What's next for the DFRPG?

[Rasputin]

Originally Posted by corwyn

I disagree. DF players are already familiar with GURPS; they can add stuff from the main game on their own. This should be a condensed set of options with all the serial numbers filed off for those who don't want full GURPS.

No, they are not necessarily familiar with GURPS, and the line cannot and should not assume this. If the DFRPG line is only for GURPS players, then it has no purpose that GURPS Dungeon Fantasy already has.

[DaosusLeghki]

Originally Posted by Rasputin

No, they are not necessarily familiar with GURPS, and the line cannot and should not assume this. If the DFRPG line is only for GURPS players, then it has no purpose that GURPS Dungeon Fantasy already has.

I think you two are saying the same thing.

[SolemnGolem]

Random thought: if SJG is looking for places to sell the DFRPG/GURPS brand, I'd imagine that HeroForge and other "customize your own goodies" would be a good place to target.

The folks who go there are already into a flexible mindset of "let's make something myself instead of following the preset". And if they're one of the folks trying, say, to make a 3D mini of a space man to put him into a medieval fantasy as a cross-genre surprise, then GURPS seems like an excellent type of system to catch that eyeball and open that wallet.

HeroForge now does .unity3d files for USD$8 which are proving very popular in my gaming group, since we're focused on virtual tabletop gaming.

Just an idle thought, as having bought everything I want to buy from Warehouse23, I'm now making random stuff on HeroForge and buying that too.

[Malfi]

I would like to see templates for 500 points and 1000 points. This will allow to create a leveling feel in the game. So your 250pt knight will be able to get only the things in the 500 points table. And the 500 point knight only the things within the 1000 point table. Some "higher" level monsters and general scaling for the "town" and the "world" for higher points.

Also perhaps CER for all monsters, or even arbitrary CER asigned to monsters if people think the CER calculation isn't always representative of the threat the monster is.

[(E)]

I would like to see a couple of things, first off just a couple of interesting monsters with more than the usual amount of background information and nice art.

The second thing I would like is something that covers a bit of everything.
The kind of thing I'm thinking of covers a town with an attached dungeon, a smattering of appropriate small rules and monsters would be there as well. The dungeon would be the equivalent of several levels, say The Wilderness, The Ruined castle, the Dungeon, the caves then the "boss" area.
Some tie ins between the town and dungeon would be nice, as would a nod to a lower powered start.

[DouglasCole]

Originally Posted by (E)

I would like to see a couple of things, first off just a couple of interesting monsters with more than the usual amount of background information and nice art.

The second thing I would like is something that covers a bit of everything.
The kind of thing I'm thinking of covers a town with an attached dungeon, a smattering of appropriate small rules and monsters would be there as well. The dungeon would be the equivalent of several levels, say The Wilderness, The Ruined castle, the Dungeon, the caves then the "boss" area.
Some tie ins between the town and dungeon would be nice, as would a nod to a lower powered start.

I've actually been sending out gentle encouragement for a series of such things, basically a 10-mile hex that should have some settlements, some trouble, some interesting areas, etc. I'm obviously invested, with the announcement of Delvers to Grow, in official support for the low-point game. Something that also says "only the wary, the bold, and the mighty go here" would also be welcome

[Nerve]

Hello, new GURPS/DF GM here. Got the DFRPG box (along with the GURPS Basic Set) and am enjoying prepping my first campaign. For the future of DFRPG, I was wondering...

Searching around the Internet, I've found that SJGames believes DFRPG was a "failure", not because of sales (it sells out), but because of cost (and time) of production relative to its total sales volume. Which got me thinking: If SJGames can justify trying its hand at a box that packages a focused, honed set of rules for GURPS, why not adapt them to an ostensibly cheaper two-book hardcover set like the Basic Set?

Take Adventurers, Spells, the Cheat Sheet, Delvers to Go, and maybe Delvers to Grow for good measure, and toss them in one player-focused hardcover. Then take Exploits, Monsters, Fantastic Dungeon Grappling, I Smell a Rat, and any other useful info and pack it into a second GM-focused hardcover.

Bam. A cheaper product to create. An alternate core rulebook for GURPS. The Basic Set is for those jumping into the deep end to create any campaign they wish, in any setting they wish. The DFRPG basic set is for anyone coming from "that other game" who wishes to have a frolicking good time in some ancient/medieval fantasy dungeons against hordes of bandits and monsters.

I'm also keen to point out that any argument as to why a two-book hardcover set can't be justified due to confusing potential customers, or competing with the GURPS Basic Set, or any other myriad issues is also an argument as to why DF, DFRPG, and the DFRPG box should never have been made. It did take me some digging to find the products I wanted to pick up for my introduction to GURPS, since the catalog is just so freaking huge and has no good breakdown aside from asking around.

Just a thought.

P.S. - It took me a lot of searching and digging yet more to understand what the balance of DFRPG was supposed to feel like, and took me a while before I found this post by Sean Punch. Maybe include a page or two about this; Exploits seems to discuss "feeling it out" by tossing in more monsters or fudging rolls depending on how encounters are going. That can be intimidating to inexperienced GMs, but I think even for the experienced ones, that post I linked is an invaluable tidbit of info that should be expanded upon. If Delvers to Grow is included, there could be a whole small chapter dedicated to varying points values and balance discussion! I think it'd make for fascinating theorycrafting that really gets someone in the GM mindset.

[DarkPumpkin]

Originally Posted by Nerve

Hello, new GURPS/DF GM here. Got the DFRPG box (along with the GURPS Basic Set) and am enjoying prepping my first campaign. For the future of DFRPG, I was wondering...

Searching around the Internet, I've found that SJGames believes DFRPG was a "failure", not because of sales (it sells out), but because of cost (and time) of production relative to its total sales volume. Which got me thinking: If SJGames can justify trying its hand at a box that packages a focused, honed set of rules for GURPS, why not adapt them to an ostensibly cheaper two-book hardcover set like the Basic Set?

Take Adventurers, Spells, the Cheat Sheet, Delvers to Go, and maybe Delvers to Grow for good measure, and toss them in one player-focused hardcover. Then take Exploits, Monsters, Fantastic Dungeon Grappling, I Smell a Rat, and any other useful info and pack it into a second GM-focused hardcover.

Bam. A cheaper product to create. An alternate core rulebook for GURPS. The Basic Set is for those jumping into the deep end to create any campaign they wish, in any setting they wish. The DFRPG basic set is for anyone coming from "that other game" who wishes to have a frolicking good time in some ancient/medieval fantasy dungeons against hordes of bandits and monsters.

I'm also keen to point out that any argument as to why a two-book hardcover set can't be justified due to confusing potential customers, or competing with the GURPS Basic Set, or any other myriad issues is also an argument as to why DF, DFRPG, and the DFRPG box should never have been made. It did take me some digging to find the products I wanted to pick up for my introduction to GURPS, since the catalog is just so freaking huge and has no good breakdown aside from asking around.

Just a thought.

P.S. - It took me a lot of searching and digging yet more to understand what the balance of DFRPG was supposed to feel like, and took me a while before I found this post by Sean Punch. Maybe include a page or two about this; Exploits seems to discuss "feeling it out" by tossing in more monsters or fudging rolls depending on how encounters are going. That can be intimidating to inexperienced GMs, but I think even for the experienced ones, that post I linked is an invaluable tidbit of info that should be expanded upon. If Delvers to Grow is included, there could be a whole small chapter dedicated to varying points values and balance discussion! I think it'd make for fascinating theorycrafting that really gets someone in the GM mindset.

I'm pretty sure that if SJG could put out a low cost reprint or reskinning of DFRPG that they thought would make boatloads of cash, they would...heck, I'm just glad that the game exists, is still in print, and is getting ongoing support.

All Id ask for is the Exploits book to be made available as PoD, then the whole core set won't go out of print.

The fact is that there isn't really any market for an old-schoolish RPG to take off like it's 1992 again, no matter how good.

[Nerve]

Originally Posted by DarkPumpkin

The fact is that there isn't really any market for an old-schoolish RPG to take off like it's 1992 again, no matter how good.

Why does it need to "take off"? Why can't it just sell really well and be justifiable in terms of production costs? Aiming to displace D&D 5e or formulate the "next big thing" is a fool's errand. GURPS and DF should (I think) always be targeting the niche that wants more flexible systems for more scenarios, rather than the rigidity of a system made exclusively for fantasy with splatbook sales firmly in mind in the design (i.e. needing books just to understand multiclassing).

A DF two-book basic set might allow SJGames to justify continuing production and having that alternative option on the shelf for people tired of their group's status quo. It should be marketed as such: Here's your simple two-item ticket to something different. Instead of having to hunt down a dozen PDFs on the site or a DFRPG box.

[David Johansen]

There've been a couple times when D&D was really vulnerable and could have been replaced, the fall of TSR and the D&D fourth edition period. I think you could construct a version of GURPS that would do well in that kind of a situation but it wouldn't be The Dungeon Fantasy rpg. You'd need a simpler version that wouldn't scare off the casual gamers. The format of DFRPG is right but the mechanics wouldn't suit the wider market. Those armor charts would cause some fright checks.