/gurpsgen/ - GURPS General

I know there's no dedicated vehicle book (that didn't go so well last time), but aren't there scattered vehicle books? What about the Spaceships book?

On mechs or the human? It really depends on what feel you're going for. Something like Evangelion would have a fuck off huge amount of points for EVAs but a small amount for pilots, while something like Gundam would generally have more moderate points for Mechs but really fucking skilled pilots.

None of the published options are good for humanoid vehicles, imo.

I mean for the mechs. I guess the characters themselves will only be above average (maybe like 150-200 points?).

For the mechs I'm really unsure, as they don't really need many skills, but way more advantages and stats.

What kind of mech are you trying to do? Something like TTGL will be very different from Gundam.

I'm thinking more like first half TTGL, so no space travel with them.

Seems like Mechs-as-characters (IQ-0 and controls) works fine then.

>IQ-0 and controls
Sorry I'm relatively new to GURPS, could you elaborate or point me to the right pages?

I can't remember where IQ 0 is, but basically, an IQ 0 thing can't act. It's not sentient in any capacity. You CAN give them slightly higher IQ, like maybe 3-5, that'd let them do basic actions when their pilot is down.

Controls is where it's at though. Basic Set Page 43: Compartmentalised Mind - Controls.
then you add Payload (p74) that equals around 200 to 300lbs of capacity.
You'll also want the machine meta-trait on these things. Finally, when playing, you'll likely want to use "Decade Scale." See page 470 for that. Decade scale lets you avoid numbers bloat by essentially dividing almost everything by 10 (hence decade scale). So instead of a 100HP mech you have a 10 dHP mech.

A standard carrying pole is not going to do the same damage as an iron-shod staff. Carrying your gear on a proper quarterstaff is do-able, but it will be recognisable as a weapon.

The staff of a staff-sling is optimised for the quick whipping motion used to throw with it, not as an impact weapon or a piece of load-bearing equipment. A piece of cloth is not a sling, at best it's an improvised version of one. However, a sling isn't exactly hard to make and it could be used to tie the bundle together if you insist on carrying the absolute minimum.

Basically, they are all sticks and there should be enough crossover between the optimum sizes and wood types for each one that it's just about plausible. But I would say that realistically, you will have to compromise a bit with one of your weapons and have it function either as a poor staff (not heavy enough, no metal bits, less damage) or a poor sling (too heavy, less accuracy).

You'd need to talk to your GM about that, user. You'd be omitting a required advantage and its corresponding required disadvantage. If you made a convincing argument about why your character wouldn't have them, he might allow it. As an alternative, you could pick up Trained By a Master with a Wish, doing a favor for a god, etc.

That is very helpful, thank you

Y'all are always forgetting this exists

Is it assumed that the staffs are metal shod though? Where is that written

I understand why having it be heavier would affect accuracy, but why does the "Sling" matter? The cloth should work fine as a sling if it's properly reattached after everything is emptied from it

Quarterstaff entry of Low Tech.

I'm no expert on slings, but I'm fairly sure that you can't just use any old piece of fabric as one. Every sling I've seen has been purpose-built, with a shaped pocket for the stone and some kind of thin, flexible cord attaching it to the user's hand. They aren't very complicated weapons, but they are at least a little bit engineered for purpose. Folded cloth seems likely to be a poor substitute, especially cloth which is usually used to hold equipment.

If using any old piece of cloth would work, I expect that would have happened a lot historically. Ditto for multi-function staff weapons. I've never heard of either in real life.

You CAN use any old piece of cloth though, that's the thing with slings: they're incredibly easy to make. Of course if you get some nice leather and hemp cordage, sure you could make a nice sling, but it's certainly serviceable
The reason you don't get many examples of shitty slings is because they don't survive. Of course though, you would actually need to fashion a pocket and use some sort of cordage or other light material, as you won't get much speed by just waving a cloth above your head

As for multi-function staff weapons, I've got not idea, but I see no reason why it couldn't work as a (shittier) staff sling.

Staff slings are already a weapon of last resort. If anything building one out of a proper seasoned, true pole you could use as a decent quarterstaff would be an improvement.

Alright then, here's another question: What are the melee stats for a Staff Sling?

Yes, they were used as a melee weapon in last resort

>Staff slings are already a weapon of last resort

Not necessarily, from what we know it was actually used somewhat often during the medieval periods as a form of cheap artillery, though Bows were pretty much always preffered

What would I apply to an innate attack to make it so I had to ready it before using it, like a melee weapon? There's an option there for readying before each attack, like a bow, but I was looking to make something like the Skyrim Bound Sword.

Do you think it's okay to roll characters with newbies if we're using GURPS lite, or is that still too intimidating?

GURPS Lite is 30 pages and fairly straightforward. I don't see how it could be a problem.

Gadget limitations, B114~5

Not really what I was looking for. The weapon is isn't breakable, stealable or losable, but the goal was to have it take an action and some FP to ready it, then have it function as a weapon without any costs for a minute or so. Is there a way to do this?

Is "can only whisper" worth a quirk?

Okay, so here's what I'm trying to replicate. The character casts the spell, and the weapon pops out in around a second. He then holds it for 60-240 seconds, then it goes away and he has to summon a new weapon.
youtube.com/watch?v=zPzAHxEGqAk

Requires Ready: As above, except that your ability requires a
series of Ready maneuvers. This is less of a limitation because
foes cannot cause you to lose the ability to ready as easily as
they can make you lose concentration. -10%.

Create objects spell from sorcery would do the trick. Add some disadvantages to that to lower the cost down if you just want to summon a sword, though.

While conscious: Your ability requires a Concentrate
maneuver (never a Ready or a free action) to activate, and it
switches off immediately if you lose consciousness. Use this
with switchable abilities, but not with transient ones (including most attacks), as those automatically shut down after the
turn in which you use them. -5%.

plus maximum duration.

Where's this from?

Absolutely. It limits your main method of communication and is enough to make you noticeable.

>The reason you don't get many examples of shitty slings is because they don't survive.
There are still people who use slings around in the present day. Farmers in less developed countries use them for pest control. Palestinians use them to throw rocks (and sometimes bombs) at Jews. There are lots of hobbyists who use them. I've never seen any of them use a literal piece of cloth as a sling. Literally every example I have ever seen has been custom made as a sling, not improvised from a scarf or tarp. I'm willing to believe it is possible to make a sling out of folded cloth, but it seems odd that I've literally never seen anyone even mention it until this thread, so I'd like at least someone with some experience of slings to say it is viable before I believe it.

Of course, the obvious question is: why the hell would you want to improvise a sling? They weigh very little, don't use much material and don't need any great skill to manufacture. Improvising one saves you maybe a few ounces of weight and pocket change even for a homeless dude.

>What are the melee stats for a Staff Sling?
Assuming a fairly long, thick pole, probably just a quarterstaff with -1 damage due to lacking metal caps as per LTC2. Some staff slings seem to have been shorter, in which case I guess treat an an uncapped jo or light club. Shouldn't be any skill penalty, unless you have the sling bit still attached, in which case maybe -1. Breakage is likely to be as if it were cheap, due to having holes for the sling drilled in it, no caps and just generally being a little less sturdy than a stick only intended for hitting people.

>There are still people who use slings around in the present day.

I wasn't talking about usage, I meant that cheap examples of slings most likely never survived due to being made of, well, cheap materials. They're still used for sport, hunting and pest control.

> I've never seen any of them use a literal piece of cloth as a sling.

That's a completely subjective experience, as I have indeed seen a cloth used as a sling (albeit it was tied in order to make a proper pouch for the bullet)

Are there any proper rules for a hexcrawl similar to D&D?

I know it's not that hard to just wing it (count rations, successful hiking means an extra hex of movement, scrounging for extra rations) but it's nice to have some official rules

Hiking rules, fatigue rules, and perception rules are all you really need. DF16 - Wilderness Adventures and After the End all have relevant rules to wilderness exploration.

>I have indeed seen a cloth used as a sling (albeit it was tied in order to make a proper pouch for the bullet)

That's actually really interesting. Can you tell us anything more? Do you think it functioned roughly as well as an actual sling, or was it kind of crappy?

>Can you tell us anything more

Sure, it was a boyscouts thing

>Do you think it functioned roughly as well as an actual sling

Eh. It often got caught up in other parts of the fabric, and probably did not fling as far as a proper sling, but it worked for us. Once in a blue moon we could knock over a can or two

I don't remember specifically how it was tied, but I'm sure there's a tutorial somewhere on the internet

GURPS make me BURPS, what can I do to alleviate that.

How would you represent a long mace in GURPS? I'm reading a book on European hafted weapons and it seems like a lot of morningstars (not the things that GURPS calls morningstars, which are more like what this book calls 'ketenmorgenstern', but spiked maces with spear-like points on top) were over six feet long, sometimes as much as eight feet with the top-spike. Would that be best handled as a pollaxe (possibly with no back spike, although some of them did have one especially long spike at right angles to the haft) or maybe a spiked maul?

>or maybe a spike maul
That's pretty much it

You shouldn't use it though, two handed maces in GURPS are shit

...

>adding a long handle to an axe produces a better weapon than the long axe

Fantasy-Tech 2 may shed some light on the situation.

While we're on the subject of odd melee weapons (again), how about things like the brandistock, which was essentially a switchblade spear? I'm sure I saw something about 'trick weapons' in GURPS once, but can't find it now.

>I'm sure I saw something about 'trick weapons' in GURPS once, but can't find it now.
Martial Arts

Can I play a slice of life anime in GURPS

That's some cute dogs

Long Axe stats are absurdly bad and clearly don't fit with anything else in the game, and nobody can claim with a straight face that the dueling halbrid was created with balance in mind.

Sure, but unless your players are really into it I doubt it'll play well.

What makes Dueling halberds so much better than regular halberds?

As far as I know, regular halberds are kinda shitty due to being unbalanced

Why do people keep saying that two handed maces/axes/flails are bad? They seem fine to me

So I know that with basically any action (wait, attack reload etc.) You can take a step (1/5th of your move, for the average character 1 step). Can you take a step both after or before your turn? For example, if I'm a hex away from being within 1 range, can I step then attack with a sword?

Yes.

Funny enough, the step can happen anytime during your turn. Like between the attacks in an all out(double)

You can step at any point during your turn.

>What makes Dueling halberds so much better than regular halberds?
Don't become unready after attacking, still do a shit-ton of damage with several types to choose from, decent reach, etc.

Most 2H A/M weapons become unready after attacking, which means you only get half as many attacks. 2H flail doesn't, but you still get no parry and can't carry a shield, which is pretty risky although I personally think the trade-off is reasonable in that case.

I think 2h Maces are basically only for fantasy barbarians with 18 strength who can actually attack without being unreadied

Or is that 0.5xst requirement only for unsteady parries?

What is objectively the best melee weapon? Dueling halberd? Quarterstaff? Katana? Naginata? Or the almighty cestus?

D E P E N D S
Usually morningstar, katana, edged rapier and dueling halberd. Throw in Greatsword or Thrusting Bastard Sword depending on your taste.

>Absolutely. It limits your main method of communication and is enough to make you noticeable.
It gives minor benefits (keeps from screaming in stealthy situations when scared/surprised) so I wasn't so sure, thanks.

Wait, is this a physical thing or a vow thing? If it's a vow thing I don't think they can control screaming in horror (though they would probably get a plus to the check)

If it's physical, then yeah.

In general though, only whispering would be a full blown disadvantage

- Unable to alert allies from distances
- Can't really communicate in loud places
- Have to get real close for any conversation
- Creeping in peoples faces doesn't help with persaude checks

Physical, he was hanged by orcs but saved before dying. Luckily for him, he suffered no brain damage or other severe lasting injury but his vocal cords was damaged (not sure if this is realistic, I'm no MD).
>In general though, only whispering would be a full blown disadvantage
I'm indeed considering getting the full blown Cannot Speak to make things simple but I want to keep some form of non-signal language, albeit a limited one, which seems to fit a quirk.

Nevermind, after reading this post about the practical problem of the disadvantage, I decided to drop this part of the character.
forums.sjgames.com/showpost.php?p=2147965&postcount=4

Has there ever been an official apology from SJG to the Long Axe?

You could always rule it as Cannot Speak/Mute(except within one yard) and call that [-15]. Yeah, enforcement might be a bitch, but you gotta be aware of it is all.

IRL game or online? Voice or chat?

You were right the first time. ST never affects the U in the weapon’s Parry stat.

Step is 1/10 Move, alway rounded up. Move 1-10 gives a 1-yard step, 11-20 gives a two-yard step, etc.

You could just give him Disturbing Voice as a result of his vocal cords taking damage from being hanged.

How would my character stow or “sheathe” a boomerang or throwing stick? Or would it just be kept in a bag?

You could probably holster it like a pistol or knife, or stick it in your belt/pants in a pinch. Personally I'd go with holster if it need to be easily accessible.

Just use defensive attacks.

A duelling halberd is just a short handled halberd, it loses 1 damage but that doesn't matter because it's still fucktons. If you look at weapon weight it's still a pretty fucking hefty weapon too, that's why it's got za damage. If you scaled up a horsecutter to the same weight it'd probably do similar damage. That's the thing with the halberd, it's bonkers minimum ST 13 means that characters with high ST get way more advantage from it. It's just a big weapon. That's the deal.

Alright I just checked it; a Heavy horse cutter with a short handle has the same stats as the dueling Halberd except with 1 lower strength required and no swung impaling attack.

You'd put it down or drop it in a bag. These aren't the kinds of weapons used by people with sophisticated options, in general.

Spear. Can get damage bonus from fine (and is cheap to do so), can be used as a quarterstaff or with a shield, decent reach, works OK underwater and with low ceilings, useful as a pole, can be thrown, often found in good military MA styles, skill can use weapons which are useful in various circumstances and has defaults to other good skills, available from TL 0 but still popular at TL 4 (and in the form of bayonets, right up to TL 8).

Second place goes to Main-Gauche. Best knife, works at reach 1 as well as C, does as much damage as a dress smallsword at a fraction of the price, fencing parries, hand protection, no off-hand parry issues, work great in pairs even without off-hand training.

Crucially though, the HHC still needs to be readied every time it attacks.

There should be some kind of technique or perk which lets you get away with not readying, possibly taking a smaller penalty instead. That would make basically all the crap weapons viable.

Fantasy-Tech 2:
>Change the haft of a weapon from wood to metal
>Per yard of maximum reach: +$80, +2 lb, +1 required ST
>No effect on damage, but parrying is less dangerous

My idea:
>Change the haft of a weapon from normal wood to lightweight wood
>Per yard of maximum reach: -$??, -1 lb, -0.5 required ST (round final required ST upward)
>No effect on damage, but parrying is more dangerous

Thoughts?

Seriously, when I asked this question 3 threads ago, I wasn't expecting some cunt will be reposting it roughtly twice per thread ever since.

I feel guilty for starting this bullshit, even if I at least was asking for solid reasons, rather than tedious pasta.

>Can I play a slice of life anime in GURPS
As far as I'm concerned, you can play that with any game you like. The real question is - are your players into iyashikei.

A hardwood pole is going to be somewhere around 3-6 lbs. per yard, so you need to reduce weight by 20-30%. Going to a lighter wood, from around 70-90% of the density of water to about 55-60% means you are mostly dealing with crappy soft wood, which would be at least as bad as cheap quality for breakage. Alternatively, you could cut ribs into hardwood, which would be expensive but likely preserve more strength. Really light-weight stuff like balsa and bamboo probably isn't good enough to use at all unless reinforced with metal, but if it was you could probably reduce weight by a similar amount with reasonable durability. It would be expensive though.

In short, it seems plausible. Cost savings are likely to be minor, a couple of dollars per yard for the cheaper options and actually more expensive for the more plausible ones.

Not if you shorten the handle dude. Then it doesn't become unready, that's why I said it had the same stats.

Oh, right. Missed that bit of the rules.

It seems that if you want your group to have MAXIMUM KILL you just give everyone short handled polearms. Makes sense, until you get into some space you can't use them, or you need concealed weapons.

What are some good disadvantages for the "average good person"? I'm assuming Cannot Harm Innocents, and some kind of Code of Honour for basic moral values?

>Average person.
>Moral values.

Having worked retail, excuse me while I laugh.

Sense of Duty is also worth looking at.

I think he meant “bog-standard ‘good guy’”disadvantages. Like, your average hero or supporting NPC will probably sport most if not all of these.

Your fists

You realize not everyone follows this thread religously

>Average person.
>Moral values.

Real good joke user

Anyways, assuming you're talking about bog standard heroes instead of people

Things like pacifism (self defense only or cannot harm innocents) or Code of honor are probably the base line. If they're dungeon adventurers then 100% curiosity

And if they're a college student, Debt

Charitable, Dependants, Guilt Complex, Honesty, Selfless, Sense of Duty, Truthfulness and Workaholic can all be considered suitable for an ordinary person with strong morals. I'd recommend having pretty good self-control rolls for the ones which allow it if you want to be just a regular good person rather than an uptight weirdo though.

Sense of Duty is probably the most universal disadvantage, because it applies to broad slew of characters, not even "good" ones, since you can play as a bad guy and still have Sense of Duty.
Meanwhile, Code of Honour rarely is a good thing, because this covers behaving within ethos of specific group, usually one that doesn't adhere to law and thus honorable conduct is the only safeguard for them. Meaning that any other situation than low-tech society, CoH is pretty much a thing among bad guys.

If you really want goodie-two-shoes stuff, then Selfless, Honesty and Charitable are the holy trio.

You realise this is 3rd thread and 5th time this question is asked? It was even asked twice in the same turn.
So at this point I'm more eager to assume trolling than anything else

Scratch "cannot harm innocents" and replace it with "Reluctant killer", even new cops have reluctant killer most of the time; the first time they shoot someone, even if they know it's right is a big deal.

>Metal Spear: 8 lb, ST 12/11†
>Normal Spear: 4 lb, ST 10/9†
>Lightweight Spear: 2 lb, ST 9/8†

>Metal 4-yd Pike: 18 lb, ST 15†
>Normal 4-yd Pike: 10 lb, ST 11†
>Lightweight 4-yd Pike: 6 lb, ST 9†