Reaching Out to Potential and New GURPS Gamers

[Emerikol]

Originally Posted by DarbyMcD

So I guess what I am trying to do is understand why this group might be interested in moving to GURPS (tactical and setting options) and meet them where they are by specifically linking into their experiences with other games or expectations that those systems can't really meet. That is my goal but we shall see how it goes.....

This is awesome. I am in the same boat though we didn't go with 5e. At least as a GM I did not. Still I get your take.

I've wondered if another option would be a super easy startup adventure like Keep on the Borderlands that has a pregenerated party. I think it would help to play a bit without having the challenge of creating characters. If absolutely brand new. Then once they get a feel for the game they can go back and start building a character they want. I wouldn't see a full campaign running with the pregens but treat it instead as a GURPS boot camp.

I know at conventions this is exactly what is done. Not everyone goes to conventions though.

[DarbyMcD]

I think you are spot on about pre-gens. What I did was ask them for a character idea, we talked about things like the background, things they liked to do when they weren't adventuring, trying to tease out the background options that GURPS has that add so much depth. Then I made the characters for them. But it was sort of not great in that it was really hard to keep a somewhat uniform point total for the party, and match to some degree the encounter difficulty, and at the same time do their vision.* I think it would be better for the one-offs to do what you suggest and go with characters premade, but with a little write up to demonstrate things like "signature gear", "Duty", or "Connoisseur: Wine". Things that won't come up in a demo, but showcase what is possible with GURPS and start the cogs in their creative minds moving.

*The worst was for a Star Wars demo. As I said I am very new to GURPS and my friend wanted an HK series assassin droid who had been mind-wiped, had a suicide antimatter bomb implanted, and multiple integrated weapons. I had to blink several times, try to smile and say "sure GURPS can do that" while thinking desperately "GURPS can but can I?" Easier to just give him a jawa....

[DouglasCole]

Originally Posted by Emerikol

I've wondered if another option would be a super easy startup adventure like Keep on the Borderlands that has a pregenerated party. I think it would help to play a bit without having the challenge of creating characters.

Originally Posted by DarbyMcD

I think you are spot on about pre-gens. What I did was ask them for a character idea, we talked about things like the background, things they liked to do when they weren't adventuring, trying to tease out the background options that GURPS has that add so much depth. Then I made the characters for them.

I must note that the recent Gaming Ballistic (that's me) publication "Delvers to Grow" by Kevin Smyth is geared 100% towards reducing the character creation burden and speeding the on-ramp to fantasy play. While it's aimed at the Dungeon Fantasy RPG, it will get a character "in the ballpark" for any fantasy themed game in as little as 15 minutes, even for a total novice.

It also supports generating characters at 62, 125, and 187 points, so that you can explore zero-to-hero type play.

There's a campaign going on where these books are offered as a package deal that runs through September on Backerkit, for those that missed the Kickstarter. (There's a lot more on there too, including some "I want it all" style packages, but while that would be awesome, the Delvers to Grow books are 100% geared towards easing the burden of character generation for this genre of gaming.)

[DarbyMcD]

Ah, good point, I should have mentioned it. I am setting up a quick combat with another friend this weekend and we are using DtGr (can we use that acronym?) It is a fantastic tool particularly for players coming from 5e where they have specific arch-types in mind. I think in particular it will be handy for sort of the next step from pre-mades where you begin to introduce the character building process. It is a very smooth way to show how you can take a concept and convert it into GURPS terms. Honestly it is an incredibly useful tool.

One area that makes GURPS very difficult for newcomers is the lack of well presented entry structure, like DnD does with classes, ancestries, and levels. It is packaged in a way that holds the new players' hand and leverages common understandings of fantasy tropes. DtGr fills some of that gap for GURPS in a really fun way that also highlights the strength of the system.

[Emerikol]

Originally Posted by DouglasCole

I must note that the recent Gaming Ballistic (that's me) publication "Delvers to Grow" by Kevin Smyth is geared 100% towards reducing the character creation burden and speeding the on-ramp to fantasy play. While it's aimed at the Dungeon Fantasy RPG, it will get a character "in the ballpark" for any fantasy themed game in as little as 15 minutes, even for a total novice.

Yes this would be a good toolkit for producing the Kotbl style adventure mentioned above. If someone owns it, they might give the players a few more choices as those books do. If not then perhaps just give them a character day one.

[Tinman]

Honestly, I think any setting with templates (DF, Action, MH, ect...) are practically pre-generated characters to begin with. As GM just make a few assumptions & create a few characters for players.

[SilvercatMoonpaw]

Originally Posted by Tinman

Honestly, I think any setting with templates (DF, Action, MH, ect...) are practically pre-generated characters to begin with. As GM just make a few assumptions & create a few characters for players.

My suggestion was specifically aimed at pre-gens for use with GURPS Lite, so that potentially-interested parties could download both rules and already-made characters so all they needed was dice to try it out.

[maximara]

Originally Posted by Tinman

Honestly, I think any setting with templates (DF, Action, MH, ect...) are practically pre-generated characters to begin with. As GM just make a few assumptions & create a few characters for players.

I took the middle road with partial templates allowing the players to customize them. You could even throw in the 4d6k3 (roll 4d6 keep 3) for the four main attributes.

I don't worry too much about point totals because in the early days D&D classes advanced at drastically differently rates (AD&D1 Bard was the most ridiculous)

[Tinman]

Originally Posted by maximara

I took the middle road with partial templates allowing the players to customize them. You could even throw in the 4d6k3 (roll 4d6 keep 3) for the four main attributes.

I don't worry too much about point totals because in the early days D&D classes advanced at drastically differently rates (AD&D1 Bard was the most ridiculous)

I have to say, I hate random attributes. One of the best things about GURPS is that it lets you play the character you want & not be stuck playing one that best fits the stats you rolled.

Also, I've had groups where one person rolls really well & gets 4 18's for stats & another roll really poorly & wind up with one 14 and the rest 12 or below.

I know for D&D it's traditional, but many of the video games went to a points buy system for stats for a reason.

[Dr. Beckenstein]

I used the templates in Infinite Worlds for conventions. The response of the players was less enthusiastic then I hoped, they claimed that the characters were not very interesting.

So I build a variety of unique characters that shows what is possible in Grups, including a Xena-like amazon, a mage-detective from Merlin and a combat-maid gynoid.

My advice - do the extra work, it will pay out.