Surprisingly, I find GURPS to be the best system for a lower power lower magic Sword and Sorcery game. It replaces the choices of high power play with other choices such as weapons that actually do different things, combat maneuver choices, skill choices etc. Low Power should not be synonymous with Low Crunch.
Love it for low power games -- that's how I fell in love with it originally, it FELT more real and dangerous vs. the D&D games I was playing at the time.
Regarding Time Dilation specifically, the first page in the Basic Set Combat chapter actually says: "The GM shouldn’t feel constrained by the one-second time scale... He should feel free to drop out of combat time whenever dramatically appropriate" (and then return to it). It is never written anywhere else, so I believe most people don't even remember it's there. Also, using the Lockpicking example, there's a very nice Piramyd article which turns such actions into "Attacks", in which a set amount of "damage" is required to complete the task. So the lock might have have "DR 1" and "HP 10", and the lockpicker rolls vs skill, and then deals IQ-based Thrust damage against it. I always thought these rules quite nice.
Your video gives me hope as I return to trying to GM GURPS (and run your excellent adventures) after a hiatus. When I ran Those the Comet Brings online we had exactly a situation where your #5 would have helped - someone wanted to sneak around a building, but RAW it would have taken them out of the combat for too long so they didn't bother...
I really like the time compression rule, and its something I will try to use in my games. I always find looking back after a fight and seeing how it was 7 second murder bender to be bad for immersion. I really disagree with ignoring facing rules. I think they are essential for tactically rewarding combat.
As someone who has been in actual fights that weren't for play or competition 7 seconds is very realistic, but yes, if this is a war, a cage match for an audience, or other situations where it's not "DIE NOW! aah!" it is good to let fights have breaks.
but acrobatic dodge is so fun! if I'm a catgirl I should be allowed to look like 1. yes, the time scale of GURPS combat isn't of a televised fight or of movie guys, it's a street fight, the sort of thing that really does take 4 seconds. Great advice! I personally prefer the strict 1 second rounds, something about the rogue having to break the lock in the rush, or a promise from the GM that the cops won't show up is beautiful. Anyway now that I'm finished watching this video I'll drop my phone as a free action, fast draw my Glock, shoot 3 mooks too background character to dodge, take a step to the side and free action crouch behind this conveniently placed dust bin.
GURPS is the Lego set RPG everyone should learn and play with. No only you can customize your own experience, but you can use what you learn with all other RPGs!
Great tips! I use the impulse buys in my games by giving each player five chips/3d printed coins that they can use to spend for their impulse buys at the start of every game. I want my players to have as much fun as possible when I'm running very cinematic games. I like creating coins on my 3d printer that are in theme with whatever genre I'm running.
I really wish there was a GURPS version in metric, as someone living in Europe I've never been comfortable with imperial units and having to convert on the fly is always kinda annoying Great tips tho, I really like the low level enemies doing all out attacks only, depending on the setting and power level I've also used the rule of henchmen going down once they receive any damage, especially in larger gunfights this accelerates the gameplay even more
For "yards", read "meters". For "pounds", read "0.5 kg". For temperatures, subtract 30 and halve to get centigrade, and for relative temperatures treat 1 degree as 0.5 degrees C. Those are easy and close enough for gaming purposes. If those simple things are "annoying" to you, I guess go play BRP, which is a good choice too. To me, they're pretty much reflexes. Miles and speeds in miles per hour are a bit more difficult, but adding 50% to distances in miles/speeds in mph to get km or km/h is close enough. It's not as simple as halving or doubling, but then again those numbers don't come into play as often.
@@FaoladhTV thanks! I'm from Australia but even my American friends agree that metric is just way better and just say meters instead of yards for it all the time, I remember pounds because you can by a can of soda for 1 pound if in Britain, and that's the weight. my gun weighs 2.6 cans of soda, I'm encumbered if I have to carry more than 20 at once.
@@1ShotJC America is post apocalyptic if you're marginalized, but yes I love the idea of some game after the bombs went off where a coke is 1 of the best items you can get.
The accuracy of a conversion like that depends on how big the number is, a small inaccuracy is usually not that significant when handling only a few metres but if you are dealing with thousands of metres than the measurement can be more significantly off. Regardless, needing to make conversions like this constantly is always gonna get tiresome even if you can convert in a mere second.
All these tips are great (and most should be used in a 5th ed). Not only do I use a range zone system, I tell the players a combat turn is between 1-3 seconds. This works in hand with the zone range system (less granular). Quite frankly, it plays out WAY more realistic. As is, everyone fights like perfect combat robots, where ever millisecond, is used to its most efficient way. I don't buy it. If seen sword fights. The attacks are way sporadic. (3 or so hits in a second or two, then 5 seconds of circling each other and sizing each other up).
SWEET! I just use 2 second turns = 30/min [archers w/FD and SL can fire once a turn unaimed; mages spell times can fit in one turn or the second; also justifies multiple calculated strikes and defenses] divides the turn up into first/fastest and lastest/counter attack. With a bunch of mooks it's easier to realize how it took a minute to wipe them out and survive with minor injuries. 1d-1 for turns till lull in h-t-h, 1d turns till back at it (exempt ranged fighters and mages/clerics from it, ever see pc's chase after orcs who decided a mage was way more dangerous and the sorceress running...) Works well for running gun battles and movement is easier to "justify".
That' was great, J.C.! Can you explain "Powers" in GURPS to me? I can't understand why anyone would use them instead of the easy-to-understand Magic rules, and I don't know how they are any better than the first Supers book.
Ir's very funny that you describe things this way, because I feel the exact opposite. I feel like the magic rules are un-GURPS like, because they seem to lack the modularity that the GURPS Powers rules have. I guess it's just a matter of personal preference.
@@Alex-fn2hl ha ha ha welll good, `cuz like I literally need help understanding them and WHY of them. ALSO: I thought for sure one of J.C.'s combat tips was gonna be "use this handy flowchart of combat with this easy menu of options your players can pick from when it's their turn to [ attack | defend | cast a spell | run away | non-violently bring an end to combat ], but no menu or chart was in this video. Plus I think the GURPS plugin for the Virtual Table Top ( I think it's called HeroForge? ) would probably make the standard range chart auto-magically apply with NO human mind-power calculations needed. If you're playing one a week or more, and ANYONE has a ranged weapon, or casts spells, I don't know why the ranged chart wouldn't just be nearly memorized by everyone just out of normal familiarity. It's like... one of the obvious things that would be on both sides of any GURPS GM screen, right? Less than a fraction of a second to locate...
Ah, I forgot I always give my players a quick combat reference sheet! I posted a link in the description to it, and it's here too: 1shotadventures.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/GURPS-Combat-Reference-1ShotAdventures.png
I think it depends on the game. For a typical fantasy game, I'm very happy using the standard GURPS Magic rules. They're easy to learn, replicate a lot of RPG magic pretty well, and I like the quantity of spells (yes the book suffers from being the first 4th edition supplement and a bit odd in some respects...). Powers are handy in other genres, or when you want to do something new. I ran a Dark Sun game and wanted psionics, so I created a few Powers to reflect some typical psi abilities. I also used it to give the Thri-Kreen insect men a poison attack. In a Cyberpunk game, I'll create a "bionic hand" advantage that includes Lifting Strength, Gunslinger, and a low-powered electric/taser attack, but is Electrical and malfunctions sometimes for a slight discount. Or in a superhero game, like you mention, all those powers are super helpful to bring heroes to life (Mind Control, laser beam eyes, etc). Anyway, that's my short and sweet version.
If they do create a 5th edition they really should fix combat rounds. 6 seconds works well because yje natural breaks are baked in. And 6 seconds are 10ths of a minute so the math is nicer. I think the best solution is yo use the combat economy from Mythras or Runequest. For gurps a logical starting point for that would be to use 1/2 your speed rounded down to determine the number of maneuvers allowed for that character in a 6 second round. This feels real because there are people that are faster than others. This also leads to turns where one character is left unable to defend because they're out of maneuvers for that round.. I love mythras combat.
Well. I liked your tips, but not about extra effort or acrobat dodge, despite being relevant. In all case, probably I will insert some this insights in my games. Thanks and good job. Thanks for the pre made adventures too.
As an example, I was playing a game and two players were fighting a monster on a hill. A third player fell into some icy water. In GURPS, climbing out of the water would have take 5-10 seconds. I just let the player do that, and told the other players that they circled around with the monster for that amount of time, dodging blows, taunting, etc. Meanwhile, I told a 4th player who was reloading his TL 5 musket to take 10 seconds off the load time. Technically, the monster and the two melee players "lost" turns, but it was fine for the drama of the scene, and it didn't really impact the outcome much.
I do mine at 2 seconds because irl I can easily draw and fire my pistol twice in less than two seconds, and I am not incredibly well trained, pistol ready 3 well placed shots are easy at 2 seconds even with recoil. Same in bato jutsu, very little training, I could do two attacks in two seconds, though one defense put me at a disad on a follow up good strike. Some PCs are very skilled still not Wick or Musashi (unless they have the points) and would smoke people like me who can smoke others. 1d-1 turns FIGHT! till 1d turn lull. Makes mages and ranged characters more useful, a second is still a second. Even observation/tactics rolls need a second to figure out who/where/what. Ya cannut do that while an ogre is bearing down on you... unless you want to forego an attack or defence 😂
I let players use Character Points to modify dice rolls. 1cp to reroll. 2cp to reroll and take the better. 3cp to force a reroll. 4cp to force a reroll and take the worse roll. 5cp to change any dice to any number. Max 5cp per session. *this is for a campaign style game where the players have an eye towards character progression and less towards character survival. They really need those points to get that shinny new Skill they've been wanting, but if they don't spend the CP on a reroll, they will probably die. Interesting Choices. I also give Cp for things like exploring a ruin or talking to someone about your religion, so this helps balance the speed of progression.
I personally don't like forcing players to make that short term / long term tradeoff, but I can see why it might work in some games. Especially games like Supers, where heroes don't usually change too much over time, but getting character points to spend per session lets them do amazing things on a one-off basis.
@@1ShotJC i never thought of using CP like Karma in Marvel Superheroes ( Fasrip ). That makes me reconsider GURPS as a system for Sups. The idea is not so much to "force" the choice, but to give us an "out" to account for GURPS's high lethality while having the added benefit of creating choices. Particularly when playing online with paying players and you can't fudge rolls and you want to keep character death to a minimum ( but never off the table ).
@@1ShotJC Yeah, you're making it come together for me. Street level with CP spends for heroic moments of digging deep for that one ultra powerful blow like in the comics. Ok, that needs to be your next video ( or someday ). Running Supers with GURPS. Should be interesting because the common wisdom is that GURPS doesn't work well for Supers. But I'm starting to see that it may work beautifully for Street Level like The Defenders ( dare Devil, Power Fist, The Punisher... ). I've been thinking of going back to the Old MSH because it's still the best for running Marvel Sups. But maybe I'll use GURPS to run a City of Mist setting instead. *City of Mist has the coolest concept setting for sups and is perfect for a GURPS conversion.
@@1ShotJC When I am running the game, a character point spent to improve a roll also applies to improving the skill (or other trait) for that roll. That way the players aren't choosing between short-term survival and long-term improvement so much as they are choosing between spending on traits that they need right now versus traits that they want down the line. Also, I typically give character points at the beginning of a session, so that they are available for impulse spending, rather than at the end of a session.
Generally, I think ignoring the time it takes to do something undercuts a lot of other mechanics, but GURPS is meant to be an individual experiance. Whatever your group likes; just not for me. There are other kinds of narratives, so the scout missing the battle is not really "not how a narrative would go in a story." A scout coming to see his unit ambushed and or dead is how 1/3 of Conan stories start. Yes it is boring for that one player, but you can also split the action and have him fighting a goblin scouting party while his friends are ambushed by orcs. You can keep turn order and just run two encounters fairly easily; maybe tone it down for that one lone player. Conversely, watching am outcome they cannot influence creates tension too: the bomb under the table of the character that the audience knows about but the character does not is a great way to engage the other players if they give a damn about the other players. Harder to do with a one shot, but easy to do with a player who cares about who they play with.
True - and I like your idea of creating an action scene for that separated player. And you can combine both ideas, giving that player the problem of defeating that goblin scout quickly so he CAN get back to help save his friends.
@1ShotJC a neucence encounter is never fun or memorable. If the point is to get them back to the party, why not make it something they cannot beat and turn it to a chase? The scout is tense because they are running for their life, the others are prepping for a boss fight when the big bad gets there, and there is legit danger for all parties. Seems win win.
There is an honesty problem amongst RPG enthusiast who want to promote their favorite RPGs. GURPS should never be promoted as "simple" because that is a lie. It's hard to learn and takes a lifetime to master. But learning it is worth it and no harder to learn than any two medium crunch systems and will do so much more than those two systems combined can even dream of. And no body needs to "master" GURPS, so don't bother. The combat is the most fun and engaging of any system I've played ( a lot ) but you really can't get a feel for that by reading the rules and playing a one-shot. You have to commit to the system to discover all the interesting choices ( RPG fun is all about interesting choices ) and when and how to use them. *Drop the crunchy AF Facing Rules unless the whole table wants them or playing Man to Man Gladiator Style.
It's definitely hard to set up a campaign and GM it (at least harder than other RPGs which have a more limited scope). But I do think it's easy to teach people how to play. I GM GURPS at a bunch of conventions for (usually) new players and they have commented on how easy the system is vs. games like Pathfinder, and how they felt the combat was more visceral vs. a lot of other games. But yeah, knowing everything about GURPS is tough. I've been playing for 30+ years and I still always forget how the Affliction advantage or shotguns work!
@@1ShotJC Playing a pregen for an hour or two while being instructed on what to do and when does not tell a player much about the game. And that goes triple for GURPS. Demo play hides what it's like to actually embrace the game. Things get a lot more complected as soon as players start wanting more agency over character creation, which is where GURPS really shines, but do to this barrier of complexity most GURPS GMs will make a ton of Pre-gens or "templates" that are extremely limiting in choice to the point of being Classes. Which defeats some of the purpose of playing GURPS from a player's point of view. They won't often tell you this, but they are not enthusiastic about playing the character you made or the fighter template with options like "you can pick this or that". That's fine for a convention but it is NOT the game. I even see a lot of GMs assigning minimum and maxim Stat scores for their templates. Just because high DX is helpful to a mechanic should not mean MY mechanic has to have high DX. Basically, to sum up my rant, until the players really learn GURPS, the GM is hogging all the creativity and most of the fun. Or to put it another way: It doesn't matter how easy it is to teach at a convention because that tells you little about what it's actually like to play GURPS.
Second comment, the range band rules aren’t hidden away, they are actively bandied about in the the action supplement along with the chase rules there. It’s a completely alternate way to run combat as well as other situations that don’t need to rely on second by second combat rounds.
I dunno, anytime a rule like that is in a pdf supplement that might not apply to your game, I feel like that's hidden. If I'm running a horror game that's light on ranged combat, I don't think I'd think to know to look in the Action or Monster Hunters supplement for a rule. (Obviously, SJ Games thought about this after 4th edition was published, so I get that they don't have a lot of options to expose new rules they like until they do a new edition.)
@ that’s a you problem. Or indeed, a SJG marketing problem. But beating them up for having an edition That has been out for 20 years And growing upon that and not going back and doing, the basic books is really sort of a you problem. They don’t have to try to succeed in rush out editions like Hasbro if they don’t want to. They’re pretty much comfortable with having a game where people come to them.
@ again it’s kind of a theme where you beat up on a system that hasn’t had a new edition first 20 years. I enjoy your work, but you’re very close to saying “hey game that is barely surviving and probably won’t get a new edition, why don’t you act like you were released three years ago?”
That's a fair critique. And I am frustrated that there hasn't been an investment in a real update (not just the rules, but other modernization, like getting pdfs with physical supplements, or official VTT support). While it's great that GURPS still getting active pdf support -- and it's very high quality -- that strategy is adding clutter to the system that makes it harder for newer players to try. Especially since some of the newer supplements HAVE fixed and streamlined a lot of issues (e.g., Dungeon Fantasy simplifying some rules, Girl Genius updating a bunch of advantages/disadvantages, Action/Monster Hunters introducing range/bands and BAD, Know Your Own Strength, etc.).
It is just a tool kit. It is not for newbies. Someone should be a player for a while and then take baby steps before the game master. It’s just the way it is. That isn’t explaining anything away, it’s saying that there are other options for people who aren’t in that situation. Every system can’t be everything to every person
@@dane3038 Easier than D&D. I played DnD, ran one short adventure set (3 games) and said f' it. Found Champions, played while finding the HERO system and ran a few fantasy campaign, ran into GURPS. GURPS was easier than the prior two. Hard or easy as you wanted (players included) realistic or fantasy/super as you wanted it, it's the players' story not the "module's".
Thanks for the tips! Since I have yet to try running GURPS in over 30 years, I can always use some veteran wisdom.
Surprisingly, I find GURPS to be the best system for a lower power lower magic Sword and Sorcery game. It replaces the choices of high power play with other choices such as weapons that actually do different things, combat maneuver choices, skill choices etc. Low Power should not be synonymous with Low Crunch.
Love it for low power games -- that's how I fell in love with it originally, it FELT more real and dangerous vs. the D&D games I was playing at the time.
Regarding Time Dilation specifically, the first page in the Basic Set Combat chapter actually says: "The GM shouldn’t feel constrained by the one-second time scale... He should feel free to drop out of combat time whenever dramatically appropriate" (and then return to it). It is never written anywhere else, so I believe most people don't even remember it's there.
Also, using the Lockpicking example, there's a very nice Piramyd article which turns such actions into "Attacks", in which a set amount of "damage" is required to complete the task. So the lock might have have "DR 1" and "HP 10", and the lockpicker rolls vs skill, and then deals IQ-based Thrust damage against it. I always thought these rules quite nice.
Oh cool- I must have missed that article. I'll check it out!
@@1ShotJC Went looking for it to read it again - it's on #3-120, "Opus Longa, Pugna Brevis" it's called.
Your video gives me hope as I return to trying to GM GURPS (and run your excellent adventures) after a hiatus. When I ran Those the Comet Brings online we had exactly a situation where your #5 would have helped - someone wanted to sneak around a building, but RAW it would have taken them out of the combat for too long so they didn't bother...
I really like the time compression rule, and its something I will try to use in my games. I always find looking back after a fight and seeing how it was 7 second murder bender to be bad for immersion.
I really disagree with ignoring facing rules. I think they are essential for tactically rewarding combat.
As someone who has been in actual fights that weren't for play or competition 7 seconds is very realistic, but yes, if this is a war, a cage match for an audience, or other situations where it's not "DIE NOW! aah!" it is good to let fights have breaks.
but acrobatic dodge is so fun! if I'm a catgirl I should be allowed to look like 1.
yes, the time scale of GURPS combat isn't of a televised fight or of movie guys, it's a street fight, the sort of thing that really does take 4 seconds.
Great advice!
I personally prefer the strict 1 second rounds, something about the rogue having to break the lock in the rush, or a promise from the GM that the cops won't show up is beautiful.
Anyway now that I'm finished watching this video I'll drop my phone as a free action, fast draw my Glock, shoot 3 mooks too background character to dodge, take a step to the side and free action crouch behind this conveniently placed dust bin.
I use most of these tips already. That's a good sign for both of us!
I haven't played GURPS in ages, but these patches make me really interested to give it a new spin. 😀
GURPS is the Lego set RPG everyone should learn and play with. No only you can customize your own experience, but you can use what you learn with all other RPGs!
Lego set is a great analogy. I like it better than "toolkit" too.
Great tips! I use the impulse buys in my games by giving each player five chips/3d printed coins that they can use to spend for their impulse buys at the start of every game. I want my players to have as much fun as possible when I'm running very cinematic games. I like creating coins on my 3d printer that are in theme with whatever genre I'm running.
Great tips! Thank you very much!
GURPS Combat 👀
I really wish there was a GURPS version in metric, as someone living in Europe I've never been comfortable with imperial units and having to convert on the fly is always kinda annoying
Great tips tho, I really like the low level enemies doing all out attacks only, depending on the setting and power level I've also used the rule of henchmen going down once they receive any damage, especially in larger gunfights this accelerates the gameplay even more
For "yards", read "meters". For "pounds", read "0.5 kg". For temperatures, subtract 30 and halve to get centigrade, and for relative temperatures treat 1 degree as 0.5 degrees C. Those are easy and close enough for gaming purposes. If those simple things are "annoying" to you, I guess go play BRP, which is a good choice too. To me, they're pretty much reflexes.
Miles and speeds in miles per hour are a bit more difficult, but adding 50% to distances in miles/speeds in mph to get km or km/h is close enough. It's not as simple as halving or doubling, but then again those numbers don't come into play as often.
@@FaoladhTV thanks! I'm from Australia but even my American friends agree that metric is just way better and just say meters instead of yards for it all the time, I remember pounds because you can by a can of soda for 1 pound if in Britain, and that's the weight. my gun weighs 2.6 cans of soda, I'm encumbered if I have to carry more than 20 at once.
If I were to ever make a post-apocalyptic game, I'm making soda cans the official unit of measurement.
@@1ShotJC America is post apocalyptic if you're marginalized, but yes I love the idea of some game after the bombs went off where a coke is 1 of the best items you can get.
The accuracy of a conversion like that depends on how big the number is, a small inaccuracy is usually not that significant when handling only a few metres but if you are dealing with thousands of metres than the measurement can be more significantly off. Regardless, needing to make conversions like this constantly is always gonna get tiresome even if you can convert in a mere second.
All these tips are great (and most should be used in a 5th ed). Not only do I use a range zone system, I tell the players a combat turn is between 1-3 seconds. This works in hand with the zone range system (less granular). Quite frankly, it plays out WAY more realistic. As is, everyone fights like perfect combat robots, where ever millisecond, is used to its most efficient way. I don't buy it. If seen sword fights. The attacks are way sporadic. (3 or so hits in a second or two, then 5 seconds of circling each other and sizing each other up).
SWEET! I just use 2 second turns = 30/min [archers w/FD and SL can fire once a turn unaimed; mages spell times can fit in one turn or the second; also justifies multiple calculated strikes and defenses] divides the turn up into first/fastest and lastest/counter attack. With a bunch of mooks it's easier to realize how it took a minute to wipe them out and survive with minor injuries. 1d-1 for turns till lull in h-t-h, 1d turns till back at it (exempt ranged fighters and mages/clerics from it, ever see pc's chase after orcs who decided a mage was way more dangerous and the sorceress running...) Works well for running gun battles and movement is easier to "justify".
That' was great, J.C.! Can you explain "Powers" in GURPS to me? I can't understand why anyone would use them instead of the easy-to-understand Magic rules, and I don't know how they are any better than the first Supers book.
Ir's very funny that you describe things this way, because I feel the exact opposite. I feel like the magic rules are un-GURPS like, because they seem to lack the modularity that the GURPS Powers rules have. I guess it's just a matter of personal preference.
@@Alex-fn2hl ha ha ha welll good, `cuz like I literally need help understanding them and WHY of them.
ALSO: I thought for sure one of J.C.'s combat tips was gonna be "use this handy flowchart of combat with this easy menu of options your players can pick from when it's their turn to [ attack | defend | cast a spell | run away | non-violently bring an end to combat ], but no menu or chart was in this video.
Plus I think the GURPS plugin for the Virtual Table Top ( I think it's called HeroForge? ) would probably make the standard range chart auto-magically apply with NO human mind-power calculations needed. If you're playing one a week or more, and ANYONE has a ranged weapon, or casts spells, I don't know why the ranged chart wouldn't just be nearly memorized by everyone just out of normal familiarity. It's like... one of the obvious things that would be on both sides of any GURPS GM screen, right? Less than a fraction of a second to locate...
Ah, I forgot I always give my players a quick combat reference sheet! I posted a link in the description to it, and it's here too: 1shotadventures.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/GURPS-Combat-Reference-1ShotAdventures.png
I think it depends on the game. For a typical fantasy game, I'm very happy using the standard GURPS Magic rules. They're easy to learn, replicate a lot of RPG magic pretty well, and I like the quantity of spells (yes the book suffers from being the first 4th edition supplement and a bit odd in some respects...). Powers are handy in other genres, or when you want to do something new. I ran a Dark Sun game and wanted psionics, so I created a few Powers to reflect some typical psi abilities. I also used it to give the Thri-Kreen insect men a poison attack. In a Cyberpunk game, I'll create a "bionic hand" advantage that includes Lifting Strength, Gunslinger, and a low-powered electric/taser attack, but is Electrical and malfunctions sometimes for a slight discount. Or in a superhero game, like you mention, all those powers are super helpful to bring heroes to life (Mind Control, laser beam eyes, etc). Anyway, that's my short and sweet version.
If they do create a 5th edition they really should fix combat rounds. 6 seconds works well because yje natural breaks are baked in. And 6 seconds are 10ths of a minute so the math is nicer.
I think the best solution is yo use the combat economy from Mythras or Runequest. For gurps a logical starting point for that would be to use 1/2 your speed rounded down to determine the number of maneuvers allowed for that character in a 6 second round. This feels real because there are people that are faster than others. This also leads to turns where one character is left unable to defend because they're out of maneuvers for that round.. I love mythras combat.
Well. I liked your tips, but not about extra effort or acrobat dodge, despite being relevant. In all case, probably I will insert some this insights in my games. Thanks and good job. Thanks for the pre made adventures too.
So one player turn is 1s then other players play and you add their second or whole turn for all players and enemies is one second
As an example, I was playing a game and two players were fighting a monster on a hill. A third player fell into some icy water. In GURPS, climbing out of the water would have take 5-10 seconds. I just let the player do that, and told the other players that they circled around with the monster for that amount of time, dodging blows, taunting, etc. Meanwhile, I told a 4th player who was reloading his TL 5 musket to take 10 seconds off the load time. Technically, the monster and the two melee players "lost" turns, but it was fine for the drama of the scene, and it didn't really impact the outcome much.
GURPS is the best! And is all about GMing in the end...
I like GMing, give them the setting let the players write the story (having mature players).
❤❤❤
Nice job. Agree with everything, but I restrict people to four syllables of relevant dialogue, but not smack talk.
My GM does a 3 second turn which seems better the the 1.
I do mine at 2 seconds because irl I can easily draw and fire my pistol twice in less than two seconds, and I am not incredibly well trained, pistol ready 3 well placed shots are easy at 2 seconds even with recoil. Same in bato jutsu, very little training, I could do two attacks in two seconds, though one defense put me at a disad on a follow up good strike. Some PCs are very skilled still not Wick or Musashi (unless they have the points) and would smoke people like me who can smoke others. 1d-1 turns FIGHT! till 1d turn lull. Makes mages and ranged characters more useful, a second is still a second. Even observation/tactics rolls need a second to figure out who/where/what. Ya cannut do that while an ogre is bearing down on you... unless you want to forego an attack or defence 😂
I let players use Character Points to modify dice rolls. 1cp to reroll. 2cp to reroll and take the better. 3cp to force a reroll. 4cp to force a reroll and take the worse roll. 5cp to change any dice to any number. Max 5cp per session. *this is for a campaign style game where the players have an eye towards character progression and less towards character survival. They really need those points to get that shinny new Skill they've been wanting, but if they don't spend the CP on a reroll, they will probably die. Interesting Choices. I also give Cp for things like exploring a ruin or talking to someone about your religion, so this helps balance the speed of progression.
I personally don't like forcing players to make that short term / long term tradeoff, but I can see why it might work in some games. Especially games like Supers, where heroes don't usually change too much over time, but getting character points to spend per session lets them do amazing things on a one-off basis.
@@1ShotJC i never thought of using CP like Karma in Marvel Superheroes ( Fasrip ). That makes me reconsider GURPS as a system for Sups. The idea is not so much to "force" the choice, but to give us an "out" to account for GURPS's high lethality while having the added benefit of creating choices. Particularly when playing online with paying players and you can't fudge rolls and you want to keep character death to a minimum ( but never off the table ).
@ I generally only run low power street level supers, but it works great! Still keeps the danger but lets the players feel heroic at key moments
@@1ShotJC Yeah, you're making it come together for me. Street level with CP spends for heroic moments of digging deep for that one ultra powerful blow like in the comics. Ok, that needs to be your next video ( or someday ). Running Supers with GURPS. Should be interesting because the common wisdom is that GURPS doesn't work well for Supers. But I'm starting to see that it may work beautifully for Street Level like The Defenders ( dare Devil, Power Fist, The Punisher... ). I've been thinking of going back to the Old MSH because it's still the best for running Marvel Sups. But maybe I'll use GURPS to run a City of Mist setting instead. *City of Mist has the coolest concept setting for sups and is perfect for a GURPS conversion.
@@1ShotJC When I am running the game, a character point spent to improve a roll also applies to improving the skill (or other trait) for that roll. That way the players aren't choosing between short-term survival and long-term improvement so much as they are choosing between spending on traits that they need right now versus traits that they want down the line. Also, I typically give character points at the beginning of a session, so that they are available for impulse spending, rather than at the end of a session.
Generally, I think ignoring the time it takes to do something undercuts a lot of other mechanics, but GURPS is meant to be an individual experiance. Whatever your group likes; just not for me.
There are other kinds of narratives, so the scout missing the battle is not really "not how a narrative would go in a story." A scout coming to see his unit ambushed and or dead is how 1/3 of Conan stories start. Yes it is boring for that one player, but you can also split the action and have him fighting a goblin scouting party while his friends are ambushed by orcs. You can keep turn order and just run two encounters fairly easily; maybe tone it down for that one lone player.
Conversely, watching am outcome they cannot influence creates tension too: the bomb under the table of the character that the audience knows about but the character does not is a great way to engage the other players if they give a damn about the other players. Harder to do with a one shot, but easy to do with a player who cares about who they play with.
True - and I like your idea of creating an action scene for that separated player. And you can combine both ideas, giving that player the problem of defeating that goblin scout quickly so he CAN get back to help save his friends.
@1ShotJC a neucence encounter is never fun or memorable. If the point is to get them back to the party, why not make it something they cannot beat and turn it to a chase?
The scout is tense because they are running for their life, the others are prepping for a boss fight when the big bad gets there, and there is legit danger for all parties. Seems win win.
There is an honesty problem amongst RPG enthusiast who want to promote their favorite RPGs. GURPS should never be promoted as "simple" because that is a lie. It's hard to learn and takes a lifetime to master. But learning it is worth it and no harder to learn than any two medium crunch systems and will do so much more than those two systems combined can even dream of. And no body needs to "master" GURPS, so don't bother. The combat is the most fun and engaging of any system I've played ( a lot ) but you really can't get a feel for that by reading the rules and playing a one-shot. You have to commit to the system to discover all the interesting choices ( RPG fun is all about interesting choices ) and when and how to use them. *Drop the crunchy AF Facing Rules unless the whole table wants them or playing Man to Man Gladiator Style.
It's definitely hard to set up a campaign and GM it (at least harder than other RPGs which have a more limited scope). But I do think it's easy to teach people how to play. I GM GURPS at a bunch of conventions for (usually) new players and they have commented on how easy the system is vs. games like Pathfinder, and how they felt the combat was more visceral vs. a lot of other games. But yeah, knowing everything about GURPS is tough. I've been playing for 30+ years and I still always forget how the Affliction advantage or shotguns work!
@@1ShotJC Playing a pregen for an hour or two while being instructed on what to do and when does not tell a player much about the game. And that goes triple for GURPS. Demo play hides what it's like to actually embrace the game. Things get a lot more complected as soon as players start wanting more agency over character creation, which is where GURPS really shines, but do to this barrier of complexity most GURPS GMs will make a ton of Pre-gens or "templates" that are extremely limiting in choice to the point of being Classes. Which defeats some of the purpose of playing GURPS from a player's point of view. They won't often tell you this, but they are not enthusiastic about playing the character you made or the fighter template with options like "you can pick this or that". That's fine for a convention but it is NOT the game. I even see a lot of GMs assigning minimum and maxim Stat scores for their templates. Just because high DX is helpful to a mechanic should not mean MY mechanic has to have high DX. Basically, to sum up my rant, until the players really learn GURPS, the GM is hogging all the creativity and most of the fun. Or to put it another way: It doesn't matter how easy it is to teach at a convention because that tells you little about what it's actually like to play GURPS.
Second comment, the range band rules aren’t hidden away, they are actively bandied about in the the action supplement along with the chase rules there. It’s a completely alternate way to run combat as well as other situations that don’t need to rely on second by second combat rounds.
I dunno, anytime a rule like that is in a pdf supplement that might not apply to your game, I feel like that's hidden. If I'm running a horror game that's light on ranged combat, I don't think I'd think to know to look in the Action or Monster Hunters supplement for a rule. (Obviously, SJ Games thought about this after 4th edition was published, so I get that they don't have a lot of options to expose new rules they like until they do a new edition.)
If it's not in the two core books, it needs extra attention. Those of us unfamiliar with the horde of supplements can definitely use these tips.
@ that’s a you problem. Or indeed, a SJG marketing problem. But beating them up for having an edition That has been out for 20 years And growing upon that and not going back and doing, the basic books is really sort of a you problem. They don’t have to try to succeed in rush out editions like Hasbro if they don’t want to. They’re pretty much comfortable with having a game where people come to them.
@ again it’s kind of a theme where you beat up on a system that hasn’t had a new edition first 20 years. I enjoy your work, but you’re very close to saying “hey game that is barely surviving and probably won’t get a new edition, why don’t you act like you were released three years ago?”
That's a fair critique. And I am frustrated that there hasn't been an investment in a real update (not just the rules, but other modernization, like getting pdfs with physical supplements, or official VTT support). While it's great that GURPS still getting active pdf support -- and it's very high quality -- that strategy is adding clutter to the system that makes it harder for newer players to try. Especially since some of the newer supplements HAVE fixed and streamlined a lot of issues (e.g., Dungeon Fantasy simplifying some rules, Girl Genius updating a bunch of advantages/disadvantages, Action/Monster Hunters introducing range/bands and BAD, Know Your Own Strength, etc.).
It is just a tool kit. It is not for newbies. Someone should be a player for a while and then take baby steps before the game master. It’s just the way it is. That isn’t explaining anything away, it’s saying that there are other options for people who aren’t in that situation. Every system can’t be everything to every person
I agree that GURPS is not a good choice for new GMs.
@@dane3038 Easier than D&D. I played DnD, ran one short adventure set (3 games) and said f' it. Found Champions, played while finding the HERO system and ran a few fantasy campaign, ran into GURPS. GURPS was easier than the prior two. Hard or easy as you wanted (players included) realistic or fantasy/super as you wanted it, it's the players' story not the "module's".