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Old 10-21-2018, 07:27 AM   #1
AlexanderHowl
 
Join Date: Feb 2016
Default Conversions

One of the common difficulties that I have had comes from converting the unique aspects of the rules for a setting made for a specific RPG to the GURPS system. Two examples that are particularly difficult are Exalted and Shadowrun.

In the first case, the Exalted are demigods whose primary capabilities are Artifacts, Charms, and Spells, all of which are much cheaper in the Exalted universe than they would be in GURPS. For example, a level 5 artifact (which is around the same cost as a beginning Charm or Spell), grants the equivalent in GURPS of +10 to an Attribute.

In the second case, the functionality of beginning characters in Shadowrun, a dark and grim future, can vary between 400 CP (for a nonaugmented and nonsupernatural human) to 800 CP (for a Troll combat mage or a Troll street samurai). Since augmentations cost money and Essence rather than CP, it is quite possible to create beginning characters who can punch harder than a sniper rifle. While the characters preserve the feeling of the setting using Shadowrun rules, they become superheroes when converted to GURPS.

What other conversions have you had difficulty with?
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Old 10-21-2018, 07:34 AM   #2
whswhs
 
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Default Re: Conversions

I don't think I've ever converted anything from another game to GURPS. I've converted quite a few works of fiction, but nothing with game stats. The only game stats conversion I remember was from World of Darkness to DC Heroes, and that went really smoothly.
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Old 10-21-2018, 08:02 AM   #3
johndallman
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Default Re: Conversions

Likewise, I've never tried to convert another RPG to GURPS. The way an RPG plays has a lot to do with its rules, and while it's possible to implement almost any set of rules within GURPS, it may well not be worth the trouble.

I have run quite a lot of Call of Cthulhu scenarios under GURPS, finding that I could adapt them on the fly with satisfactory results.

I've played Dark Conspiracy and TORG under GURPS, but I don't know the original game systems, so I don't know how close the adaptations were. TORG stopped because the GM became dissatisfied with the scenario material; I don't quite remember why Dark Conspiracy went on hiatus.
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Old 10-21-2018, 08:22 AM   #4
Arcanjo7Sagi
 
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Default Re: Conversions

Sometime ago I ran Werewolf the Forsaken (the 1E) in GURPS. And the werewolf template alone was 500 pts (more or less), and without the Gifts.

With everything a beginning character can have, the cost can easily be above 700 or even 800 pts. With veteran NPCs (with plenty of 5 in Attributes and Skills in Storytelling system), this cost was way beyond 1000 or even 2000 pts. Not just because of high skill or attribute levels, mas because all the Gifts and their power. Some level 4 or 5 gifts are very powerful and affect several miles radius.

Some conversions requires a lot of work and won't be fair with everybody. In the example above, if some player want to play a human in a Werewolf campaing where de starting werewolfs has 750 pts, the game probably will not work if this human PC starts with the same 750 pts. He will probably better than Batman. So, in this case, he will probably start with 250 pts (with is the same of the others PCs if they didn't have the template).

And for this work, you will need the collaboration of your players.
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Old 10-21-2018, 08:28 AM   #5
Rising
 
Join Date: Sep 2005
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Default Re: Conversions

I have used the Dark Sun campaign setting with GURPS and that went really well. Probarbly because we found it more important to capture the mood of the setting than convert the rules. The same goes for the two "World of Darkness/Vampire meets GURPS Cyberpunk" campaigns I played in.

I played in an Ars Magica campaign where the GM used a GURPS/Ars Magica-hybrid of his own and that work really well. That was before we had RPM. Had those rules been out there when the campaign began we would probarbly have used those instead.

So I dont think I have ever had any real problems converting campaign settings to GURPS.
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Old 10-21-2018, 08:56 AM   #6
Fred Brackin
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Default Re: Conversions

Quote:
Originally Posted by johndallman View Post

I have run quite a lot of Call of Cthulhu scenarios under GURPS, finding that I could adapt them on the fly with satisfactory results.
That's the way the World of D'y'r't ran. I converted (on the fly) from adventures made for various editions of D&D (2e 3.5, Hackmaster) and my players were enthusiastic.

The closest I came to converting elements of the system was when I converted magic items. I was still coinverting those items effects rather than the original game mechanics though. don't convert mechanics. It's almost always a mistake.

As an example, I have reached in my head the decision that if Iever do run Shadowrun in Gurps I would just use Gurps Magic and Path/Book magic. I admired the Shadowrun magic system greatly when it was new but it was actually pretty hard to run in the orignal system. I certainly wouldn't try and convert SR gun combat much less its' almost non-existent melee combat system.

If I was feeling bold I might use Path/Book only with Ritual Adept allowing soem casting on the fly.
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Old 10-21-2018, 02:37 PM   #7
Phantasm
 
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Default Re: Conversions

My conversions so far: Rifts, Star Wars, and Marvel Comics. Of these, handling the Force in Star Wars, specifically the Dark Side, was the hardest part - and to be fair it wasn't all that hard once I got my hands on Power-Ups 4: Impulse Buys.

Marvel took some doing early on to get the right magic system for it. With Thaumatology's release, though, the system became easier. (I've basically been told "no, use RPM or Sorcery instead of Realm." I'm not changing it at this point. Ask me again in another ten years.)
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Old 10-21-2018, 03:43 PM   #8
Kax
 
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Default Re: Conversions

I know of two GURPS Shadowrun games. Neither was a direct conversion of the templates and rules; costing Essence in CP to then use that CP for cyberware was too fiddly.

Both used GURPS rules and GURPS cyberware and magic systems but with Shadowrun setting and terminology.


For Exalted you could use the rules that were developed for Amber; 1,000+ CP characters, all skills are Wildcards, stats start at 15, couple of other things. Again, don't convert the system, convert the setting. Ie, in GURPS terms that item won't give a +10 but a +4.
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Old 10-22-2018, 10:40 AM   #9
Stormcrow
 
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Default Re: Conversions

"Conversion" can mean different things. Some people think of it as a formula to "convert" stats from one game into another, while others think of it as a way to express the game reality of one game using the systems of another.

The former type of conversion doesn't usually go well. D&D armor class or hit points, for instance, don't translate into GURPS in any meaningful way. You have to dig down and ask WHY this entity has the armor class or hit points it has, and then you have to find GURPS traits that enable those underlying features. A high-level fighter might get lots of hit points from Luck, Parry, and Hard to Subdue, while a powerful creature might get lots of hit points from actual physical Hit Points and Damage Resistance.

Much better to simply imagine the source system's setting, then use the target system to express that setting natively. Forget the original stats beyond how they help you imagine the setup.
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Old 10-22-2018, 10:52 AM   #10
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Default Re: Conversions

I have worked with lots of conversions as well. I'm also of the school of thought that best results come from targeting the mood, tone, and world-feel desired. Then, the GURPS version can be made to accommodate that.

I've done lots of work with shadowrun, Star Wars, Rifts, and a few D&D settings.

My most ambitious project has been Dragonlance. Getting the magic just right has been tricky and I haven't gotten a good playtest yet.
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