity). I didn't use TFT straight through, because a lot of players didn't want to play an "old" game, but now that everything old is new again, that's changing. TFT is the latest shiny whistle now. I also used TFT to introduce my sons (and quite a few other people, over the years) to role-playing (but this was back in the late 90's now, when TFT was "only" 15-20 years old), because a new player can pick it up in five minutes and because they can "see" what their characters are actually doing on the map. From there, the basic concepts are understood, and they can pick up more "difficult" games more easily. I still think that TFT is the best all around RPG out there, but I can also attest to how easily it sucks in brand-new, never-before-played, people.