The Beauty of GURPS

[johndallman]

Originally Posted by FeiLin

. . . I was amazed how similar the height of the waves were to Beaufort level -5 in SM. I’ve noticed several such coincidences, which I’m starting to suspect is more than a coincidence, and a sign that GURPS has struck something deeper; it’s as if it has a natural connection to the world as we know it.

This is almost certainly because it uses bell curves and logarithmic scaling, both of which are rather common in nature.

[SimonAce]

Originally Posted by ericthered

This is what sold me as well. Its not that gurps can do anything: its that gurps can produce a feeling of immersion I don't get in a lot of other RPG's. You can work hard to tune this up, or you can just let it simmer in the background.



I also love that gurps gives me the feel I want my setting to have. If I can imagine it, I can probably build it. And in a way that actually convinces me that its based on my description.

I feel the same way.

. GURPS 4E is also pretty good at Supers which brought in farther into universal.

Anyway I don't know any game with a 2 page ultra lite version, a 32 page lite version and a modular big as you want version. It also has regular support , a giant back catalog

I personally think its the best RPG system I've ever seen and I've seen a lot of them. Its not by favorite mind you, that's C.J. "GURPS Voodoo" Carella's Unisystem but if I could only have one, it would be GURPS.

Heck we even have a celebrity player. Thomas Middleditch

The only thing its lacking is a bigger play base but breaking through D&D's first mover advantage is a challenge only tiny handful of the hundreds of RPG's has ever come close to managing.

[khorboth]

For me:

I like the internal consistency. GURPS doesn't invent a new kind of mechanic for everything. Bows use the same KIND of stats as guns. Magic spells work like skills. Contests are contests for everything from Chess to wrestling to spells. We don't switch dice, success mechanics, etc. Everything hangs together well because it all works in the same kinds of ways.

I also play with some people who LOVE the fluff but LOTHE the crunch. For them, learning GURPS has been very freeing. Now, we can play in mythic Greece or gritty sci-fi space or steampunk or high fantasy or historical 1668 or sword-and-sandals or 4-color supers or... anything. And they don't have to learn a new system from scratch. This, in turn, has really opened up our gaming table and allowed some new GMs to take their turn at the helm.

[Donny Brook]

For me, I will second what Khorboth said. And SimonAce. And Johndallman. And Anaraxes. And ericthered, and Gollum, and Kasendeja. And Anders, GreatWyrmGold, Turhan's Bey Company, Dr. Beckenstein, whswhs, and FeiLin.

GURPS also has a pretty damn good community forum.

[AlexanderHowl]

Yes, compared to many other RPG forums, this forums is polite and cordial, and its members are not trying to destroy each other over the most minor differences in interpretation.

As for the system itself, it is adaptable enough that you can break and remake it as needed. For example, I have redesigned it for Shadowrun through breaking it down into ten attributes that correspond to the ten attributes of Shadowrun 4e. With each attribute costing 10 CP and by reducing the cost of Wildcard Skills to 20 CP plus 10 CP (since the bonus points went into edge), it actually ended up being a very similar cinematic play style without losing the feel of GURPS in combat.

[FeiLin]

Originally Posted by AlexanderHowl

Yes, compared to many other RPG forums, this forums is polite and cordial, and its members are not trying to destroy each other over the most minor differences in interpretation.

I had a colleague who once claimed the world would be a better place if more people played TTRPGs. To me, GURPS would be the most suitable game for that, given its modularity and... well, basically everything already mentioned and likely most of what will be mentioned.

GURPS is “more role than game”. I find that while it does come with a lot of modules etc, it’s all centered around the interface of the PCs and the world, which places the focus nearly on that immersion of really playing the role of someone else.

DnD is definitely “more game than role”. Sure you have your fancy dice to spice up the game loop, and a lot of other cool stuff, but I always felt the characters were more the same than not - regardless how many prestige classes and whatnots you added. It’s got its charm, but I extensively modded the game to suit our gaming group that it’s hardly the same game just have the right “feel”. GURPS may not be perfect, but is definitely more helpful to crafting that personal experience.

GURPS‘ motto (if there is one) should be “if you can imagine it, you can roleplay it”.

[AlexanderHowl]

Yes, there is some truth to that, which is why I grew so fond of Pathfinder 1e and still considered D&D an inferior product by comparison. With dozens of archetypes per class, and over three dozen PC starting classes, it had a flexibility that approached that of GURPS, though it was more limited. Of course, one the appeals of GURPS if that I can avoid the '0 to God' issue of characters from class-based systems like Pathfinder or Rifts.

For example, I have not had a realistic game that started at less than 250 CP since 4e came out. While I generally limit starting capabilities in realistic games (ST may not exceed 20, DX, IQ, and HT may not exceed 14, no cinematic or supernatural abilities, no exotic abilities without the appropriate technology/perks, Wealth capped at Wealthy, no more than 20 CP per skill, etc.), it is more for the purposes of enhancing game play and to create balanced characters. At 250 CP, GURPS allows for quite competent beginning characters, though they are likely only going to be experts in one field (or a couple of closely related fields).

[whswhs]

Originally Posted by AlexanderHowl

For example, I have not had a realistic game that started at less than 250 CP since 4e came out. While I generally limit starting capabilities in realistic games (ST may not exceed 20, DX, IQ, and HT may not exceed 14, no cinematic or supernatural abilities, no exotic abilities without the appropriate technology/perks, Wealth capped at Wealthy, no more than 20 CP per skill, etc.), it is more for the purposes of enhancing game play and to create balanced characters. At 250 CP, GURPS allows for quite competent beginning characters, though they are likely only going to be experts in one field (or a couple of closely related fields).

I ran a quite satisfying 4/e campaign with 75-point characters.

[ericthered]

Originally Posted by AlexanderHowl

Yes, there is some truth to that, which is why I grew so fond of Pathfinder 1e and still considered D&D an inferior product by comparison. With dozens of archetypes per class, and over three dozen PC starting classes, it had a flexibility that approached that of GURPS, though it was more limited. Of course, one the appeals of GURPS if that I can avoid the '0 to God' issue of characters from class-based systems like Pathfinder or Rifts.

For example, I have not had a realistic game that started at less than 250 CP since 4e came out. While I generally limit starting capabilities in realistic games (ST may not exceed 20, DX, IQ, and HT may not exceed 14, no cinematic or supernatural abilities, no exotic abilities without the appropriate technology/perks, Wealth capped at Wealthy, no more than 20 CP per skill, etc.), it is more for the purposes of enhancing game play and to create balanced characters. At 250 CP, GURPS allows for quite competent beginning characters, though they are likely only going to be experts in one field (or a couple of closely related fields).

Originally Posted by whswhs

I ran a quite satisfying 4/e campaign with 75-point characters.

I think Alexander is talking about Gurp's willingness to start play at whatever power level. A lot of games start you off at level zero, and demand you work up to being earth-shaking heroes. Gurps and the Gurps community by contrast don't really worry about "level one". If the game premise starts you off as top-notch super-spies, you just build the character that way, and there is no weirdness about "How did you get to level 10?" you just start at whatever number of points.

[whswhs]

Originally Posted by ericthered

I think Alexander is talking about Gurp's willingness to start play at whatever power level. A lot of games start you off at level zero, and demand you work up to being earth-shaking heroes. Gurps and the Gurps community by contrast don't really worry about "level one". If the game premise starts you off as top-notch super-spies, you just build the character that way, and there is no weirdness about "How did you get to level 10?" you just start at whatever number of points.

On one hand, sure. I've run a campaign where all the characters were built on 1600 points (and one player dropped out because he couldn't come up with even a thousand point build).

But on the other, Alexander seemed to be endorsing the idea that you need 250 points to create a competent and playable character, even in a realistic campaign, at least as a subordinate assertion. And I think that provides an overly narrow view of what GURPS can do, one that excludes the option of running relatively low-point campaigns. I've found that to be a viable option, so I wanted to speak up for it.