Dungeon Fantasy Roleplaying Game Discussion Thread

[joncarryer]

Originally Posted by Nemoricus

Not going to get the pdfs of the box's books as well?

I'm wavering, but generally if I have the hardcopy I don't bother with the pdf.

[PK]

The DFRPG already comes within bestiary, though, called Monsters.

[scc]

Originally Posted by PK

The DFRPG already comes within bestiary, though, called Monsters.

Such a daring title

[Mathulhu]

GURPS: Bludgeons

An in depth look at all things concussive. Now you will be able to finely tune your flange angle to maximise penetration, decide on the most suitable wood for your ogres nun-chucks and haft length for the Bards rhythm stick.

As the Deadly Spring was to bows so Bludgeons will be for maces.

[Anders]

I'm still holding out for GURPS Felines. I have two playtesters sleeping on my bed right now.

[GM Joe]

Originally Posted by Ghostdancer

It's a steady climb. I've been posting DF stuff on my blog (mostly by my wonderful guest authors) to draw as much attention to the kickstarter as I can so i'm doing my part. :-)

They've been good, and I've enjoyed them!

I'm no social media butterfly, but I'm posting what I can, where I can as well.

Something's working, because yesterday was another good day: $2464 pledged, with 25 people (1 more than Saturday) joining the cause.

I'm excited to see what the SJGames team comes up with this week to further boost the Kickstarter, as hinted in recent posts.

[Anders]

Will the game include Influence skills at all? Or will it all be a question of DF Diplomacy, aka "kick in doors and carry a big sword"?

[Nemoricus]

Originally Posted by Anders

Will the game include Influence skills at all? Or will it all be a question of DF Diplomacy, aka "kick in doors and carry a big sword"?

It'll probably have the standard DF treatment of them, where you use Diplomacy, Intimidation, and the like to keep monsters from attacking you and to make deals with them.

[Kromm]

Originally Posted by Tom H.

What do you see as the strengths of the new Dungeon Fantasy powered by GURPS over Dungeons & Dragons.

In other words, what reasons could we give a D&D player to play Dungeon Fantasy in addition to or instead of D&D?

People have identified quite a bit of stuff already. Your exact perspective will depend on which edition of D&D, but here are some things I believe are important:

• Higher-than-usual degree of character customization, even if you use only the "classes" provided.
  
  
• Less "class" dependency when it comes to permitted options; e.g., wizards can swing swords and wear armor effectively, if that's how they want to spend their points and $.
  
  
• Gradual character improvement. Each session, you earn points to spend on the things that matter to you. No waiting to gain enough to go up a level.
  
  
• More possible actions. Not quite GURPS' "a rule for everything," but definitely more things than most games. A lot less relying on GM fiat when you ask, "Can I do X?"
  
  
• Greater range of combat options. Even without special feats or abilities or whatnot, everybody can target body parts, disarm, grapple, make an extra attack, try to hit extra-hard, etc.
  
  
• Control over survival in combat. If you don't want to die, you can focus on defense, move away without triggering free hits, etc. or just wear that armor I mentioned earlier.

I think you could sum this up as "more player agency." The players have a lot of control over their characters' abilities – what those are and how those are used in game play. And to avoid sounding like a snake-oil salesman, I should add the cost, which is that there's more to learn: more traits (especially advantages and skills), more combat options, more equipment options, etc.

Originally Posted by Anders

Will the game include Influence skills at all? Or will it all be a question of DF Diplomacy, aka "kick in doors and carry a big sword"?

It will include those skills in their usual Dungeon Fantasy incarnation. They'll be useful in town, with human and humanoid monsters, and occasionally even for distracting not-very-humanoid things to set up ambushes. The focus is heavily on negotiation: getting a better price, gathering information, avoiding a fight that's a bad idea, and so on. More abstract social tasks aren't in the core box.

[Christopher R. Rice]

Originally Posted by joncarryer

I'm wavering, but generally if I have the hardcopy I don't bother with the pdf.

Well, if you have a PDF then you can loan the hardcopies to your players. That seems quite useful to me (and is one of the few reasons why I carry books vs. just my computer and/or tablet).