Re: D&D 3.X Under GURPS: Links, Info, Feedback - Have Any For Me?
 

Is there a need for a GURPS Bestiary?

Re: D&D 3.X Under GURPS: Links, Info, Feedback - Have Any For Me?
 

I wrote these articles a while back when I was pretty much a GURPS newbie as well. One of the biggest mistake I did, count the number of points for critters. I think the best PDF you could read is Dungeon Fantasy 2 and look at the examples of critter writeups. Kromm did a fantastic job of making writeups quick and easy to do. You only need to calculate points if you want players to use these templates.

Re: D&D 3.X Under GURPS: Links, Info, Feedback - Have Any For Me?
 

I have a fair amount of experience with D&D 3.x (earlier versions too) and Gurps and in my opinion there's no real reason to be "mechanically" accurate in converting from one to the other.

D&D monster stats are rather complex and finicky in system specific ways. Also, certain elements such as the CR system are about as broken as any piece of game mechanics I've ever seen.

What I invariably do when converting from D&D is that a D&D Orc (or dragon or whatever) becomes a Gurps Orc (or whatever) without ever trying to establish a statistical conversion.

If the monster doesn't have an obvious Gurps equivalent you look at the description and pick something similar.

D&D has a lot of monsters that are actually very similar except in one or two specific areas. In Gurps these end up being the same monster with one or two options in the write up.

For example, a Lacedon is basically a Ghoul that breathes water and swims as well as a regular Ghoul runs. In Gurps you just add "Lacedon, add Amphibious (10pts) and Doesn't Breathe:Gills (10 pts)" and you're done.

You almost literally _can't_ fill up a Gurps Bestiary to the same degree as a D&D one with meaningful content. It becomes obvious after a while that it's cut and paste with one or two lines altered.

Of course, a lot of this is how things were done in D&D 1e Monster Manual before they discovered that you could sell endless books with near-clone (or pointlessly bizarre) monsters in them. You wouldn't actually need that huge list of monster books even if you were running straight D&D. I've certainly gotten by without them. Usually, anything that's not in MM 1 gets reprinted in the module using them.

While Gurps 4e has been very big on giving you "Templates" that would let you write up creatures using the full character creation system and the infinite variations that then become possible this would seldom be a good use of your time.

You really need very few stats to run a creature in Gurps combats. You need Attack Skill, Damage, Defenses (Dodge/ Parry/Block), DR Move, HP and HT and after yopu add notes for anythign really exotic (Insubstantial) that's really about it.

Sometimes having to figure these out by reading the Template instead of just reading them from a couple of lines of text is rather a nuisance but even that isn't really difficult.

So, when adapting a monster to Gurps, look at the description and then decide on that short list of stats I gave you and you're ready to go. You really, really do not need to convert all the monsters in all those books.

Re: D&D 3.X Under GURPS: Links, Info, Feedback - Have Any For Me?
 

Outstanding! My lack of knowledge of D&D is really shining. I figured if they had 5 Monster Manuals then all were packed with completely original monsters. I want to run a Sword and Sorcery campaign and will need lots of cannon fodder so I figured they were the best route to go with. I really appreciate the feedback and for letting me know its not as big an undertaking as I was fearing. Thanks to everybody who offered me links and feedback. Very much appreciated ^_^

Re: D&D 3.X Under GURPS: Links, Info, Feedback - Have Any For Me?
 

3E GURPS: Creatures of the Night and the shorter 4e volumes. These are full of *great*, original, very creepy monsters, good for horror as well as fantasy.

Re: D&D 3.X Under GURPS: Links, Info, Feedback - Have Any For Me?
 

A design goal for 3e was to have a monster of each type for each level of play. This means that there needs to be a few dragons, undead, demons, devils and so on that first level characters can face, ones that fifth level characters can face, ones that eighth level characters can face ... you get the drill. As such, there needs to be a certain amount of really redundant monsters to ensure a variety of challenges at all levels. Now, doing a bazillion monster books -- I count the five Monster Manuals, the Fiend Folio, and some others that are partly filled with new monsters (Complete Arcane, Miniatures Handbook, Libris Mortis, Draconomicon, Lords of Madness, Fiendish Codex I & II, and a bunch I am surely missing) -- has its virtues, and there are always nuggets of coolness, but don't assume it's needed, because it isn't. I've never owned more than the first of the five 3e Monster Manuals (though I did buy Complete Arcane and Libris Mortis for other reasons -- my favorite 3e character is a necromancer), and I've run dozens of D&D 3e sessions. Besides, plenty of GMs have fun adding class levels or templates to existing monsters to give their players a new thrill.

(FWIW, I actually prefer the approach of the last two Monster Manuals to explicitly present stats for a variation of an existing monster. I can't justify trying to find ecological niches for the various evil humanoids or using some of the odder monsters -- flumphs, anyone?)

Plus, Fred's right that if an adventure uses a foe not included in the main Monster Manual, then its stats are reprinted, though not other ecological or tactical information. Even then, most encounters use only the first Monster Manual.

Re: D&D 3.X Under GURPS: Links, Info, Feedback - Have Any For Me?
 

I was aware of these but wasn't sure if they were really useful in a fantasy setting or not. I'm already spending a lot of cash getting other books so I was unsure, but based on your recommendations I'll go ahead and add them to my GURPS shopping list. Thanks for the referral ^_^

Re: D&D 3.X Under GURPS: Links, Info, Feedback - Have Any For Me?
 

If you really are going for a D&Desque campaign, Dungeon Fantasy 1&2 are a must.

Re: D&D 3.X Under GURPS: Links, Info, Feedback - Have Any For Me?
 

You actually gave me another project idea. Convert all the D20SRD monsters into GURPS using the DF creature template format. A lot of them could be quick to do (like the ownbear, dire animals, etc.). I would get rid also of some stupid D20 designs. Like the Balor demon, look at it's skill list: +30 on Move Silently ? He's 12' tall and weights 4500 lbs for crying out out ! You should be able to hear him from quite a distance and god, I can't imagine a powerful demon like that resorting to sneaking. A demon like that doesn't even need to sneak, he should inspire fear to anyone who wants to oppose him. This is where GURPS shines compared to some of the D20 designs. Monsters with high Hit Dice are more skilled just because they are stronger ??? You'll see how much better your monsters will look like in GURPS.

Re: D&D 3.X Under GURPS: Links, Info, Feedback - Have Any For Me?
 

You'd be surprised, then, at how quietly some large animals can move. I've heard elephants, which weigh two or three times as much as that demon, make less noise walking around than I do. Granted, it seems odd that a big, bad demon might want to be stealthy (I think that's more an anti-PC device than an indicator of how they think), but the ability isn't actually unreal just because of their size.