Dungeon Fantasy Roleplaying Game Discussion Thread

[lachimba]

I await comprehensive reviews and a conparison of the rules vs GURPS 4E

[Refplace]

My Gm may want to use stuff from the adventure or Traps so I have not read them. My comments are on the rest.
GM Screen: Nice layout, and dang if it doesnt cover just about everything. Maneuvers and combat penalties of course but also skill probabilities, modifiers, even the Time modifiers. If its in a table its probably here.
DF Adventures: The new templates are WAY easier to read. I want these to be put in the GURPS Style guide! Starts off describing each class in a sentence or two and is just a nice book, easy to read. Spell lists not included in the templates which saves space and makes them easier to read. GURPS tinkerers should be able to figure out the under the hood bits for most traits pretty quickly. A few I was not sure how they were priced but I did not spend more than a moment trying to figure out the harder ones.
Clean and easy to read for a player with just what the player needs.
Spells: Magic with a lot cut out. No enchantments and no spells that go against the DF guidelines, though there are several Gate spells.
Spells are easy on the eyes in format and list the realm they go to. Cleric, Druid, Wizard.
Exploits: First one I opened after the GM screen. I looked up Slam right off and its easier IMO than the original rules but compatible and reasonable. I have not read the entire book but what I did read looked nice and was organized well. Some may find the skill list daunting but the writer calls out that you can easily trim the list and an index is included by attribute type. So that plus the templates should make it less daunting to newcomers.
Magic Items: Kind of a surprising gem here. It draws on some Pyramid articles as well as DF books and GURPS Magic. Really comprehensive with most of the magic items you could make from Magic in here listed with $$ amount. Plenty of new standard stuff but lots of material useful to casters. The unique items had flavor and were nice as well.
Monsters: A solid variety. This is a good starting bestiary for delvers and provides plenty of standard monsters plus some of the ones more unique to GURPS or an obscure research project. These are written up in the DF stat block format and are easy to use. Skill and damage are included and it would be rare a GM should need to look anything else up to run these guys.
No point totals so they wont work with shape change spells or powers but that is my only complaint. And it wont be an issue from what I can see in the DFRPG anyhow.

Overall I am very happy with the books and look forward to seeing them in print.

[dripton]

The DFRPG PDFs showing up in my Warehouse23 account today was an unexpected surprise. Thanks SJG!

[LoneWolf23k]

I backed it at the $50 level. Does that I mean I only get the boxed set? Do I need to buy the PDFs separately?

[lachimba]

I also await the (speedy) GCA file.

[ericbsmith]

Originally Posted by LoneWolf23k

I backed it at the $50 level. Does that I mean I only get the boxed set? Do I need to buy the PDFs separately?

The $50 level was just for the box set, yes. The PDF was listed as an add-on for $35, and the GM Screen PDF was another $5 add-on. If you did not select the PDF in Backerkit then you are just getting the box set.

[Turhan's Bey Company]

Originally Posted by lachimba

I await comprehensive reviews and a conparison of the rules vs GURPS 4E

Imma let somebody else do "comprehensive," but the executive summary is that the differences are relatively small details well away from most core functions or more formally incorporating into the core the changes already made in the main DF line (frex, discounted rates for selling loot are written into the Wealth rules rather than a separate paragraph lurking in a different book; changes to how certain spells work have been likewise incorporated into the spell text). Stats and skill prices are are the same, combat works the same way, and so on. The only notable rules difference that comes to mind so far is a vastly simplified fright system. Fright checks are basically the same, but effects of failing one are dispensed with in a short paragraph rather than a long table. Srly, the rules are >95% GURPS 4e. There's just less of the rules and at lot more of making it work (longer explanations, better layouts, lots and lots of useful reference sheets).

[lachimba]

I feel like small changes are the ones that need comprehensive lists so that they aren't overlooked.

Im entirely likely to skim over a rule change which is among several hundred rules that ive read somewhere or other.

Wheras I would stop for very new amd different rules

[joncarryer]

Ahem. Squee. That is all.

[kabson]

Size Modifier is still in there - did I misremember or was SM due to be cut at some point? (maybe the armor/weapon modifiers? - need to read more, but my working day is already in full swing).