What GURPS needs... now

[whswhs]

Originally Posted by Refplace

I never liked that explanation for Book/Path magic as it just didnt feel that way to me. All those energy gathering rolls just feels to abstract.

I never use energy gathering, for precisely that reason. I use the other variant of Path magic.

[whswhs]

Originally Posted by Anthony

Path/book magic doesn't feel like that. Magic by negotiation with spirits is something I would do in a game by, well, RPing negotiating with spirits, and adepts just have bonuses to do it (and things like spirit sight so they can actually find the spirits to negotiate with them).

You can do it that way if you choose. But you can also view it as "I'm submitting a formal request to this organization, and I have to pay the customary fees and use the traditional wording." Spirits are often invisible offstage machinery. I've used both approaches in Tapestry.

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by Agemegos

Doing things because GURPS is good at them might not be the best reason.

It should certainly be part of the decision, though.

I think it's important to remember that there isn't a magic bullet. There's really only room for one dominant RPG, and D&D mostly locked that up forty years ago; it takes a significant misstep to dislodge it, and the biggest misstep (the 3e OGL, combined with the poor reception of 4e) just created competition with itself. Given that, it's a question of what niches are available, and which of those niches are ones GURPS can credibly compete in (for example, rules-lite probably isn't a niche to shoot for).

The big strengths of GURPS are:

1. Detailed Combat. Sometimes, people want 'I punch him in the nose' to be more than a special effect.
2. Any Character. Most game systems don't really work for nonhumanoids.
3. Any Setting.

Now, there are weaknesses in how GURPS does those things (for example, a lot of extensively nonhumanoid options are overpriced, and it's hard to have a balanced multi-setting game), but they are certainly valuable core components.

[whswhs]

Originally Posted by Anthony

The big strengths of GURPS are:

1. Detailed Combat. Sometimes, people want 'I punch him in the nose' to be more than a special effect.
2. Any Character. Most game systems don't really work for nonhumanoids.
3. Any Setting.

Now, there are weaknesses in how GURPS does those things (for example, a lot of extensively nonhumanoid options are overpriced, and it's hard to have a balanced multi-setting game), but they are certainly valuable core components.

I think a big strength of GURPS is the "reality testing" metarule, or, "Things ought to work in the game the way they work in the real world, unless there's an explicit in-setting cause for their working otherwise; and if they don't, you can change the rules to make sense." This isn't carried out perfectly, but it's so much better than, for example, a level 15 fighting man being able to fall off a cliff and be no more than shaken up.

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by whswhs

I think a big strength of GURPS is the "reality testing" metarule, or, "Things ought to work in the game the way they work in the real world, unless there's an explicit in-setting cause for their working otherwise; and if they don't, you can change the rules to make sense."

I would not consider that a strength. Realistic is certainly a valid genre, but it's not a popular one, and in any case it should just be a genre switch.

[Refplace]

Originally Posted by whswhs

I think a big strength of GURPS is the "reality testing" metarule, or, "Things ought to work in the game the way they work in the real world, unless there's an explicit in-setting cause for their working otherwise; and if they don't, you can change the rules to make sense." This isn't carried out perfectly, but it's so much better than, for example, a level 15 fighting man being able to fall off a cliff and be no more than shaken up.

Originally Posted by Anthony

I would not consider that a strength. Realistic is certainly a valid genre, but it's not a popular one, and in any case it should just be a genre switch.

I consider it a strength. Even if its not the most popular type of play starting at that level allows it better than games that dont. And so many options allow the cinematic level to be easily dialed up to taste.
But the real benefit is things are easier to relate too. Real world measurements and consequences relate-able.

[VIVIT]

Originally Posted by Anthony

I would not consider that a strength. Realistic is certainly a valid genre, but it's not a popular one, and in any case it should just be a genre switch.

I think part of the reason GURPS is realistic is because reality is a standard. GURPS is grounded in reality, and then has options to make it more fantastic by adding bits, removing bits, and swapping bits out. Fantasy (as in imagination, not as in the setting genre) has no baseline to compare itself to -- there's no way to evaluate the "correctness" of anything, setting or mechanics, except by comparing it to some constant standard. But in fantasy, there are no wrong answers. If you take fantasy and try to make it realistic, you will necessarily have to correct a bunch of answers that were correct in fantasy but are now just plain wrong. And even if realism isn't your preference, it's natural to start from reality and alter it to taste, because all fantasy is ultimately grounded in an alternate reality.

Secondly, and more importantly, reality is generic. There are lots of different approaches to fantasy, and if GURPS were grounded in fantasy rather than reality, it would have to pick and choose one. It would have to present a specific fantasy. This would be contrary to the spirit of GURPS, which is to present a system with as little genre bias as possible, allowing for the widest possible range of styles of play.

[robertsconley]

Originally Posted by Anthony

I would not consider that a strength. Realistic is certainly a valid genre, but it's not a popular one, and in any case it should just be a genre switch.

Realism part of the original appeal of GURPS especially in regards to fantasy roleplaying. There are various sourcebooks that support making GURPS more cinematic but what sets core system of GURPS apart that it is grounded in reality.

However for GURPS to grow out of it current niche both need support as well as the options in between. Both approaches to GURPS have their fans and people willing to write supporting material that caters to each.

[Rasputin]

Originally Posted by VIVIT

I think part of the reason GURPS is realistic is because reality is a standard.

At some level, all RPGs use reality as a check.

[maximara]

Originally Posted by Rasputin

At some level, all RPGs use reality as a check.

With some that level is in the basement. :-)