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Old 10-01-2016, 06:49 PM   #1
Refplace
 
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Default A GURPS Fantasy setting

Ok so we hear it all the time. "I wish GURPS would have a setting".
Really GURPS has had quite a few settings over the years and many are still available. What people really mean is they dont see a setting they really like.
Keeping in mind there is no "Right answer" and that no setting can possibly meet everyone's goals what do people think makes a good setting that people will want to play in enough to get multiple books published for it? That includes Locations, Adventures, and background material.
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Old 10-01-2016, 08:46 PM   #2
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Default Re: A GURPS Fantasy setting

I'd like an expanded Seas of Dread, Seas of Daring from GURPS Horror.
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Old 10-01-2016, 09:23 PM   #3
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Default Re: A GURPS Fantasy setting

I really enjoyed Shining Force, so a Shining Force seeming setting would be cool

What I would really like is a setting with 'heft', most settings in GURPS other than Banestorm are varying degrees of quite scrawny, and Banestorm isn't that hefty

Roma Arcana is pretty cool, I think were it expanded to be a setting with some actual heft to it then I might actually consider giving it a shot

Also, Faux Fantasy Asia is pretty cool, a GURPS version of Not Lo5R or such could be pretty cool

I pretty much just make up my own, but my own suffer from a definite lack of heft . . . most of my settings could be summed up in 1 pg
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Old 10-02-2016, 03:09 AM   #4
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Default Re: A GURPS Fantasy setting

I am in the minority who has always liked Yrth and think that the setting could use more books. Detailed gazetteers for each nation seem the obvious choice, but the old city book for Tredroy is also an excellent example of what could be done.
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Old 10-02-2016, 04:02 AM   #5
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Default Re: A GURPS Fantasy setting

Quote:
Originally Posted by Kalzazz View Post
What I would really like is a setting with 'heft', most settings in GURPS other than Banestorm are varying degrees of quite scrawny, and Banestorm isn't that hefty...

I pretty much just make up my own, but my own suffer from a definite lack of heft . . . most of my settings could be summed up in 1 pg
The problem is that settings don't start out with any real heft to speak of, they accumulate it through use either by having an active fan base or a dedicated team of writers looking to produce a new product every x months.

The problem with GURPS in this case is also its biggest selling point, that it is primarly a tool kit. Certainly for 4e focus on the company's side has been in rules and GM tools which are seen to have a broad appeal rather than specific setting with a far narrower level of interest. While being tool kit the fan focus has as often as not been upon private projects.

The best fix for the problem would be some sort of unofficial collaborative project to either flesh out an existing setting stub or build a new setting from the ground up. I know that this has been tried a few times with limited success (mostly for SF settings) but I still think it is going to be the best option, particularly if people are willing to go back and work out why the previous efforts tailed off.

Last edited by Frost; 10-02-2016 at 04:32 AM.
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Old 10-02-2016, 04:52 AM   #6
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Default Re: A GURPS Fantasy setting

When it comes to what I like in a setting the most important thing is probably an absence of things I don't like. There are just things that put me right off some settings. It is a bit hard to nail down exactly what these things are though.

American Fantasy seems to have a strong tradition of having modern characters visit fantasy worlds. This is by no means universal or limited to just American Fantasy it just seems to be more common. I don't have the same cultural(?) background so this makes any setting with this feature slightly grating. I like my fantasy worlds distinct and separated.

As for existing worlds that would do well in GURPS, The Gentleman Bastard books, the Tales of the Bard books and the Monster Blood Tattoo books all leap to mind as excellent fantasy worlds with sufficient twists on the standard themes to stand out.
The Gentleman Bastard books are more Renaissance fantasy, while The tales of the Bard covers Gods and Planes. The Monster Blood Tattoo books are something else when it comes to world-building, they are set in an incredibly well thought out world, that is hard to describe easily. A TL4-5 Necro-Georgian-franken-cyber-punk with alchemy, super powers and wonderful illustrations.

When it comes to things I look for in a setting, depth is the big thing. It doesn't matter to me where the depth comes from be it history, language, societal interaction, detailed locations or well described characters.

My current fantasy game world was built from the ground up with a number of clearly stated goals like "For every character archetype there should be a nation that produces said archetype better than other nations" This means if a player goes "I want to play a big guy in heavy armour" I can go "Knight, soldier or warrior, Magical, demonic or manaphobic?"

Another feature of the world is six playable time periods, each one lined up at a different style of play. Mythic, Epic, DF, regular, low fantasy etc.

A bit of a ramble, but the topic is one I find very interesting.

Edit
Other random thoughts
- GURPS Nation stats to compliment City stats
- Individual nation write ups, made with the thought they might get cannibalized by GMs
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Last edited by (E); 10-02-2016 at 05:03 AM.
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Old 10-02-2016, 05:12 AM   #7
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Default Re: A GURPS Fantasy setting

I would kill for a GURPS line of

Midnight
Dragonstar
or
Scarred Lands
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Old 10-02-2016, 06:50 AM   #8
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Default Re: A GURPS Fantasy setting

Quote:
Originally Posted by Refplace View Post
Keeping in mind there is no "Right answer" and that no setting can possibly meet everyone's goals what do people think makes a good setting that people will want to play in enough to get multiple books published for it?
Not existing. Adventures should be drop-in for most settings, with only enough background detail to run it.

I think one of the issues with pitching settings to GURPS players as GURPS players tend to be tinkerers. This is a system that revels in being a toolbox, something that drives away the players who like pre-written settings. How can you sell a pre-written setting to a player who likes designing his own magic system?
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Old 10-02-2016, 07:07 AM   #9
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Default Re: A GURPS Fantasy setting

Quote:
Originally Posted by (E) View Post
When it comes to what I like in a setting the most important thing is probably an absence of things I don't like. There are just things that put me right off some settings. It is a bit hard to nail down exactly what these things are though.
I know where you are coming from, I have as profound and growing dislike for 'conventional' fantasy I.e. most D&D worlds, Banestorm etc. I am not saying that they are bad wrong fun but that they hold no interest for me.

What I want out of a fantasy setting is probably closer to a lot of modern fantasy literature basicly lower magic renaissance low fantasy with occasional shutouts to other genre particularly sword and sorcery, lovecraftian horror, gothic horror amongst others.

You mentioned Scott Lynch's 'Gentleman Bastard' series and I would add things like K J Parker's 'Fencer' series, Paul Kearney's 'Hawkwood' books and even out and out new weird peices such as China Melville's 'Bas-Lag' stories as possible inspiration.

The thing is SJ Games will not (as far as we can tell) licence 'Gentleman Bastard' or 'Bas-Lag'. Licences are expensive the style(s) the books are written in have relatively little penetration (as far as I can tell) into gaming circles and the company is invested in a model of providing tools and frameworks rather than detailed settings.

For exactly the same reasons we are not going to see an in house setting that even makes more of a nod in that direction than Alchemical Baroque did. Given the way SJ Games works I think that as long as the tools and the support are out there I can live with rolling my own.

Rather than just saying that we want SJ Games to come up with a detailed setting like x isn't there more mileage in working out how we get what we want with the resources to hand?
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Old 10-02-2016, 07:14 AM   #10
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Default Re: A GURPS Fantasy setting

As a old time 3e gurps player just getting back into gurps due to the DF Kickstarter, historically Gurps has never had a good series of published adventures. The setting books are a top notch resource for creating a sandbox, but they aren't big on giving you a story, you need to come up with that on your own.

There's nothing wrong with that, but it does mean that if you want a setting with a lot of adventures and supplements, then you might be better off taking golarion or earthdawn and converting the setting and adventures to gurps than waiting for something that is not been a strength of gurps. I know several people have had good luck converting Paizo adventure paths if that's the kind of game you like.
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