Low Tech vs Basic Weapon Stats

[Tomsdad]

Originally Posted by Polydamas

A similar situation is handling situations which deserve more or less detail. Its hard to run a day-long skirmish and track every blow and every shot, and the climactic duel with a main character's Enemy deserves more detail than the brawl in the alley on the way to that enemy. A good GURPS GM will sometimes chose to just pick a skill and a modifier and tell the players to roll once or twice, and sometimes crack open a book of optional rules, but its hard.

What I find helps is if the PC's have few "go to tactics" in their back pocket* that they already know the mods and rules for. I find tend to play up the working together aspect of these as well. That maybe my own foible though I find the image of one person setting up for another to deliver the finisher aesthetically pleasing in combat

But yes to go back to the example of guns, as a GM i tend to have a short list of what'd on hand (setting relevant). If particular players want to go into more detail and get all the extra's that's fine too, but I let them do the work and just tend to check the results at the end for compatibility**.

It goes without saying that that kind of player tends to play that kind of character anyway! And ultimately for some*** it's fun to lovingly work their way through the guns and gun add-ons lists, and as GM I'm in the business of letting people have fun!



*I'm a big believer in running practice combats not only to get players used to the system and aware of the options it gives, but to try out new tactics. (what helps here is IMO GURPS combat is naturally interesting and exciting)

**I'll help someone who want to do this but is unaware of the options as well of course (but I tend to find that doesn't happen that often)

*** I include myself in this group!

[johndallman]

Originally Posted by Bruno

Finding a compromise position between the players that want super detail and the players who want as little detail as they can get away with ...

We've handled this on occasion by having the people who are keen select standard guns for the party.

[Polydamas]

Originally Posted by Kalzazz

Isn't that essentially what High Tech does? Cherry picks a tiny subset of the wide world of guns liable to be amusing for games, such that most people can (hopefully) find what they want, or at least something close.

Using High Tech requires at least the GM to learn at least as much firearms as HT teaches them, then pick an appropriate subset. The dozen common weapons for a game about small-time hoods in Chicago in the 1920s won't be the same as the dozen for a game about relic-hunters in the decolonizing '60s or about a PMC in Somalia today.

[Tomsdad]

Originally Posted by Polydamas

Using High Tech requires at least the GM to learn at least as much firearms as HT teaches them, then pick an appropriate subset. The dozen common weapons for a game about small-time hoods in Chicago in the 1920s won't be the same as the dozen for a game about relic-hunters in the decolonizing '60s or about a PMC in Somalia today.

Well to be fair, all you really need to do is read the dates various weapons were available from, and maybe a bit of common sense after that. But ultimately sometimes odd weapons end up in odd places, and that can be part of the fun!

[Kalzazz]

Its really easy as a DM to think 'hmmm, my game is TL 6' and tell the players 'OK, TL 6 stuff!' At least until they say 'I want a Wuzzliefuzzle! And show you an internet site showing Wuzzliefuzzles were a TL 6 thing'

[Ulzgoroth]

Originally Posted by Polydamas

Using High Tech requires at least the GM to learn at least as much firearms as HT teaches them, then pick an appropriate subset. The dozen common weapons for a game about small-time hoods in Chicago in the 1920s won't be the same as the dozen for a game about relic-hunters in the decolonizing '60s or about a PMC in Somalia today.

So long as you make sure to use weapons that have been introduced by the date of your game, your results are likely to be possible at least, if not necessarily probable.

[Anders]

Originally Posted by kracht

If I happened to offend or merely annoy anybody, let alone any GURPS author, please accept my apologies. It was entirely unwanted.

If we players have offended
Think but this and all is mended
That we have but grumbled here
About book stats everywhere
Stats are fitted for a book's theme
And we players plan and scheme
Authors, do not reprehend
If you pardon, we will mend

[kracht]

Thanks, Anders. My sentiments exactly. And in nice verses, too :-)

[Tomsdad]

Originally Posted by Kalzazz

Its really easy as a DM to think 'hmmm, my game is TL 6' and tell the players 'OK, TL 6 stuff!' At least until they say 'I want a Wuzzliefuzzle! And show you an internet site showing Wuzzliefuzzles were a TL 6 thing'

Ah well as GM I still get to veto, so even if Wuzzlefuzzles are technically available somewhere in the world at that point in time, I can still say no Wuzzlefuzzles.

(well unless the players can make really compelling and/or interesting from a role-playing POV case)

Originally Posted by Anders

If we players have offended
Think but this and all is mended
That we have but grumbled here
About book stats everywhere
Stats are fitted for a book's theme
And we players plan and scheme
Authors, do not reprehend
If you pardon, we will mend

Nice!

[Kalzazz]

True, but it seems so wrong to ban Wuzzlefuzzles, I mean, Wuzzlefuzzles are cool

Unfortunately while we have easy rules for damage, trying to come up with bulk and rcl is trickier

Still, most of the time High Tech acts as 'here, have a handful of relevant choices' close enough most of the time someone can find something they like