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Old 06-04-2009, 09:35 PM   #21
trooper6
 
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Default Re: Fantasy Setting for GURPS

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Originally Posted by combatmedic View Post
I'm not really sure what people mean when they complain ''GURPS doesn't have a fantasy setting other than Yrth.'' GURPS has many other fantasy settings: Mad Lands, and several worked examples of historical fantasy:Celtic Myth, Rome, Vikings, Robin Hood, Camelot, etc. It also has GURPS Myth, GURPS Goblins, Bunnies & Burrows,etc.
Right! There's also Technomancer, Castle Falkenstein, Dungeon Fantasy (which doesn't need more of a setting than "here's a dungeon...now...here's a dungeon-like cave, here's another dungeon...um...here's a town), Voodoo, Cabal, Thaumatology: Age of Gold, New Sun--you might even count Planet Krishna and Planet of Adventure.

I'm probably missing stuff.

Why do people complain? Well...I've often people get ideas in their head, not check the facts, and then just operate as if their erroneous thoughts are true. "Everybody knows" there is no fantasy setting but Yrth...so they just accept that without checking for themself. Like in another thread where someone was complaining that Dungeon Fantasy has not been released in dead tree version...and that only if it were SJGames would be doing much better financially...and how dumb SJGames is for not releasing dead tree Dungeon Fantasy. Someone then pointed out that actually...Dungeon Fantasy has been released in dead tree.

People have preconceived notions. They have preconceived notions about what Yrth is like in play, they have preconceived notions about what GURPS as like as a system...many people just don't care to clear up those preconceived notions.
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Old 06-04-2009, 09:45 PM   #22
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Default Re: Fantasy Setting for GURPS

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Originally Posted by Vaevictis Asmadi View Post
Unless its set only during the Republic, there will be Christians, and all the conflict between them and the polytheists, each "side" persecuting each other whenever they got into power.
I'm afraid that shows that you have completely not read it. In fact, neither of those sides is a big factor in Roman Arcana. Christianity is left carefully offstage, with several different ways for the GM to present this; and the Roman pantheon have withdrawn their favor from the empire, in anger at not being given their due. Instead, there are mystery cults (writeups for Bacchus, Isis, and Mithras), sorcerors, and philosophers.

Bill Stoddard
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Old 06-05-2009, 04:54 AM   #23
LoneWolf23k
 
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Default Re: Fantasy Setting for GURPS

Pyramid, over the years, offered a lot of Fantasy settings that were made either for GURPS, or could be adapted easily enough. Granted, if you don't have the Archives...
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Old 06-05-2009, 05:29 AM   #24
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Default Re: Fantasy Setting for GURPS

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Originally Posted by Exeter View Post
What's wrong with just filing the serial numbers off the religions by renaming them? I mean, if there's a Pastafarian crusade against the Frisbeetarians of the south happening in your game, I don't think anybody could jump to the conclusion that they represent real world religions in any way, shape, or form. Similarly, you can change the names of the gods and people without compromising the setting.
What if there were real fantasy gods on Yrth long ago (before the Banestorm), and they've come back.
Or perhaps gods from other worlds have found there way to Yrth (perhaps following other non-Yrth native races caught in the Banestorm?
The elder Yrth races might dimly remember their former Gods, small groups might have kept up the old ways, perhaps even some of the newer races might have picked up on these old ways.
Now you have real gods, who can grant powers and miracles!
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Old 06-05-2009, 08:04 AM   #25
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Default Re: Fantasy Setting for GURPS

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Originally Posted by combatmedic View Post
I'm not really sure what people mean when they complain "GURPS doesn't have a fantasy setting other than Yrth."
They probably mean "GURPS doesn't have a fantasy setting other than Yrth presented in enough detail for me to pick up and just start playing." Sure, there's a stack of one-offs from Madlands to Myth to any number of Pyramid articles. But, ignoring for a moment that most of those are for earlier editions if they're available at all (I've had a GURPS setting published myself, but I'm not going to try to point someone to "Wellsprings of Creation" now that web-Pyramid is no longer available), material for them is pretty sparse. Yrth, at least, has been fleshed out with a number of adventures and writeups of particular locations (Harkwood, Tredroy, Abydos, Fantasy Adventures; Tower of Octavius sorta counts, I suppose), which, for those GMs who need such things, make it much easier to go from the big sketch presented in a core book to actually playing a series of adventures. So we might, at this point, contemplate how much material is "enough" to count. For people who are complaining about lack of settings/adventures/whatever, how high is that barrier to start playing?
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Old 06-05-2009, 09:38 AM   #26
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Default Re: Fantasy Setting for GURPS

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Originally Posted by Turhan's Bey Company View Post
For people who are complaining about lack of settings/adventures/whatever, how high is that barrier to start playing?
1) A stripped down rulebook focusing on the options needed to play generic fantasy.

2) A Keep on the Borderlands chapter/module bundled with #1 that has

a) a town with associated plot and NPCs
b) a surrounding wilderness with locales
c) a Dungeon site fleshed out with 3 to 5 levels
d) two more adventure sites fleshed out

3) A Monster Manual bundled with #1 with GURPS version of the classic D&D monsters (at least those that can be legally used)

4) A standalone GURPS Fantasy Adventure for experienced characters that can be used as a follow up for #2

5) A standalone GURPS Fantasy Adventure that is an epic adventure for high point fantasy characters that can be used as a followup for #3.

While it is good that we have Dungeon Fantasy. The stripped down fantasy rules should be for the standard 150 pt GURPS Fantasy as outlined in the various editions. It should focus on showing how people can make the character they want simply and quickly. How to use the more realistic GURPS Combat system with traditional fantasy tropes.

These five products should be enough.

If only one product could be had I would say #2 the Keep on the Borderland style module. If two then #2 the Keep module, and #3 the Monster Manual.

Rinse and repeat for Space, and Horror. Then for any other major genre.
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Old 06-05-2009, 10:11 AM   #27
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Default Re: Fantasy Setting for GURPS

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Originally Posted by SCAR View Post
What if there were real fantasy gods on Yrth long ago (before the Banestorm), and they've come back.
Ooh, or what about this? The Egyptian gods have re-awoken, as in The New Kingdom in Pyramid 3/7, but instead of coming to America, they migrated to Yrth, and are hiding among the people of Caithness...
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Old 06-05-2009, 10:50 AM   #28
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Default Re: Fantasy Setting for GURPS

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Originally Posted by Exeter View Post
What's wrong with just filing the serial numbers off the religions by renaming them? I mean, if there's a Pastafarian crusade against the Frisbeetarians of the south happening in your game, I don't think anybody could jump to the conclusion that they represent real world religions in any way, shape, or form. Similarly, you can change the names of the gods and people without compromising the setting.
This, although I might not be quite so flippant. Note that you will have to mess with the background slightly as well: the IW/banestorm setup dumps historical Earthlings on the place.

If I was going to run Yrth w/o RW major religions, I'd take one of two routes:

IW: Yrth 2 is just like Yrth, but the imports were from Alternate Earths where the dominant religions are obscure in Homeline history. So Mithraism vs. Zorostrianism, with a salting of Sol Invictus or some such.

Traditional Fantasy: Yrth 3 is like Yrth, but the imports were from stereotypical DnD fantasy worlds, and have kept a proper dungeon crawling attitude.
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Old 06-05-2009, 11:24 AM   #29
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Default Re: Fantasy Setting for GURPS

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Originally Posted by trooper6 View Post
Right! There's also Technomancer, Castle Falkenstein, Dungeon Fantasy (which doesn't need more of a setting than "here's a dungeon...now...here's a dungeon-like cave, here's another dungeon...um...here's a town), Voodoo, Cabal, Thaumatology: Age of Gold, New Sun--you might even count Planet Krishna and Planet of Adventure.

I'm probably missing stuff.

Why do people complain? .
Well you know when people make that complaint, they don't have 19-21st century Earth in mind. They mean an imaginary swords and sorcery world. Dungeon Fantasy would qualify except for not having a setting.

It's like the word "cinematic". In general use here it does NOT in fact mean roleplaying "The Piano" or similar Oscar-bait, and it doesn't mean roleplaying The Hannah Montana movie either. They have something else in mind.
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Old 06-05-2009, 11:29 AM   #30
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Default Re: Fantasy Setting for GURPS

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It's like the word "cinematic". In general use here it does NOT in fact mean roleplaying "The Piano" or similar Oscar-bait, and it doesn't mean roleplaying The Hannah Montana movie either. They have something else in mind.
I demand GURPS Dungeon Fantasy: Hannah Montana immediately. I am willing to wait another week or two for GURPS Transhuman Space: Phil of the Future.
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