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Originally Posted by Johnny Angel
What adjustments will I have to make to go from a D&D mindset to a GURPs mindset?
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There are two ways to get in a mess with your first GURPS session, and that both stem from the fact that GURPS is designed to do anything.
The first "trap for young players" is that GURPS is not ready "out of the box" for anything. There are options to choose to configure GURPS for any particular campaign, and the GM has some initial prep work to do. If you try to start before you have done that prep you and your players will get swamped with information and muddled by unresolved options, and may have a very off-putting first experience.
The second is that there are a lot of optional bits and pieces, and if you start with them all switched on you and the players will have to learn everything at once. I recommend starting off with a campaign that has no magic, no powers, only one tech level, not much unfamiliar technology, etc. And at first, don't use any optional combat rules. When you and your players have a firm grip on the basics, start using a few optional systems and learn them one at a time.
My usual recommendation is
not to start by converting your D&D campaign to GURPS. I truly believe that dungeon fantasy actually runs better under GURPS than D&D, but players have to get fully familiar with the new rules before they can start to appreciate the benefits. Which means at first they will be going through the agonies of learning without rewards. It is better, I believe, to start by first working up enthusiasm for a genre that D&D cannot do, such as Westerns, technothrillers, or 'Thirties cliffhangers, and then to use that enthusiasm to motivate a switch to GURPS. In a few months your players will be comfortable with GURPS and ready to switch on the fantasy options and resume their careers of murder and robbery with
GURPS Dungeon Fantasy.