New to GURPS

[corruptjackyl]

Hi, been gaming for well over 30 years, but, somehow never had a group that played GURPS. That has changed recently and I find myself having to create a character for a campaign. Thought I'd ask all of you wonderful people for some pointers and ideas.

250 w/50 disadvantages and 5 quirks.

Playing a Samurai but I want him to have Shadow magic. We're using Thaumatology: Sorcery not standard, skill magic.

Thank you in advance for any advice or thoughts on this!

[tshiggins]

Welcome to GURPS.
Depending on what you played, in the past, you'll find this system potentially much more flexible, and much more lethal, than most. :)

Question: Does your GM plan to use GURPS: Martial Arts?
http://www.sjgames.com/gurps/books/martialarts/

That has a lot of fun options, but G:MA can be a point-sink.

[corruptjackyl]

Probably. I would have to ask.

In my mind I see him as being competent to above average in martial skills with sorcery based off shadow magic.

[tshiggins]

Originally Posted by corruptjackyl

Probably. I would have to ask.

In my mind I see him as being competent to above average in martial skills with sorcery based off shadow magic.

Since it's a supernatural setting, would the GM allow cinematic, "wuxia" type skills?
G:MA has some options available to those, "Trained by a Master," but they're definitely not realistic. :)

Basically, here's what you need to do:

* Figure out what optional rules your GM plans to bolt on to the basic combat system.
* Find out how much it will resemble a combat-intensive dungeon-crawl, or something like the computer game, "Ghost of Tsushima."
* Alternatively, will it include politicking between daimyo competing for the attention of a shogun (or trying to avoid that attention, or perhaps trying to become shogun, themselves)?

In other words, you need to figure out if you need a combat-monster for a Japanese-skinned murder-hobo campaign, or if it will include a magical version of the rich culture and complexity of 1700s Japan, with the added chaos of kami and creatures.

Once you know that, write up a character-sketch. It doesn't have to be long, but it should provide a reasonably complete profile of the character -- his goals, desires, weaknesses and fears.

Only after you understand the GMs expectations (and decide that the campaign he wants to run is the one in which you actually want to play) and have the character sketch, then (and only then!) do you crack the books for character generation.

GURPS works best if you have a solid idea of what sort of character you want to play, and that it fits in the campaign the GM wants to run.
That guides the character construction, and keeps you from getting overwhelmed by options.

[Fred Brackin]

Originally Posted by corruptjackyl

Probably. I would have to ask.
ic.

This is what you need to do. At this point probably only your GM knows what "competent to above average" _means_ in his world.

For example, if I were trying to make a "samurai" I'd want him to have Two-Handed sword-16 for most of his Katana use (you'll need Broadsword to use it one-handed).

There are game mechnical reasons for liking this level. It maximizes your number of critical Hits and minimizes your critical failures. It also gives you a decent Parry (16/2 +3 +1 for Combat Reflexes).

Yet some people might tell you that 16 is very high and the best swordsman in the world is only at 18. I think this is a little low but it's your GM's opinion that matters.

[tshiggins]

Originally Posted by Fred Brackin

This is what you need to do. At this point probably only your GM knows what "competent to above average" _means_ in his world.

(SNIP)

Adding to what Fred said, 250 points brings the character in line with GURPS: Dungeon Fantasy starting characters. Those tend toward high-fantasy, high-combat games, with little in the way of sophisticated socio-political conflicts.

It's basically a dungeon-delving murder-hobo setting, which is why I asked about that.

If it is, then you definitely want a score of 16 in the character's primary combat skill and, since you shouldn't plan to spend much on social skills (Oni youkai probably have no interest in intrigue and subterfuge), you'll have an ample quantity to use to pump up the character's combat capabilities.

[maximara]

Originally Posted by Fred Brackin

=Yet some people might tell you that 16 is very high and the best swordsman in the world is only at 18. I think this is a little low but it's your GM's opinion that matters.

This is what Basic Set p 171 suggests: "Once your skill level reaches 14, additional levels of skill don’t improve your odds of success much."

The GURPSwiki took a post by Kromm and some information from Classic and produced this:

*7 or less (Unskilled): default users
*8-9 (Feeble/Novice): beginners, humorous bumblers, old School day skills
*10-11 (Average): most non-job/secondary and hobby skills for ordinary folks; primary draftee skills
*12-13 (Competent/Low-risk professional): most job skills for ordinary folks including cops, doctors, pilots, and soldiers
*14-16 (Exceptional/Expert/High-risk professional): the most seasoned of ordinary folks such as commandos, field surgeons, and ace pilot
*17-19 (Expert/Heroic): extraordinary world-class experts; generally the best in their field for that generation.
20-25 (Master): it is counter productive to go for a skill this high. Time (and points) is better spent in “subsidiary” skills, related advantages, or Techniques.

[Fred Brackin]

Originally Posted by maximara

This is what Basic Set p 171 suggests: "Once your skill level reaches 14, additional levels of skill don’t improve your odds of success much."

.

Note that this is "simple" success that's being discussed. Raising Skill from 14 to 15 and from 15 to 16 greatly increases the chance of getting a _Critical_ success. See p.347-348 in the Campaigns book.

This is important in combat because Critical Successes do not allow for attempts to Dodge, Parry or Block. This can easily lead to winning a fight.

Also, Skill above 14-16 can absorb penalties. A relevant one for a samurai is -5 to aim for the Neck Hit Location. In the advanced rules in Martial Arts you can buy that penalty down from -5 to -2.

[johndallman]

Welcome!

Originally Posted by corruptjackyl

Playing a Samurai but I want him to have Shadow magic. We're using Thaumatology: Sorcery not standard, skill magic.

There's something important and unusual about GURPS. It is not a "game in a can," ready for you to start character generation. It's a toolkit for a GM to construct the game they want, as regards genre, power level and style. This is why we aren't making lots of suggestions, but asking questions. We don't know enough, yet, to make many suggestions.

You've already been asked about Martial Arts. We know Thaumatology: Sorcery, but that is an additional toolkit for constructing spells, and we don't know quite what you mean by "shadow magic." I presume it will involve shadows and darkness, but I don't know what kind of effects you're aiming to do with it?

[Refplace]

As the others focused on the Samurai portion I'll cime in with a bit of the Shadow Sorcery.
Shadow Manipulation can cover a lot of options.
Obscure to create darkness.
Night Vision if can see into shadows
Shadow Form can give you some stealth and movement.
Warp is probably too expensive for you but if it has enough limitations its possible.
FP or Toxic Innate Attack, perhaps even a cold based attack.