Pistols in The Fantasy Trip?

[HeatDeath]

I know Phil has sworn up and down that they're not going to blend TFT and GURPS, but at this poiht I'm starting to really think they should take MTM, give it an editing pass, slap a new cover on it and sell it as "Advanced Melee" [maybe with a "Powered by GURPS" tagline, a la DFRPG].

[Hobgoblin]

Originally Posted by HeatDeath

Having melee damage scale with ST is a big part of the transition from Melee to GURPS Man-to-Man.

If you also add a couple of different melee damage types you're 80% of the way there.

Aha! That's interesting. Was Man-to-Man the one that had the "Giant goblin with mace" and "Skeleton with scimitar and shield" booklets?

It occurs to me that a slight deviation from WYSIWYG can cover this reasonably well without much fuss. So if the miniature shows a weedy two-handed swordsman, you can give him the DMG of a one-handed sword or a two-handed spear, and as long as you avoid complications with shields and reach, it all works perfectly fine.

[Hobgoblin]

Originally Posted by Hobgoblin

Was Man-to-Man the one that had the "Giant goblin with mace" and "Skeleton with scimitar and shield" booklets?

Ignore! For some reason, I'd remembered those books as SJG products.

[ULFGARD]

It would be interesting to ignore the gunpowder instability and play a campaign with horse pistols and muskets. 18th century firearms. With the lethality of TFT combat, that would definitely make them useful, and yet in the course of an ordinary combat, they're fire and forget weapons. (I played in a GURPS campaign that was like that - it really made things interesting.)

[DouglasCole]

Originally Posted by ULFGARD

It would be interesting to ignore the gunpowder instability and play a campaign with horse pistols and muskets. 18th century firearms. With the lethality of TFT combat, that would definitely make them useful, and yet in the course of an ordinary combat, they're fire and forget weapons. (I played in a GURPS campaign that was like that - it really made things interesting.)

And I would note that the "Promontory" sequence in Last of the Mohicans features some very, very dynamic use of single-shot weaponry, and recovering loaded rifles on the run from fallen foes. Plus a sweet soundtrack.

[Hobgoblin]

It's the "fire and forget" aspect that makes me lean towards higher damage for this game. Only a few of the miniatures we'll be using are pistol-armed (though a couple of reptile men that may be encountered in the island's jungle have high-tech pistols - lasers or whatever), so I imagine that only two or three PCs will have them at the start of the game.

I like the idea of some really high-stakes rolling at the start of each combat encounter - and of course, lots of threatening with them too (again, "One more step, Mr Hands, and I'll blow your brains out"). Judging by my experience of running games for my kids' friends, everything will eventually devolve into The Treasure of the Sierra Madre. That's why they're going to be pirates in this game - and that's why I fully expect some of them to be threatening others with pistols as the game approaches its conclusion.

[Shadekeep]

Remember also that gunpowder weapons have a "kick". A small wielder might find themselves thrown back by the recoil. Even if there is no ST requirement to wield it, it could factor into the aftermath. But in your scenario that is probably unnecessary to compensate for, since you are going for a more cinematic style of action and derring-do.

Now then, how about an octopus bosun with a flintlock and two cutlasses? :D

[Hobgoblin]

Originally Posted by Shadekeep

Remember also that gunpowder weapons have a "kick". A small wielder might find themselves thrown back by the recoil. Even if there is no ST requirement to wield it, it could factor into the aftermath. But in your scenario that is probably unnecessary to compensate for, since you are going for a more cinematic style of action and derring-do.

Now then, how about an octopus bosun with a flintlock and two cutlasses? :D

Oddly enough, I've just obtained an octopus miniature and have been considering arming him - though he's probably needed for the pool in the lair of the tentacled cultists.

That's a very good point about the recoil - especially as we'll have a pistol-armed boy ("Jim Lad" from Northstar) and a monkey among the party. I think game management will probably count against it - but I'll bear it in mind: maybe an ST check after the shot.

[Shadekeep]

Originally Posted by Hobgoblin

a monkey among the party

Inspector Clouseau voice: Hoo gaeve a goon to zis minkee?

[Hobgoblin]

Well, the pistols worked out well at 2d + 2 in the pirate game. The party's sole pistolier came into possession of the Flute of Bones early on in the game and so occupied himself with playing that after he'd fired.

The biggest firearm coup came from the ship's goblin gunner, however, after he escaped the captivity of some sacrifice-inclined reptile-men to blast one of them to puree with a 20-damage shot from his arquebus.

Thanks, all, for your help with this!