Steve Jackson Games - Site Navigation
Home General Info Follow Us Search Illuminator Store Forums What's New Other Games Ogre GURPS Munchkin Our Games: Home

Go Back   Steve Jackson Games Forums > Roleplaying > GURPS

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 06-18-2012, 09:45 PM   #1
Snaps
 
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Provo, UT
Default GURPS Encounters

So all of the game stores around here constantly run these D&D Encounters games. Every week, every store in Southern California runs a few of these things. I've always wished GURPS would do something like this. Something to get more people interested in the game, etc.

I've been thinking about trying to setup something like this for GURPS for a while now and I think I want to try it in the next couple of week. I want to keep the ideas pretty simple but I'm thinking of something like this:

I'll write up several simple, but interesting Infinity Setting characters. I'm thinking something like 250 point ISWAT characters. Probably the more iconic the better. A Robot, a Martial Artist, a Werewolf, Vampire, Elf, etc.

The idea for the encounter would then be very simple. It's a zombie apocalypse and you are trying to defend the building until you window is open to teleport out.

Whoever happens to be at the store that day can grab a character and join in. One week it might be fighting zombies, the next week Terminator robots, etc.

Any suggestions? What types of characters do you think would work best for something like this? I'm not really looking for the most effective, but various characters that will show off how cool GURPS is and what you can do with it.
Snaps is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-18-2012, 09:57 PM   #2
The Bearded One
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Virginia, USA
Default Re: GURPS Encounters

I may be in the minority here, but 250-point ISWAT characters are probably overpowered for a zombie horde (maybe just right for terminators, though).

One of the things that GURPS does very well IMO is low-powered characters. A handful of 50- 100-point characters trapped in a shopping mall during a zombie apocalypse or being chased by velociraptors through a high school is exactly the kind of thing that highlights the strength of GURPS as a system.

Also, if you're not limited to just GURPS Lite, you can set these little encounters in a variety of non-modern settings: Figure out how to bring down a T-Rex in ancient Greece; help the crew of a 1680s pirate ship fight off sea monsters; All's Quiet on the Western Front... except for those Nazi Werewolves!

Much fun can be had by all with very little system studying required (as long as there are pre-generated characters).
__________________
Current games
GM - G4e Drow War (Fantasy + Thaumatology)
GM - In Nomine: The Word (modified rules)
Player - G4e Sex Crossbows (Dungeon Fantasy)
Player - Deadlands
The Bearded One is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-18-2012, 10:56 PM   #3
sir_pudding
Wielder of Smart Pants
 
sir_pudding's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Ventura CA
Default Re: GURPS Encounters

I'm currently working on doing something like this with GURPS Monster Hunters.
sir_pudding is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-19-2012, 11:50 AM   #4
Snaps
 
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Provo, UT
Default Re: GURPS Encounters

Quote:
Originally Posted by The Bearded One View Post
I may be in the minority here, but 250-point ISWAT characters are probably overpowered for a zombie horde (maybe just right for terminators, though).

One of the things that GURPS does very well IMO is low-powered characters. A handful of 50- 100-point characters trapped in a shopping mall during a zombie apocalypse or being chased by velociraptors through a high school is exactly the kind of thing that highlights the strength of GURPS as a system.
I thought about doing a low point game, and while I think they are fun IMO I don't know if they really show off what GURPS does best. (It does so many things right!)

Also, I think for new GURPS players the system can be pretty deadly no matter how many points you have. But doing both might be a good idea. Have one 50 or 100 point game with average joes, like from Left 4 Dead.

I had considered that 250 point characters might be too powerful for just zombies, but I figured I'd just make the zombies deadlier and increase their numbers. (Go with the "zombies don't feel pain so can do great feats of strength" ST 20 zombies, etc.)

Also, the characters won't be too crazy. The 250 Iconic characters from Characters are probably about right. Maybe throw in the elf too.

Also, I think I'll avoid Magic altogether, it's probably too complex for an intro game. But a mage type with spells as powers will probably work. (A basic innate attack, some kind of defense power, etc.)

What types of characters would you guys use for a game like this? I was thinking of a Robot like from I-Robot (Nothing too crazy), maybe a Werewolf. (I don't think I could do a decent Vampire for 250, but I'll probably give it a try anyway). Maybe a Gun gun/cyborg, a Jedi type (or just whatshisname from the Ionics in Characters), some kind of Sorcerer. Maybe just one or two characters from each major genre, get a total of a dozen or so and then each game the players can just pick what they want.

Last edited by Archangel Beth; 06-19-2012 at 09:41 PM. Reason: (closed the QUOTE tag; no other edits)
Snaps is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-19-2012, 12:54 PM   #5
Bruno
 
Bruno's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Canada
Default Re: GURPS Encounters

Mix up the zombies - Left 4 Dead has a good pattern there that you want to keep an eye on. Hordes of essentially the same thing are boring. Hordes of "mostly" the same thing with nasty surprises increases the tension level significantly.

A vampire is quite doable on 250 points - you just have to define what your vampire does, as there are vampires, and then there are vampires. It won't be Alucard from Hellsing on 250 points, for example!
__________________
All about Size Modifier; Unified Hit Location Table
A Wiki for my F2F Group
A neglected GURPS blog
Bruno is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-19-2012, 06:58 PM   #6
Faolyn
 
Faolyn's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Silver Spring, MD
Default Re: GURPS Encounters

Quote:
Originally Posted by The Bearded One View Post
I may be in the minority here, but 250-point ISWAT characters are probably overpowered for a zombie horde (maybe just right for terminators, though).
Ah, but it depends on what you do with the zombies. Your basic walking dead are pretty much cannon fodder, but add stuff like Regeneration, Independent Body Parts, high Speed, high ST or Striking ST, levels of Hard to Kill, etc., and they can be quite tough. Especially in large groups.
Faolyn is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-20-2012, 10:50 AM   #7
Ego Archive
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Mpls, MN
Default Re: GURPS Encounters

I think Infinite Worlds is the perfect way to run an "Encounters" game. The players being members of Infinity Patrol, assigned to this weeks mission, is the perfect way to address people jumping in and out of a campaign. I'd personaly run it at 150, as that's a good starting heroic level, and is in line with GURPS "standard".

To my mind, if your doing something like encounters your trying to highlight what GURPS offers, and very little shows that like Infinite Worlds. One week you can be in a firefight with Centrum Agents trying to extract a double agent, next week they are trying to recover a parachronic device that fell into the hands of a powerful Necromancer on Azoth-9, the following week they are rescuing the remaining population on a world that is being torn apart by natural forces gone cazy.
__________________
Profession Life path Templates

[DF]One Shot - Crevan Brokenhand's Last Rest

Towndale: A user generated fantasy town for any game system.
Ego Archive is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-20-2012, 11:32 AM   #8
RyanW
 
RyanW's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Southeast NC
Default Re: GURPS Encounters

Quote:
Originally Posted by Bruno View Post
Mix up the zombies - Left 4 Dead has a good pattern there that you want to keep an eye on. Hordes of essentially the same thing are boring. Hordes of "mostly" the same thing with nasty surprises increases the tension level significantly.
My players in a zombie three-shot were a little freaked out when a zombie acted in a way they didn't expect but in no way directly threatened them (yet). All the others to that point had been classic dead-eyes shamblers, but this one looked at them and then ran away.
__________________
RyanW
- Actually one normal sized guy in three tiny trenchcoats.
RyanW is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-20-2012, 01:15 PM   #9
Snaps
 
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Provo, UT
Default Re: GURPS Encounters

Keep in mind, I'll most likely be dealing with all D&D 4e players, so I'm keeping it pretty simple :)

This won't really be a campaign. There won't be a story. I doub't there'll be any roleplaying.

The game will be pretty simple. Pick your characters. Here's a map. Your extraction point is this building. Defend it until your extraction.

For the zombies I'll probably go with the slow moving, strong, undead kind.

+10 ST
Unliving, No Blood, No Vitals. Unkillable 1. Supernatural Durability. With maybe a point or two of DR, just so the players can learn how DR works.
Snaps is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-21-2012, 08:38 AM   #10
Bruno
 
Bruno's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Canada
Default Re: GURPS Encounters

D&D players are quite capable of understanding "mixed units" - 4e nearly makes it a rule to mix up encounters with at least two types of monster. Even if it's "Ork warriors and one Orc shaman", but they've really been pushing "All orcs is boring, why not Orc warriors and a four-armed zombie ogre?" types of "spice it up" encounter design.

A bunch of regular zeds and one zombie St. Bernard :) Teach them about cutting damage from bites.
A bunch of regular zeds and one still in motorcycle leathers (+1 DR) and clutching a baseball bat or board with a nail in it (doing swing damage, watch it!)
A bunch of regular zeds and one pulling bits off of nearby zeds and throwing them at the PCs (eeeeew, HT-2 or be nauseated, and learn about afflictions!) This one also introduces a new tactical element of trying to separate it from its "ammunition" zeds.
__________________
All about Size Modifier; Unified Hit Location Table
A Wiki for my F2F Group
A neglected GURPS blog
Bruno is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Fnords are Off
[IMG] code is Off
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 11:26 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.9
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.