Gurps General /gurpsgen/

apparently, no glaring flaws in my build. Good to see, I guess.

Watching Hell On Wheels to get myself in the right mindset. (Might be too grim and dark, but meh)

You aren't trash, but some thoughts..

High Pain Threshold is limited use when you have modest HP and low HT. The points would better be spent on getting more HT. You want to aim for a Basic Speed of 6 if you can, it's very useful for defense and going first, where one good shot might end things.

Luck (Active) is SO MUCH LESS USEFUL then Luck (Defensive). You might have your reasons, but if you don't then switching this out makes you much more survivable.

Hmm, all good points
Hows this look then?
Lower overall skill levels, but higher speed and such

Defensive luck makes a hell of a lot more sense then active luck with being a shitty gambler too. Your luck will save your ass but it won't help you win at cards.

Better. That guy should survive most encounters pretty well if you don't do anything too stupid.

You are also a tiny ginger.

I will be DM-ing this game for the first time soon, a sort of realistic Sci-fi with limited Psi powers later on. One of my players wants to take super luck, and I was wondering if its extremely broken or not. I was planning to limit to regular luck, but the point cost seems high enough that it might not be that bad (We are in 100 pt game with -50 disadv so 60 points is a good chunk)

Thursday inaugural game is a drinking camping weekend; I tend to get an accent when full of good beer.

It eating up roughly half his points is not a point in its favor; he'll be a severely underpowered character that can once per hour dictate how the dice will roll. Outside of his gimmick, he's a green recruit in a party a seasoned badasses, and that gimmick of his is not enough to bridge the power gap. If he wants to play "stupid-lucky rookie" (which sounds like a fun concept mind you), 60 points of regular Luck will be a much better investment.

This isn't even starting on how Super Luck is more like godlike control than anything close to actual luck. If you allow it at all, it should be a psi power.

Are you me?

Thanks for the data. Optional rules for simulacionist combat don't call my atention at all. What I want is diversity in characters and their equipment.

What I have in mind is predefined templates for quick character creation (races and professions), varied equipment (arms and enhancements, some vehicles to drive) but only basic equipment at the start, and a little bit of powers, (like the Biotics in ME or the force) maybe not to powerful.

I see several books about powers (magical, superhero, psionic, cock-magic, etc).

>What are the best and most simple rules for adding some predefined powers to the characters? (Pulls, lifts, levitation, biotic slams, a mind trick or two, like ME or SW do)

Also, my plan is to have a prewritten setting listing all the available stuff and a resume of the important rules and the pages where they are, to make consulting the books quicker.

This is pretty insightful.

The a look at the gunman just a few posts up; he takes luck as well, but makes it active/defensive. Saves an ass load of points, and still has power.

Sorry, when I said super luck I think he meant he was maxing out regular luck. Messed up the jargon.

How much damage/force needs to hit a character for them to get knocked completely down?

ST-2 crushing, and then they need to fail the following DX roll. Comparatively not much less than is required to outright kill. But this is damage; assuming you DR a bunch away you can still end up on your ass.

Its easier to cripple a leg or foot first, really.

80% of Psionic Powers is a list of pre-made abilities broken up by theme (psychokinesis, telepathy, teleportation, even odder ones like anti-psi, psychic healing, etc.). Pick what you like and Copy+Paste into a word doc for your players to look through.

There's a Template Toolkit PDF dedicated to helping GM's make balanced and flavorful occupational templates (classes in other words) that are neither unfocussed nor too narrow. Racial templates don't have the same, but I'm a big fan of Space's random (or semi-random if you prefer) alien generator; at the end, it spits out a racial template you can use in your games.

As for arms, armor, and vehicles, Basic Set is a very good starting place. Ultra-Tech has a LOT of stuff, and while BS may be too streamlined for a full campaign, its straightforward apprach will save a lot of time in the beginning -- compare flipping through pages upon pages of weapon stats trying to decide on what flavor of laser rifle you want to take to looking at the three to four ultratech firearm options in the BS and going "I guess I'll take that one."

Keep in mind that any Major Wound (crippled limb or > 1/2HP in a single hit) can knock you down and stun you, with an HT roll to resist. Getting knocked out this way sucks.

i am new to gurps and was recommended gurps Lite. I had a question, when it shows the rules about standing, crouching, kneeling, and laying down. It looks like you get a penalty to attacking when in these positions. But in my mind, I always thought that knealing or sitting with a firearm would give you a bonus to shooting? Am I just misreading the table?

You are. Those penalties are for melee attacks. Ranged/firearms aren't penalized. Check basic campaigns for the table at the end.

thanks, that makes more sense.

Thanks. Now I know what to do.

Different user, I don't think crouching gives you a bonus in GURPS, but it makes you harder to hit or something like that, allowing you to be a little bit safer when aiming.

I think prone counts as bracing, though, so you enjoy a +1 to aimed attacks I think.

Woo; Irish Desperado is getting a .44 Caplock Remington army!

Hey gurpsfriends!
I'm about to start running Dungeon Fantasy, but I'm using Divine Favor for clerics and holy warriors, and Sorcery for Wizards, etc.

Would anyone happen to have or know of any extra Sorcery spell write-ups. The dude playing the Wizard is a noob, so I've got to do most of the legwork when it comes to the actual spells - hence, anything that could save me some time would be handy.

forums.sjgames.com/showthread.php?t=137400

SJGames forums are an amazing resource and should be exploited heavily by anyone playing or running GURPS.

docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ZMxIQFybFO1UlQSLgqAA_MxpuBzub0rmeHNSTGJRCKo/edit#gid=207443400

And I somehow forgot to include the second link in my post. Here you go.

Thanks for the help friend! Much appreciated!

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Best part is that since both Sorcery and Divine Favor use advantages as a base, that list of sorcery spells will help you quickly eyeball what level of reaction is required for a miracle.

Why isn't Absolute Timing an Exotic advantage? Are there really people who can remember time so accurately irl?

Kinda. Like photographic memory it's not really a thing but people believe in it

Eidetic memory is actually a thing, you know.

Can someone post GURPS Fantasy and/or Supers for the "inspirations/how to run" portions?

Nevermind, I found the appropriate Veeky Forums thread. I really really apologise for being such a fucking newfag and for wasting everyone's time. I'm gonna go eat spicy lasagna with my eyelids.

Use the op. It has a link for the drive, yo.

Some people have very good memory, but it's generally the result of mnemonic devices. Eidetic memory hasn't been proven and even people that claim to have it tend to remember minor details wrong and can't recall abstract unfamiliar patterns (writing in a lanauge they don't understand, for example.)

How many times can you parry in one round?
How many times can you block in one round?

Indefinite, I believe, as long as you're facing the target and the weapon hand or shield hand is also facing the direction of the attack

It does tack on penalties with each successive attempt though. -3 for Parry and -5 for Block, I believe. The block thing is actually not the default as you only get 1 Block using the basic rules.

I think one time, and you can't even parry if you attacked with a unbalanced weapon. Others have mentioned rules I have not read. (Dodge is unlimited)

So, I recently started playing the original Fallouts, 1 and 2, and this is the first thing that popped on my head

This game is on hold for now, but yeah.

I've also got a A-Team/Metal Gear Solid type game featuring Tactical Shooting, Action, The Madness Dossier, and fantasy-type demihumans. Though, in Madness Dossier style, humans were built to be a slave race to one of the others.

I know there's a list in the .pdf, but can you guys think of any other skills every adventurer should have? My list so far is:

Universal:
Acrobatics
Brawling
Grappling
Observation
Throwing
First Aid
Tracking
Hiking
Running
Climbing
Shadowing
Detect Lies

Medieval:
Riding (Equestrian)
Stealth
Diplomacy
Survival (Any)
Fast Draw
Traps/TL3
Intimidate
Swimming
Lockpicking/TL3
Weapon skill of choice

Hey, GURPS-gen, help me out a bit.

What's the function of LMGs GURPS-wise? They're often more heavy than assault rifles, but their accuracy is the same as longer rifles and some rifles have higher ROF, while supporting high capacity magazines and drums. A rifle with 100-rnd drum and 10-13 ROF is almost always superior to same TL LMG.

Are you gonna storytime us in your pic or will you leave us hanging?

Knife is near-universal.

I'm at work, so I'm probably gonna leave you hanging.

Suffice to say in their 3 or so missions so far Team Hero has managed to cause far, far more trouble than anyone thought they could, and will probably give their overseer several ulcers.

Pic very much related. I think my favorite moment is just the fantasy swedish mercenaries they dragged home, who now are learning about guns and RPGs and suchlike.

More suppressive fire?

Lite: One parry and one block per round.

Basic Set:
>Parry: Parry at a cumulative -4 parry after the first (-4 for the second, -8 for the third, etc.). Fencing weapons, TBAM, or WM reduce the penalty to -2, or to -1 if you have both a fencing weapon and TBAM/WM.
>Block: May only block once.

Martial Arts:
>Parry: Two-Handed weapons (ready Polearm, Spear, Staff, or Two-Handed Sword at least two yards at length and wielded in two hands) parry at a cumulative -2 after the first, -1 for WM (or TBAM, not explicitly stated).
>Block: Block at a cumulative -5 after the first, halve for Weapon Master in the 'negative direction' (away from 0), i.e. -3, -5, -8.

LMGs are designed for sustained automatic fire, assault rifles aren't.

See sustained fire in High-Tech

Away from my books at the moment, so all I can do is guess as to why, but there may be a couple things.

-What's the LMG's average recoil? Is it better than assault rifles?
-Don't LMG's often sport larger calibers? That could be a reason to pick one over the more portable assault rifle.
-If you use the optional rules for overheating, do LMGs have something that would make them sturdier?
-LMGs may come standard with bipods/mount points that lighter firearms lack; they're meant to be used situationally, but in that situation (e.g. laying prone and providing cover fire over No Man's Land, or firing from the back of an APC where the gun can be mounted) they'll likely come out ahead.

If all else fails, blame reality. Even when equipping soldiers for war, people aren't 100% logical minmaxers, or circumstances such as restricted trade or the crummy company landing a government contract may cause objectively inferior equipment to become popular; GURPS carries these quirks over to the tabletop.

What are the best supplements for dark fantasy?

Can't say that's true. Some rifles have equal or superior ROF to most common MGs, and with drum mags you end up at same or similar shot count.
-For full sized rifles, recoil is 2 or 3. For LMGs, recoil is 2.
-Average western LMG uses 7.62x51, same caliber as M14, G3 and FN FAL, all capable of automatic fire.
-Maybe, but they're optional and rarely come into play.
-Often a rifle with drum mag is half the weight of comparable LMG, cheaper too, that means spare cash can be used to purchase bipods and scopes, something not all LMGs can mount but most rifles can.

Looking over it in detail myself, it appears that such conversions are superior in all aspects but recoil. For 7.62x51 rifle recoil is 3, while LMG is recoil 2.

This advantage disappears when you compare recoil 2 M249 SAW with Recoil 2 M16, but in that case M16 conversion accepts 100 rnd drum against M249's 200 rnd belt box.

Anyone know of any fun solo campaigns to play to get used to the system?

That's...kind of what happened.

Comparison of 5.56 chambered Squad Automatic Weapons (SAWs), M249(Minimi) and M16+Drum mag.

I know, that's why it popped up in my mind instantly. SPECIAL works almost identically to GURPS.

forums.sjgames.com/showpost.php?p=369148

>Brawling
Meh. If you are willing to rise it higher than DX, you probably can take a proper fighting skill as well, unless it against character concept.
Better just say "any unarmed combat skill".
>Tracking
For everyone? Why?
>Hiking
Very campaign depended, same with Riding and Driving.
>Detect Lies
I wouldn't say it suits everyone. It's very special skill that requires very special training, it's not just common sense. Body Language is better for that purpose.

>Diplomacy
>Intimidate
Meh. You might as well say that every adventurer has to have Broadsword skill because muh stereotypes.
>Traps
>Lockpicking
Again, I don't see why everyone should have them.

I'd say a few points in Merchant for general trading knowledge, if applicable.

The difference is that you can actually fire the entire contents of your magazine with an LMG in less under a minute without suffering an acc and malf penalty.

Eidetic memory explicitly precludes the use of mnemonic devices.

The jury is still out on the existence of eidetic memory. Any claim one way or the other is spurious.

Well, an extraordinary claim without proof is generally considered false. You don't prove a negative.

Not every game gets crunchy enough for it to matter that much, but yeah, that's correct. An LMG has a much heavier barrel and can change the barrel. The M-16 can sustain a rate of fire of 10 rounds per minute.

I know GURPS is a great game that's fairly popular, but to this day I can't help but wonder how people reacted to it when it first came out.

The thing's called GURPS for fucks sake, who even thought of putting money towards it until hearing from other people if it was good or not?

>10 rounds per minute
That's fucking silly, man. On burst fire setting that's literally 3 pulls of trigger per minute. Don't talk shit.

youtube.com/watch?v=3P5cQCkwwt0

Does this look like they fire only "10 rounds per minute"?

As in " doesn't overly wear out the barrel," or were you not following the conversation? Guns get stupidly hot when firing, which can fuck up the barrel something fierce. It's not the same as RoF.

GURPS High Tech lists Rifles suffering from issues if you fire more than 100 shots in under a minute, ten times more than you suggested. This number is multiplied by 1.5 for TL8, 1.25 for nicely maintained rifle (aka M16A3/M16A4 and M4). In comparison, MGs at average require 200 shots to suffer consequences.

Thus, an M16A3 would need to fire 13-14 13 ROF shots to start suffering malfunction. While it is only half of MG's resource, it can still be used to reliably gun down human beings/suppress them long enough for assault team to flank them.

M-16 is listed as having a sustained rate of fire of around 13/minute, though that value factors in aim and reload time along with recommended cooling periods to avoid fouling.

Listed where? GURPS ROF stat says that 13 is maximum number of shots the weapon can fire per 1 turn (1 second).

Quick wiki search; not the most accurate info, but I'm a gun pleb.

The weapon has a cyclic rate of 600-900 rounds per minute, adjustable via the gas regulator. and ammunition used.

It has a sustained rate of fire of 10-15 rounds per minute, as a higher rate of fire generates heat faster then the barrel can cool.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M16_rifle

It depends a lot on the barrel selected.

I had a super fun real life session. So happy. c:

I'm planning out my second campaign in GURPS, we were using the Time Use Sheet for gaining new skills and advantages. But this campaign is going to involve a lot more traveling around, and I don't feel like it will work out in this one.

The "Improvement Through Adventure" states that another way to achieve character advancement is to award players with bonus points at the end of every session, but I don't know how many would be a good amount to give out. What would be a good number to give out if I wanted to have advancement be steady, but not too fast or too slow?

1 to 3 usually.

It's not "generally considered false," because that's just an assumption. Being (highly) skeptical of something is not the same as assuming it's wrong, and assuming it's wrong is not the same as -proving- it's wrong. Has nothing to do with proving negatives.

"We don't know." is not the same as "No."

It depends how rapid you want progression to be.

1-5 is sensible. More than that and dudes will be getting mad powerful very fast.

I usually give put around 4-5 per session/adventure (depending on length, if the players faff about for 4 hours they get nothing, if they break down doors, solve puzzles, fight loads of enemies, etc., then they get the full 5), and usually say they can put up to 2 points into a skill they used a lot, or 1 point into another skill they didn't use or don't have. The overall thing is to play it by ear, and do what seems reasonable. It might not be super realistic, and I'll change approaches depending on the game type, but it seems to work.

Also, you can give them other rewards in lieu of points - allies, contacts, favours, signature gear, the odd perk. All those sort of things really help make the game special and break away from an obvious "grind".

After action report?

Going to put it together later today, nothing outstanding happened, but the players were new, and there wasn't any outstandingly frustrating repeating the explanation of the rules seventeen times.

Oh brilliant! Always nice to see a new group mesh well and no rules confusions.

I really want to do a Fallout pnp game, is that one Sawyer worked on any good?

I haven't seen it
Lucky for you, the most recent issues of pyramid have articles for making a gurps-fallout world. "After the end" has mutations, scavenging rules, and other fun stuff all premade for you.

Any sign of the latest DF book?

I GET TO PLAY THIS WEEKEND
THANK GOD
NO LONGER FOREVER GM

I wish I had your luck.

Can somebody explain to me how to do a treasure hoard? I read the Dungeon Fantasy book about it but I didn't understood you.

Too bad! I spent my points wisely with a -80% (gurps game availability only) modifier on Super luck!

You *can* use DF8 to make a bunch of items at random, but that can take a long time.
You *can* use this calculator which is supposedly a correct implementation of DF8 to create a bunch of items really fast:
gurpscalculator.com/Generators/Treasure
But somehow, I feel wary of how well it's written because I seem to get a lot of similar things... maybe just my luck?
I think there is an equation on p. 13 for calculating the dollar values of mundane loot from monsters, but that is probably not what you want.

I was thinking of trying to make a CER correlation to treasure tables, something like, "If a monster has CER x, he qualifies for an item on the a,b, or c tables, and up to j enchantments and k embellishments."

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DELETE THIS!

I understand how called shots work and hit modifiers, but what is the benefit to hitting someone in the head, foot, etc? If there is extra damage, how much extra damage is dealt? Are there damage multipliers?

Skull has an x4 wounding multiplier, meaning any damage to the skull gets multiplied by 4 (this replaces the normal wounding modifiers for things like cutting, impaling, etc.). Face hits have a penalty to knockdowns on a major roll, damaging an eye enough blinds them, etc.

Attacking someone in the foot and causing a major wound to cripple it gives them Lame (Crippled Legs) - actually just read the combat chapters and the injuries, illness, and fatigue chapter. All of your questions are answered there.

Additionally, some areas may have more or less armor.