05-01-2021, 11:10 AM | #31 | |
Join Date: Oct 2007
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Re: How to Be a GURPS GM: Managing Expectations
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What the majority of TTRPG players seemingly want is plausible games and worlds, not realistic/simulated games and worlds. And while wargamers tend to seek more simulated realism they still prefer to keep the rules in check so the game flows, instead of having to break out an excel spreadsheet to figure out where a shot landed. That's at least what I've gathered from all the wargamers I've talked to and/or observed live and online. As a general rule, when simulation and fun are at odds most players pick fun. |
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05-01-2021, 12:30 PM | #32 |
Night Watchman
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Cambridge, UK
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Re: How to Be a GURPS GM: Managing Expectations
Yes, if "plausible" means "My character can do the things I imagine them being capable of." There seem to be quite a lot of modern D&D players who are happy with a very abstract combat system and a very weird model of time and space, and will attempt to solve problems with these via contorted reading of rules. The GURPS notion of the reality check has no appeal to them at all.
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The Path of Cunning. Indexes: DFRPG Characters, Advantage of the Week, Disadvantage of the Week, Skill of the Week, Techniques. |
05-01-2021, 01:13 PM | #33 |
Join Date: May 2007
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Re: How to Be a GURPS GM: Managing Expectations
Add me to the list of people who think that, while a 100% accurate simulation of reality is neither achievable nor desirable, a "sufficiently plausible" simulation of reality is one of GURPS's strong points.
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I predicted GURPS:Dungeon Fantasy several hours before it came out and all I got was this lousy sig. |
05-01-2021, 01:29 PM | #34 | |
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Ronkonkoma, NY
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Re: How to Be a GURPS GM: Managing Expectations
Quote:
Your character being able to do what you imagine they can do isn't what it means because you can imagine implausible, cinematic things they should be able to do. ("Critical hit to the vitals? Bah, that's just a flesh wound!") |
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05-01-2021, 02:39 PM | #35 |
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: Snoopy's basement
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Re: How to Be a GURPS GM: Managing Expectations
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05-02-2021, 09:58 PM | #36 | |
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Saskatoon, SK
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Re: How to Be a GURPS GM: Managing Expectations
Quote:
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MiB 7704 Playing: GURPS Nordlond Dragons of Hosgarth Running Savage Worlds Tour of Darkness (Vietnam + Mythos) |
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05-03-2021, 07:25 AM | #37 | |
GURPS Line Editor
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Montréal, Québec
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Re: How to Be a GURPS GM: Managing Expectations
Quote:
GURPS players are so few in number that the game is all but on life support. The rare few who play it are extraordinarily vocal about both their preference for highly complex simulations and their frustration with the lack of certain content, notably GURPS Vehicle Design. The fact that they are so vocal leads them to believe that they're many times more numerous than they are, while what they're vocal about is precisely what drives away potential new players whose adoption of GURPS might build up the player base to the point where SJ games would deem the "missing" content worth considering. The counterintuitive-but-incontrovertible truth is that the aggressive domination of GURPS discussions by diehard simulationists is the single biggest factor sealing the fate of the very content those interlocutors crave, while if they were to shelve that talk in public forums for a few years, they'd end up getting more of what they want in the long term.
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Sean "Dr. Kromm" Punch <kromm@sjgames.com> GURPS Line Editor, Steve Jackson Games My DreamWidth [Just GURPS News] |
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05-03-2021, 07:48 AM | #38 |
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Gothenburg, Sweden
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Re: How to Be a GURPS GM: Managing Expectations
Now I'm sad.
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“When you arise in the morning think of what a privilege it is to be alive, to think, to enjoy, to love ...” Marcus Aurelius |
05-03-2021, 08:41 AM | #39 |
GURPS Line Editor
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Montréal, Québec
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Re: How to Be a GURPS GM: Managing Expectations
Me, too. The delusion that there are loads of realism- and simulation-oriented gamers out there, and that all GURPS needs for success is louder screaming to reach those people, has proven nearly impossible to dispel. Reality is that most gamers don't care about that stuff at all, so shouting that GURPS does that stuff well is actively repelling new blood. But those doing the shouting remain safely ensconced in echo chambers that agree with them and not with my previous two sentences.
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Sean "Dr. Kromm" Punch <kromm@sjgames.com> GURPS Line Editor, Steve Jackson Games My DreamWidth [Just GURPS News] |
05-03-2021, 09:58 AM | #40 |
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: Snoopy's basement
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Re: How to Be a GURPS GM: Managing Expectations
I'm glad I'm not one of those people.
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