Pyramid #3/44: Alternate GURPS II

Kromm · 06-22-2012, 11:00 AM

Rules serve a purpose
Showing you where to begin
To break them in style
— Some hack

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:

Adrenaline, exhaustion, bursts of energy, exertion – GURPS conflates it all into Fatigue Points. But as The Last Gasp will teach you, there's a big difference between the short-term and long-term effects of pushing yourself too hard. This two-part system makes long-term FP expenditure far more serious, while introducing a short-term analogue that makes combat lulls a necessity.
Ever wish that an exotic skill were an advantage so that you could apply modifiers, toss it into a power, or just keep the roll to use it flat and predictable? From Skills to Advantages presents a simple trick that makes these things – and more – possible.
While the Fourth Edition approach of treating languages as advantages is simple and realistic, the Third Edition language skills allowed for more degrees of fluency. Can the two concepts be reconciled? Colorless Green Ideas Sleep Furiously says "yes," "أيوا," and "是," with 160+ sample skills and realistic defaults that work whether you buy languages as advantages or skills.
GURPS Mass Combat was designed to keep roleplaying from vanishing into large-scale combat . . . but sometimes it's fun to fight a war just for the sake of it! In this month's (extra-long) Eidetic Memory, David Pulver introduces rules for Tactical Mass Combat. Use 'em for a no-holds-barred "boardgame" – or just to add more of a tactical element to your next mass battle.
Is your gaming group sick of keeping track of every copper, penny, and farthing? Would you like a quick-and-easy way to adjudicate purchases without ever having to fuss with cash? Then you want Abstract Wealth. This fast, simple system ensures that your Wealth level matters, even if the specific details don't.
David's back for a twofer with Survivable Guns – a quick fix for gamers who think that guns are just a bit too deadly in GURPS. This comprehensive Appendix Z even does all of the calculations for the guns in the Basic Set, so that you can print it and start using it right away!
And no Pyramid could be so "alternate" as to lack its usual features, including a Random Thought Table that introduces what may be the most meta-game perk ever, Odds and Ends that add even more options to Tactical Mass Combat, and a Murphy's Rules that . . . actually, there's really no forums-friendly joke for this one – you'll just have to see it for yourself.

— Rev. Pee Kitty & Kromm

06-22-2012, 11:00 AM	#1
Kromm *GURPS* Line Editor Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Montréal, Québec	Pyramid #3/44: Alternate GURPS II Rules serve a purpose Showing you where to begin To break them in style — Some hack 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: Adrenaline, exhaustion, bursts of energy, exertion – *GURPS* conflates it all into Fatigue Points. But as The Last Gasp will teach you, there's a big difference between the short-term and long-term effects of pushing yourself too hard. This two-part system makes long-term FP expenditure far more serious, while introducing a short-term analogue that makes combat lulls a necessity. Ever wish that an exotic skill were an advantage so that you could apply modifiers, toss it into a power, or just keep the roll to use it flat and predictable? From Skills to Advantages presents a simple trick that makes these things – and more – possible. While the Fourth Edition approach of treating languages as advantages is simple and realistic, the Third Edition language skills allowed for more degrees of fluency. Can the two concepts be reconciled? Colorless Green Ideas Sleep Furiously says "yes," "أيوا," and "是," with 160+ sample skills and realistic defaults that work whether you buy languages as advantages or skills. *GURPS Mass Combat* was designed to keep roleplaying from vanishing into large-scale combat . . . but sometimes it's fun to fight a war just for the sake of it! In this month's (extra-long) Eidetic Memory, David Pulver introduces rules for Tactical Mass Combat. Use 'em for a no-holds-barred "boardgame" – or just to add more of a tactical element to your next mass battle. Is your gaming group sick of keeping track of every copper, penny, and farthing? Would you like a quick-and-easy way to adjudicate purchases without ever having to fuss with cash? Then you want Abstract Wealth. This fast, simple system ensures that your Wealth level matters, even if the specific details don't. David's back for a twofer with Survivable Guns – a quick fix for gamers who think that guns are just a bit too deadly in *GURPS. This comprehensive Appendix Z* even does all of the calculations for the guns in the *Basic Set, so that you can print it and start using it right away! And no Pyramid* could be so "alternate" as to lack its usual features, including a Random Thought Table that introduces what may be the most meta-game perk ever, Odds and Ends that add even more options to Tactical Mass Combat, and a Murphy's Rules that . . . actually, there's really no forums-friendly joke for this one – you'll just have to see it for yourself. — Rev. Pee Kitty & Kromm __________________ Sean "Dr. Kromm" Punch <kromm@sjgames.com> *GURPS* Line Editor, Steve Jackson Games My DreamWidth [Just *GURPS* News]