05-08-2023, 02:50 PM | #31 | ||||||
Join Date: Jun 2022
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Re: Converting D&D/Other Adventures to DFRPG
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Now, it was used to caravans of quivering, fearful merchants who brought cattle or other gifts for it as payment for crossing it's prairies. We, however hadn't actually spoken to anyone locally, so we had no idea about this arrangement. It roared and began flying down towards us from it's lair in the distant mountains (like two miles off). I said, "Hey, DM, please let me know when it's in range for a fireball..." A few in game minutes pass, GM says, "It's in range". "I hold." DM: "Okay..." "OOC; so it's going to take about say, 6 rounds to get to fire-breathing range..." "Poison cloud, it's a green" "... right, anyway, about 6 rounds. I have 4 fireballs. I don't want it being able to flee when it realizes its error..." Sure, "geek the Wizard first" is the trope classic for a reason, just make sure you're in range to does so, and not just in range to be disintegrated without being able to return fire. Quote:
But, as sjmdw45 also points out, that won't help with anti-magic ammo. Quote:
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Unless the giant claps an arm over their eyes and fights blindly, which, yeah, sure I've built blind cave trolls and ogres this way for a reason. Basically, if there is a good Scout in the party (or Swishypokler, or highly skilled anything poker), If It Has Eyes (or Vitals) It Dies. So... just go into fights expecting this and prepare. And as Douglas said, sometimes "horde" is better than "One BBEG". The difference is in D&D there really isn't an easy way to bypass AC and then do tremendous amounts of bonus damage, GURPS there often is (unless you build for it not be easy or even existent). So be ready to see it. |
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05-08-2023, 03:11 PM | #32 | |
Join Date: Jan 2008
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Re: Converting D&D/Other Adventures to DFRPG
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1.) Monsters with small size and/or high Dodge. Trying to eyeshot a Dodge 14 flying monster is an exercise in frustration, since bows can't Feint or Deceptive Attack. (You may need to get the wizard to cast Flight on a melee fighter instead.) 2.) As mentioned previously, monsters with protective magic, like dragons. 3.) Monsters that come in large numbers, like three giant brothers instead of just one. 4.) Monsters that don't have brains, like trolls, demons, or oozes. 5.) Monsters that are really fast, like Watchers at the Edge of Time, who can close with you and gut you (or cut up your longbow!) before you can beat their Dodge. 6.) Monsters that use trickery, camouflage, invisibility, etc. to prevent you from attacking them before they get in range. 7.) Monsters that burrow through the ground, like landsharks or Tremors graboids. |
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05-08-2023, 03:20 PM | #33 |
Join Date: May 2023
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Re: Converting D&D/Other Adventures to DFRPG
Good to know. I suppose it is a similar situation to D&D 5e where in a theoretical scenario, a ranged sharpshooter could kite a big oaf forever, but I've still found ways of dealing with that so I'm sure I could learn to deal with eye-sniping. Still though, a character so good with his bow that he just runs around shooting creatures in their eyeballs to kill seems like a...quirk of GURPS to say the least.
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05-08-2023, 03:35 PM | #34 | ||
Join Date: Jan 2008
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Re: Converting D&D/Other Adventures to DFRPG
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The real difference IMO is that in DF a single headshot that lands usually takes out most characters or monsters, whereas killing e.g. a Goristro in 5E takes a dozen or so crossbow bolts to the head, in my interpretation of the rules at least. (And also the fact that in 5E the DM never responds, "the peshkali grins ghoulishly at you through the ruins of her head. The fact that the top half of her head is missing appears to discomfit her not at all." In DFRPG somewhere between 10% and 40% of the monsters are immune.) This is a feature of DFRPG combat in general: more dodging or parrying because in many cases a single good hit can kill you. Attrition isn't really as much of a thing in GURPS/DFRPG. How you feel about DF may depend to a large degree on how you feel about attrition-based gameplay. P.S. A good fictional example of a habitual headshotter is Kincaid from the Dresden Files. Quote:
Last edited by sjmdw45; 05-08-2023 at 03:43 PM. |
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05-08-2023, 03:55 PM | #35 |
Join Date: May 2023
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Re: Converting D&D/Other Adventures to DFRPG
Yeah I also interpret Great Weapon Master in that way too. A massive, skull-splitting blow.
Also thanks for the info. I'm not married to attrition-based gameplay, but I have to admit I don't have much experience outside of it besides Call of Cthulhu and Delta Green, which aren't really games that encourage combat. I'm eyeing DFRPG simply because I still like "Dungeon Fantasy", I just want to try a different way of playing it. |
05-08-2023, 05:38 PM | #36 | ||
Join Date: Jun 2022
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Re: Converting D&D/Other Adventures to DFRPG
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Since DF/RPG has PCs starting in the (as sjmdw45 suggests) roughly 5th-10th level range of D&D, just when the crazy heroics start to really come out. DF/RPG is really sneakily an Action game being run in a fantasy setting where the ideals of "Back To The Dungeon" and "Orc and Pie" have been given a lot of free reign. You can certainly run high high-powered social fantasy in it too, but that takes a leetle more work, and DF/RPG works fine for hexcrawls (ironically better as there are professions deliberately tailored to it), and runs great in basically any D&D style you can imagine. DF/RPG Conan is even easily doable, if you hack away a few professions and just give PCs time to heal naturally... † I like to hyphenate GURPS Dungeon Fantasy and Dungeon Fantasy Roleplaying Game Powered by GURPS as DF/RPG, because they are slightly separate beasts, they are really the same thing with a few simplifications on the DFRPG side. Quote:
‡ Especially since 3e started with the idea of "making sure all encounters are balanced"... that's not the D&D I grew up with, and that takes waaaaaay more work than I want to put into GMing a game. |
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05-08-2023, 05:43 PM | #37 |
Join Date: Jun 2022
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Re: Converting D&D/Other Adventures to DFRPG
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05-08-2023, 07:09 PM | #38 | |
Join Date: Jan 2008
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Re: Converting D&D/Other Adventures to DFRPG
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Ditto the recent D&D: Honor Among Thieves movie. Holga doesn't take dozens of wounds in the movie; she dodges and parries and jiujitsus until eventually... she doesn't. I had plans to do a Film Reroll of that movie with some friends (same scenario, in DFRPG, but maybe a different outcome). Unfortunately we couldn't find a schedule that worked for everybody and then eventually I lost interest. I can share my writeups for Holga and Dorris if you're interested. The point is, I think you'll like non-attritional play. It's very natural. Last edited by sjmdw45; 05-08-2023 at 07:13 PM. |
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05-08-2023, 07:23 PM | #39 | ||
Join Date: Jan 2008
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Re: Converting D&D/Other Adventures to DFRPG
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I started liking Kincaid here: Quote:
P.S. Aha! Kincaid just ran straight into this rule for Intimidation: "-3 if your goal is to request aid." I guess it's probably still his best influence skill. :-P Last edited by sjmdw45; 05-08-2023 at 08:07 PM. |
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05-08-2023, 09:00 PM | #40 | |
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Berkeley, CA
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Re: Converting D&D/Other Adventures to DFRPG
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To some degree you can do this in GURPS with plot-tweak powers like luck and serendipity, or by spending xp (or equivalent story points or whatever) for impulse buys, but it's somewhat prone to turning an already somewhat slow combat system into a complete slog. |
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