Where did the S&W post go?

Sorry about that.  I thought it was S&W appreciation day so I posted ahead of the game. Danged time warps

Console yourself with some Rocky Horror Picture Show

Things I learned from my recent failed GURPS game

My GURPS campaign just wrapped up by my request after about 10 sessions. I can't say I am entirely disappointed though as it was a learning experience and we did have some fun along the way.

I'd like to share what I learned

#1 I am allergic to heavy prep.

I simply do not enjoy the tedium of creating stat blocs, drawing maps or any of the admin work that is part and parcel of games. Heck though I have plenty I rarely even use minis. This is product of me being spoiled by the Buffy RPG and needs to be unlearned for other games.

#2 I was overly ambitious.

GURPS Dungeon Fantasy Style meets Inusyasha was too much for my level of skill at GURPS 4e

#3 GURPS really needs fast play support material.

IMO a nice book of blog standard simple stats and basic maneuvers for common NPC types and critters would be a great asset. This is not a bestiary in the “you can play that with these stats” sense but a big book of things to smack. And yes Dungeon Fantasy does have some of this. I am not interested in buying a bunch of books or virtually thumbing through them for just some stat blocs.

#4 GURPS combat can be amazingly cool if and only if the players are interested in learning how to do their part.

Mine players just just want to kick some butt and would be better served with simpler rules. GURPS lite combat isn't any more interesting than any other system and is less interesting than some. I actually thing D&D HP attrition is better for these guys (as is class/level but thats another post)

#5 Neither my players nor I really care for my game world.

Midrea works as intended, its a very kitchen sink setting but its just not interesting and because of the divergent power levels, the guns and lasers and whatnot are a poor fit with GURPS. They work but they feel wrong.

#6 My players aren't very good and sandboxes

In my opinion they get bored easily, don't ask the right questions and aren't as motivated as I thought they were. Don't get me wrong they are fabulous roleplayers and good reliable players but the “Game” aspect of the RPG trinity just isn't their best bit. They honestly do just as well with no rules or rules on the fly and don't even mind being railroaded. This is a new thing to me and we both have some adjusting to do.

#7 Next time I need a fate point system to help get the players more into the game.

The players love them and I like them too . GURPS does have several in fact, one in the defunct on-line pyramid and of course Power Ups 5 Impulse Buys http://e23.sjgames.com/item.html?id=SJG37-0143 we are getting that next time.

#8 I don't like the GURPS baseline magic system.

We didn't use it much this time but in past games when we did the game before this , it was complex and unsatisfying. If I had preplanned better and the players were on the ball this might not have been an issue. The trick is getting there .

#9 The game balance works.

The GURPS point systems are roughly balanced vs one another. Its a masterpiece of game design.

#10 To really make GURPS fly requires a lot of tracking of fatigue and HP and maneuvers and such.

This can can be short cutted (I see a Pyramid article in the offing) but I can only get one of my 6 players into it. This rules out a lot of the excellence of GURPS martial arts, GURPS combat and makes GURPS core magic not work right either.

#11 All of the players need steady power ups and rewards.

GURPS can provide this but it doesn't do it as well as D&D or other games do. Also its easier to get the players to level up than to allocate points. I think it just feels more rewarding to them and maybe familiar as well (they are younger than I am having started with 3.5 D&D and GURPS as vs me with Holmes and AD&D) I can adapt as I have a number of old school adventures they haven't played. Ghost Tower of Inverness anyone?

#12 I make good NPC's including bad guys and nifty magic items

The players like them, I enjoyed them too.

and last the appropriate 12.5 or is it dum dum dum dum 13...

I am addicted to fairy tales. I can't stop using fae and enjoy RPing dragons, goblins and all the panoply of European Fae more than any other monster. I think what I need a Grimm's Faerie Tales with a dose of Thieves World. Any recommendations?

Well thats that. A least I learned some things , got some GURPS on and got to hang out with some awesome gamers. Maybe the game wasn't all that it could be but it was fun with peoplewhose company I enjoy and thats all one could ask for. In the event you are reading this, thanks ya'll for being great..

Sorry for the lack of posts

Been stuck with real life stuff and haven't had the go juice to think of anything.

Thanks for hanging in.

1o Reasons past is a foreign country D&D 1970's edition edition

Something to consider, D&D was invented in 1975.

This was a very different time in many ways, I'll list a few


#1 It was culturally and racially much more homogeneous. we all saw the same three channels, heard the same pop music in our limited interest sphere and mostly saw the same movies and such. Books were where most of the differences were though many fewer were published than especially in Sci Fi and Fantasy

#2 It was an industrial society where men worked and most women didn't not a post industrial one were women are starting to outnumber men in the work force

#3 People matured faster and there were fewer socially maladapted gamers

#4 Vietnam had just ended and the US was undergoing major cultural turbulence

#5 There were essentially no personal computers and in fact up till the mid 90's it was plausible for everything in a campaign to be in a notebook.

#6 There was a lot less game material out there will well into the 80's . Even a mediocre issue of Dragon would be prized

#7 There was some Sci Fi (Star Wars wouldn't be out till D&D was 2) and very little fantasy, few enough that it would be perfectly plausible to have read the entire appendix N. Everybody knew the same stuff and there wasn't much of it.

#8 History especially material history in the US was laughable. Very few people had any idea about the past. A lot of people didn't really care though, they just ate whatever was in the book and played the game.

#9 D&D original designers grew up in the age of westerns which has a strong influence on D&D, In many respects D&D, especially Greyhawk is a post apoc western with medieval and magic trappings

#10 The psychedelic movement and such was still out there and it had an occasional impact on D&D and as I understand it, D&D was originally a stoner thing not a nerd game.

Rulings not rules and the inventors of D&D were middle aged

As odd as it is to consider for some, the original inventors of the game, Gary and Dave and everybody were full adults as was Dr. Holmes of Blue Book fame (the first truly mass market D&D in my opinion) , who was a respected surgeon . they were in modern terms were middle aged men in their 30 with careers, families and all the markers of adult hood.

This maturity allowed them to have very light rules, and to just in the words of Old Geezer (at 17 the youngster of the time) To Make up Some *bleep* they thought was fun

They were grown up enough to handle it.

And because they were grown ups not teen or shudder young teens, the cognitive skills they needed were well developed and as such "rulings not rules' worked.

This approach won't work with some player with maturity issues (there are lots of these alas) with with some kids and with some teens but no one considered kids much till the early 80's (Blue Book started it but B/X really took off)

I am guessing TSR s assumed that it would be imaginative adults that would play.

That of course changed as the hobby grew and and in the fullness if time D&D changed evolving into its opposite "rules not rulings" in 4e.

Now 5e from what i can tell is rolling back a bit either because they figure Old Grogs will be the main buyers or they realized that modern kids can in fact figure this stuff out and don't need to be spoon fed. Either way i am happy to see the game get back to its roots as in this mans opinion, the old way was better.

Bah, get off my lawn ...

My Pirate Name

Tis True, Maties ..

Thanks to Gothridge Manor for the idea.


My pirate name is:

My pirate name is:

Calico Sam Flint

Often indecisive, you can't even choose a favorite color. You're apt to follow wherever the wind blows you, just like Calico Jack Rackham, your namesake. Like the rock flint, you're hard and sharp. But, also like flint, you're easily chipped, and sparky. Arr!

Get your own pirate name from piratequiz.com.
part of the fidius.org network

So what on the horizon for 2013?

2013 looks to be an interesting year for me. I expect to run GURPS in Midrea for the second time, some Angel/Buffy and maybe some Old School D&D (hopefully)

I have no idea what they guys have planned RPG wise but I'll play it whatever it is.

Our group will also do a lot of freeform games, little mostly systemless based on just whatever idea comes to mind.

No every group can do this but my group cam handle it well and even managed 2 non violent mini games in a row to close out 2012.

I suspect though that the battle lust will be catching up with them and I'd better give them a good fight soon before they mutiny.

As far as writing, I have some projects to play catch up on and if I have any discipline at all and Fallout NV or Skyrim don't eat my time I might manage an OSR bit or two.

I'm working on a setting that could be described as D&D without the Eldritch . Drop much of the 70's stuff and the Howard, Leiber, Lovecraft and Vance .

Don't get me wrong I love all these things but its time I think for a something new.

Call it the Anti-Lament of the Flame Princess if you like. And no disrespect to James Raggi here, LOTFP is a great game. Its just want something a little different and a little less weird and dark.

More Faerie Princesses and no Cthulhu. We'll see.