02-11-2022, 06:23 AM | #1 |
Join Date: Jan 2022
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changing fighting mechanics themselves with homebrews?
Is it bad to have some weird homebrewed rules to the point where I'm changing fighting mechanics themselves? For example, I made it so that when an undead monster like a zombie is meant to roll for unconsciousness, I pretty much make it a death HT, and they roll to exist (And every time they take damage, they roll that again) (+ any death doors they have on top of it)
(So one zombie can get two death rolls at the same time) Pretty much, I just give undead more than the normal amounts of HP but make it much easier for them to die when they reach negative HP levels. |
02-11-2022, 06:47 AM | #2 |
Join Date: Nov 2015
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Re: changing fighting mechanics themselves with homebrews?
As a GM you can make any new mechanic you think works for your game, and don't even need to assign it a point cost unless you want it to interact with player's point totals and even then, you can give it an ad hoc number that works for your and your campaign.
That said, there are already disadvantages like Easy to Kill or Fragile (Unnatural) that make whoever has them die faster, rolling twice might be an extra burden on you, when rolling once with a penalty, or failing automatically could make things easier. |
02-11-2022, 06:50 AM | #3 |
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Lawrence, KS
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Re: changing fighting mechanics themselves with homebrews?
In GURPS, you can adopt rules like that if they achieve the desired narrative effect. This isn't exactly like any existing GURPS alternate rule, but it's somewhat like Cannon Fodder (listed under Cinematic Combat Rules) and it's also somewhat like the Fragile disadvantage (especially the Brittle version), depending on whether you prefer a game mechanical convention or a different build.
As a simulationist GM, I would be careful to ask whether either approach is consistent with the way I think the world works. For a gamist GM, it would be important to ask how scenes will play out if you run them that way. I recommend giving at least a little thought to both questions. But if they idea seems to pass those tests, by all means adopt it. It's not rules-as-written, but GURPS GMs are allowed to use alternate rules.
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Bill Stoddard I don't think we're in Oz any more. |
02-11-2022, 07:47 AM | #4 | ||
Join Date: Jun 2013
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Re: changing fighting mechanics themselves with homebrews?
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02-11-2022, 07:59 AM | #5 | |
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Lawrence, KS
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Re: changing fighting mechanics themselves with homebrews?
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Bill Stoddard I don't think we're in Oz any more. |
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02-11-2022, 12:13 PM | #6 |
Join Date: Jun 2018
Location: The Wired
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Re: changing fighting mechanics themselves with homebrews?
No. Never! By hacking around with the system, you are using GURPS as intended. I'd argue that it's alright to riff on the rules any game, but GURPS in particular is intended to be experimented with. Go for it, man!
I agree with the other players that you should think critically about the implications of the changes you're making, but with a toolbox system like GURPS, you should always be doing that, even when you're using the rules as written! Some rules just aren't right for some campaigns, and this applies to the books' rules just as much as it applies to your own—even rules that the books don't explicitly mark as optional. |
02-11-2022, 03:21 PM | #7 | |
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Berkeley, CA
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Re: changing fighting mechanics themselves with homebrews?
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02-11-2022, 03:34 PM | #8 |
Night Watchman
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Cambridge, UK
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Re: changing fighting mechanics themselves with homebrews?
I'd add: "Resist the temptation to change the rules so that an event that didn't come out the way you wanted would be awesome next time." Things don't repeat much, and it's easy to cause weird side effects.
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The Path of Cunning. Indexes: DFRPG Characters, Advantage of the Week, Disadvantage of the Week, Skill of the Week, Techniques. |
02-11-2022, 03:49 PM | #9 |
Wielder of Smart Pants
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Ventura CA
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Re: changing fighting mechanics themselves with homebrews?
Isn't this basically the "Worthy" variant of Cannon Fodder?
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