What is your favorite genre and how well does GURPS handle it?

[kenclary]

Originally Posted by lordabdul

Another one was a one-shot of Feng-shui (2nd edition). GURPS Action does exist, and I might give it a try one day, but I get the feeling it won't enable the same type of gonzo HK-movie action scenes that the Feng-shui system allows... does anybody have experience running both?

I've run both (though not Feng Shui since the 90s). Most of it is style, and the setting. All you really need to emulate it systematically is a "stunt" rule, where you hand out bonuses for evocative descriptions of cool movements and fight moves (instead of penalties for trying hard things).

[whswhs]

Originally Posted by SilvercatMoonpaw

To me, it's primarily a question of how to deal with non-humanoid bodies, particularly things such as lack of hands.

There is a chapter in GURPS Martial Arts that includes a discussion of combat for nonhumanoid bodies. I found it very helpful in working on GURPS Furries.

[SilvercatMoonpaw]

Originally Posted by whswhs

There is a chapter in GURPS Martial Arts that includes a discussion of combat for nonhumanoid bodies. I found it very helpful in working on GURPS Furries.

Ah, thanks.

[mburr0003]

Originally Posted by sjmdw45

Aha! DramaSystem isn't about this kind of drama at all. It's by the author of Hamlet's Hitpoints, and it's about fraught relationships. If you're the kind of person who gets frustrated at Hamlet for dithering around doing nothing for five acts instead of just investigating his father's ghost's allegations, coming to a conclusion, and killing his uncle, you may not even realize this kind of drama exists, and DramaSystem is in part a pedagogical tool to help people like you (and me) grok what it's about. Playing DramaSystem certainly enhanced my understanding of and appreciation for movies like Casablanca and plays like Follies.

I like Hamlet and Casablanca, and I can tell I'd dislike Dramasystem strongly as a system. To me the drama comes from the conflict over actions taken, but DramaSystem sounds like it's all "drummed up" drama, as in, nothing has happened, but we're expected to get excited about stuff anyway...

I'd honestly rather pull out any of my storytelling card games and play that... or The Quiet Year, where you start from simple and build as you go rather than needing to jump straight into "being all dramatic".

It really, to me, sounds like DramaSystem is tool designed for thespians to practice at improv, than an rpg game.

GURPS is fine for games that are about resolving situational conflicts, but it doesn't have much to say about whether to be or not to be. In a sense, DramaSystem is all about dithering.

I'd rather (and have) steal from FATE or even Gumshoe, which both have conflict resolution built into them innately, so the mechanics lifted rather already go hand-in-hand with conflict resolution systems rather than feeling like I'm duct-taping a pickle to race car to add "teh funny to my racing game" (so to speak).

Originally Posted by lordabdul

I was just seeing a lot of posts giving "A" grades to GURPS for almost every genre...

Because i do feel it does every genre better.

I still keep trying to run, or play in long term, an (old school) FATE game, because I'm still trying to wrap my head around one of it's concepts that I feel is very "wishy-washy handwavium" but people keep telling me isn't.

And I'll admit, I also strongly suspect, but have proof yet as every game I've been in of it has fallen apart due to unskilled GMs, that the latest L5R system would handle the 'samurai romance' genre superbly well... it's dice mechanics are very interesting to me, but I can't get anyone to play it... and as I said, every game I've joined has fallen to pieces the moment a PC tries to do something the GM isn't expecting (so, second or third actual game session, not really far enough along to kick the dice mechanics too much).

I don't call out self-control rolls much -- my players are either acting it out (because, as you said, that's the character they want to play, so they built them that way), or make the rolls themselves when they can't decide.

To me a Self-Control roll is for when the PC really, really shouldn't indulge themselves (or lose control) and the roll just represents the likelihood they will, but adds a randomizing element to it.

The only Self-Control roll disad I always have rolled (and roll myself as a Player) is Berserk... the rest are best RPed.

Originally Posted by lordabdul

Whatever you call it, "genre", "treatment", "mood", "style" or whatever, I'm happy to hear that we agree there are some that GURPS does well, and some that are better handled by other systems or games.

Yeah, but I really wouldn't want to run them (except maybe L5R at least until I can figure out if the system works and how best to smuggle it into GURPS).

Another one was a one-shot of Feng-shui (2nd edition). GURPS Action does exist, and I might give it a try one day, but I get the feeling it won't enable the same type of gonzo HK-movie action scenes that the Feng-shui system allows... does anybody have experience running both?

Oh, GURPS can do Feng Shui just fine. You do have to wield the old adjustment hammer a bit and I'd also pull in GURPS Impulse Buys and use them to implement more of a feel of Feng Shui's "gonzo nonsense".

[sjmdw45]

Originally Posted by mburr0003

It really, to me, sounds like DramaSystem is tool designed for thespians to practice at improv, than an rpg game.

Maybe it is better at pedagogy than gameplay. I certainly didn't have much desire to keep playing it after a couple of sessions, although I am 300% willing to raid its treasure trove including adventure themes/scenarios/characters/complications in its 30-odd chapters of setting ideas. (Plenty of which ironically would work better in GURPS than in DramaSystem due to having significant procedural elements, like "do I get caught stealing?")

I don't love the drama token economy. It's nice to have a way to crash scenes or duck scenes, and it's nice to have a balance of emotional wins and losses, but if I were playing DramaSystem on a regular basis, or hybridizing it with GURPS, I would drop drama tokens entirely in favor of just tallying how often player fiat is invoked (i.e. how often tokens WOULD be spent if we were using them). Maybe I wouldn't even do that much. But I would definitely keep things like telling the other players if you feel your emotional petition was granted during the dramatic scene you just called, and them telling you if they think you overlooked it.

[SilvercatMoonpaw]

I wonder if GURPS could give superheroes the DFRPG treatment. If I've understood it right, DFRPG lets you pick from "modules" of traits. A hypothetical SHRPG would do the same, but have advice to point out that it's hard to balance certain superhero concepts on the same point total and that players and GMs should agree on any "imbalance" they're willing to have in the name of group concept.

[Mr_Sandman]

Originally Posted by SilvercatMoonpaw

I wonder if GURPS could give superheroes the DFRPG treatment. If I've understood it right, DFRPG lets you pick from "modules" of traits. A hypothetical SHRPG would do the same, but have advice to point out that it's hard to balance certain superhero concepts on the same point total and that players and GMs should agree on any "imbalance" they're willing to have in the name of group concept.

DFRPG has templates for 'professions' (classes), and races. Delvers to Grow streamlined character creation a bit more, by bundling traits and skills into modules that a player can put together to create a character.

Superheroes wouldn't be my first choice for that treatment, because superheroes are such highly varied, potentially complex characters, with high point totals. There are a lot of possible combinations of different traits, powers, weaknesses, and skills to make a super. Simpler character concepts lend themselves better to being made into types that you can build out of modules. Masked pulp vigilantes with some constrained powers could probably work.

[Refplace]

Originally Posted by Mr_Sandman

Superheroes wouldn't be my first choice for that treatment, because superheroes are such highly varied, potentially complex characters, with high point totals. There are a lot of possible combinations of different traits, powers, weaknesses, and skills to make a super. Simpler character concepts lend themselves better to being made into types that you can build out of modules. Masked pulp vigilantes with some constrained powers could probably work.

This.
A major part of the novelty of supers is their uniqueness so templates and streamlined building would run counter to the genre and I think most peoples desires. I did pitch a Supers Foundation series and it failed miserably.
What would work better is something more like the Ultimate series of Heroes systems. Pick a archetype or role and then give some example abilities and a lot of tips and ideas on how to build characters that fill that role.

[SilvercatMoonpaw]

But scatch-building can get annoying after a while, especially if you only have vague ideas of what you want your character to be. I'm someone who does a lot better by seeing a handful of choices and then eliminating "wrong" answers till I find one I'm satisfied with. I think it would be nice to have some way of doing that to build superheroes in GURPS.

[KarlKost]

Gurps basically does EVERY genre that I like. Sci Fi, Fantasy, Supers. Those are my favorites. And I love all of them in Gurps.

The only thing that I truly hated in Gurps (3e) was the Magic system with skills. Which made me a bit disappointed to see it back again in 4e.

Oh, I also always hated the D&D endless spell lists too - and even worse, each class has their own endless list of spells, one for wizards, another for clerics, another for druids, other for shamans... And it's a total nightmare trying to memorize all that garbage.

Then came Mage the Ascension, and althought being a convoluted mess I fell in love with its system of "just combine those spheres and boom! Magic!". And I managed to homebrew the chaotic mess well enough for my liking.

Goodbye spell lists, for good.

But then...

Like always, Gurps never disappoints. Gurps Magic, sure, more spells list. Fine. If you wanna use it, go ahead.

But then Gurps made its master piece, its magnum opus... Gurps Thaumatology

That book is absolutely magic (pun intended). At first a few ideas about the classic system of magical skills, that I dont care about, but some pages later... YES! Flexible magic. The stuff of dreams. Noun/Verb Magic. And even Realm Magic!

Realm Magic is basically Mage the Ascension... But better! Much, much much much better.

But wait! There's more! Because after that sweet nectar, they introduce Sorcery, RPM and Incantation Magic for your DF games!

Man, Gurps is indeed a magic system.

And I love Gurps Supers. Yeah, I hear many people complain about it, but I love it.

And imo, Gurps is the best system for Sci Fi, no doubt.