GURPS Lifepath Character creation, ideas, random possibly

[Qoltar]

Anyone ever attempt adapting GURPS to a random character creation system or lifepath generation style?

Because of the STAR TREK mini-campaign that I'm about to run I've decided to try and adapt the old FASA lifepath character creation outline to GURPS mechanics.

After I do that - thinking about doing a version meant for any background or setting. The main inspiration for this would both be classic TRAVELLER character creation and FASA character creation for Star Trek RPG.


Anyone have good suggestions or tip for this sort of thing?


I am basically adapting or converting a percentile system to a 3D6 system....and trying to get the percentages and probabilities to be roughly equal.


- Ed Charlton

[GoodGame]

Haven't done so, but seen a few CRPG implementations.

Translating those to pen and paper GURPS:

1. Questionaire Package system

a. Design some internally consistent packages of ads/disads that you like to see as a GM.
b. Group once that you don't necessarily like to see stacked (e.g. because you think they're too power-gaming, violate Robins laws, or whatever)
c. Devise a life-path question that has the groups in step b., as mutually exclusive options.

E.g. When you were a teenager your parents paid a guildmaster to take you on. You choose:
a. To join the militia (gives some kind of package like Courage, Sense of Duty, and veteran).
b. To study mechanics (some package of tinkering, gadgeting, machinery skill, etc..).

They aren't necessarily mutually exclusive truly, just that you're making them so by options. Arrange a bunch of questions like this at stages of life (e.g. during childhood, as a teenager, to strike out on your own for the first time), and they make a lifepath for each. Maybe throw in some randomization of the questions per life stage, so some characters might find themselves orphaned as kids, etc..

Possibly the only negative of this system is its somewhat railroaded, and is typically used to reinforce a class choice (e.g. warrior, thief, mage).


2. Career, die system, e.g. Traveller. Basically similiar to the first system, but the players test their luck, by taking as many lifepath steps as they want, but death is a possibility. Also the lifepath steps represents a more focused, and nested career path. E.g. first step might be to elect a branch of service, second step to stay enlisted or attempt an officer school, other steps might represent a mix of random events (ship is raided by pirates), or focused duty choices (e.g. seek desk job, or hazardous duty, or more specialized training).

May point is that players dont have to take more than a few lifepath choices if they want, but they can go for more. Also might trade risk for less gain (less risky choices), but age regardless and therefore some mandatory stat loss due to age. Also the choices dont have to be mutually exclusive always, if setting allows for reassignments, etc..

But basically each lifepath step/stage throws an ad/disad package at the character, with a consistent, logical explanation and maybe some auxillary die rolling to game the events. It'd always be nice to have some flexibility in the package, maybe two sub-choices that the player can choose between, to avoid absolute railroading and pouty players.

3D6 to percentile. Not to interested in doing the math myself, either: http://tft.brainiac.com/archive/9908/msg00394.html

[Qoltar]

My version of this idea will NOT be using D&D or any fantasy game as an influence.

When I first started gaming the main two RPGs that I played or GM-ed were either classic TRAVELLER or Star Trek the RPG by FASA.

So, I look at 'lifepath' as career choice that the player's character made before the currewnt adventure campaign starts.


- Ed Charlton

[Gold & Appel Inc]

Originally Posted by Qoltar

My version of this idea will NOT be using D&D or any fantasy game as an influence.

Subbing in the titles "Redshirt," "Engineer," and "Science Officer," for "Warrior," "Thief," and "Mage" isn't so hard, is it? The linked percentage table is the same regardless of setting chrome.

[pyratejohn]

I've tried but never actually gone the full route. I seem to recall someone saying there's a Journal of the TAS article on how to do it.

It shouldn't be too difficult to whip up your own system based on your favorite version of Traveller. I think I was going to do it quick and dirty like, I'd give everyone a 10 base stat. Have them roll some Fudge dice and add that result to their score. Then run them through Traveller character creation, using the tables as is. There would have to be some tinkering with things like Edu scores, and Soc, but Soc is a fairly easy fix. And Edu could be handled in a variety of ways, possibly even averaging it with Int.

Anyway... that's off the top of my head without even cracking a book. I did just the opposite recently (converted GURPS characters to Traveller) and was very surprised at how easy it was to do. Going the other way can't be too tough.

[Qoltar]

Really can't use the old TRAVELLER tables 'as is' - the skill names are two-thirds or different or mean different things than they do in GURPS.

Think what I'm trying to go for is still something as "GURPS-y" as possible but the outline or linear structure of a lifepath or career path for character creation.

In other words, everywhere that FASA had a player roll percentile dice for cadet cruise results or how many extra skills a character gets - in the GURPS version the player rolls 3d6 at the same decision points and somehow 32d6 determines how many extra character/skill points a player gets at those choice spots.


With a modified version of the TRAVELLER flowchart I may do the same sort of thing.

Except converting FASA version of STAR TREK is up first on my agenda because I start that ST mini-campaign on Wednesday.


- Ed Charlton

[Peter Knutsen]

Originally Posted by Gold & Appel Inc

Subbing in the titles "Redshirt," "Engineer," and "Science Officer," for "Warrior," "Thief," and "Mage" isn't so hard, is it? The linked percentage table is the same regardless of setting chrome.

Correct, and any lifepath system for a science fiction campaign has to be able to reproduce all the science fiction genre archetypes, in order to qualify as being objectively good.

Refusing to acknowledge that archetypes exist is just plain stupid.

[Peter Knutsen]

Originally Posted by GoodGame

2. Career, die system, e.g. Traveller. Basically similiar to the first system, but the players test their luck, by taking as many lifepath steps as they want, but death is a possibility.

Seeing as this is in the GURPS forum, there's a much better alternative to the character dying: Disadvantages, representing crippling physical or psychological injuries, or even undesirable social traits.

There's then the problem of what to do with a player really, really dislikes the final character. You can't force him to play, but allowing him to re-roll involves a real risk that it looks like the player manipulated the GM, which is extremely undesirable.

Still, if you insist on random lifepaths, character death is worse than character injury, because character death rewards the "gambler" player personality who will keep trying to roll up a super-character, dying again and again, until he lucks out.

That constitutes rewarding a kind of personality that I in no way want in any of the campaigns that I'm a GM or player in, the type who has an OCD-like willingness to perform in-person routine work in order to gain a character that is in some way better.

[Mgellis]

Originally Posted by Qoltar

Anyone ever attempt adapting GURPS to a random character creation system or lifepath generation style?

Because of the STAR TREK mini-campaign that I'm about to run I've decided to try and adapt the old FASA lifepath character creation outline to GURPS mechanics.

After I do that - thinking about doing a version meant for any background or setting. The main inspiration for this would both be classic TRAVELLER character creation and FASA character creation for Star Trek RPG.


Anyone have good suggestions or tip for this sort of thing?


I am basically adapting or converting a percentile system to a 3D6 system....and trying to get the percentages and probabilities to be roughly equal.


- Ed Charlton

If I was going to do this, I'd use Inspiration Pad Pro. (I have used it to create some "quick and dirty NPC generators" and it's lots of fun if you don't try to do too much with it.) Let it randomly generate "professions" and then each profession includes certain advantages, disadvantages, skills, etc. Each skill can roll a level, citing relevant statistic: "Mechanic (Automobile) Relevant Statitics+1" etc. This requires you to do a little of the math at the end, but avoids problems where someone might have IQ 13 and an average, IQ-based skill at 9-, which isn't possible under the rules.

I hope this helps.

Mark

P.S. This are two sample outputs from one of the generators I wrote, for Traveller, actually...

Fillipa Elaamin
Female
ST 9 DX 10 IQ 10 HT 11
Age: 18
Occupation: Broadcaster
Primary Skills: Relevant Characteristic +2
Secondary Mental Skills: Default Level
Secondary Physical Skills: Default Level
Reaction Modifier (from Status, Appearance, etc.): -1
At the Moment: Looking at Something on the Wall

Dakhsha Iiluruusinaa
Female
ST 10 DX 10 IQ 10 HT 10
Age: 21
Occupation: Diplomat
Primary Skills: Relevant Characteristic +3
Secondary Mental Skills: Relevant Characteristic +0
Secondary Physical Skills: Default Level
Reaction Modifier (from Status, Appearance, etc.): +1
At the Moment: Has Mistaken One of the Player Characters for a Criminal

As you can see, for an NPC who might have a ten-minute scene in an adventure, and then never show up again, I don't even worry about advantages, etc. (I just assume they're "folded" into skill levels) but I do distinguish between skills they are very likely to have based on their occupation and skills they MIGHT have.

With Pad Pro, I can generate 1,000 NPCs at this level of detail in about twenty seconds.

(I also have one for lunatic bad movie titles, which is actually pretty good for coming up with random adventure plots when I'm stuck for ideas. I find that it doesn't take long for me to turn "Harry Potter and the Man-Eating Cyborgs from Venus" or "Hypnotic Cowgirls Must Die!" into an adventure scenario.)

[DemiBenson]

Originally Posted by Qoltar

Anyone ever attempt adapting GURPS to a random character creation system or lifepath generation style?

Because of the STAR TREK mini-campaign that I'm about to run I've decided to try and adapt the old FASA lifepath character creation outline to GURPS mechanics.

I am basically adapting or converting a percentile system to a 3D6 system....and trying to get the percentages and probabilities to be roughly equal.

I've never done that (so grab your handful of salt), but converting game mechanics is somewhat straightforward:

1. Decide how close to the source material you want the game mechanics and style to be.
2. Start converting small, discrete game-mechanical sections one-by-one.
3. Repeat #2 until you've got a dozen (or 10, or 7, or any other medium-sized number), then re-edit what you've got to take into account how close to source each change is in style and mechanics.
4. Repeat #2 and #3 until you're finished.

For this lifepath project, I'd say don't stick too close to FASA's version - what you want is a set of paths through the tree that results in characters that are stylistically close to your game's version of Star Trek, not necessarily one that perfectly emulates FASA's.

I'd also recommend not making it random, since this is GURPS. If you need to limit how many lifepath events a person can take, you can use the kind of mechanic from Burning Wheel: everyone starts with a "Noble/Peasant/Whatever Born" path which might give you some attributes/modifiers, then you pick one of the possible exits from that path to go to the next one, and continue until you've finished. The main limit is that each lifepath you take adds some number of years to your age. The secondary limit is that each lifepath choice will add skills/adv/disadv, and you might run out of points to spend.

If you don't have a died/crippled/dropped out random event (and you shouldn't), you might consider having each lifepath choice have requirements such as race (vulcans only), stats (IQ 11+), skill (Tactics 13+), completion of certain earlier choices (like Starfleet Academy courses), or age (must be between 12 and 16 years old) or sequence number (this must be your second lifepath choice after "Born as Human").
Also, the "Born as X" starting points can have some lenses like "Orphan", "War Refugee", "Diplomat's Child", "Merchant Family", "Colonial Family" to spice things up a bit so not everyone is a human born on Earth, Vulcan on Vulcan, etc.
You could include a couple of side-paths, functionally equivalent to the modern "backpacked across Europe" that take a few years and give some minor benefits (like Claim to Hospitality, a Language or Cultural Familiarity, Allies, Area Knowledge, or an odd skill like Skiing). Most side-paths could be slotted in any time, but Starfleet Academy might not allow an officer to take time off except in special circumstances - they want dedicated officers not dabblers!

Players can decide how old they want to start as, and how many times they've switched careers, until they run out of points.

BTW, it sounds like a lot of work, but it also sounds kinda fun and your players will appreciate it.