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kdtipa · 01-10-2012, 02:13 PM

I'm actually in a similar situation as Sniperkitty. My roleplaying group is solidly grounded in some form of D&D, and I've been in love with GURPS since 1989. I'm working on a campaign right now where I'm trying to help transition the people to the new system (new to them). I've tried in the past with other people, and there are difficulties... most of which have been mentioned... one of which I'd like to focus on a little.

The perception that GURPS combat is more tedious than D&D combat does have some basis when you consider all the complex options you can include in your game, but as someone else pointed out, it likely has something to do with practice. I've been playing D&D for a long time, and I got really used to concepts like attacks of opportunity, fighting defensively, taking one step so I could make a ranged attack without drawing an attack of opportunity, and so on. If you think about it... there are really a ton of combat rules in D&D too. Even in D&D 4e. It may seem simpler on the surface, with your simple set of options, but as you get up in level, your options increase, and the things you have to remember increase. Not just about yourself but about your comrades too. I find myself trying to remember what bonuses I get from the warlord and the brad in the group, and I have to remember that I used a power last round that gives me a bonus this round, and I have to keep in mind that the rogue needs someone to flank with for his big moves in certain scenarios, and oh yeah... do I have any minor actions I can bring to bear this round that will be useful, and what did the bard just say about temp hit points for bloodying someone?

There's a lot going on in D&D combat, and it gets to be quicker the more we play... the more we practice (still have one player that can't seem to make up his mind), but there's still a lot to it.

What I'm trying to get to is that it might help your players if you point out that it is just a different system you're introducing them to, and that it might take a little time to learn all the same concepts for GURPS that they take for granted in D&D. One of the players I have lined up for this campaign is very logical and accepted it immediately when I pointed out some of the complexities of D&D that we just take for granted, and then told him that it'll just take a little learning in GURPS.

01-10-2012, 02:13 PM	#38
kdtipa Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Southern New Hampshire	Re: Hack n' slash? I'm actually in a similar situation as Sniperkitty. My roleplaying group is solidly grounded in some form of D&D, and I've been in love with GURPS since 1989. I'm working on a campaign right now where I'm trying to help transition the people to the new system (new to them). I've tried in the past with other people, and there are difficulties... most of which have been mentioned... one of which I'd like to focus on a little. The perception that GURPS combat is more tedious than D&D combat does have some basis when you consider all the complex options you can include in your game, but as someone else pointed out, it likely has something to do with practice. I've been playing D&D for a long time, and I got really used to concepts like attacks of opportunity, fighting defensively, taking one step so I could make a ranged attack without drawing an attack of opportunity, and so on. If you think about it... there are really a ton of combat rules in D&D too. Even in D&D 4e. It may seem simpler on the surface, with your simple set of options, but as you get up in level, your options increase, and the things you have to remember increase. Not just about yourself but about your comrades too. I find myself trying to remember what bonuses I get from the warlord and the brad in the group, and I have to remember that I used a power last round that gives me a bonus this round, and I have to keep in mind that the rogue needs someone to flank with for his big moves in certain scenarios, and oh yeah... do I have any minor actions I can bring to bear this round that will be useful, and what did the bard just say about temp hit points for bloodying someone? There's a lot going on in D&D combat, and it gets to be quicker the more we play... the more we practice (still have one player that can't seem to make up his mind), but there's still a lot to it. What I'm trying to get to is that it might help your players if you point out that it is just a different system you're introducing them to, and that it might take a little time to learn all the same concepts for GURPS that they take for granted in D&D. One of the players I have lined up for this campaign is very logical and accepted it immediately when I pointed out some of the complexities of D&D that we just take for granted, and then told him that it'll just take a little learning in GURPS.