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Old 04-25-2017, 11:40 AM   #46
lordabdul
 
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Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Vancouver, BC, Canada
Default Re: Balanced games for archers

Quote:
Originally Posted by Otaku View Post
Encumbrance affects Dodge.
Yep, all players are religiously sticking to "None" encumbrance because they're afraid of what a reduced Dodge or Move would do to their survival :)

(eventually, as they amass more loot, I imagine they will start making trade offs... but they're fresh out of their bunker so they don't have much yet)


Quote:
Originally Posted by Otaku View Post
Does the setting (either by default or how you've chosen to run it) limit either DX scores or Combat/Weapon Skills?
Not really. I think the reason they have relatively low scores for 150pts characters is because they didn't want to be too specialized... this being a post-apocalyptic setting, they still want some extra HP/HT/FP, Per, Scrounging, Stealth, Survival, etc... they also get a few cool powers with a couple mutations.... and each character has some non-combat specializations for mechanical repairs (vehicles/weapons/etc.), medical support, social skills (Merchant, Fast-Talk, Diplomacy, etc.). There's not much overlap between characters in those non-combat specializations, but all of this actually adds up quickly and getting higher combat skills means being less useful for other things (and I don't want combat to be the main focus of the campaign anyway). So I think they went for "reasonable" combat skills, with the perspective of increasing them with their first batches of XP.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Otaku View Post
If firearms are rare, then you might consider introducing shields into this setting.
Oh yeah, I really need to make NPCs with shields, too! Good point.

I'm really bad at low tech GURPS: I've used GURPS for more than 10 years, but it was almost exclusively 1930s, modern day, and near fututre... which means guns, with only the occasional fist fight every now and then. I really don't know what I'm doing with melee weapons and shields and stuff :)


Quote:
Originally Posted by Tom H. View Post
I think you've come across a real issue.
I think this is the best philosophical answer you will get about your question from Kromm himself (although he seems a bit defensive here.)
http://forums.sjgames.com/showpost.p...7&postcount=29
Yep, this matches what I would like my combats to be like... but part of the problem is how to design NPCs and environments so that you get that. Maybe I should ping Mook and tell him to write a follow up to "How to be a GURPS GM" about designing combat encounters :)

(and to be clear, a lot of the advice shared so far on this thread has been super helpful for me... I'm pretty sure my next encounters will be better already)


Quote:
Originally Posted by Tomsdad View Post
So am I right in thinking your melee fighters, fight defensively a lot of the time?
They are indeed quite conservative about keeping their active defense options and stuff like that... but I don't imagine they fight particularly defensively. They're just careful.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Tomsdad View Post
Also if you are playing at this kind of power level and want to mix things up a bit, I suggest rather than having your players go up against lots of weaker threats, have them go up against less numerical, smart threats.
Yes, that I'm doing already. I think I just need to be better at (1) environment design (I need to offer covers, interrupted sight lines, elevation changes, etc.) and (2) designing NPCs (I need more varied weapons, I need shields, I need incendiary arrows and other more original gear, etc... and I need to make them use more advanced tactics).

Quote:
Originally Posted by Tomsdad View Post
So don't play their opponents as road blocks to be defeated, play them as people who also want to survive*.
That I'm doing too. NPCs will All-Out Defense when it makes sense, regroup, flank, and roll against Will every now and then to figure out if they want to flee or otherwise change their attitude towards the situation (that roll is modified for the usual mental disadvantages, relative group sizes, etc.).


Thanks to everyone so far, this is super helpful!
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