FURPS... FreeformGURPS?

Kage2020 · 01-16-2013, 12:47 PM

As someone that uses GURPS for online play, and because of the influence that Amber DRPG had on me back in the day, my personal preference is to drape FUDGE's adjective ladder over GURPS. This has a number of advantages, at least in my mind if no-one else:

It translates attribute and skill levels into words that are easily understood by new players regardless of the power level. This is incredibly useful with concept-based character generation since you can readily quiz the player, e.g., "So how good do you think the character would be with the sword?" "Oh, I think that he should be Superb."
In game, players--again, especially new players--are more readily able to translate the character sheet into actions. (Sounds odd, but it was just what I found.)
When running the game, for the most part I don't have to bother with dice rolls, or even keep track of things like "combat rounds" very much. "Oh, the character has Superb swordsmanship, so the Average City Guard isn't going to really stand a chance..." or "Oh, the character has Superb swordsmanship, and that cat burglar as Good, but also is a sneaky little bar-steward so will be using underhanded techniques." If it ever comes down to a decision that I'm not comfortable with making (to forward the shared narrative, as a setting decision or whatever) then I've always got the dice to fall back on. Quick Contest of Skills figure frequently in those circumstances.

One the character generation/characterisation front, I've also found it interesting to describe the overall character with FATE-like Aspects that are ultimately translated back into advantages/disadvantages.

Again, though, YMMV--what works for me might not work for you.

01-16-2013, 12:47 PM	#4
Kage2020 Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Virginia, US	Re: FURPS... FreeformGURPS? As someone that uses GURPS for online play, and because of the influence that Amber DRPG had on me back in the day, my personal preference is to drape FUDGE's adjective ladder over GURPS. This has a number of advantages, at least in my mind if no-one else: It translates attribute and skill levels into words that are easily understood by new players regardless of the power level. This is incredibly useful with concept-based character generation since you can readily quiz the player, e.g., "So how good do you think the character would be with the sword?" "Oh, I think that he should be Superb." In game, players--again, especially new players--are more readily able to translate the character sheet into actions. (Sounds odd, but it was just what I found.) When running the game, for the most part I don't have to bother with dice rolls, or even keep track of things like "combat rounds" very much. "Oh, the character has Superb swordsmanship, so the Average City Guard isn't going to really stand a chance..." or "Oh, the character has Superb swordsmanship, and that cat burglar as Good, but also is a sneaky little bar-steward so will be using underhanded techniques." If it ever comes down to a decision that I'm not comfortable with making (to forward the shared narrative, as a setting decision or whatever) then I've always got the dice to fall back on. Quick Contest of Skills figure frequently in those circumstances. One the character generation/characterisation front, I've also found it interesting to describe the overall character with FATE-like Aspects that are ultimately translated back into advantages/disadvantages. Again, though, YMMV--what works for me might not work for you.