Novice GM running GURP fantasy odyssey

[DwarvenHeart]

I'm ready to break free from class based systems. A group of enthusiastic and forgiving players are ready to follow me into GURPS 4e. The 2 core GURPS 4e, Mass Combat, Banestorm, Dungeon Fantasy 5: Allies, GURPS: Magic, and the Galarion campaign setting from Pathfinder are what I’ll use. I even got “GURPS for Dummies” as a gift. I’m not fond of the Banestorm setting and plan on making the d20 Galarion setting more grounded. A small group of adventurers won’t be taking on armies, dragons, or sieging castles on their own.

My goal is for the PC’s to role-play from young, strong but inexperienced characters to the experienced, dinged up leaders and legends we love to read about. Only a few disadvantages will be allowed early on. Disadvantages will occur during game play.

Example

1. The critical hit will caused the loss of and eye or a hand.
2. The near death will cause the phobia of spiders or darkness.

Every creature, setting, and scenario I can find will be thrown at them. I want it to feel realistic. Gaps of time when war and adventure can’t be found will be filled with realistic studies and real world skills. These times won’t be role-played obviously.

Riches will be measured in more ways than gold: land, titles, allies, rights to trade routes, access to libraries of spells, and fighting techniques that make one’s sword become aflame. Basically all the things a d20 system can’t give because players are always waiting for the next level, the next feat, or prestige class.

[DwarvenHeart]

... is advice to make this happen. I don’t have a module so it’s all me.

• Advice?
• Is there a character sheet for cities? Like the campaign planning sheet is used for campaigns.
• Should I buy the City Stats book?
• Any other books I need to read?

[whswhs]

Originally Posted by DwarvenHeart

... is advice to make this happen. I don’t have a module so it’s all me.

• Advice?
• Is there a character sheet for cities? Like the campaign planning sheet is used for campaigns.
• Should I buy the City Stats book?
• Any other books I need to read?

The character sheet for cities is the heart of the City Stats book.

Depending on what kind of fantasy campaign you want, GURPS Fantasy might be useful to you; it's basically an entire book of advice on how to plan a fantasy campaign and build a world for it.

If you want significant combat, I strongly recommend GURPS Martial Arts, which is filled with useful optional rules. You might then go on to get the Martial Arts supplement for Banestorm.

Bill Stoddard

[Jovus]

I also strongy, strongly, strongly recommend GURPS Orcslayer, Harkwood, and Fantasy Adventures (all out of print, but I'm pretty sure all of them have PDFs on e23). They are all previous-edition books, and the first two are set in Yrth, but they all contain some really good adventures that, at the very least, you can pick apart for ideas.

[Stripe]

Awesome!

Your three core books for fantasy are Characters, Campaigns and Magic. I ran fantasy campaigns for several years with just those three.

Low-Tech, Martial Arts, and Powers are three other core books for this genre, especially the first two, but I wouldn't get those for at least a year. GURPS is by far complex enough, and those heap on a lot more. Both of the first turn the realism knob up to 11, but note that GURPS combat is already far more realistic than any other system I've used, and I've used about a dozen.

So, chill on books right now. Learn the Basic Set and Magic very well before moving onward.

Tips:

• Careful when pitting your players against more than one enemy. You'll find that even a 150/-75-point barbarian might be easily overwhelmed by two or three 50/-25-point goblin tribal warriors.
  
• As will be often said, GURPS combat is realistic. Humans can't take much abuse from a sword or axe! It can be tough for beginning GM's to balance encounters well. Do some trial combat first.
  
• Don't be too heavy handed with your players; the system already is. Be a "yes" GM. Never know when one's going to lose his right hand. If you've been hard on them already, then the system is going to really make their game rough.
  

As for other books, the Dungeon Fantasy line starting with 1, 2 and 3 are great, but not really for beginning GM's so much. Plus, you're trying to break free of the whole class-based system and allow your players more freedom, so now's not the time for DF.

City Stats is a great book, but I would learn the core book and Magic really well before making any more purchases. It's probably a bit more complex than to what you're accustomed.

You might pick up Low-Tech: Instant Armor and use it instead of the armor in the Basic Set, if you feel the need for more realism. But, it's a lot more complex, again, than just picking out the stuff in the Basic Set.

If you'd like, I can run you through some mock combat over Yahoo Instant Messenger or MSN voice chat. Or, play-by-post.

[sir_pudding]

Originally Posted by DwarvenHeart

Disadvantages will occur during game play.

That's the way the rules work. See the box on B p 291 (in the seemingly habitually under read Chapter 9).

The critical hit will caused the loss of and eye or a hand.

You can suffer permanent crippling from normal hits (in fact there isn't a permanent crippling result on the crit table except indirectly from normal effects of injury).

The near death will cause the phobia of spiders or darkness.

Failed Fright Checks can cause phobias.

[DwarvenHeart]

Originally Posted by Stripe

If you'd like, I can run you through some mock combat over Yahoo Instant Messenger or MSN voice chat. Or, play-by-post.

That would be awesome! I'll kick you a private message with contact information.

Originally Posted by Stripe

Both of the first turn the realism knob up to 11, but note that GURPS combat is already far more realistic than any other system I've used, and I've used about a dozen.

I was going to use a version of the Optional Rule to allow players to spend a character point to alter a roll one step: Failure to success. Instead, I'm thinking of giving all players 2 tokens for the same purpose and refill them when they complete an adventure. This may help the learning curve as we all get used to the lethality of the system is.

One tip I've been given is that GURPS has many rules so that a GM can pick which he wants to use.

[Apache]

Originally Posted by DwarvenHeart

One tip I've been given is that GURPS has many rules so that a GM can pick which he wants to use.

GURPS is a sandbox. Everybody plays it differently. Pick the stuff you like, and ignore the rest. If you want to use 'luck tokens' that refresh every game session instead of having players use CP to alter dice results, go for it.

Basically, while Low-Tech and Fantasy are nice to have (and use!) you don't need them to run your game. Same goes with the advanced combat stuff. Just start off your players with the basic stuff, and they'll let you know if they want to go deeper than that.

[RyanW]

Originally Posted by DwarvenHeart

fighting techniques that make one’s sword become aflame

Since no one else has mentioned it, and it's not the most familiar supplement, I'd just like to say that this is exactly what Power-Ups 1: Imbuements was made for.

[Turhan's Bey Company]

Originally Posted by DwarvenHeart

I want it to feel realistic.

You'll want to strongly consider the GURPS Low-Tech series, both the core book and the companions.

Originally Posted by DwarvenHeart

Gaps of time when war and adventure can’t be found will be filled with realistic studies and real world skills. These times won’t be role-played obviously.

Riches will be measured in more ways than gold: land, titles, allies, rights to trade routes

If you want realism, then you do want to play out stuff in the down-time between sword-swinging adventures. Talking to people, negotiating with them, and doing all sorts of social and political groundwork is important to getting and maintaining property and the necessary support to keep it. And for that, you'll probably want GURPS Social Engineering.

That said, I'll agree with the others who suggest that you get comfortable with just the core rules before expanding into other books.