Best way to learn GURPS

[lachimba]

Originally Posted by Kelly Pedersen

I'm going to disagree pretty much completely here. Memorizing the book is absolutely not necessary for learning GURPS. .

See here's the thing - that's not what I wrote - twice now.


That thing about reading.

[Tinman]

While reading the book to get the basics is important, the rules won't really jell till you actually play. Play a few simple scenarios & it will really help.

[GODSLAYER]

Originally Posted by equals

What is the best way to learn how to play GURPS? Would playing the Dungeon Fantasy box set be a good way? I have the Basic set books. I just want to learn how to play to get a better idea before making a huge campaign.

So, I've turned a lot of players into GURPS fans over the years. I've never been able to find people who like GURPS. I have to run it for them a few times, then they are usually hooked. If I had to put a number to it, I'd say that I must have introduced at least 50 to 100 people to GURPS over the past twenty years.

Anyway, I've done this a few times.

By far the most successful method I've used it below. I'm sure a lot of players here on the forums won't like it. It definitely caters to a high powered playstyle, but that's what I like anyway.

So here is my current method (which I'm doing again with a new group this weekend):

-Standard Dungeon Fantasy Characters (250 points, built with a Template).

-During the First Session, they rescue a dying Archmage who, with the last of his strength, bestows his power upon them to fight <insert great evil here>.

-The Magic he bestows gives them the ability to create Sigils of Power. Each player receives four or five of the Modular Slots below:

Modular Abilities: 25 points of Sigil Magic (Physical Only, +50%; Advantages Only, -10%; Requires Concept Roll at -1 per level of Advantage or Enhancement, -30%; *Breakable, DR 2, -20%; Cannot Repair, -15%; Costs 10 Fatigue, -50%; Power Modifier: Magic, -10%) [10 points]

The Modular Abilities were built with a 6 point base (nearly anything), and a per point cost of 2 points, for being costly (requires about $100 per point changed), slow (whole day), and subject to external interference.

*I should note that here, breakable means that someone can break a Sigil that has been created, and that the player will then have to take a full day to re-etch it. But the points aren't lost.

Why this works:

I usually start the players off with some basic Sigils that comes with the bestowal. 5d Innate Fire Attack, Simple 5 DR, Extra Attack, Enhanced Move, etc.

Typically what happens after the first session is that the players go home and start trying to design the most wicked combos and powers for 25 points that they can possibly imagine...

Groups usually surprise me with something I hadn't expected the very next week. After two weeks, I kid you not, they are experts. Oh, they don't usually grasp the finer points of GURPS by then, but man do they know the creation rules.

After a couple weeks of one of these games, I can run them in any GURPS setting I want, no matter how complicated. They understand the system well enough to make just about any character.

[Nose66]

I know this is an old thread, but I was doing a search about "Learning GURPS", and this came up.

Because of the accessibility of playing GURPS online with Foundry VTT, I've been getting a lot of questions about "How to play GURPS", and comments like "I heard GURPS was too hard".

So I started making a video series to cover just that. If you are new to GURPS (or you want to start learning GURPS), this might be a good way: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIV0...GtV5U_4GPcdkyK