GURPS Ultra-Lite revisited - Page 4

thrash · 04-09-2021, 08:06 AM

Here's a reminder that the original GURPS Ultra-Lite wounding rules consisted of:

Quote:

Whatever [damage] is left [after subtracting armor] comes off HP. At 0 HP, roll base HT each turn before acting; failure means you pass out. At -HP, you collapse; roll base HT or die. If you survive, make a daily HT roll to recover 1 HP.

The wounding rules I've proposed are pretty fiddly. I prefer the Conditional Injury version: It's more coherent and provides a better description of what's going on. But it may make more sense to simplify considerably and save the word-count for something else (more description of capabilities, say, or a cash-less wealth system to go with the point-less skill system).

thrash · 04-09-2021, 10:13 PM

GURPS Ultra-Lite v0.9.2 (9 April 2021)

Archetypes
Select an Archetype to represent your character’s basic attributes:

Agile
ST 11; DX 14; IQ 10; HT 11.
Damage 1d-1/1d+1; HP 11.
Brainy
ST 10; DX 11; IQ 13; HT 11.
Damage 1d-2/1d; HP 10.
Brawny
ST 14; DX 12; IQ 11; HT 12.
Damage 1d/2d; HP 14.
Versatile
ST 10; DX 12; IQ 12; HT 12.
Damage 1d-2/1d; HP 10.

Attributes
Strength (ST): Sets hit points (HP) and basic damage (swing/thrust).
Dexterity (DX): Gives your base roll whenever precision or reflexes dominate (attacks, driving, etc.).
Intelligence (IQ): Gives your base roll whenever smarts matter (code-breaking, sciences, etc.) Also serves as base roll for perception and will.
Health (HT): Gives your base roll to resist poisons, disease, fatigue, unconsciousness, and death.

Levels
To build a character, allocate levels to capabilities. Most PCs have five levels, but the GM can pick another number. Levels often go with professions or roles the GM allows on this adventure – Crook, Knight, Ninja, etc. – or a College of magical spells.
Skill mods start at -1 at level 1 and increase +1 per level; note both level and mod: Knight 1 (-1), Crook 3 (+1).
To perform a task or resist something, roll 3d6. On a roll equal to or less than your base roll + mods, you succeed; otherwise, you fail. Apply a -5 mod to specialized tasks you don’t have skill for.
The GM can adjust roll difficulty by assigning an additional modifier from -10 (hard to do/resist) to +10 (easy!).

Example: Neutralizing a tricky (-3) alarm is a Crook task that takes smarts (IQ). A Brainy character (IQ 13) with Crook 3 (+1) would roll against 13 + 1 - 3 = 11.

A natural roll of 3 always succeeds and a natural 18 always fails!

Other Capabilities
Consult your GM if you want to use your levels for something other than skills. Possible examples include:
Stronger: +2 ST, +1/+2 damage, +2 HP.
Smarter: +1 IQ, Sharper: +1 DX, or Healthier: +2 HT.
Magery: required to have any skill in casting spells; +1 to magical skills.
Sidekick: a loyal NPC companion with appropriate archetype and one skill.

Gear
Skills come with relevant gear. Your GM will offer you a list to choose from and assign necessary statistics.
Roll vs. 6 + skill mod once per session per skill level to pull out one small but useful item you could have been carrying but hadn’t mentioned before.

Reactions
NPCs may be friendly, hostile, or undecided. If the last, the GM rolls 3d6 for a reaction: 3-6 is hostile, 7-14 neutral, and 15-18 friendly. PC’s may roll against relevant skills or use capabilities to influence these outcomes.

Combat
Combat proceeds in turns. Every turn, each fighter picks an action (and one target for each attack). Actions are resolved from highest to lowest DX (split ties randomly).
Attack: roll against relevant weapon skill. GM will set mods based on size, speed, range, etc. The target may defend: roll against a base roll of 6 (to dodge; the only option against ranged weapons) or 3 (to block or parry melee attacks with suitable weapons) + skill mods. Success negates one attack.
Move: reposition on the battlefield or change posture (stand up, etc.)
Prepare: Ready an unready weapon, aim a ranged weapon (for positive mods), or concentrate on using a capability.

A successful attack does damage. Roll damage dice (as the GM directs) and subtract the damage resistance (DR) of the target to get penetrating damage. Multiply this by factors that account for weapon and target type: x0.5 for pi-, x1.5 for cut/pi+, x2 for imp/pi++, x1/3 for Unliving, x1/5 for Homogeneous. Round fractions down, but keep a minimum of 1 point for an attack that does any penetrating damage. This result is the wound damage.
Subtract wound damage from your current HP. The effects depend on your base HP and how many HP you have left (which may be less than 0):
Full HP to 1 HP left: No effect.
Less than 0 HP: Roll vs. HT, -1 per full multiple of HP below 0, each turn, to avoid falling unconscious.
Less than -1xHP: You need medical (or magical) attention. Roll vs. HT at each multiple of HP less than 0 (-1xHP, -2xHP, etc.). On a failure, you die. If you succeed you’re still alive, but continue to roll each turn as above to avoid falling unconscious.
Less than -5xHP: You are dead. Start a new character.
Less than -10xHP: You are dead, and there’s not enough left to bury.

Healing
Roll vs. HT once every hour to regain consciousness. If severely injured (less than -1xHP), roll only when recovering a hit point.
Roll vs. HT once per day of rest and decent food; success recovers 1 HP. Medical skills, technology, and certain capabilities can increase this rate.

thrash · 04-09-2021, 10:21 PM

This version tries to simplify wounding (while still sticking close to the GURPS Lite system), and then uses the word count to add more detail to Other Capabilities and Gear.

I've noticed another difference between Basic Set or Lite and Ultra-Lite v0.8: in the latter, defending is an action. A character has to choose whether to attack or defend; you can't do both. I've followed full-spectrum GURPS in this, allowing any target to make a defense roll to avoid the attack, but I could pull it out into a separate action. It would speed up combat by making it more deadly, at the expense of upward compatibility. What does anyone think?

safisher · 04-10-2021, 08:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thrash

What does anyone think?

I think for it to be GURPS it needs:
3d6
roll under
skills
defense rolls

Extras:
roll damage
damage resistance
roll to stay alive/conscious
ads/disads
quirks/perks

04-09-2021, 10:13 PM	#32
thrash Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: traveller	Re: GURPS Ultra-Lite revisited GURPS Ultra-Lite v0.9.2 (9 April 2021) Archetypes Select an Archetype to represent your character’s basic attributes: Agile ST 11; DX 14; IQ 10; HT 11. Damage 1d-1/1d+1; HP 11. Brainy ST 10; DX 11; IQ 13; HT 11. Damage 1d-2/1d; HP 10. Brawny ST 14; DX 12; IQ 11; HT 12. Damage 1d/2d; HP 14. Versatile ST 10; DX 12; IQ 12; HT 12. Damage 1d-2/1d; HP 10. Attributes Strength (ST): Sets hit points (HP) and basic damage (swing/thrust). Dexterity (DX): Gives your base roll whenever precision or reflexes dominate (attacks, driving, etc.). Intelligence (IQ): Gives your base roll whenever smarts matter (code-breaking, sciences, etc.) Also serves as base roll for perception and will. Health (HT): Gives your base roll to resist poisons, disease, fatigue, unconsciousness, and death. Levels To build a character, allocate levels to capabilities. Most PCs have five levels, but the GM can pick another number. Levels often go with professions or roles the GM allows on this adventure – Crook, Knight, Ninja, etc. – or a College of magical spells. Skill mods start at -1 at level 1 and increase +1 per level; note both level and mod: Knight 1 (-1), Crook 3 (+1). To perform a task or resist something, roll 3d6. On a roll equal to or less than your base roll + mods, you succeed; otherwise, you fail. Apply a -5 mod to specialized tasks you don’t have skill for. The GM can adjust roll difficulty by assigning an additional modifier from -10 (hard to do/resist) to +10 (easy!). Example: Neutralizing a tricky (-3) alarm is a Crook task that takes smarts (IQ). A Brainy character (IQ 13) with Crook 3 (+1) would roll against 13 + 1 - 3 = 11. A natural roll of 3 always succeeds and a natural 18 always fails! Other Capabilities Consult your GM if you want to use your levels for something other than skills. Possible examples include: Stronger: +2 ST, +1/+2 damage, +2 HP. Smarter: +1 IQ, Sharper: +1 DX, or Healthier: +2 HT. Magery: required to have any skill in casting spells; +1 to magical skills. Sidekick: a loyal NPC companion with appropriate archetype and one skill. Gear Skills come with relevant gear. Your GM will offer you a list to choose from and assign necessary statistics. Roll vs. 6 + skill mod once per session per skill level to pull out one small but useful item you could have been carrying but hadn’t mentioned before. Reactions NPCs may be friendly, hostile, or undecided. If the last, the GM rolls 3d6 for a reaction: 3-6 is hostile, 7-14 neutral, and 15-18 friendly. PC’s may roll against relevant skills or use capabilities to influence these outcomes. Combat Combat proceeds in turns. Every turn, each fighter picks an action (and one target for each attack). Actions are resolved from highest to lowest DX (split ties randomly). Attack: roll against relevant weapon skill. GM will set mods based on size, speed, range, etc. The target may defend: roll against a base roll of 6 (to dodge; the only option against ranged weapons) or 3 (to block or parry melee attacks with suitable weapons) + skill mods. Success negates one attack. Move: reposition on the battlefield or change posture (stand up, etc.) Prepare: Ready an unready weapon, aim a ranged weapon (for positive mods), or concentrate on using a capability. A successful attack does damage. Roll damage dice (as the GM directs) and subtract the damage resistance (DR) of the target to get penetrating damage. Multiply this by factors that account for weapon and target type: x0.5 for pi-, x1.5 for cut/pi+, x2 for imp/pi++, x1/3 for Unliving, x1/5 for Homogeneous. Round fractions down, but keep a minimum of 1 point for an attack that does any penetrating damage. This result is the wound damage. Subtract wound damage from your current HP. The effects depend on your base HP and how many HP you have left (which may be less than 0): Full HP to 1 HP left: No effect. Less than 0 HP: Roll vs. HT, -1 per full multiple of HP below 0, each turn, to avoid falling unconscious. Less than -1xHP: You need medical (or magical) attention. Roll vs. HT at each multiple of HP less than 0 (-1xHP, -2xHP, etc.). On a failure, you die. If you succeed you’re still alive, but continue to roll each turn as above to avoid falling unconscious. Less than -5xHP: You are dead. Start a new character. Less than -10xHP: You are dead, and there’s not enough left to bury. Healing Roll vs. HT once every hour to regain consciousness. If severely injured (less than -1xHP), roll only when recovering a hit point. Roll vs. HT once per day of rest and decent food; success recovers 1 HP. Medical skills, technology, and certain capabilities can increase this rate.

04-09-2021, 10:21 PM	#33
thrash Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: traveller	Re: GURPS Ultra-Lite revisited This version tries to simplify wounding (while still sticking close to the GURPS Lite system), and then uses the word count to add more detail to Other Capabilities and Gear. I've noticed another difference between Basic Set or Lite and Ultra-Lite v0.8: in the latter, defending is an action. A character has to choose whether to attack or defend; you can't do both. I've followed full-spectrum GURPS in this, allowing any target to make a defense roll to avoid the attack, but I could pull it out into a separate action. It would speed up combat by making it more deadly, at the expense of upward compatibility. What does anyone think?