GURPS to HERO

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by PK

For example, the Presence-based skills are limited primarily because it's assumed that "I can talk anyone into anything" will be represented as limited Mind Control.

Eh, no. The presence-based skills aren't limited per se, they're just not well defined, so what exactly you can do with them is a pure GM call.

Originally Posted by PK

If you want to play a knight commander who can lead his men into battle, there are no real social advantages for this because you're expected to take those forces as limited Summon. And so on.

Actually, a knight commander will generally take an ally group.

[Not another shrubbery]

Just wondering. What edition are we talking about? I know up to 5ER, but what I've read of 6E makes it seem kinda different from the earlier versions. I couldn't make any comparisons between GURPS and that latest set of HERO rules.

[Figleaf23]

Thanks for this information, folks.

Frankly, it sounds like Hero is not the game I need to replace GURPS. How is Pathfinder? Or is there something else?

[mehrkat]

Hi Figleaf,

What are you looking for precisely?
What do you hate in a system?

What about your players?
What are they looking for?
What do they hate in a system?

The only hint I got is that you wanted more social rules. (If I missed it I apologize)

[whswhs]

Originally Posted by Figleaf23

Thanks for this information, folks.

Frankly, it sounds like Hero is not the game I need to replace GURPS. How is Pathfinder? Or is there something else?

My other two go-to games for generic rules sets are FUDGE and second edition Big Eyes Small Mouth (to my taste third edition is overcomplicated and has too many switches to twiddle with). I think you can still get BESM in pdf.

There is also Savage Worlds, which seems to be generic in intent and designed for simplicity of concept. It hasn't compelled me to try it out for a campaign, but your tastes may well differ from mine.

Bill Stoddard

[Fred Brackin]

Originally Posted by Joe

Played straight out of the box, HERO defaults to comic-book action, whereas GURPS defaults to cinematic realism. Default HERO assumes that the characters will be getting in a lot of big fights, and that those fights will end with the losers unconscious but not permanently harmed.

Not really true as a general statement. It's perfectly possible to kill characters in HERO and outside of the Supers genre this can even be the norm.

Heck, even two average humans fighting with bare fists could kill each other with about 90 punches. If you got them to do it in rounds with between rounds breaks they might even manage it before they went unconscious.

Yes, you can run boxing matches in HERO without going to the peculiar lengths necessary in Gurps.

This can be highly variable with different builds. You can make a character who can never be punched to death by a ST10 man but a ST 15 man facing that average fellow can put him at death's door with 9 to 10 punches. AST20 man with just 4-5.

Then there's weapons and non-supers without armor can be killed with swords or pistols in about 2 hits. There are hit location rules that can take it down to just 1.

[Crakkerjakk]

Originally Posted by Figleaf23

Thanks for this information, folks.

Frankly, it sounds like Hero is not the game I need to replace GURPS. How is Pathfinder? Or is there something else?

Pathfinder is essentially D&D 3e with some tweaks.

What are you looking for with your "something else"? What are your "must haves" and what are your "must not haves"?

[Figleaf23]

Thanks very much for the input so far.

To answer a couple of the questions, I'm looking for a system that models reality with a very high degree of verisimilitude, and then let's me build whatever flights of fancy onto that as I may choose.

[Crakkerjakk]

Originally Posted by Figleaf23

Thanks very much for the input so far.

To answer a couple of the questions, I'm looking for a system that models reality with a very high degree of verisimilitude, and then let's me build whatever flights of fancy onto that as I may choose.

GURPS is pretty much the best there is for that, I believe.

You may find some people arguing for BRP? But the "building whatever flights of fancy" part isn't as robust as GURPS (or Hero, or Wild Talents), and the versimillitude is mostly of the "more granular bracketed around average human scales", IMO.

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by Figleaf23

To answer a couple of the questions, I'm looking for a system that models reality with a very high degree of verisimilitude, and then let's me build whatever flights of fancy onto that as I may choose.

I don't see a compelling reason to change from GURPS in that case. You can accomplish those goals with other systems, but for in-print games GURPS is about as far along those goals as you're going to get.