Dungeon Fantasy: Good or Bad for GURPS?

David L Pulver · 05-25-2009, 10:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by b-dog

I'm curious what the average GURPS player thinks about the Dungeon Fantasy series. For me of course I really love it but I am wondering what other people think. Thanks.

I think it makes Kromm happy, and when Kromm is happy, GURPS is happy.

b-dog · 05-25-2009, 10:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by David L Pulver

I think it makes Kromm happy, and when Kromm is happy, GURPS is happy.

OK, I understand. After buying Abydos I think you need to make a Dungeon Fantasy suppliment because Abydos was really, really good.

David L Pulver · 05-26-2009, 12:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by b-dog

OK, I understand. After buying Abydos I think you need to make a Dungeon Fantasy suppliment because Abydos was really, really good.

That's kind of you to say so. It is not beyond the realm of possibility; I ran a dungeon-based GURPS campaign for several years under the 3e rules.

b-dog · 05-26-2009, 06:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by David L Pulver

That's kind of you to say so. It is not beyond the realm of possibility; I ran a dungeon-based GURPS campaign for several years under the 3e rules.

Cool! I feel the best dungeon adventures have strong elements of science fiction.

Nymdok · 05-26-2009, 07:44 AM

DF Is good for GURPS, but not yet good enough.

How good it is may not be entirely obvious just yet as there is still at least one larg component of DF that we are waiting for.

Although not a DF book, Low tech has a lot to offer the genre and will bring it full circle. It will expand and broaden worlds of that tech level (TL3 give or take) so that DF has less of a 4 color feel to and more of a Depth and texture. It will allow DF to come up from the ground and stand on its own right as there will be a world and time for it to exist in as opposed to just some 10'x10' hall ways.

The small components, modules, are writable NOW, as long as the GM strictly enforces templates. We could do always do with more of those as the gamers we get from other systems may not be as interested in the front end overhead of building your stuff up from the dust.

That being said, a planet would be a great start. The only requirements that I would put on it is that it be earth like, and By that I mean a 350-400 day year, 1g gravity and a slight tilt on the axis. If we had an entire planet to agree on, we could begin to flesh it out with adventures.

Take that planet, throw in 20 major cities with vague hand wavings of cultural ideas, leave the Towns and villages to be added on a 'as-needed by the adventure basis' and next thing you know, there is a common 'greyhawk-like' expierience that we can all share.

As a matter of fact DF:6 YOU ARE HERE sounds like a good enough starting title to me :) Spend the day with Fractal Terrains (or a similar tool) and birth a planet. Dont obsess with flora and fauna specifically, climate/terrain will do well enough to get started.

We know the mechanics
We know the Races.
We Know the Templates
We will soon know the tech in much better detail.

Even more simplified....

We have people who have the skills and tools to do stuff. The biggest things needed right now are a place for them to do stuff(world) and stuff for them to do (Adventures).

Nymdok

panton41 · 05-28-2009, 11:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by b-dog

OK, I understand. After buying Abydos I think you need to make a Dungeon Fantasy suppliment because Abydos was really, really good.

I totally agree. I told my more twisted minded friends and coworkers who play RPGs about Abydos and the general consensus can be summed up as "WTF?" but in a good way...lol

As an addition to it being nice for a DF setting, more Banestorm material would be nice. Overall, though, I'm seriously thinking about adapting Forgotten Realms to GURPS Dungeon Fantasy to pique the interest of my D&D playing friends.

Mysterious Dark Lord v3.2 · 05-25-2009, 10:28 PM

I got into gaming because of D&D like almost - what, 90% of us? Dungeon-crawls are the "gateway drug" to lure youngsters in. They play their WoW and Diablo, maybe some D&D, then a trenchcoated figure comes up and says "Psst! Kid! Since you like that, howsabout a bit of Dungeon Fantasy?" A bit of a nibble, and from the simplified DF rules they're gradually introduced to the whole range of what GURPS has to offer. By the time they hit college, they're total GURPS-heads.

Besides which, DF is fun in and of itself. Don't want to go into deep detail this session? Just drag out your old Keep on the Borderlands module and improv a pleasantly nostalgic game with new flavors and options for a light gaming session.

Summary: Definitely "good".

Johnny Angel · 05-25-2009, 10:41 PM

Forgive me for being the new guy and asking, but what's the difference between Dungeon Fantasy and Fantasy? I'm not trying to look a gift horse in the mouth, and I'm all for having more fantasy options, but I'm not quite sure what relationship DF has to Fantasy.

trooper6 · 05-25-2009, 10:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Johnny Angel

Forgive me for being the new guy and asking, but what's the difference between Dungeon Fantasy and Fantasy? I'm not trying to look a gift horse in the mouth, and I'm all for having more fantasy options, but I'm not quite sure what relationship DF has to Fantasy.

Dungeon Fantasy tends to a group of PCs with strictly defined roles going into a Dungeon, killing things, taking their loot and then getting more powerful. It is very cinematic, high-powered, and not about social systems or talking about your feelings. It is about resource management and kicking butt. It is the model of old-school D&D.

Fantasy can be any number of things. It could be the political machinations in the court of King Arthur. It could be about young nobles trying to find advantageous marriages. It could be about being traders in a fantastic city. It could be about mysteries or romance or piracy on the high seas. It could be about a wizards school divided into four houses. It could be about killing monsters and taking their loot. Lots of different things are Fantasy. Dungeon Fantasy is a specific sort of sub-genre of fantasy. So while Dungeon Fantasy is fantasy, there are a lot of other things that are also fantasy that have nothing to do with dungeon fantasy at all.

Mysterious Dark Lord v3.2 · 05-25-2009, 10:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Johnny Angel

Forgive me for being the new guy and asking, but what's the difference between Dungeon Fantasy and Fantasy? I'm not trying to look a gift horse in the mouth, and I'm all for having more fantasy options, but I'm not quite sure what relationship DF has to Fantasy.

Dungeon Fantasy is highly pared-down GURPS, optimized for D&D-style dungeon crawls. Just enough rules and bare-bones setting to feel like a Gary Gygax production. Connection with Fantasy? Minimal, but possible.

05-26-2009, 07:44 AM	#5
Nymdok Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Houston	Re: Dungeon Fantasy: Good or Bad for GURPS? DF Is good for GURPS, but not yet good enough. How good it is may not be entirely obvious just yet as there is still at least one larg component of DF that we are waiting for. Although not a DF book, Low tech has a lot to offer the genre and will bring it full circle. It will expand and broaden worlds of that tech level (TL3 give or take) so that DF has less of a 4 color feel to and more of a Depth and texture. It will allow DF to come up from the ground and stand on its own right as there will be a world and time for it to exist in as opposed to just some 10'x10' hall ways. The small components, modules, are writable NOW, as long as the GM strictly enforces templates. We could do always do with more of those as the gamers we get from other systems may not be as interested in the front end overhead of building your stuff up from the dust. That being said, a planet would be a great start. The only requirements that I would put on it is that it be earth like, and By that I mean a 350-400 day year, 1g gravity and a slight tilt on the axis. If we had an entire planet to agree on, we could begin to flesh it out with adventures. Take that planet, throw in 20 major cities with vague hand wavings of cultural ideas, leave the Towns and villages to be added on a 'as-needed by the adventure basis' and next thing you know, there is a common 'greyhawk-like' expierience that we can all share. As a matter of fact DF:6 YOU ARE HERE sounds like a good enough starting title to me :) Spend the day with Fractal Terrains (or a similar tool) and birth a planet. Dont obsess with flora and fauna specifically, climate/terrain will do well enough to get started. We know the mechanics We know the Races. We Know the Templates We will soon know the tech in much better detail. Even more simplified.... We have people who have the skills and tools to do stuff. The biggest things needed right now are a place for them to do stuff(world) and stuff for them to do (Adventures). Nymdok

05-25-2009, 10:28 PM	#7
Mysterious Dark Lord v3.2 Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: The deep dark haunted woods	Re: Dungeon Fantasy: Good or Bad for GURPS? I got into gaming because of D&D like almost - what, 90% of us? Dungeon-crawls are the "gateway drug" to lure youngsters in. They play their WoW and Diablo, maybe some D&D, then a trenchcoated figure comes up and says "Psst! Kid! Since you like that, howsabout a bit of Dungeon Fantasy?" A bit of a nibble, and from the simplified DF rules they're gradually introduced to the whole range of what GURPS has to offer. By the time they hit college, they're total GURPS-heads. Besides which, DF is fun in and of itself. Don't want to go into deep detail this session? Just drag out your old Keep on the Borderlands module and improv a pleasantly nostalgic game with new flavors and options for a light gaming session. Summary: Definitely "good". __________________ "When you talk about damage radius, even atomic weapons pale before that of an unfettered idiot in a position of power." - Sam Starfall from the webcomic Freefall

05-25-2009, 10:41 PM	#8
Johnny Angel MIB Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Pennsylvania	Re: Dungeon Fantasy: Good or Bad for GURPS? Forgive me for being the new guy and asking, but what's the difference between Dungeon Fantasy and Fantasy? I'm not trying to look a gift horse in the mouth, and I'm all for having more fantasy options, but I'm not quite sure what relationship DF has to Fantasy.