[GURPS Lite] Creating My First Adventure, Maybe Converting?

[quarkstomper]

Folks here will generally tell you not to sweat the full stats on NPCs, unless you think they're going to be really significant, or unless you really reeeally want practice in character generation.

It might be handy to work up some bare-bones stats for things like Typical Brigand or Plain Vanilla Orc or Friendly Neighborhood Kobold which you can tweak up or down as needed; (for example Boss Orc has the same stats as Typical Orc except he has +1 to ST, better armor and uses a better melee weapon)

Since you say you have the Basic Set but just want to familiarize yourself with Lite before you crack it, for monsters and such I suggest you cheat. GURPS Campaigns has a chapter with a few dozen sample animals. Find the animal from that chapter which most closely resembles the monster you want and base it off that. (For example, say you want to encounter an Owlbear. The Animals chapter has a two or three different examples of bears. Pick one as your base, give it an extra impaling attack for its beak and you're golden).

[trooper6]

Don't stat up everything. You don't need it.

Here is a post of mine from a while ago about starting up NPCs on the fly:

http://forums.sjgames.com/showpost.p...92&postcount=3

Now, I sometimes do a more fleshed out statting up for people I plan on having the PCs fight--though it would still be minimal. So, for example, if I were going with a goblins in a cave situation, I'd stat up a few goblins like so:


5 Goblins
ST: 10.......HP: 11.......Speed: 5.50
DX: 10.......Will: 10.......Move: 5
IQ: 9.......Per: 10
HT: 11.......FP: 11.......SM: 0

Dodge: 8.......Parry 9.......DR: 1 Leather

Shortsword (14): 1d+1 cutting+ Follow-Up 1FP

Traits: Infravision; Rapid Healing; Resistant to Metabolic Hazards (+3); Teeth (Sharp), Cowardice (12), Ugly
Skills: Brawling-16;

HP11/FP11______________________________________________ ______
HP11/FP11______________________________________________ ____
HP11/FP11______________________________________________ ________
HP11/FP11______________________________________________ _______
HP11/FP11______________________________________________ _______


(This is based on the NPC record card you can download here:
http://www.sjgames.com/gurps/resourc...andTimeUse.pdf)

I'd probably throw a bit more detail in if I were going to stat up more important combatants...Like the head of the Goblin Gang...but there is no need to overstat.

Remember: 10 is an average person's Attributes. The average person has a skill 12 in what they make a living in to start off with, 14 if it is a life or death skill. You can improv a lot with just that information. I tend to stat up the combat stuff like above, because I find it just easier not to have to look up damage during combat.

[Mulsiphix]

Fantastic! I also just stumbled across some fan supplements (Natural Encyclopedia, It Came From The Forums Bestiary, and Poor Creature Catalog) which I figure I can use as-is or do a simple themeing (as quarkstomper suggested) to fit the descriptions I need. Thank you all very much! Time to sit down and design. With any luck tomorrow will be our very first real game of GURPS (Lite). Very excited!!

[trooper6]

I'm sure your game will be awesome! Tell us about it after the session is over! And tell us about your wife's character!

[vierasmarius]

Originally Posted by Mulsiphix

Fantastic! I also just stumbled across some fan supplements (Natural Encyclopedia, It Came From The Forums Bestiary, and Poor Creature Catalog)

What's this now? I'm familiar with the first two (and yes, they are awesome for quick critter or monster stats) but I haven't heard of the Poor Creature Catalog, and a quick Google doesn't turn anything up. Is there another tome of tasty transient templates that I've missed?

[Mulsiphix]

Fantastic! I also just stumbled across some fan supplements (Natural Encyclopedia, It Came From The Forums Bestiary, and Poor Creature Catalog) which I figure I can use as-is or do a simple themeing (as quarkstomper suggested) to fit the descriptions I need. Thank you all very much! Time to sit down and design. With any luck tomorrow will be our very first real game of GURPS (Lite). Very excited!!

Originally Posted by vierasmarius

What's this now? I'm familiar with the first two (and yes, they are awesome for quick critter or monster stats) but I haven't heard of the Poor Creature Catalog, and a quick Google doesn't turn anything up. Is there another tome of tasty transient templates that I've missed?

I'm pretty sure it turned up while doing a search for D&D to GURPS conversions. I don't remember exactly but I found the page in my browser history. It is the first link on this page. It isn't quite as big as the other supplements but I'm happy to have it as well.

[Mulsiphix]

Alright guys I am about to head to bed. It is 4:30AM but I wanted to get this finished so I could game tomorrow. I still need to come up with a simple city map, city locations, NPC's, and some enemies for our first session, but I think this is a good start. I'm going to go ahead and share the story starter I have planned for my wife. I read it over a few times but I know I made some punctuation errors and probably have some run on sentences. This wasn't really created for public reading but you seemed so interested I felt I should share. I really wanted to flesh this out more and give the civilization and city a lot more flavor, but I'm trying to keep this simple enough for just a few adventures. Let me know if you like it. Thanks!

Originally Posted by My Opening Story - Part 1

The kingdom of Lyria has always been predictable. Long before you were born there was a great war between Lyria and a neighboring kingdom. Nobody remembers why it was fraught or who cast the first stone. But what we do know is that a power rose in the forest to the east. How it happened is still a mystery to this day, but from the forest came our doom. In the beginning they were just stories. After all the only people sharing them were soldiers sent home after seeing too many battles, their minds frayed from fear, many the unwelcoming recipients of unspeakable cruelty.

These people spoke of many strange things. Large beasts that would appear out of nowhere and drag men from either side kicking and screaming into the forest. Some claimed they witnessed beings with no shape coming straight up from under the ground and soldiers who were there one second, would be gone without a trace, never to be seen again. Even the forest itself gained a reputation for coming alive. Trees, fungi, plants, even the grassy hills were all accused of have paranormal properties. Then there were the ridiculous tales of talking animals and monsters in the mists. Nothing but tales intended for disobedient children at bedtime. However, it wasn't long before those very myths changed the future for us all. That day came when the entire Lyrian battle force returned home.

There had been no news of a ceasefire and the people would have heard before word ever reached the front line. Yet here they were and none of the kingdoms enemies were in pursuit. Acting as if they had mere moments left a map was fetched. A large circle denoting the empires new boundaries was drawn and in an instant over three fourths of the province was abandoned. Confusion quickly turned to panic as the army began its work on the Great Wall. A mammoth 200 foot tall structure that surrounded the core of the kingdom. Not much is known regarding the history of the lands previously counted as Lyrian soil, but we do know that many refused to abandon their homes and accept a lesser life within its new walls.

Life changed quickly within the wall of our city. With the help of magicial artifacts and most of the towns building materials the wall was erected in record time. But within days came the great cleansing. Whatever methods had been used to create the wall also had dire side effects on the people trapped within. A great sickness swept over the kingdom and most of the able bodied adults were claimed by an unknown infection. Only the sickly, weak, young, and old remained in great numbers. The strong and capable who were immune or unaffected suffered a long life of hard labor reshaping the kingdom into its present state. After the wall was built very few structures remained untouched and intact. The land was completely in ruin and it took unknown decades to rebuild not only the homes and city Lyria had lost, but its population as well.

The hard truth of the matter is that whatever happened during that war, whatever power that rose to fight the world of men, completely consumed all that we knew. No one alive can remember a time when the forest was not at the foot of our doorstep or when the lofty mists did not pour over the city walls like water from a cliff. Sounds of the world outside this place will often echo throughout our walls compelling us to wonder about the world we left so long ago. Some of these strike fear instead of curiosity, but for the most part the world seems content to leave Lyria to itself.

The weather is somewhat chaotic but abundant in providing all that we need to grow our crops, fill our reservoirs, and dry our meats and fruits. Some years it snows and rare varieties of plants will spring up in the fields providing us with the very best of delights. While magic has been absent since the completion of the Great Wall, there are still those among us who are born with various inhuman gifts. The most common gift seen is that of the Alchemists. Those born with knowledge of things none of us could ever have learned in our sheltered life. Yet their craft produces a variety of useful items, especially when it comes to medicine.

Then there are the Engineers. They possess the rare ability and knowledge to mine metal from virtually any stone and shape it, though few are talented at the latter. This has allowed for the most ingenious of creations to help us with everything from our everyday lives to creating mechanical birds that can fly. Other gifts run the gamut from being able to talk to our plants and crops, the knowledge and skills required to build small artificial life forms, the talent to be able to create meals with extraordinary properties, and some who have such a power that when they read the written word they can literally see the events in their mind as if it were happening right in front of them.

[Mulsiphix]

The second part of my opening story;

Originally Posted by My Opening Story - Part 2

The only trouble with Lyria is that nothing ever changes. Life remains as it has been for hundreds of years. There is a growing number of people who wish to leave the city in search of anything but the life that they know. The majority of the population is quite content to live their lives in the simple paradise that their ancestors built for them. Most folks are curious of what lies beyond the Great Wall but curiosity is where their minds stop. They have no interest in opening the city up to any number of possible dangers or even worse sickness by tampering with the Great Wall.

Many tried to leave throughout the land's history. Some dug beneath it, others tried to go over using any number of devices, some even tried to break through it, but all who attempted to leave have become so ill that their efforts are halted shortly after starting their scheme. It isn't that the wall itself couldn't be touched or that the very thought of leaving would make a person ill. But it seemed that anybody who passed directly under or over the wall would fall feint with incurable sickness the second they started to cross its threshold. At least this was the case until the Alchemist Fiasmeir figured out how to make a person immune to the walls effects, even if only for a short time.

With this discovery came great civil unrest. By the laws of our kingdom Fiasmeir's creation has just as much of a right to be publicly available as any other form of alchemical preparation. To ban or regulate its usage could not only lead to civil war amongst Lyria's peoples, but to a whole new plethora of lawful restrictions on inventions and innovations that the citizens would be unwilling to part with. If they stopped this how long would it be before they halted the sale of pleasure potions or mind altering substances? But it was clear that people could not simply come and go as they pleased. The thought of enemies or unspeakable evils gaining access to this fair city was unbearable for all.

It was agreed that a great council must be formed. One to represent the various sectors of divided peoples and to come up with a solution that would be in the best interest for all. The forming of The Council lead to many questions of the world outside of the city and it was agreed that no matter what, allowing people to leave the city was unavoidable. But to ensure the safety of the city those who chose to leave would only be given a single potion for safe passage out, never to return. Much to the surprise of The Council only a handful of folks were willing to make the journey. A tunnel was constructed by trusted engineers with the aid of Fiasmeir's tincture and a day was set for when the few would leave. On that day the meager group left without much fanfare and all seemed well... until the screaming started.

Something or somebody was on the other side of the wall waiting. One man attempted to come back but the tunnel was shut behind him as soon as the screaming started. That was over twenty years ago. A militia was started to protect the tunnel entrance. This in turn resulted in many able bodied individuals who were more than capable of fending for themselves outside the wall. Very much unlike the first party of pilgrims, nothing more than common townsfolk who had never lifted a sword in their life.

Times are changing now. Over the last two decades advancements have been made to the mechanical birds that once flew within the walls of our city. With the help of a new generation of Gifted we can now see a few miles outside of town in any direction. Unfortunately the machines only get that far out before their power sources fail and their empty husks fall like rocks from the sky. Slowly, our cartographers have created a map of the surrounding area. We can see vegetation heavy ruins of the old kingdom, hordes of rocks rich with metal, new types of plants with unknown fruits, and many other curiosities. But most of all the birds have picked up signs of life. Recently used campfires, what looks like a regularly traveled path through a nearby grove, and a stream with a bridge over it. Nobody knows how old the bridge is, but all agree that if it was from the older days it would not have lasted this long without maintenance.

There are so many questions but if anything else has been seen that knowledge has been kept from the general population, privy only to choice Engineers and The Council. Another point of worry is the alchemical crystals. Created by generations long past, they have been the only true power source Lyria has known since the Great Wall was erected. And now it would appear that they are starting to fail. Potions are not as strong, crops are not growing as abundantly, food is less flavorful and its variety grows slimmer by the year. Our greatest inventions and luxuries come from their power and with them Lyria's light appears to fading. What was once a self-contained paradise may very well be on the verge of another great tragedy.

Our Lore tells us that these crystals existed long before the war. That they occurred naturally in the world and it was the alchemists who first brought them to life. While they cannot be seen by the naked eye in their raw form The Council claims that devices can be made to detect them if one were close enough. To acquire one somebody would of course have to leave the city. On top of that there are many different types that will need to be replaced. Even if a crystal is found it is unlikely to be strong enough to replace our existing crystals. They were the very best samples that our explorers could find before all of this started. The world has changed so much and we have no map of the world as it lives and breathes now.

Our knowledge is limited and it is unlikely that anybody who leaves the city will return. Some question whether those who leave will even be accepted back by the population or The Council. What about the fear of what they have seen, what they might know, what might follow them back. Will they bring sickness, attract nameless horrors, or perhaps with new found power overthrow The Council and plunge the bathe the city in suffering and destitution? But the decision has been made.

The tunnel will be reopened and the world greeted by those who are willing. The fate of an entire population rests in the hands of those brave enough to face the world behind the curtain. The Council is granting anybody who can come back with resources or information that the city will benefit from, the right to come to back home. They urge that this is not only for those with a death wish, but a chance for all of us to embrace the world of our ancestors and help ensure a future for your families and loved ones.

The Great Mystery of our time is about to be confronted head on. People from all walks of life are welcome to stake their claim and the varied talents of our population will be put to the test. This is a time of exploration, an age defined by its thirst for knowledge and the horror of a world unknown. Who will you be and what is your calling?

[Blind Mapmaker]

Seems like you're well on your way to an interesting campaign setting that provides a strong motivation for player characters. Let us know if you need anything else.

[trooper6]

The setting seems full of interesting mystery with good motivation in it.
Has your wife made a character yet?