10-02-2015, 12:57 PM | #1 |
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Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Montréal, Québec
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GURPS Action 4: Specialists
GURPS Action does a solid job of rounding up the key archetypes of its namesake genre: the stealthy assassin and infiltrator, the cunning investigator and face man, the no-nonsense shooter and demolition man, and so on. Each role is writ large; for example, the medic doesn't just bandage the wounded, but also autopsies corpses, administers truth serums, and handles bio-weapons, while the wire rat is expected to be an expert at communications, security systems, surveillance, and everything else with a circuit board inside. Moreover, there's little overlap between templates – for instance, while anybody can power up a computer or drive a car, only the hacker can crack digital security and only the wheel man has much hope of winning a high-speed chase.A tricky mission But what about the action hero who focuses on a single, narrow area – or on several unrelated ones? That's when you call in the specialists . . . or in this case, GURPS Action 4: Specialists. This modular character-design system for the Action series offers an alternative to the chunky 250-point templates of GURPS Action 1: Heroes and GURPS Action 3: Furious Fists. It gives you the tools to equip your alter-ego with precisely the skill sets needed to fill a specialized role, allowing you to cover gaps in your team's capabilities or simply play somebody with an unusual past. And because abilities are added one 25-point chunk at a time, the same tools enable you to generate low-level NPCs for use as enemies, extras, or sidekicks – or to create low- or high-powered PCs for games that start before or long after the protagonists are A-list celebrities. You can even use these rules to "level up" the heroes of your existing campaign. Like to think outside the box? Feel inspired by that oddball in your favorite movie? Just need a way to toss together interesting supporting characters on the fly? GURPS Action 4: Specialists is on your team! — Store Link: http://www.warehouse23.com/products/SJG37-0331
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Sean "Dr. Kromm" Punch <kromm@sjgames.com> GURPS Line Editor, Steve Jackson Games My DreamWidth [Just GURPS News] |
10-02-2015, 01:02 PM | #2 |
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Chicagoland
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Re: GURPS Action 4: Specialists
Seeing Action 4 released inspired me to not only buy it, but a bunch of other GURPS digital stuff yesterday. I hope the $100 or so I spent will be taken as a vote in favor of more Action supplements.
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10-02-2015, 01:29 PM | #3 |
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Tuscaloosa, AL
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Re: GURPS Action 4: Specialists
The Disadvantage groups on the basic template alone made this one a good buy for me, and I don't think I'll ever run Action. They're very inspirational.
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10-02-2015, 01:32 PM | #4 |
Join Date: Jun 2006
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Re: GURPS Action 4: Specialists
This exactly. It'll really help me out with helping players pick out their disadvantages in freeform creation. I think DF and MH need this treatment, too. The Pointless systems in the Alternate GURPS Pyramid articles are one step, but I think they should be re-done to be more like this!
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10-02-2015, 01:44 PM | #5 | |
Banned
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Europe
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Re: GURPS Action 4: Specialists
Quote:
The Slush Fund thing is also kinda good. I mean, uneven points and having the same trait twice was never a real problem, so this is a rather good and elegant solution to an unreal problem. I do miss the whole Background Lens thing, though. That was one of the best things of GURPS Action, but volume 4 seems to do away with it. |
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10-02-2015, 01:46 PM | #6 |
Banned
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Europe
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Re: GURPS Action 4: Specialists
Is it still possible to see e23 sales figures, like it was some years ago? I'd like to see the sales figures for this voume 4 PDF...
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10-02-2015, 01:48 PM | #7 |
Join Date: Jun 2006
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Re: GURPS Action 4: Specialists
I think they took it away and snuck it back in as some of the skill sets already in there ;) Take another look, I think you'll find most of them ready-built in there, with 5 extra points to boot.
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10-02-2015, 02:08 PM | #8 |
Banned
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Europe
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Re: GURPS Action 4: Specialists
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10-02-2015, 02:11 PM | #9 | |
GURPS Line Editor
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Montréal, Québec
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Re: GURPS Action 4: Specialists
Quote:
Academic → AcademicsOthers are merely obvious: Intelligence → Intelligence or TradecraftA few don't have common terms in their names, so they take a second to click: Athlete → Physical TrainingBut it's all there! The difference is that you can specialize a lot more. The whole point is that you build up your background in detail rather than being forced to use one of a handful of one-size-fits-all lenses – maybe your intelligence guy was a language expert who worked behind a desk (Linguist), and perhaps your criminal was subtle rather than seamy (like Femme Fatale). The rules still support the GM imposing a specific background if it suits the campaign; see pp. 7-9.
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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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10-02-2015, 02:45 PM | #10 | |
Banned
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: 100 hurricane swamp
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Re: GURPS Action 4: Specialists
Quote:
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