First Time playing and running, tips?

[Stygard86]

I have really be interested in GURPS for a long time but have never played, I purchased the Dungeon Fantasy boxset a while ago, and decided to try it out with my family. We usually only play one shots about once or twice a year, and usually DnD, but they have agreed to a 3-4 session short campaign. The plan is to start with the included adventure.

Any tips for starting out Dungeon Fantasy RPG?

[johndallman]

Take some time to practice with the combat system. You can do this by yourself with some of the pre-generated characters. The point is to get used to the mechanics and the major modifiers, so that you don't have to look up each step of the first fight in play, which slows things down a lot.

[Polkageist]

Since you're all RPG veterans, I think the best thing to keep in mind with DF is that simplified rules are there to help you learn the more complicated ones, so rely on the simple way of doing things at first. Things like hit locations, extra effort, etc. are not necessary to have a great time, but making your players aware of them so if they want to expand their capabilities they can.

Oh! And also, compared to D&D combat *seems* deadlier but properly killing a character is much tougher than it appears. Going to zero or negative HP is not the 'fall over now' event like in D&D but more of a vulnerable state where continued action is possible but not guaranteed. High HT characters and those with advantages such as hard to subdue and fit/v.fit can continue fighting for a shockingly long time.

[Dalin]

I agree with what's been said thus far and would emphasize the importance of not feeling like you need to get everything "right." Even now, after running and playing DFRPG regularly since it was published, I keep a list of things to look up after the game. During the game, I usually just make a ruling that seems reasonable and keep things moving.

I also generally make the opponents use the same rules that the players are comfortable with. So if the players are basically doing torso shots because hit locations seem complicated, I'll have most of their foes do the same thing. The exception might be if I want to illustrate what's possible, but I'll be careful to not pull a gotcha. ("The ogre beheads you, n00b!")

The included adventure ("I Smell a Rat") is solid, but it may be worth reading some of the threads about how it has gone for others. Some of the encounters can be quite challenging for a beginning group. Here are a few:

• I Smell a Rat impossible to beat [spoilers]
• Experiences running "I Smell A Rat"?
• [Spoilers] Improving “I Smell a Rat” with Better Motivated PCs

We all enjoy after-action reports, so please let us know how it goes!

[David Johansen]

Combat can be daunting but it boils down to this.

Actions are taken in order of Move, then Basic Speed, then Dexterity.

Most actions allow a step, all out attack allows a half move, move and attack allows a full move.

Roll to hit on 3d6 equal to or under skill on Dexterity. Anything lower than 6 might be a critical hit as long as it is also 10 less than skill. 3 is always a critical hit. There is no defense roll against a critical hit and there is also a roll on the critical hit table.

Roll defense on 3d6 against defense. Dodge is 3 + Move + Shield DB (+3 with backstep). Parry is 3 + 1/2 Skill + Shield DB (+1 with backstep, +3 with backstep for karate, judo, and fencing weapons) Block is 3 + 1/2 Shield skill + Shield DB (+1 with backstep)

If the attack hits, roll hit location, then damage, and subtract damage resistance. The skull's DR is 2. If anything is left after armor impaling is multiplied by 2, cutting and large piercing by 1.5.

The target suffers a shock penalty of 1/2 damage on their next turn unless they have High Pain Threshold. If the damage is greater than 1/2 the target's hit points they are knocked down and stunned if they fail a Health roll. If their hit points fall below 1 they must make a Health roll at the start of their turn to stay conscious. If their hit points fall to a negative level below a full multiple of their base hit points they must make a health roll or die. If their hit points fall below five times that they are automatically dead.

[InexplicableVic]

Originally Posted by David Johansen

Combat can be daunting but it boils down to this.

Actions are taken in order of Move, then Basic Speed, then Dexterity.

Technically Basic Speed, not Move. Exploits p. 28:

“Turns occur in an order called the turn sequence. This is set at the start of the fight and doesn’t change. The combatant with the highest Basic Speed takes a turn first, then the one with the next-highest score, and so on, in descending order. If multiple NPCs on the same side have the same Basic Speed, the GM decides which of them goes first. If PCs are involved, ties go to the highest DX. If there’s still a tie, roll randomly at the start of the combat to determine who acts first and use that order for the entire combat.”

[Black Leviathan]

Start with a simple objective in mind. Story with a single small twist, three-room dungeon design, no fancy crazy monsters, just your basic undead or goblins. Until you get a grasp on DR and movement you want to work with known predictable quantities. Instead focus on creating terrain that will make the fight more exciting, bridges, ledges, fights around stalagmites, or in a frozen stream. This introduces your players to the idea that GURPS is a game where their strategy matters more than their swing damage.

Prep by building a character or two to familiarize yourself with character generation rules. Read through the combat rules and run a few practice fights on paper. Build the stat-lines for your enemies and lay out the "dungeon" then build the lore and adventure around it. Design the hooks to draw the characters in and work out how this adventure will segue into the next.

[finn]

If you are the GM, take your time to read the monster stats beforehand. I find that wounding modifiers can be complex.