FURPS... FreeformGURPS?

Ulthar88 · 01-16-2013, 07:56 AM

Free-Gurps? FfURPS?

Anyhow... Having gained some more experience in internet gaming, mostly Play-by-Post, it occurs to me that it is a form of game-communication which does not lend itself well to dice-heavy or rules-laden gaming. Freeform, especially in social situations, seems a perfect fit, but I do believe that a system of some kind is indispensable, especially for handling the stickier bits. And I like GURPS as the system because it can provide an answer for almost any darn thing.

Freeform also makes it easier to run a wider variety of game settings -- especially tech-heavy bits like Star Trek or Star Wars -- without a ton of supplemental rules and conversions.

So I thought about gene-splicing the strengths of both approaches. What if I could run a PbP game with a Freeform style but still have the GURPS crunchy bits under the hood for when they're needed? The players would still have a fully developed GURPS character sheet that would provide them with a definition of capacities (and incapacities), but the exact numbers would only be referenced when things are at their trickiest.

I was wondering if anyone had any experience with that sort of thing, or a better idea even.
Thanks!

01-16-2013, 07:56 AM	#1
Ulthar88 Join Date: May 2011 Location: high desert plains	FURPS... FreeformGURPS? Free-Gurps? FfURPS? Anyhow... Having gained some more experience in internet gaming, mostly Play-by-Post, it occurs to me that it is a form of game-communication which does not lend itself well to dice-heavy or rules-laden gaming. Freeform, especially in social situations, seems a perfect fit, but I do believe that a system of some kind is indispensable, especially for handling the stickier bits. And I like GURPS as the system because it can provide an answer for almost any darn thing. Freeform also makes it easier to run a wider variety of game settings -- especially tech-heavy bits like Star Trek or Star Wars -- without a ton of supplemental rules and conversions. So I thought about gene-splicing the strengths of both approaches. What if I could run a PbP game with a Freeform style but still have the GURPS crunchy bits under the hood for when they're needed? The players would still have a fully developed GURPS character sheet that would provide them with a definition of capacities (and incapacities), but the exact numbers would only be referenced when things are at their trickiest. I was wondering if anyone had any experience with that sort of thing, or a better idea even. Thanks!