05-01-2023, 01:35 AM | #21 | ||
Join Date: Jul 2021
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Re: Converting D&D/Other Adventures to DFRPG
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OK, thanks. I'll check into it. |
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05-07-2023, 08:18 PM | #22 | |
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Austin, TX
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Re: Converting D&D/Other Adventures to DFRPG
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Combat scales differently between GURPS and D&D. Hordes of weak things are stronger in GURPS than they are in D&D, and a single foe with a lot of strength and toughness is generally weaker - there are exceptions like Electric Floating Jellies, Sword-Armor Golems, or Watchers at the End of Time. But those are powerful single combatants because they have a variety of good defenses on GURPS terms, not because they have a lot of HP.
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05-08-2023, 08:33 AM | #23 | |
Doctor of GURPS Ballistics
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Lakeville, MN
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Re: Converting D&D/Other Adventures to DFRPG
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05-08-2023, 09:27 AM | #24 | |
Join Date: Jul 2021
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Re: Converting D&D/Other Adventures to DFRPG
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I don't understand the whole if it has eyes it dies. So for instance dragons do have nictating membrane. It doesn't make sense to me that it is as touch as the scaled skin armor on the body, but it does. I'd think dragons should have eyelids and should be able to "block" by blinking. Most have long flexible necks so they should be able to "dodge" just moving their head/necks. Anyone with a bow becomes the prime target along with magic users since they also have ranged attacks and powerful magic. Dragons also have magic so why haven't they developed special spells to protect their eyes/face/head? Why aren't they doing things to blind the opposition with the ranged attacks? Dragons in GURPS tend to have weaker ranged attacks than in D&D 5e or depicted in a lot of fantasy. Range is more limited and cone attacks aren't as wide spread and powerful. For giants why not use shields? Why not use your arm to shield your eyes? Basically reducing Scouts to attacks of opportunity. |
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05-08-2023, 10:13 AM | #25 |
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Saint Paul, MN
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Re: Converting D&D/Other Adventures to DFRPG
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05-08-2023, 10:58 AM | #26 | |
Join Date: Jan 2008
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Re: Converting D&D/Other Adventures to DFRPG
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(1) Nictitating membrane helps, but bodkin points are still pretty good at piercing DR 3-9. (2) Spells like Missile Shield are also good, but cost a lot of energy to cast on SM +3-5 creatures (even if you are a SM +3-5 creature[1]), and meteoric iron arrows can still bypass these spells[2]. (3) In any case, this is the kind of thing Doug meant when he said he had to "purposefull[y] design" monsters to be "one tough monster." The point isn't that you can't have tough monsters; it's the fact that HP alone are not a sufficient defense unless you have hundreds of HP. A 500 HP godzilla is relatively immune to eyeshots. A 50 HP T-Rex is not. [1] Unless the GM says otherwise, of course. A house rule that says something like "Subtract your own SM from the SM of creatures you cast Regular spells on for purposes of determining energy cost" would not be a bad thing. In fact I should probably make that one of my own house rules. [2] Perhaps a better idea for a dragon would be an illusion spell to make its eyes appear to be higher or lower on its face than they actually are. Last edited by sjmdw45; 05-08-2023 at 11:02 AM. |
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05-08-2023, 11:11 AM | #27 | |
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Berkeley, CA
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Re: Converting D&D/Other Adventures to DFRPG
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I've used 'offset eyes' on monsters, causing eye shots to be treated as face shots for damage purposes (it's a highly limited No Eyes or No Brain; either way it's probably not more than [2] and might just be a perk). For creatures with tiny brains like dinosaurs it's not not particularly unrealistic. |
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05-08-2023, 01:59 PM | #28 |
Join Date: Jan 2008
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Re: Converting D&D/Other Adventures to DFRPG
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05-08-2023, 02:18 PM | #29 | |
Join Date: May 2023
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Re: Converting D&D/Other Adventures to DFRPG
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05-08-2023, 02:49 PM | #30 | |
Join Date: Jan 2008
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Re: Converting D&D/Other Adventures to DFRPG
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However, this scenario isn't common in DFRPG in practice, in my experience these past six months since switching from 5E. One reason for this is: 1.) Indoor combats. The timescale is such that indoor dungeons work better, so I don't feel bad about using indoor maps that have dungeons the size of an apartment building (e.g. 50 yards x 80 yards). In 5E I feel really awkward doing so because it's hard to explain why the whole dungeon doesn't become a single encounter: by the time three rounds (eighteen seconds) of combat have elapsed, dungeon inhabitants can have had time to realize something is happening and move 60 to 90 yards towards the sounds of trouble. Even though movement speeds are more variable and can be much higher in DFRPG (4 mph to 50 mph) than in 5E (4 mph to usually no more than 12 mph), combat is so much quicker in DFRPG (often one to three seconds) that it feels more like a house clearing operation, just a couple of brief screams and then silence. Therefore I don't feel like an idiot GM by leaving the monsters in their various rooms, lurking in ambush or whatever. Therefore I run more small indoor adventures (vs. outdoor adventures with indoor spaces embedded in the battle map), and so killing things from a distance is harder in DFRPG than in 5E. Another reason is: 2.) Opportunity cost to ranged specialization. Range penalties in DFRPG are also tougher, and the rules are less favorable to kiting. One of the DF professions, the Scout, is specialized to such a degree that he can pull off amazing ranged kills anyway, but it makes it less of a no-brainer to build a ranged combatant/melee switch hitter. Rather, you have to specialize, and if you do you give up some fun stuff that Knights or Swashbucklers have in melee combat, which will be common indoors. But the most important factor is: 3.) Lots of tough monsters are immune. Many, many DFRPG monsters aren't particularly vulnerable to eyeshots anyway. Off the top of my head, trolls, black puddings, peshkali, and fire elementals either don't have heads, or don't care if you headshot them. (They might care a little if you put out both eyes but still won't die yet.) If you choose to specialize in headshots and eyeshots, you'll be relatively useless against a significant fraction of monsters, and it only takes one monster and some bad luck to kill you. (HP attrition is less of a factor than in 5E.) Conclusion: I think you'll be happy with the balance between melee/ranged/spells in DFRPG, and the fun of being attacked by various monsters. I have been. Last edited by sjmdw45; 05-08-2023 at 02:54 PM. |
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