[DF] 125 pt start?

[cadia134]

Can anyone share their success stories of starting a DF game at 125pt and running it up to 250pt or more?

I am converting some D&D stuff. I want to recreate the feeling of starting at level 1 and rolling all the way up to 20th.

Any tips and pointers are welcome!

Thanks

[Kuroshima]

Originally Posted by cadia134

Can anyone share their success stories of starting a DF game at 125pt and running it up to 250pt or more?

I am converting some D&D stuff. I want to recreate the feeling of starting at level 1 and rolling all the way up to 20th.

Any tips and pointers are welcome!

Thanks

Can't give you success stories since I've started my campaigns at eitehr 250 or 300 points, but DF15: Henchmen has 125 point templates that are actually quite interesting, and some discussion on how to handle DF at that level...

[cadia134]

I have DF 15 Henchmen. I am looking for some real world examples of how it worked out for other GMs. What issues they ran into, what went well, complaints etc.

[sir_pudding]

Kromm says he settled on 250 points in order to allow Martial Artists, Holy Warriors and Bards. I think that it would be really difficult to meaningfully play those archetypes (as well as many of the later ones especially the two in GURPS Dungeon Fantasy 4: Sages) on only 125 points.

[Bruno]

Originally Posted by cadia134

I have DF 15 Henchmen. I am looking for some real world examples of how it worked out for other GMs. What issues they ran into, what went well, complaints etc.

DF 15 hasn't even been out for a month yet, so you won't get a lot of reports based directly on DF 15! Give them some time, man :)

[sir_pudding]

Originally Posted by Bruno

DF 15 hasn't even been out for a month yet, so you won't get a lot of reports based directly on DF 15! Give them some time, man :)

I've played in a couple of games using Eric's "On the Cheap". I've certainly felt constrained with certain concepts. I wouldn't try to play that way with one of the 75 point races and/or one of the more fiddly occupations at 125 points.

[Anders]

Dungeon Fantasy on the Cheap.

[CousinX]

Standard 250-point DF templates are highly competent members of their professions, good enough to reliably succeed at adventuring tasks under duress. Warriors are skilled (or strong) enough to use fancy combat moves that blow through the defenses of lesser foes, casters can expect to succeed most spell rolls in combat, etc.

At 125 points, they're going to have a much more "1st Level" feel. As sir_pudding says, certain concepts become much harder to build satisfactorily, and all characters are going to be generally less competent at what they do. Not incompetent, but not as good as their full 250-point counterparts at anything. They're not full-on Fantasy Heroes, but "hero material" -- the apprentice wizard, temple neonate, and burly farmboy with his father's sword, setting out in search of [Insert Campaign Premise]. The challenges you can throw at them (and expect them to survive) have to be scaled... a pitched battle with a half-dozen mooks could be exciting, and a standard DF "Worthy" opponent might serve as an early boss.

[Bruno]

Originally Posted by sir_pudding

Kromm says he settled on 250 points in order to allow Martial Artists, Holy Warriors and Bards. I think that it would be really difficult to meaningfully play those archetypes (as well as many of the later ones especially the two in GURPS Dungeon Fantasy 4: Sages) on only 125 points.

Making these a sort of "Prestige class" you grow into may or may not be a desirable result, but it's definitely a notable one. I'd put Mystic Knight on that list as well, by the by.

Originally Posted by sir_pudding

I've played in a couple of games using Eric's "On the Cheap". I've certainly felt constrained with certain concepts. I wouldn't try to play that way with one of the 75 point races and/or one of the more fiddly occupations at 125 points.

75 point race at 125 points, your character is going to obviously be dominated by their racial choice rather than any template you're attempting to squeeze them into. To use 3e D&D speak, a 75 point race is at least a +1 Level Adjustment race, if not more :)

That said, careful choice of race and template can result in gaining net points rather than losing, depending on how your GM makes you apply racial template. If he treats the profession template as "Professional minimums" that are held to by some pan-racial guild regardless of species, picking a race which has most or all of its positive points sunk into those attributes (Ogre-> Barbarian or Celestial -> Holy Warrior for 250 point examples) can make for a seamless or net positive fit.

Kind of dilutes the features of your race, as much as taking a 75 point template and just slapping a 50 point lens on it to make a 125 point character dilutes the "profession".

I'd suggest either could be viable, depending on what the player really wants out of the character and what the GMs expectations for the game are.

[Peter Knutsen]

Originally Posted by sir_pudding

Kromm says he settled on 250 points in order to allow Martial Artists, Holy Warriors and Bards. I think that it would be really difficult to meaningfully play those archetypes (as well as many of the later ones especially the two in GURPS Dungeon Fantasy 4: Sages) on only 125 points.

Part of the problem may be abilities that cost a lot and don't have an obvious way to be broken down into component parts that can be purchased seperately with earned CP.

For instance, Trained by a Master. Or the Wild Talent+50% of the Sage.

All of these can be broken down into cheaper components, so that you can have a basic gimped TbaM or Wild Talent, that has some fuctionality, and then you upgrade it (buy off Limitations) with earned CP, until you have the full ability. It's just not obvious how to do it.