Total Failure for my attempt to run GURPS at Work!

[GameBuddah]

Today, I attempted to run a GURPS game for a couple of colleagues over lunch. I was trying to convince a D&D player to give the system a try - it was a train wreck.

First, while I have most of the hardbound 4th ed books, I haven't played GURPS in 15 years. So, I didn't know how to handle the new damage types, and spent most of the game actually trying to look things up.

The combat cards were helpful, but I'd forgotten how Dodge works, so had to look that up.

I think the major problem is that I needed to re-read the combat rules before trying to run it, and should have statted out the encounters before hand. (I've had a series of family emergencies this week that has kept me from preparing).

So Help! Is there a succinct reference for combat somewhere that someone has compiled, or should I just buy the Basic set pdfs and print out those sections.

Also, any advice for a "new" game master trying to teach a new group?

Update 1:

The second game went much better. We're still trying to figure out RoF and multiple shots. I'm going to look at the rules in Campaigns again this weekend.

I had the stats for the cats, I had my laptop with GCA, I had a hex map, we had chips and dip.

Update 2:

Things were much better this game session, but we kept forgetting the speed/range table and reloads. An hour session is hardly enough time to do a ranged combat with 6 unarmored NPCs and two PCs.

[sir_pudding]

I like the mook's (aka Warren Wilson) cheat sheets (although as far as I know his hit location tables are still incomplete) over at themook.net.

I use Bruno's Grand Unified Hit Location Table. Note that it has at least one error: Spine can be targeted by imp.

Originally Posted by GameBuddah

Also, any advice for a "new" game master trying to teach a new group?

Speaking of the mook, read his How to Be a GURPS GM.

[D10]

You should check out the "How to be a GURPS GM" that was currently released, should help you a ton, I know it helped me a ton.

[whswhs]

I strongly recommend downloading and printing out GURPS Lite and using just the version of the combat rules that's available there.

Though the other thing I recommend is that you read the rules and rule a mock combat, step by step, on your own before you try to run one for other people. That will get you familiar enough with the rules so you aren't fumbling around trying to figure the whole thing out. GMing does take a little prep time.

Good luck on the next time!

Bill Stoddard

[Captain Joy]

Originally Posted by GameBuddah

Also, any advice for a "new" game master trying to teach a new group?

In general, don't waste time looking anything up, unless your group is interested in taking up game time to learn the rules.

I have several different versions of combat cheat sheets available on my website.

You might also considering starting with a house-ruie ultra-lite combat at first, and add more complexity as your group is ready.

[Peter Knutsen]

Originally Posted by GameBuddah

Also, any advice for a "new" game master trying to teach a new group?

Prepare a lot better, first. I find it quite annoying when the GM doesnt have mastery of the rules system used.

You might also want to run a few solo situations (meaning you yourself only), just to familiarize or re-familiarize yourself with the kinds of rules that can be tricky. As you suggest, how Dodge works, and the new damage types. Creating a setup for solo that involves several damage types, or even all the tricky ones, sounds non-trivial to me. Perhaps someone could write a short Pyramid article about that?

If it's been 15 years, how strong a sense do you retain of how character creation works? You might also benefit from creating a dozen characters, just to re-familiarize yourself with how it looks from the players' perspective, especially if you're not going to give your players pre-gens next time (I assume you did during the lunch campaign).

[gilbertocarlos]

Also, look into GURPS Lite.

[mook]

Originally Posted by GameBuddah

I think the major problem is that I needed to re-read the combat rules before trying to run it. Is there a succinct reference for combat somewhere?

In addition to the "cheat sheets" already mentioned, some combat examples might be worth a look to kind of get a feel for the flow of things.

Good luck with the new group!

[hackbarth]

1: GURPS is a front-load system. It's in the forum FAQ. It runs very well if you make your homework first. You need to stat your NPCs, prepare encounters and try to imaginde and be prepared for the combats. You can't rely on looking into the rules as the game rolls, you gonna get lost, loose momentum in the roleplay and bog everyone down.
2: GURPS is modular, so if you are starting at it, start small. Use only the GURPS-Lite rules, it's a very good way to limit yourself to only what you need to start playing.

For the best and simpler succint reference to combat in GURPS, I would go to the Mook Combat examples.

[GameBuddah]

Originally Posted by sir_pudding

Speaking of the mook, read his How to Be a GURPS GM.

I have it, and I've read it. It's good.

Originally Posted by whswhs

I strongly recommend downloading and printing out GURPS Lite and using just the version of the combat rules that's available there.

Though the other thing I recommend is that you read the rules and rule a mock combat, step by step, on your own before you try to run one for other people. That will get you familiar enough with the rules so you aren't fumbling around trying to figure the whole thing out. GMing does take a little prep time.

Good luck on the next time!

Bill Stoddard

The purpose of this game is that we all learn 4th Edition together, this is actually a prep for a campaign that I'm planning to run in the spring for my regular gaming group who has been playing L5R (3rd + 4th Editions) - and I need to be really proficient at running GURPS because one fo the players in my regular group is of the "GURPS is hard" variety.

Originally Posted by Peter Knutsen

Prepare a lot better, first. I find it quite annoying when the GM doesnt have mastery of the rules system used.

I agree, but the well being of family members trumps game prep every day of the week.

Originally Posted by Peter Knutsen

If it's been 15 years, how strong a sense do you retain of how character creation works? You might also benefit from creating a dozen characters, just to re-familiarize yourself with how it looks from the players' perspective, especially if you're not going to give your players pre-gens next time (I assume you did during the lunch campaign).

Character creation hasn't changed that much, points are a little different and PD is gone, but generally DX and IQ influence skill levels...

Originally Posted by hackbarth

1: GURPS is a front-load system. It's in the forum FAQ. It runs very well if you make your homework first. You need to stat your NPCs, prepare encounters and try to imaginde and be prepared for the combats. You can't rely on looking into the rules as the game rolls, you gonna get lost, loose momentum in the roleplay and bog everyone down.

Never truer words have been spoken.

Here is the self-feedback I sent to the players:

In the future I’m going to ask for feedback from each game session, but today I won’t because all the problems lay at my feet.

GM needs to stat encounters before game session
GM needs to familiarize himself with damage types (pi-,pi+,pi++) before the game session.
GM needs to familiarize himself with rate-of-fire
I could go on.
Next Thursday, we’ll try a new encounter and see if things are better.

If you're curious, here is the background that I've given players for the game:

Background:

In 1922, after the discovery of the Tomb of King Tutankhamun by Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon, interest in Egyptology spiked drawing would be explorers, archeologists, and treasure hunters to Egypt seeing fame and treasure.

One such man, Lord Dunnesday, was once a great gentleman explorer in the 1890s, though now, in his 80s, is unable to explore himself.

The player characters are contacted by agents of Lord Dunnesday in Cairo. After they meet with Lord Dunnesday, the player characters discover that Lord Dunnesday has a papyrus fragment of the ancient Egyptian Book of Thoth written in Hieratic script.

This fragment leads the party deep into the western desert, where they discover a set or ruins more ancient than the Old Kingdom…

The Tomb of Thoth will be a “Dungeon Delving” adventure set in the late 20s/early 30s with explorers, six guns, and sword canes.

We’ll run through basic GURPS combat, GURPS melee combat, skill rolls, and basic GURPS mechanics.

Each week we’ll explore a single room, find treasures, and fight monsters.

Think “The Mummy” meets D&D.

This will give us the opportunity to use melee combat, ranged combat, and some magic spells - a good way to familiarize ourselves with the system's many facets.