Re: GURPS Hermeneutics
 

That every GM uses some of the optional rules but no GM uses all of the optional rules. Before you join a game with a new GM, make sure that you are comfortable with the optional rules he or she is using before you commit so that you can minimize conflicts between yourself and the GM. Before you make a new game as a GM, clarify which optional rules you are using and make sure to not change the optional rules in the middle of the game so that you can minimize conflicts with your players.

Re: GURPS Hermeneutics
 

There's also the corollary going the other direction: "If it does limit you, it is worth points."

This doesn't come up often as a concern, but I'd like to think it's a principle of modern GURPS. I refer specifically to a minor grumble I had about older books occasionally slapping PC races with real limitations but under the Taboo Traits label. "You can't swim – which means that, unaided, you sink and die in any pool, lake, river, moat, dungeon cistern, or 3/4 of the Earth's surface. Taboo Trait, 0 points, try to stay out of the water."

Not a fan of that. : )

Re: GURPS Hermeneutics
 

Pay for the effect, not for the fluff.

This is a guiding principle when building abilities.

Re: GURPS Hermeneutics
 

I'm glad when people realize this. I experience a huge face-desk moment every single time somebody starts analyzing why we used, say, "may" instead of "can," or "may" instead of "might." Answer: To avoid echoing the same verb over and over. In American English in 2017, there's just no useful difference 90% of the time. When people start reading rules intent into diction, I reach for the whisky.

Needless to say, after being a writer and editor for 23 years, I know there are formal differences between certain choices of words and phrases. But ordinary people speak and write informally, and that's our house style. We actively seek not to write "legalese" even if that would make the rules clearer to the minority who didn't fall asleep reaching the end.

Re: GURPS Hermeneutics
 

Very important! People constantly ask why Altered Time Rate doesn't give bonuses to defenses. "If I move twice as fast, surely it's easier to defend?" If that matters to you, you can use the second of every two maneuvers you get for All-Out Defense. Now you can Attack, Concentrate, or even All-Out Attack and still defend better than slower people! But that's the effect . . . the fluff is some meeble about being very fast, which is "Like, whatever, dude." It isn't what matters.

Re: GURPS Hermeneutics
 

In any case, it's usually cleaner and simpler to keep discrete effects discrete. It's easier to put things together in a package than it is to separate them out of one because you don't have to remember which package the thing you wanted was in.

Re: GURPS Hermeneutics
 

I think another base assumption is that the GM and players are on the same "team" unless playing a specific genre (which would be discussed and agreed upon by the same players and GM). I see people trying to come up with stuff so as to ambush the GM with their "concoction" while this is a definite style of play I assume it isn't the assumed default.

Re: GURPS Hermeneutics
 

Or buy a couple of levels of Enhanced Defenses in addition the ATR

Re: GURPS Hermeneutics
 

After a while, it makes you want to ban ATR, and it is one of the reasons why I tend to require people to buy Enhanced Defenses +1 per level of ATR.

Re: GURPS Hermeneutics
 

Another thing with GURPS is that it is not only a universal role playing game (which already means that the GM will have to define which advantages, disadvantages, skills and equipment are or are not allowed in his game world) but GURPS is also a generic one.

Thus, for a given situation, they are often several RAW answers (depending on the level of realism, how much detail and the optional rules the GM wants).

Newcomers may be very surprised when they come to that forum, ask a quite simple question and ... get different answers to solve their problem.