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Old 05-14-2009, 02:57 PM   #11
Stormcrow
 
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Default Re: [FAQ] Section 0. Before you start using GURPS . . .

Quote:
Originally Posted by Molokh
  • S/he is well-defined. (Comic and movie characters are often portrayed inconsistently, and thus are hard to write up in RPG terms.)
  • She has no 'infinite' abilities. (Infinite power has infinite price, and basically can't be built in GURPS. It's more complicated than that, but this should suffice for a beginner.)
The grammarian in me cringes at your inconsistent and politically correct pronouns. Use it instead of she and the nonexistent s/he. If it is not acceptable, use he.

Quote:
The point budget is sufficient and the GM allows the needed traits. (You still can't play an ancient vampire in a gritty/realistic WWII game.)
That confused me at first. If GURPS is so flexible, why can't I run a realistic WWII game with vampires? Then I realized you mean the GM could set that limitation. Consider making this a quotation: "No, you still can't play an ancient vampire in my realistic World War II game!"

Quote:
many supplements - primarily the crunchbooks and genrebooks, but also setting books
You are making up words here, and this is bad for a beginners' introduction. You should define the terms crunch book, genre book, and setting book (notice the spaces) before you use them.

Quote:
If it is listed in an official book doesn't mean you'll get it!
Players: don't expect that you're allowed to use whatever you want.
GMs: only allow stuff that is appropriate for your game's style, genre and setting.
More grammar corrections:
Just because it is listed in an official book doesn't mean you'll get it.
Players: Don't expect to be allowed to use whatever you want.
GMs: Only allow stuff that is appropriate to your game's style, genre, and setting.

Quote:
Character concepts aren't portable!
I disagree with this idea, but others have addressed it already.

Quote:
GURPS chargen can be intimidating, but this 'front-loading' is done up to speed up the game after chargen.
Others have pointed out that chargen is jargon that may not be familiar to someone new. Spell it out: character generation.
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Old 05-14-2009, 03:06 PM   #12
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Default Re: [FAQ] Section 0. Before you start using GURPS . . .

Great idea.

I'd advise:

Against jargon, as did Noctrine (took me a minute to realise chargen wasn't a spelling error). You normally intro your TLAs so I'm assuming you've just used them in this draft for veteran feedback.

Use of GURPS official formulae (STxST/5)

Addressing the message inclusively, eg using We instead of You.

Better to edit the following:
Quote:
She has no 'infinite' abilities. (Infinite power has infinite price, and basically can't be built in GURPS. It's more complicated than that, but this should suffice for a beginner.)
If I were a "beginner", I'd be rather irate after reading that one, despite knowing the beginner you mean is the subject and not the reader. I'd prefer "but we don't want to get in that deep in an intro!"

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Old 05-14-2009, 03:16 PM   #13
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Default Re: [FAQ] Section 0. Before you start using GURPS . . .

Quote:
Originally Posted by jacobmuller
Great idea.

I'd advise:

Against jargon, as did Noctrine (took me a minute to realise chargen wasn't a spelling error). You normally intro your TLAs so I'm assuming you've just used them in this draft for veteran feedback.

Use of GURPS official formulae (STxST/5)

Addressing the message inclusively, eg using We instead of You.

Better to edit the following:

If I were a "beginner", I'd be rather irate after reading that one, despite knowing the beginner you mean is the subject and not the reader. I'd prefer "but we don't want to get in that deep in an intro!"

New TLA: FNG = Fab New GURPSers - the people we all love to meet.
I just pick them up as I witness them being used by other people.

I was not using ST×ST/5 to emphasize the math aspect of its scariness. Did I overdo it?

What's wrong about 'beginner', more exactly?

Sorry for all the grammar errors - I'm a bit sleepy, and this is a rough draft anyway. Thanks for pointing them out.
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Old 05-14-2009, 03:45 PM   #14
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Default Re: [FAQ] Section 0. Before you start using GURPS . . .

Yup, is genuinely good stuff (and Almafeta must have been kidding).

I'd be concerned that "should suffice for a beginner" fits into a similar category of phrase as "you wouldn't understand, kiddo": it can parse as a put-down. It won't matter that the intention is "this'll make a good start". It's one of those English problems where a word we write with good intent can get picked out, highlighted and read in a completely different context.

You should see how many times I edit, rewrite and rehash my thread submissions (8+ for this I think) and sometimes just outright delete. And still I get misread, TANJ. Never mind the errors I miss...
Time for bed, early shift tomorrow. TANSTAAFL.
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Old 05-14-2009, 04:20 PM   #15
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Default Re: [FAQ] Section 0. Before you start using GURPS . . .

I would add High tech in the same way as UT.. it is a very usefull book.

Also until we get a Martial arts like book for firearms it is also source for the firearms extra rules.
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Old 05-14-2009, 08:05 PM   #16
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Default Re: [FAQ] Section 0. Before you start using GURPS . . .

Quote:
Originally Posted by Molokh
GURPS is a toolkit
It is expected that you'll the tools you need, and leave alone those you don't.
Missing word in that sentence.

Quote:
GURPS is flexible
Being a point-buy system with no separation between trait types (i.e. 'CPs' are a universal 'currency' with which you can 'buy' any of: attributes, skills, advantages etc.), GURPS is very flexible. You can make almost any character in GURPS as long as:
  • She is well-defined. (Comic and movie characters are often portrayed inconsistently, and thus are hard to write up in RPG terms.)
  • She has no 'infinite' abilities. (Infinite power has infinite price, and basically can't be built in GURPS. It's more complicated than that, but this should suffice for a beginner.)
  • The point budget is sufficient and the GM allows the needed traits. (You still can't play an ancient vampire in a gritty/realistic WWII game.)
I believe that GURPS uses 'he' in cases like this.
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Old 05-14-2009, 08:42 PM   #17
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Default Re: [FAQ] Section 0. Before you start using GURPS . . .

Quote:
Originally Posted by Þorkell
I believe that GURPS uses 'he' in cases like this.
I realize that this usage is offical SJGames policy, and if the official FAQ has to conform to SJGames' preferred style guide, then of course it should be written that way. But if it doesn't, then I'd very much like to see the FAQ being written a bit more gender-neutral, either by using alternating pronouns, or (my preferred method), using "they" as the gender-neutral pronoun.
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Old 05-14-2009, 10:40 PM   #18
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Default Re: [FAQ] Section 0. Before you start using GURPS . . .

I've always felt it's the author's prerogative in cases like this. I hate 'he or she,' but if a person prefers to use 'she' instead of 'he,' that's fine.
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Old 05-14-2009, 10:51 PM   #19
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Default Re: [FAQ] Section 0. Before you start using GURPS . . .

I remember reading something (Nightmares of MIne, by Ken Hite? Robin's Laws of Gaming?) where he is players and she is the GM. Seemed one of the more helpful versions.
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Old 05-14-2009, 11:13 PM   #20
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Default Re: [FAQ] Section 0. Before you start using GURPS . . .

[edit] Forgot to say how great an idea this is! :) [/edit]

Two things in addition to what has alæready been noted by others.

GURPS is a toolkit
I think it's important to not only mention rules here but also the fact that no game will use all advantages, disadvantages or skillw. I know you mention this later but it is one of the most common mistakes for new people and one of the less intuitive ones. After all, stuff like cinematic rules and bleeding ruels are already labeled as "Optional" in the books.


Character concepts aren't always portable!
Others have already commented on this. But in fact I think it would be better to completely remove this section. First off, as many people have mentioned, characters can indeed be ported to other games freely, that is one of the strengths of GURPS.
Secondly it is common sense, even for people who doesn't play RPG's, that you can't take a high powered character into a low poweres campaign. Or take a wizard and put him into a modern spygame. You do not have to mention this in a beginners guide. A beginners guide should IMO be free of filler and only mention the most important stuff, this is not it.
The poitn about some things being a disadvantage in oen setting and not in others should maybe be mentioned in the "GURPS is a toolkit" section instead.

Edit:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Crakkerjakk
I remember reading something (Nightmares of MIne, by Ken Hite? Robin's Laws of Gaming?) where he is players and she is the GM. Seemed one of the more helpful versions.
Funny, in psychology books about kids and teachers, teachers are usually refered to as "she" while the kid is almost always a "he".
I could see this working for GM/PC as well.

Last edited by Maz; 05-15-2009 at 12:55 AM.
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