Reaching Out to Potential and New GURPS Gamers

[Shostak]

Originally Posted by Christopher R. Rice

Sidenote: If I had someone who could process the video and make it, you know, free of umms and ahhs and silent spots I'd put my games up in a heartbeat because I just don't have time for that.

If anyone wanted to up their game, so to speak, they could try to get a grant from their local arts commission for funding that would support the cultivation and dissemination of our collaborative performative art form. Acquire the gear and hire out the production with support from the grant. With pandemic protocols still in place, non-traditional art forms that utilize the interwebs might just enjoy some priority. As an example, here's wording from the Maine Arts Commission:

Project Grant for Artists assists individual artists in Maine with the creation of new work, the continuation of existing practices, and participation in professional development programs and activities. Projects can be in any artistic discipline and on any scale. Applications are due by 5:00 p.m. on the day of the deadline.

Grant awards may be used to purchase supplies, materials, equipment and for production costs, installations, tours, planning, production preparation, exhibition costs, documentation of work and workshops.

You'd need to sell the reviewers on the merit of the project. While that's no insurmountable task, it might be easier for someone who is a published game writer. Or professional actor.

If anyone wants to give it a try and would like some feedback on their application narrative, I'd be happy to take a look, having some experience in both writing and reviewing these things.

[kzaragoza]

Has anyone seen what Randy Oest has been doing for Fate? He’s the caretaker of the Fate SRD site and has been running a Patreon to support it. He has a YouTube channel of videos and actual plays teaching people how to play Fate. I’ve seen him trying to reach out to new players for these videos on Twitter. It’s an interesting approach and may be well worth mining for ideas.

Alas, I don’t have the time to game much less actually aid in such an endeavor. If someone (or even SJG!) looks to fire up a Patreon to fund a similar effort, do let me know!

[Black Leviathan]

I think one of the big barriers GURPS faces is just a lack of name recognition. Anything that ups our visibility makes the game seem less Indie and more viable when trying to sell people on trying it. Kickstarters are actually a pretty big deal. Seeing the GURPS name roll up when people are looking at new games with sharp production and good art does more to promote GURPS than shelf space at a gaming store. but Shelf Space would also help. Even if a D&D player isn't likely to buy a copy of GURPS on their own, seeing it on the shelf next to D&D creates a peerage in their mind.

Another barrier getting people into the game is reputation as being only for heavy crunch or not being a narrative game or requiring a math degree. Convincing people that GURPS isn't what they think it is pretty much requires them to face the mechanics and play with them with someone who knows the game. An effort to put new gamers around a table with an experience GM would be valuable in presenting the strengths of the game rather than the rumors.

I think solidly designed compact one-shot games that play to the strength of GURPS would do a lot towards winning new players. That's basically the formula of Adventurer's League and why Wizards of the Coast are renting space in the market to every other game.

[DouglasCole]

Originally Posted by Black Leviathan

Another barrier getting people into the game is reputation as being only for heavy crunch or not being a narrative game or requiring a math degree. Convincing people that GURPS isn't what they think it is pretty much requires them to face the mechanics and play with them with someone who knows the game. An effort to put new gamers around a table with an experience GM would be valuable in presenting the strengths of the game rather than the rumors.

I think solidly designed compact one-shot games that play to the strength of GURPS would do a lot towards winning new players. That's basically the formula of Adventurer's League and why Wizards of the Coast are renting space in the market to every other game.

I note that the Delvers to Grow books, combined with the short-ish Crypt of Krysuvik adventure, has been used in walk-up games at one of my patreon subscriber's game store. He has introduced several folks to GURPS, and several more to RPGing who have never played before.

It's a really powerful on-ramp to the game. I'm biased, of course, but I love GURPS as a system, and I asked Kevin to build what I thought would be useful and needed to make getting into the system easy.

He did a marvelous job.

[dcarson]

Worldcon (world SF convention) is in DC December this year. Maybe I'll see about running a couple gurps sessions in the game room.

[Tinman]

For people who need a starter campaign/adventure:

I did two very similar campaign starts. One was when I did my 'GURPS Camp' for the kids I set it on Isile Entelle in Araterre in Banestorm, & the PCs all lived in the north. I declared there was a massive earthquake and the PCs needed to help shepherd refugees to the capital. On the way I had them encounter certain situations. Published pyramid adventures:

1) You All Meet at an Inn -Pyr.3-98.04
2) Grave of the Pirate Queen -Pyr.3-98.20
3) Hydra Island -Pyr.3-108.17

When they got to the capital:
4) I Smell a Rat -DFRPG Adv #1
5) Cavern of the Chronomancer -Pyr.3-56.12
6)Against the Rat-Men -DFRPG Adv #2


The second was for the kid's fathers I set it on Isile Entelle in Araterre in Banestorm, & the PCs all lived in the north in a wizard's tower.

The tower was attacked by a few mysterious assassins. The master was gravely wounded & the tower collapsed during the fighting. (Searching the ruins gave them some minor magic items, potions & scrolls.)

I then used the pyramid adventures & some encounters of my own design:
DFRPG Campaign 2020:

0) The Fallen Tower (the initial attack) -Adventure by Tinman
> Must bring master to Savons for healing.

1) Bandit Attack (Encounter with mook bandits) -Adventure by Tinman

2) You All Meet at an Inn -Pyr.3-98.04

> Massive earthquakes rock the island!

3) Grave of the Pirate Queen -Pyr.3-98.20

> Get to Savons & bring the master to the temple
> However all the inns are full. Except Merl's...

4) I Smell a Rat -DFRPG Adv #1

> The PC's being the master's apprentices & adventurers, get jobs at court
as minor trouble shooters.

5) Cavern of the Chronomancer -Pyr.3-56.12

6)Against the Rat-Men -DFRPG Adv #2

7) Journey to Photius -Adventure by Tinman
> (Photius is in Cathness)

8) Hydra Island -Pyr.3-108.17

9) Orc Slayer (start of the adventure) -Converted from man-to-man

10) Harkwood Havoc! -GURPS Fantasy Harkwood adventure

11) The Sunless Citidel (Near Harkwood) -converted from D&D

12) Defend Castle defiant! (part of the Orc Slayer adventure)

13)+ Continuing the Orc Slayer adventure to the end.

[Tinman]

Anyway, there are many GURPS DF adventure that are easy to string together.
For more modern stuff there are a bunch of adventures but they are so odd-ball that it's tough to really string them together into a coherent whole to get the ball rolling. Also, they tent to be more advanced adventures that can't be used as 'starter' adventures.

I find for modern adventures, just get a plot from a movie or tv show and turn it into 5-6 encounters. Use the mook 'templats/stats' from action-2 p.45-46
and that's a good way to start.

[Tinman]

For VTT stuff (my groups are scattered across 3 time zones in the US) we use RP Maptools & skype for voice (no need for video, it just eats bandwith).

I'm not sure how I could share the maps (file size), but the token properties, built tokens, dice rolling macros, hit location tables & crit hit tables, ect... I'd be happy to share.

For the maps: Some are just bare bones outlines, others are complete dungeons with vision blocking, darkness & fog of war.

PS: All the RPtools stuff is free.

[Emerikol]

I think another way to target experienced people would be to market campaigns to them that they cannot get by playing one of the other traditional rpgs.

I mentioned the cross worlds campaign setting to a friend of mine and he seemed really interested. That is something that most games cannot handle. Now I wouldn't limit it to that one thing. GURPS has the advantage that it can run in practically any world setting at any time or place in history or the future.

Now I know the existing games target areas that are popular. Hey I'm starting with fantasy myself. But if GURPS were everyone's second choice game whenever they wanted to play something off the beaten path, that would still make GURPS even more popular than it is now. A lot of experience with the system would likely draw people to the more common paths eventually. Not everyone of course. GURPS isn't for everyone. But I have to feel that GURPS is the game for some people that aren't playing it now.

Even when I look at myself and ask why I am going with GURPS, it is to do things I can't do easily with other systems. I'm taking my fantasy world someplace else. GURPS is great for adapting a novel setting and it's magic whereas the big boy in the fantasy game is it's own default setting.

[Emerikol]

Another point unrelated to the previous post.

I used to buy GURPS books on and off during 3e. I own more than 5 and less than 10 real paper books. I bought these at stores or conventions. I never really took up GURPS as a system despite buying these flavorful books. I just figured I could use all the useful tables in any game I was using.

Well I guess I did eventually. But it took me a long time.

I do think 4e is a big improvement design wise over 3e. I remember playing maybe at a convention in a GURPS fantasy adventure. I don't remember loving the system (or hating it either). I have always loved the idea of advantages/disadvantages so that is one thing I thought every game should have.