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Black Leviathan · 02-10-2021, 03:09 PM

1. Where do I start? I have a lot of material beyond the core books (Magic, Fantasy, Martial Arts, Powers etc).
I want the campaign to be tailored perfectly, but I must admit I am a bit overwhelmed by all the options, how do you practically narrow it all down?

Start with the Fantasy setting. It's always easier to manage GURPS well at lower point levels. Fantasy is easier to grasp and it's higher concept for your players to handle. Running Supers will require a more firm grasp of the rules and Advantages so it's going to go smoother with experience in my opinion. Define your setting. Start with an idea board, write down the things you want in your game, fill out outline detail notes about each thing and figure out how you'll represent the magic/technology/politics mechanically. GURPS Magic is a simple and relatable system for magic and probably your best bet. GURPS Low Tech has a lot of useful ideas for technology. Both are worthwhile reads.

2. How do I present this all to my players?

Start by sending your players a link to GURPS Lite and letting them know the next campaign will use the full version of the GURPS rules and let them read over the rules and come to you with any questions. For your players that struggle with patience consider doing chargen using templates to reduce the choice paralysis and learning new rules.

3. How do you run your games and prepare? Again it is probably all the options overwhelming me but how do you as refs prepare for your games and sessions?

I have a campaign bible containing all my notes for the game world, any detailed secrets about the world, my races, character templates, special equipment and any special mechanics that I may want to reference.

I have a session notebook where I detail what I want to do session by session. I write it about two sessions in advance. I have the names of every major NPC they players deal with. The details of each plot hook I throw. NPC Stats. I make notes here during game about anything the players set in place contract-wise or anything I'll have to remember in future games.

I make sure I have maps constructed and figures/tokens ready as best as I can. I have some stand-by stuff in case the players want to pick a fight with gangsters in the marketplace or if they unexpectedly find a way to chase the kidnappers that were meant to exit the scene.

I have a GM's screen. GURPS kind of sucks at indexing important tables and you could likely guess GURPS has a lot of information. Distance penalties, Crit-results, Reaction Tables, Fright Check table. I rarely get to put it away. Probably the best book you can own. If all your players are new you might want to make Combat Maneuver flash cards to help them decide what to do on their turn.

I spend a very vague 4 hours per session in prep work. Mostly mapping or preparing other physical materials. converting monsters or statting NPCs takes me a few minutes, but I've been at this for ages so I've got some instinct. I think most people could put together a good encounter in an hour.

4. Are there any practical tips you can give on getting your campaign off to a good start with your players generally?

GURPS is different than almost every other system. Be leery of any tropes you carry from other games. Especially D&D's sense of durability or Character Roles. Fights in GURPS end quickly and decisively and your best tactic is always having conflict on your terms. GURPS characters are not class-locked but beyond non-class games GURPS is especially fluid in allowing most characters to grow into roles that suit them. Encourage your players to take responsibility for a role in the game, help them build their character towards that end and gradually expand that capacity.
In my opinion GURPS's greatest strength is defining characters in negative space. Encourage your players to take disadvantages they'll enjoy playing and reward them for playing those disadvantages with fun consequences for their poverty or leching or narcolepsy that makes them want to pick disadvantages that contribute to play.
GURPS is set apart from other games by it's tactics and utility. I'd recommend any time you plan a combat that you make it unique in some way. Put it on a suspension bridge or have the characters fight on parts of a slow-moving ice-flow. You'll find it takes very little effort on your part and really makes the combat memorable for your players.

02-10-2021, 03:09 PM	#23
Black Leviathan Join Date: Sep 2018	Re: Kind of new to GURPS help! 1. Where do I start? I have a lot of material beyond the core books (Magic, Fantasy, Martial Arts, Powers etc). I want the campaign to be tailored perfectly, but I must admit I am a bit overwhelmed by all the options, how do you practically narrow it all down? Start with the Fantasy setting. It's always easier to manage GURPS well at lower point levels. Fantasy is easier to grasp and it's higher concept for your players to handle. Running Supers will require a more firm grasp of the rules and Advantages so it's going to go smoother with experience in my opinion. Define your setting. Start with an idea board, write down the things you want in your game, fill out outline detail notes about each thing and figure out how you'll represent the magic/technology/politics mechanically. GURPS Magic is a simple and relatable system for magic and probably your best bet. GURPS Low Tech has a lot of useful ideas for technology. Both are worthwhile reads. 2. How do I present this all to my players? Start by sending your players a link to GURPS Lite and letting them know the next campaign will use the full version of the GURPS rules and let them read over the rules and come to you with any questions. For your players that struggle with patience consider doing chargen using templates to reduce the choice paralysis and learning new rules. 3. How do you run your games and prepare? Again it is probably all the options overwhelming me but how do you as refs prepare for your games and sessions? I have a campaign bible containing all my notes for the game world, any detailed secrets about the world, my races, character templates, special equipment and any special mechanics that I may want to reference. I have a session notebook where I detail what I want to do session by session. I write it about two sessions in advance. I have the names of every major NPC they players deal with. The details of each plot hook I throw. NPC Stats. I make notes here during game about anything the players set in place contract-wise or anything I'll have to remember in future games. I make sure I have maps constructed and figures/tokens ready as best as I can. I have some stand-by stuff in case the players want to pick a fight with gangsters in the marketplace or if they unexpectedly find a way to chase the kidnappers that were meant to exit the scene. I have a GM's screen. GURPS kind of sucks at indexing important tables and you could likely guess GURPS has a lot of information. Distance penalties, Crit-results, Reaction Tables, Fright Check table. I rarely get to put it away. Probably the best book you can own. If all your players are new you might want to make Combat Maneuver flash cards to help them decide what to do on their turn. I spend a very vague 4 hours per session in prep work. Mostly mapping or preparing other physical materials. converting monsters or statting NPCs takes me a few minutes, but I've been at this for ages so I've got some instinct. I think most people could put together a good encounter in an hour. 4. Are there any practical tips you can give on getting your campaign off to a good start with your players generally? GURPS is different than almost every other system. Be leery of any tropes you carry from other games. Especially D&D's sense of durability or Character Roles. Fights in GURPS end quickly and decisively and your best tactic is always having conflict on your terms. GURPS characters are not class-locked but beyond non-class games GURPS is especially fluid in allowing most characters to grow into roles that suit them. Encourage your players to take responsibility for a role in the game, help them build their character towards that end and gradually expand that capacity. In my opinion GURPS's greatest strength is defining characters in negative space. Encourage your players to take disadvantages they'll enjoy playing and reward them for playing those disadvantages with fun consequences for their poverty or leching or narcolepsy that makes them want to pick disadvantages that contribute to play. GURPS is set apart from other games by it's tactics and utility. I'd recommend any time you plan a combat that you make it unique in some way. Put it on a suspension bridge or have the characters fight on parts of a slow-moving ice-flow. You'll find it takes very little effort on your part and really makes the combat memorable for your players.