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Old 08-24-2018, 12:11 PM   #1
LokRobster
 
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Default Tell me why a GURPS guy should get TFT

I truly want to know...

Should my $110 gaming budget go for the shiny KickStarter? I'd say at this point that I'm only about 20% interested.

What does TFT do for you that makes you set the GURPS on the shelf and roll some Fantasy Trip instead? Really I am looking for opinions of full GURPS devotees that have delved into this realm.

Thanks in advance for your input. I shall read and be influenced accordingly.
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Old 08-24-2018, 12:16 PM   #2
DouglasCole
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Default Re: Tell me why a GURPS guy should get TFT

Quote:
Originally Posted by LokRobster View Post
I truly want to know...

Should my $110 gaming budget go for the shiny KickStarter? I'd say at this point that I'm only about 20% interested.

What does TFT do for you that makes you set the GURPS on the shelf and roll some Fantasy Trip instead? Really I am looking for opinions of full GURPS devotees that have delved into this realm.

Thanks in advance for your input. I shall read and be influenced accordingly.
I've not delved in too deeply, but as you know I'm a GURPS guy through and through. The biggest thing I can see that will help you out is that if you want to get playing, it looks to be about a ten minute "off the shelf to playing at the table" runway. You have to have a lot of real system mastery and maybe a software aid to do that in GURPS (or at least I do).

If you're trying to teach a small child or dangle a game in front of ambivalent friends, pulling out a system you can make a paper man on a 3x5 card with room to spare has appeal.
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Old 08-24-2018, 12:19 PM   #3
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Default Re: Tell me why a GURPS guy should get TFT

Fundamentally...
  • Easier mechanics = more potential players
  • faster character generation - 5 minutes, 30 with major analysis paralysis
  • a subtly different approach to magic, especially making it limited differently in use.
  • Reduced "hit for no damage" result space. (Due to no defense rolls)
  • faster turn resolution (again, no defense rolls)
  • easier to hack due to less to have unexpected interactions with
  • rabid fan base, despite 27 years OOP.
  • Lots of solos that are pretty compatible currently available (from Dark City Games)

Besides, all the counters and hexmaps are gurps-useful.

Last edited by ak_aramis; 08-24-2018 at 12:36 PM.
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Old 08-24-2018, 12:22 PM   #4
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Default Re: Tell me why a GURPS guy should get TFT

I played TFT back in the old days before GURPS was published.

If you're happy with GURPS as your RPG of choice, I see no reason for you to switch. I'm not going to. However, Melee and Wizard are absolutely rock-solid as a tactical combat game. Simple enough to learn and play quickly, but with enough complexity and balance to play and replay when you're in the mood for that sort of thing. My recommendation, if you're not wildly enthusiastic about spending over $100 for a big box of product, is to go for something smaller. I'm springing for the $60 level. At the very least, go for the PDF-only level at $25 or $30 for Melee and Wizard rather than the whole thing. It's not the same kind of fun as GURPS (though the lineage is clear), but it is, without a doubt, a fun game.
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Old 08-24-2018, 12:27 PM   #5
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Default Re: Tell me why a GURPS guy should get TFT

Adding to the above: a different feel created by the different rules. Fast and fun, yes -- and that's not to be neglected. GURPS can bring a lot of baggage and overhead which you might not want. Also "gritty" in the sense that there's not a lot of healing magic to magically erase the last combat, so your HP becomes a resource to manage, not something that only has to get you through one fight.

There's a lot of the same appeal as OSR (unsurprisingly, because TFT is just about as old school as D&D).

If you're a hard-core GURPS guy and rules tinkerer, then it might have some interest simply as seeing where GURPS came from. TFT isn't GURPS 0e -- it's its own game. But there are some recognizable commonalities. What did Steve keep, what did he change, and why? Was HT a good idea? :) If Metagaming hadn't gone the way it went, would we still have GURPS today, or would there be TFT 5e? Would TFT have been expanded to become more Generic and Universal? Is it worth splitting Advantages and Skills? (Notice how GURPS 4e reversed that trend with languages...) You don't often get to see two similar games from the same designer to compare.

Last edited by Anaraxes; 08-24-2018 at 04:04 PM.
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Old 08-24-2018, 12:35 PM   #6
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Default Re: Tell me why a GURPS guy should get TFT

I have played a $&!%-ton of both of these games, and have nothing negative to say about GURPS, but I think TFT is simply more fun to play. The core reason is that the resolution of tactical situations (fights, but also small-scale exploration, traps, etc.) is handled using a system that was first designed purely to deliver a statisfying experience as a competitive board game. That means it shares the stream-lined design principles of board games, focusing exclusively on what happens at the table (as opposed to white-room design issues that figure prominently in lots of more complex rpg's). In broad outline TFT combat will remind you of GURPS because the latter is clearly an outgrowth of the former. But the earlier system is cleaner, faster playing, a little more abstract, but still highly tactical and chess like. The balance of speed of play and meaningful decision making make it more enjoyable, I think.

Second, TFT characters are 'easy come, easy go', in a way that is very freeing for players and GMs. You can create them in a couple of minutes, develop them over a few weeks or months, and see them mowed down in a heart beat. Yet there is also a lot of interesting granularity and variety to the kinds of characters that can be created and what they can do. It is surprisingly rich and well balanced for something that seems superficially so simple.

Third, TFT is remarkably well balanced and hard to 'game' with the perfect character design. That is, it is genuinely competitive.

Fourth, the magic system was built to be used in a tactical way, and works that way better than any other game I've seen.

Finally, the setting and colorful details of TFT are lightly sketched but fun, often funny, and creative - filled with all sorts of goofy, interesting details.

Do yourself a favor and try it out.
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Old 08-24-2018, 12:53 PM   #7
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Default Re: Tell me why a GURPS guy should get TFT

Gurps is a massively complicated game. There's nothing wrong with that if all the players are willing to get into that.


Melee/Wizard can be taught in less than 15 minutes. The first time I played Melee I read the rules and started playing in less than 5.
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Old 08-24-2018, 12:58 PM   #8
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Default Re: Tell me why a GURPS guy should get TFT

Other here have already made the points far more eloquently than I, so I will just add that your question could be rephrased as "I have a battleship, why would I want a sailboat?" While both operate in the same environ, each is built to a very different purpose. Some people will naturally gravitate to one of them, while others will find occasions to enjoy both. There are times when I like the minimal stats of TFT, which encourage role-playing to come to the fore, and there are times where I enjoy the more complex machinery of GURPS and other systems. I find it enriches your gaming ecosystem to indulge in both.
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Old 08-24-2018, 02:05 PM   #9
Jim Kane
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Default Re: Tell me why a GURPS guy should get TFT

Because in TFT weapons do the damage they do.

By this I mean, TFT does not use 1.5 times damage modifier for cutting damage from edged-weapons, nor the 2 times damage modifier for impaling damage from pointed-weapons, which makes the wearing of armor totally optional in TFT - say for a Jungle Ape-man in a loin cloth, or a bare-chested Barbarian and no armor - and, TFT is much more conducive and survivable for these types of characters, at beginning or low-levels. In TFT the wearing of armor is an option for those figures who want it, but it is *not* a necessity.

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Old 08-24-2018, 02:14 PM   #10
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Default Re: Tell me why a GURPS guy should get TFT

Reasons why I admire TFT:
1) It is fast,
2) It is easy to teach to others,
3) It is really easy to hack, which allows me to use it for things other than standard fantasy without too much worry.
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