D&D 3.X Under GURPS: Links, Info, Feedback - Have Any For Me?

[sjmdw45]

Originally Posted by Mulsiphix

Can anybody link me to web sites, projects, forum threads, or even offer me up some feedback on the subject.

Converting D&D modules to GURPS:

http://forums.sjgames.com/showthread...hlight=convert

[Mulsiphix]

Many thanks for the link. I added it to the list above. Anybody else have theories? My main interest at this point in time is finding a formula to convert D&D 3.X Monster Manuals 1-5, Fiend Folio 1 & 2, and a few other 3.X bestiary's to GURPS.

Everything else is primarily setting. As far as jobs and skills go, I want a career system (like Warhammer FRP) versus the D&D Class or GURPS Point based systems. It will still work off of advantages and disadvantages but skills will be unlocked after X points have been accumulated, instead of being purchased individually.

EDIT
After reading Collective Restraint's D&D 3E Conversions I can see that converting monsters from D&D requires not only a great amount of time (at least when working with the vast amount of material I had in mind) but more importantly an expertise, or at the very least a familiarity with, D&D itself. Looks like Fantasy under GURPS might be a great deal harder than I had hoped it would be. The lack of an extensive bestiary has me wondering if I should just learn to play D&D =(

[Varagon]

Originally Posted by Mulsiphix

Many thanks for the link. I added it to the list above. Anybody else have theories? My main interest at this point in time is finding a formula to convert D&D 3.X Monster Manuals 1-5, Fiend Folio 1 & 2, and a few other 3.X bestiary's to GURPS.

Everything else is primarily setting. As far as jobs and skills go, I want a career system (like Warhammer FRP) versus the D&D Class or GURPS Point based systems. It will still work off of advantages and disadvantages but skills will be unlocked after X points have been accumulated, instead of being purchased individually.

EDIT
After reading Collective Restraint's D&D 3E Conversions I can see that converting monsters from D&D requires not only a great amount of time (at least when working with the vast amount of material I had in mind) but more importantly an expertise, or at the very least a familiarity with, D&D itself. Looks like Fantasy under GURPS might be a great deal harder than I had hoped it would be. The lack of an extensive bestiary has me wondering if I should just learn to play D&D =(

Is there a need for a GURPS Bestiary?

[Collective_Restraint]

Originally Posted by Mulsiphix

After reading Collective Restraint's D&D 3E Conversions I can see that converting monsters from D&D requires not only a great amount of time (at least when working with the vast amount of material I had in mind) but more importantly an expertise, or at the very least a familiarity with, D&D itself. Looks like Fantasy under GURPS might be a great deal harder than I had hoped it would be. The lack of an extensive bestiary has me wondering if I should just learn to play D&D =(

I wrote these articles a while back when I was pretty much a GURPS newbie as well. One of the biggest mistake I did, count the number of points for critters. I think the best PDF you could read is Dungeon Fantasy 2 and look at the examples of critter writeups. Kromm did a fantastic job of making writeups quick and easy to do. You only need to calculate points if you want players to use these templates.

[Fred Brackin]

Originally Posted by Mulsiphix

My main interest at this point in time is finding a formula to convert D&D 3.X Monster Manuals 1-5, Fiend Folio 1 & 2, and a few other 3.X bestiary's to GURPS.

I have a fair amount of experience with D&D 3.x (earlier versions too) and Gurps and in my opinion there's no real reason to be "mechanically" accurate in converting from one to the other.

D&D monster stats are rather complex and finicky in system specific ways. Also, certain elements such as the CR system are about as broken as any piece of game mechanics I've ever seen.

What I invariably do when converting from D&D is that a D&D Orc (or dragon or whatever) becomes a Gurps Orc (or whatever) without ever trying to establish a statistical conversion.

If the monster doesn't have an obvious Gurps equivalent you look at the description and pick something similar.

D&D has a lot of monsters that are actually very similar except in one or two specific areas. In Gurps these end up being the same monster with one or two options in the write up.

For example, a Lacedon is basically a Ghoul that breathes water and swims as well as a regular Ghoul runs. In Gurps you just add "Lacedon, add Amphibious (10pts) and Doesn't Breathe:Gills (10 pts)" and you're done.

You almost literally _can't_ fill up a Gurps Bestiary to the same degree as a D&D one with meaningful content. It becomes obvious after a while that it's cut and paste with one or two lines altered.

Of course, a lot of this is how things were done in D&D 1e Monster Manual before they discovered that you could sell endless books with near-clone (or pointlessly bizarre) monsters in them. You wouldn't actually need that huge list of monster books even if you were running straight D&D. I've certainly gotten by without them. Usually, anything that's not in MM 1 gets reprinted in the module using them.

While Gurps 4e has been very big on giving you "Templates" that would let you write up creatures using the full character creation system and the infinite variations that then become possible this would seldom be a good use of your time.

You really need very few stats to run a creature in Gurps combats. You need Attack Skill, Damage, Defenses (Dodge/ Parry/Block), DR Move, HP and HT and after yopu add notes for anythign really exotic (Insubstantial) that's really about it.

Sometimes having to figure these out by reading the Template instead of just reading them from a couple of lines of text is rather a nuisance but even that isn't really difficult.

So, when adapting a monster to Gurps, look at the description and then decide on that short list of stats I gave you and you're ready to go. You really, really do not need to convert all the monsters in all those books.

[Mulsiphix]

Outstanding! My lack of knowledge of D&D is really shining. I figured if they had 5 Monster Manuals then all were packed with completely original monsters. I want to run a Sword and Sorcery campaign and will need lots of cannon fodder so I figured they were the best route to go with. I really appreciate the feedback and for letting me know its not as big an undertaking as I was fearing. Thanks to everybody who offered me links and feedback. Very much appreciated ^_^

[Rasputin]

Originally Posted by Mulsiphix

Outstanding! My lack of knowledge of D&D is really shining. I figured if they had 5 Monster Manuals then all were packed with completely original monsters.

A design goal for 3e was to have a monster of each type for each level of play. This means that there needs to be a few dragons, undead, demons, devils and so on that first level characters can face, ones that fifth level characters can face, ones that eighth level characters can face ... you get the drill. As such, there needs to be a certain amount of really redundant monsters to ensure a variety of challenges at all levels. Now, doing a bazillion monster books -- I count the five Monster Manuals, the Fiend Folio, and some others that are partly filled with new monsters (Complete Arcane, Miniatures Handbook, Libris Mortis, Draconomicon, Lords of Madness, Fiendish Codex I & II, and a bunch I am surely missing) -- has its virtues, and there are always nuggets of coolness, but don't assume it's needed, because it isn't. I've never owned more than the first of the five 3e Monster Manuals (though I did buy Complete Arcane and Libris Mortis for other reasons -- my favorite 3e character is a necromancer), and I've run dozens of D&D 3e sessions. Besides, plenty of GMs have fun adding class levels or templates to existing monsters to give their players a new thrill.

(FWIW, I actually prefer the approach of the last two Monster Manuals to explicitly present stats for a variation of an existing monster. I can't justify trying to find ecological niches for the various evil humanoids or using some of the odder monsters -- flumphs, anyone?)

Plus, Fred's right that if an adventure uses a foe not included in the main Monster Manual, then its stats are reprinted, though not other ecological or tactical information. Even then, most encounters use only the first Monster Manual.

[Collective_Restraint]

Originally Posted by Mulsiphix

Outstanding! My lack of knowledge of D&D is really shining. I figured if they had 5 Monster Manuals then all were packed with completely original monsters. I want to run a Sword and Sorcery campaign and will need lots of cannon fodder so I figured they were the best route to go with. I really appreciate the feedback and for letting me know its not as big an undertaking as I was fearing. Thanks to everybody who offered me links and feedback. Very much appreciated ^_^

You actually gave me another project idea. Convert all the D20SRD monsters into GURPS using the DF creature template format. A lot of them could be quick to do (like the ownbear, dire animals, etc.). I would get rid also of some stupid D20 designs. Like the Balor demon, look at it's skill list: +30 on Move Silently ? He's 12' tall and weights 4500 lbs for crying out out ! You should be able to hear him from quite a distance and god, I can't imagine a powerful demon like that resorting to sneaking. A demon like that doesn't even need to sneak, he should inspire fear to anyone who wants to oppose him. This is where GURPS shines compared to some of the D20 designs. Monsters with high Hit Dice are more skilled just because they are stronger ??? You'll see how much better your monsters will look like in GURPS.