06-22-2012, 10:00 AM | #1 |
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Pyramid #3/44: Alternate GURPS II
One of the joys of e23 is that its goodies are short, easy to produce, and have forever to earn their keep – which means that there's room for the occasional item that doesn't play it safe. Pyramid #3/44: Alternate GURPS II is a good example. Most of the stuff here is too radical or complex ever to find its way into the core of the system, even in a future edition. But all of the following could prove useful to the adventurous gamer:Rules serve a purpose
— Rev. Pee Kitty & Kromm
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06-22-2012, 10:28 AM | #3 |
Join Date: Apr 2010
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Re: Pyramid #3/44: Alternate GURPS II
I was just about to mention that. Feel free to change the one I started to something easier to distinguish. (Or merge the two, either or.)
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06-22-2012, 10:36 AM | #4 |
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Oregon
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Re: Pyramid #3/44: Alternate GURPS II
Just bought it, already love it! Douglas Cole's article about an alternate Fatigue system is very cool*, and the "Action Points" he introduces remind me of Fallout. Haven't gotten to the Tactical Mass Combat article yet, but I'm very excited for it. It's an idea I've wanted to see implemented for a long time, turning Mass Combat from a predominantly strategic simulation (ie, good for telling who won, but not much else) into something that provides more tactical choices for PC commanders.
*It's also complicated enough that I'll probably have some questions about how to adjudicate it. More on that later though. |
06-22-2012, 10:47 AM | #5 | |
Doctor of GURPS Ballistics
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Lakeville, MN
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Re: Pyramid #3/44: Alternate GURPS II
Quote:
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06-22-2012, 11:59 AM | #6 | |
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Oregon
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Re: Pyramid #3/44: Alternate GURPS II
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Also, for recovering FP, the implication is that a character basically has three "pools" of FP, representing mild, severe, and deep fatigue loss. He starts by losing from the mild pool, then dips into the severe pool, and finally dives into the deep end. When recovering, he starts by refreshing the mild pool (taking 10 hours to completely recover it) before moving on to the severe and deep. If a 10 FP character loses, say, 8 FP (losing the first 5 from the "mild" pool and the next 3 from the "severe") then rests for 6 hours (regaining 3 points of mild fatigue) he's now effectively at 5 FP, but his mild pool is down by 2 and his severe is down by 3. If he loses more FP now the first 3 will be mild, then the next 2 will be severe, and further loss will be deep. Do I have this right? I think it makes sense, but trying to explain it may have confused me more... =P ----- On an unrelated note, just read through the Tactical Mass Combat rules. I do like them, though I kinda wish there was some attrition involved rather than simply "Unit Eliminated". Maybe something like "Unit Weakened" and at 50% TS. The Close Combat rules feels particularly binary, with the possible results being "No Effect", "Attacker / Defender Retreats" or "Attacker / Defender Eliminated". I'd love there to be a "Stalemate" option there, where neither side makes particular progress but both take casualties. Anyways, it's a great framework to start from, and something I've been wanting for a long time. Last edited by vierasmarius; 06-22-2012 at 12:04 PM. |
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06-22-2012, 12:10 PM | #7 |
Join Date: Aug 2004
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Re: Pyramid #3/44: Alternate GURPS II
I'll leave it to Douglas to offer more insight as he deems fit, but as far as recovering FP, it sounds like you've got it right. (As an aside, I'll take this moment to thank Douglas for effort he put in to make the first half of the article clearer to me... it didn't change the underlying system, but the presentation felt a lot more accessible once the dust settled.)
Anyway, the way I kept it straight in my mind as I was editing it -- and how I'd likely run it, if I used this system in a game -- is to envision the "pool" to be three different-colored counters/chips/M&Ms/whatever:
Thus someone with 10 FP would have:
When you spend FP, first you burn the greens, then the yellows, and then the reds. When you recover, first you recover the greens, then the yellows, and finally the reds. This makes it entirely possible to have all your greens and all your reds, and none of your yellows. (I'd probably make custom counters for each player so that -- in addition to being color-coded -- the counters also listed how long each one took to earn back.) I'm not sure if this is any clearer to you, but it worked for me when I was mulling it over. :-) Last edited by Steven Marsh; 06-22-2012 at 12:36 PM. Reason: Altered list of "counters" |
06-22-2012, 12:25 PM | #8 | ||
Doctor of GURPS Ballistics
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Lakeville, MN
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Re: Pyramid #3/44: Alternate GURPS II
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Quote:
You burn from green to red. You RECOVER from green to red as well. Your recovery rate is dictated by your stats; you calculate it once, write it down, and then you just move your poker chips around. Doug
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06-22-2012, 12:27 PM | #9 | |
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Oregon
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Re: Pyramid #3/44: Alternate GURPS II
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Oh, I guess that's another question. With FP being a more valuable resource (in terms of the difficulty to recover it and the consequences of losing it) would this alter the value of advantages that restore it? There's mention of Regenerate FP (keeping the same cost, though with additional intermediate levels) but what about things like Leech or Absorptive DR? I'm presuming that they'd stay the same, since they're not mentioned. Anyways, thanks for humoring me guys! Wanted to make sure I understand it correctly. ^_^ Last edited by vierasmarius; 06-22-2012 at 12:31 PM. |
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06-22-2012, 12:32 PM | #10 |
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Dobbstown Sane Asylum
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Re: Pyramid #3/44: Alternate GURPS II
No, this happens every time there's a new release, and it's fine. Generally, someone will start an unofficial thread on Thursday when they notice the What's New page changing -- often minutes (or even hours) before Steven posts the official announcement in the e23 forum. And Kromm waits until Friday to do the official announcement in the GURPS forum. There's almost never not a selection of unofficial threads for any new release. We don't mind; it's just extra promotion. :)
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