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Old 03-26-2023, 12:06 AM   #41
RyanW
 
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Default Re: Why is GURPS not considered a good fit for the Supers genre?

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Originally Posted by Ulzgoroth View Post
The big problem there from a gaming perspective is, as you said, Flash can as fast as the plot demands. Which is to say, as fast as the current writer wants at any given moment. ttRPGs don't have a writer.

When 'can this power solve this problem' has nothing to do with the power or the problem, only with what the writer needs, it's flat out not gameable unless you're playing a pure-narrative system. Which GURPS is not and isn't well suited to be.
That kind of play tends to work better when the rules are much more freeform. Your speed isn't "X hexes per round" but "roll your Super Speed to see if you're fast enough to get there in time."
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Old 03-26-2023, 03:09 PM   #42
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Default Re: Why is GURPS not considered a good fit for the Supers genre?

Like Christopher, I have run a superhero game in GURPS, and I'm currently a co-GMing a restart of the game, assisting the player who wanted to take over with the mechanics.

Here's what I've used:
  • Liberal use of Power-Ups 5: Impulse Buys.
  • Building characters in two budgets: a 250 point GURPS Action character before powers, and a powers budget that is handed based on concept.
    • This will end up with mixed values. In the current game I'm in, my gateway teleporter ex-con is built as an Action 1: Heroes Infiltrator and 500 points in teleportation powers. At an even 750 points, she is the least powerful points-wise; our current brick is sitting at just over 1700 points, and two characters started over 2000. And we don't worry about point-balance.
  • Saying "No" to concepts that I was uncomfortable with or would have ended up being exceptionally powerful for the game I was running.
  • Setting caps for attributes, secondaries, innate attacks, base damage, DR, and IT:DR.
And it worked! Yes, there was some drama with a player, but a lot of that was him not understanding the genre. Both the players and GM need to know the genre, otherwise things have the potential to go sideways. This counts for all genres, not just the superhero genre.
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Old 03-26-2023, 06:11 PM   #43
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Default Re: Why is GURPS not considered a good fit for the Supers genre?

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That kind of play tends to work better when the rules are much more freeform. Your speed isn't "X hexes per round" but "roll your Super Speed to see if you're fast enough to get there in time."
Yeah, I've never understood how those systems are actually meant to be made comprehensible, since you'd just as well ask another party member 'roll your web-slinging to see if you're fast enough to get there in time', even though there's orders of magnitude of difference in how fast those techniques are.
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Old 03-26-2023, 06:36 PM   #44
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Default Re: Why is GURPS not considered a good fit for the Supers genre?

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Yeah, I've never understood how those systems are actually meant to be made comprehensible...
I think they're meant for people who want the system to directly challenge their creative chops in interpreting how to make the results make sense.
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Old 03-26-2023, 06:38 PM   #45
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Default Re: Why is GURPS not considered a good fit for the Supers genre?

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Originally Posted by Ulzgoroth View Post
Yeah, I've never understood how those systems are actually meant to be made comprehensible, since you'd just as well ask another party member 'roll your web-slinging to see if you're fast enough to get there in time', even though there's orders of magnitude of difference in how fast those techniques are.
I assume the GM decides something like "The speedsters can get their in time, no roll required, those limited to normal movement can't, no roll will help, and those with some sort of fast movement can roll to make it in time", with 'roll' possibly being replaced with 'spend currency', or perhaps spending meta-currency and coming up with an reason moving a character a step up in speed.
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Old 03-26-2023, 08:37 PM   #46
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Default Re: Why is GURPS not considered a good fit for the Supers genre?

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I assume the GM decides something like "The speedsters can get their in time, no roll required, those limited to normal movement can't, no roll will help, and those with some sort of fast movement can roll to make it in time", with 'roll' possibly being replaced with 'spend currency', or perhaps spending meta-currency and coming up with an reason moving a character a step up in speed.
Fate is a good example:

"I'm going to roll Athletics to reach the door before it slams shut."
"That's going to be tough, even for you. Opposition of 8."
"That's a 4, plus (rolls) 2. Good thing I'm as Fast as Lightning (tosses a Fate point token to the GM)."

It's a system that first and foremost tries to facilitate storytelling, while GURPS tries to simulate action and reaction and stay out of the way of the storytelling. They are chocolate and teriyaki: both excellent flavors, but not interchangeable.
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Old 03-26-2023, 09:06 PM   #47
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Default Re: Why is GURPS not considered a good fit for the Supers genre?

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Strenth is overpriced vs. Innate Attack
I always figured they assumed there'd be enchanted weapons to use (ie Thor) where Striking ST purchases combine with that equipment in ways Innate Attack can't.

Though 5/level and needing 10 levels per die is like 50 character points per die?
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Old 03-26-2023, 09:44 PM   #48
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Default Re: Why is GURPS not considered a good fit for the Supers genre?

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Originally Posted by Phantasm View Post
Like Christopher, I have run a superhero game in GURPS, and I'm currently a co-GMing a

Here's what I've used: ...
This will end up with mixed values. In the current game I'm in, my gateway teleporter ex-con is built as an Action 1: Heroes Infiltrator and 500 points in teleportation powers. At an even 750 points, she is the least powerful points-wise; our current brick is sitting at just over 1700 points, and two characters started over 2000. And we don't worry about point-balance.
I also have good experience focussing on defining effects and not worrying too much about how to build them or value them in points. Calculating point values and cludging ten different advantages and disadvantages together to say that someone is a robot is not a strength of GURPS for me.
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Old 03-27-2023, 12:27 AM   #49
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Default Re: Why is GURPS not considered a good fit for the Supers genre?

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I also have good experience focussing on defining effects and not worrying too much about how to build them or value them in points. Calculating point values and cludging ten different advantages and disadvantages together to say that someone is a robot is not a strength of GURPS for me.
I literally wrote about this in How To Be a GURPS GM: High-Powered Origins. It's important. Point balance only works if applied to videogames and TTRPGS. If you're trying to emulate books, movies, tv shows, comics, etc. then it doesn't work. It can't really unless the creator really, really keeps all that in mind from the beginning to the end. And this doesn't matter really with the right players as long as everyone gets to do cool/important stuff in the game sessions.
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Old 03-27-2023, 01:01 AM   #50
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Default Re: Why is GURPS not considered a good fit for the Supers genre?

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I always figured they assumed there'd be enchanted weapons to use (ie Thor) where Striking ST purchases combine with that equipment in ways Innate Attack can't.

Though 5/level and needing 10 levels per die is like 50 character points per die?
Its 8 levels per full die so 40 points though I think full ST is a better deal as it adds to Lifting ST and HP which are important to most brick builds.
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