TFT vs. GURPS?

[DeadParrot]

Originally Posted by Bill_in_IN

I should have also pointed that I had played some D&D (not as a GM) back in the early 80s. It's also my understanding that game system has been through several revisions too.

I started with the white box D&D, black box Traveller and the ziplock bag Star Fleet Battles. Oddly, all were in the 5x7 booklet format. All three have since turned into rather hefty versions.

Be careful about adding too many features to your TFT games in search of 'realism'. A Pathfinder 1 game I am in has the PCs at level 20. Combats can take 1 hour per melee round(TFT turn). My play time per round is about 3 minutes. (Too many things can summon other things and Poof, you have 20+ high level things wandering around). I have found myself thinking back to the much faster speed of that Roll20 TFT game.

For our TFT game, we did run separate HP and Fatigue tracks. Another house rule was each wound is separately treatable by a Physicker. IIRC, that one was in one of the early Hexagrams. Both allow much faster recovery after a combat and avoid days of recovery rest after each fight.

[Bill_in_IN]

Originally Posted by DeadParrot

I started with the white box D&D, black box Traveller and the ziplock bag Star Fleet Battles. Oddly, all were in the 5x7 booklet format. All three have since turned into rather hefty versions.

Be careful about adding too many features to your TFT games in search of 'realism'. A Pathfinder 1 game I am in has the PCs at level 20. Combats can take 1 hour per melee round(TFT turn). My play time per round is about 3 minutes. (Too many things can summon other things and Poof, you have 20+ high level things wandering around). I have found myself thinking back to the much faster speed of that Roll20 TFT game.

For our TFT game, we did run separate HP and Fatigue tracks. Another house rule was each wound is separately treatable by a Physicker. IIRC, that one was in one of the early Hexagrams. Both allow much faster recovery after a combat and avoid days of recovery rest after each fight.

I do back off of trying to make things realistic unless what I see is absolutely wrong. Like the Unarmed Combat 1 RAW that says all abilities are lost by simply having something in their hands.

I'm not out to rewrite the game via house rules. I strive to minimize them by working within the current RAW structure. I strive to tweak what is there and not rewrite it. I want my house rules to fit on a page or two. If you are writing books of house rules, then you have created a different game. Nothing wrong with that if that is what you want but it's no longer TFT. It's just a new game that resembles TFT.

[timm meyers]

Originally Posted by Bill_in_IN

I do back off of trying to make things realistic unless what I see is absolutely wrong. Like the Unarmed Combat 1 RAW that says all abilities are lost by simply having something in their hands.

I'm not out to rewrite the game via house rules. I strive to minimize them by working within the current RAW structure. I strive to tweak what is there and not rewrite it. I want my house rules to fit on a page or two. If you are writing books of house rules, then you have created a different game. Nothing wrong with that if that is what you want but it's no longer TFT. It's just a new game that resembles TFT.

100% agree with the dangers of house rules. Too many and it is a new game. I think the rule of 5 can be applied to this situation.

"If you insert more than 5 changes to RAW you are no longer playing TFT" :)

[DeadParrot]

Originally Posted by Bill_in_IN

I do back off of trying to make things realistic unless what I see is absolutely wrong. Like the Unarmed Combat 1 RAW that says all abilities are lost by simply having something in their hands.
.......

Agree. I like the Pathfinder 1 description under the Monk class for the Improved Unarmed Strike feat. "A monk's attacks may be with fist, elbows, knees, and feet. This means a monk may make unarmed strikes with his hands full...." Treat UC1+ similar to the monk feat and it should work just fine.

Besides, the cinematic effect of a tavern maid with UC3 laying out a patron with a roundhouse kick after he gave her a butt grope while she was walking past with 4 drinks in hand is too good to pass up. And she didn't spill a drop.

If the players are staying engaged in the game and having fun, you are doings things correctly. Don't be in a hurry to change much.

[Refplace]

Originally Posted by Bill_in_IN

6 different magic systems has to make wizards very complicated in GURPS.

The different systems are there to offer different flavors to model different sorts of fantasy or fiction. Most campaigns will only use one system so its not that complicated.
Conan, Witch World, Dresden Files, The Belgiard, Wuxia magic, Wizard of Earth Sea, Riddle Master of Hed, Dying Earth, Fafnir and the Grey Mouser, video game wizards, Mercedes Lackeys' Vladamar, and the Jhreg series all have a different feel.
Sometimes you can make minor changes to get the flavor and feel you want but other times it takes more work. So some authors have helped out by doing a lot of the initial legwork.

[hcobb]

The biggest missing bit from GURPS in TFT (given our setting) is the ability to easily pick up the basics of a talent and then improve on that to any level of expertise.

[Shostak]

Originally Posted by hcobb

The biggest missing bit from GURPS in TFT (given our setting) is the ability to easily pick up the basics of a talent and then improve on that to any level of expertise.

TFT teases at this with Brawling, Missile Weapons, and Thrown Weapons.

[David L Pulver]

Originally Posted by hcobb

The biggest missing bit from GURPS in TFT (given our setting) is the ability to easily pick up the basics of a talent and then improve on that to any level of expertise.

For me, it's the Defense roll that GURPS has that is the most fundamental difference, and its resultant massive increase in fiction emulation (while at the same time making combat more luck-based and less of a chess match).