War Against Chtorr Converting to 4e

Revturkey · 03-07-2020, 04:25 AM

Hi all,

Having tried to get back into Gurps for a long time...I think the time might finally be right. I have pondered between 3rd and 4th Edition and have plumped for 4th. I bought the Dungeon Fantasy stuff and that looks great and I’ll have a go at that...however...I also like the idea of doing some sort pf alien invasion game and the 3rd edition book ‘War Against Chtorr’ looks good. I have bought an old copy of the book. So...

I wondered if anybody had done a conversion of the critters in the book to 4th edition? If I was to do that should I be using the Gurps Update? I’ve downloaded that but not into any reading of rules yet. Just wonder if there is a fast and easy way to change creatures on the fly really? Any ideas...? Cheers :)

DAT · 03-07-2020, 10:32 AM

Sounds like you have some fun planned. I read the source books many years ago, but wasn’t ever able to secure a copy of the GURPS War Against Chtorr (WaC). I saw it in the store once, but some one else bought it before I could get back from the ATM.

GURPS Update will definitely be your main source and the GURPS Adaptations book might be useful. Updates will get the attributes, secondary characteristics, and skills set up, and should do most of the traits (advantages and disadvantages). But Chtorr critters have some impressive resistance to damage.

I don’t remember the builds in WaC, but if they were before the injury tolerance advantage, you may need to do some substitutions. If memory serves about the books, the main character was able to empty a man-portable mini-gun into a small worm, hundreds of rounds, and it was “only” knocked unconscious. That could have been modeled with large PD and DR, but a high version of injury tolerance and a few DR would probably model what was in the books much better. Regeneration costing FP is another thing to consider adding.

My general approach would be to decide what level of damage you want various critters (small, medium, large, and huge worm, etc) to take, and adjust things accordingly.

If you have a specific question, bring it up.

Revturkey · 03-07-2020, 12:08 PM

Hey DAT,

thanks very much for the info...that’s great.

Cheers,

Steve.

Refplace · 03-07-2020, 02:33 PM

I dont recall stats myself and lost most of my 3e books in a flood. Replaced most with PDF but unfortunately lots of the licenced ones are gone for good.
GURPS Update should get you pretty far along so I second that.
But if you pick a critter your having questions on and post its stat block we should be able to crunch some numbers.

Revturkey · 03-07-2020, 04:37 PM

Hi Refplace... that’s super helpful, will do if I get stuck thanks very much. It’ll be some time away before I get to run it but I look forward to giving 4th Edition a spin. Will def’ be trying some fantasy and Chtorr based adventures to get the ball rolling. It was in the 80’s when I last played Gurps so things have come a long way since then :) I loved that boxed set though!

Bicorn · 03-08-2020, 03:28 AM

Chtorrans in the 3e book had a special advantage that divides damage from kinetic attacks (in 4e terms, crushing/cutting/impaling/piercing) by 10 after subtracting DR, arbitrarily priced at 90 points.
In 4e terms this would be a form of Injury Tolerance: Damage Reduction from GURPS Powers. As per p. 118 of the book, a divisor of 10 would have a base cost of 150; "kinetic damage" is "very common" per B46, so that's -20%, giving the advantage a modified cost of 120. If you want a version that exactly matches the 3e version (letting you round damage below 10 to 0) the Powers book recommends a +50% enhancement, making the final cost 195 points.
(Of course, point costs don't really matter if you intend to use the worms strictly as antagonists.)

03-07-2020, 04:25 AM	#1
Revturkey Join Date: Mar 2015 Location: UK	War Against Chtorr Converting to 4e Hi all, Having tried to get back into Gurps for a long time...I think the time might finally be right. I have pondered between 3rd and 4th Edition and have plumped for 4th. I bought the Dungeon Fantasy stuff and that looks great and I’ll have a go at that...however...I also like the idea of doing some sort pf alien invasion game and the 3rd edition book ‘War Against Chtorr’ looks good. I have bought an old copy of the book. So... I wondered if anybody had done a conversion of the critters in the book to 4th edition? If I was to do that should I be using the Gurps Update? I’ve downloaded that but not into any reading of rules yet. Just wonder if there is a fast and easy way to change creatures on the fly really? Any ideas...? Cheers :)

03-07-2020, 10:32 AM	#2
DAT Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Idaho Falls, Idaho	Re: War Against Chtorr Converting to 4e Sounds like you have some fun planned. I read the source books many years ago, but wasn’t ever able to secure a copy of the GURPS War Against Chtorr (WaC). I saw it in the store once, but some one else bought it before I could get back from the ATM. GURPS Update will definitely be your main source and the GURPS Adaptations book might be useful. Updates will get the attributes, secondary characteristics, and skills set up, and should do most of the traits (advantages and disadvantages). But Chtorr critters have some impressive resistance to damage. I don’t remember the builds in WaC, but if they were before the injury tolerance advantage, you may need to do some substitutions. If memory serves about the books, the main character was able to empty a man-portable mini-gun into a small worm, hundreds of rounds, and it was “only” knocked unconscious. That could have been modeled with large PD and DR, but a high version of injury tolerance and a few DR would probably model what was in the books much better. Regeneration costing FP is another thing to consider adding. My general approach would be to decide what level of damage you want various critters (small, medium, large, and huge worm, etc) to take, and adjust things accordingly. If you have a specific question, bring it up.

03-07-2020, 12:08 PM	#3
Revturkey Join Date: Mar 2015 Location: UK	Re: War Against Chtorr Converting to 4e Hey DAT, thanks very much for the info...that’s great. Cheers, Steve.

03-07-2020, 02:33 PM	#4
Refplace Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Yukon, OK	Re: War Against Chtorr Converting to 4e I dont recall stats myself and lost most of my 3e books in a flood. Replaced most with PDF but unfortunately lots of the licenced ones are gone for good. GURPS Update should get you pretty far along so I second that. But if you pick a critter your having questions on and post its stat block we should be able to crunch some numbers. __________________ My GURPS publications GURPS Powers: Totem and Nature Spirits; GURPS Template Toolkit 4: Spirits; Pyramid articles. Buying them lets us know you want more! My GURPS fan contribution and blog: REFPLace GURPS Landing Page My List of GURPS You Tube videos (plus a few other useful items) My GURPS Wiki entries

03-07-2020, 04:37 PM	#5
Revturkey Join Date: Mar 2015 Location: UK	Re: War Against Chtorr Converting to 4e Hi Refplace... that’s super helpful, will do if I get stuck thanks very much. It’ll be some time away before I get to run it but I look forward to giving 4th Edition a spin. Will def’ be trying some fantasy and Chtorr based adventures to get the ball rolling. It was in the 80’s when I last played Gurps so things have come a long way since then :) I loved that boxed set though!

03-08-2020, 03:28 AM	#6
Bicorn Join Date: Aug 2015	Re: War Against Chtorr Converting to 4e Chtorrans in the 3e book had a special advantage that divides damage from kinetic attacks (in 4e terms, crushing/cutting/impaling/piercing) by 10 after subtracting DR, arbitrarily priced at 90 points. In 4e terms this would be a form of Injury Tolerance: Damage Reduction from GURPS Powers. As per p. 118 of the book, a divisor of 10 would have a base cost of 150; "kinetic damage" is "very common" per B46, so that's -20%, giving the advantage a modified cost of 120. If you want a version that exactly matches the 3e version (letting you round damage below 10 to 0) the Powers book recommends a +50% enhancement, making the final cost 195 points. (Of course, point costs don't really matter if you intend to use the worms strictly as antagonists.)