Quote:
Originally Posted by Brett
Who here has induced a reluctant or sceptical gaming group to switch substantially from some other game (eg. That Other Game) to GURPS?
What did you do? What setting and genre did you use to tempt them across? What worked, what didn't work, what would have worked better?
How did it go? Are they all keen now? Are they using GURPS for their own games, or promoting it otherwise? Clamouring for GURPS, complaining about other games?
How long did it take to win the players over? What helped? What hindered?
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I don't have much time to answer, so I might stop back later and respond.
Why do I not have much time? Well, because I am on my way to run a game for a group which switched.
-How did it go?
quite well; a few speed bumps because I was still learning the rules myself during the first game, but I think it went well
-Are they all keen now?
They all seem to enjoy GURPS. A few still have a few things they like about That Other Game a little better, but, overall, they seem to enjoy GURPS very highly. I was actually really surprised when my recent game was prompted by one of the players who was most anti-GURPS saying he wanted to play.
-Are they using GURPS for their own games?
Yes; the game other than mine which is currently running is based around professional wrestling.
-How long did it take?
varied amounts of time; some were quick; others took longer... overall, I'd say around a month for the whole group
-What helped?
Again, this varied. One of the biggest things was the ability to play multiple genres. With one player, it helped to mention that GURPS helped to inspire Fallout. (Yes, I know that Fallout eventually decided to use their own system, but -IMO- it still shows a very heavy GURPS influence.) The ability to have non-combat skills and actions matter on the same level as fighting was a plus... a lot of the players love hacking and slashing, but it's nice to get more out of being a lord of a castle than a situational +2 bonus to a skill. I could keep going on the reasons, but I'm trying to type this quickly so I can get out the door.
-What hindered?
Unfortunately, the laptop I had some of my GM notes saved on decided to suddenly die without any sort of explanation. (Even the guy I took it to for repairs couldn't figure it out.) Aside from that, a lot of people come into GURPS assuming it is based around the same mentality as That Other Game; to be quite blunt, tactics (I used the term loosely here) which work very well in That Other Game often lead to death in a game where combat is even remotely realistic. (In no way is that meant to bash The Other Game; just a statement.) Strangely, I've found that it seems easier to teach GURPS to someone who has never played rpgs before than it is to teach the game to people who have spent most of their rpg time with certain other games.