It's My World

One of the best parts about a GURPS Fantasy world is it is my world and not somebody else's. I get why this is the reason some don't like Dungeon Fantasy, since this is more of a familiar "tabletop fantasy RPG" style of world, with all the familiar bits. You have elves, dwarves, paladins, wizards, rogues, bards, rangers, and all the familiar things ready to go. Dungeon Fantasy is a great thing; it is the entry to GURPS for many fantasy gamers who want the game to be a little more familiar yet have the flexibility to take things any way they want.

The "standardized tabletop fantasy" genre is with us to stay, for good and bad.

The tropes are good because they are a standard frame of reference for many. They are flawed because people default to them and lose any sense of wonder or imagination. The TTRPG Fantasy genre is the McDonald's of storytelling, and it tends to overwrite and supersede all imagination and creativity with a homogenized fantasy monoculture.

Some groups do not want the "typical fantasy assumptions" forced on them and prefer to roll their own world and magical powers. This is especially prevalent with historical fantasy games, like a game set in authentic Roman times or a campaign using Greek fables and tales of adventure. Traditional Western "paladins" or "druids" won't likely fit well in these worlds, and even some assumptions about bards or rogues will be so far off the mark that they will ruin the historical immersion the group is shooting for.

This is my problem with D&D and 5E. While they typically do TTRPG Fantasy well, they will break down and scribble over any assumptions about historical recreations with their own assumptions about how worlds should work. You have to have those planes! Here come the spell-jammers! Ancient Greeks, meet the mind flayer! Magic missile! Fireball! Cure light wounds! It is a +1 sword! Warlocks everywhere have an eldritch blast! I am a Tiefling cat person in Ancient Rome! Pew-pew cantrip blasting casters!

And since many of these things are enshrined in people's 5E builds, saying they aren't official in your game leads to problems. Say someone can't take a paladin level or warlock, and you break several dozen power gaming builds and weaken DPS. MMO "build culture" has infected 5E deeply. For some, character backgrounds and stories morph to fit power gaming builds.

Still, Dungeon Fantasy is modifiable enough that you can define your own fantasy races and limit worlds to specific classes. This is still GURPS, and unlike 5E, the game was built to be modified and hacked. I treat DF more as a hacking guide to simulate traditional fantasy classes and tropes in GURPS, which is a huge benefit and reference guide. Where it fails is paring too much of GURPS off and getting rid of many of the best disadvantages and advantages in the game, like wings or enemies. Still, crack open the GURPS Basic set if you want them, and use the GURPS Character sheet and pull them in.

Using Dungeon Fantasy to create a custom fantasy world is much easier than using 5E.

Contrast this with the basic rulebook and GURPS Fantasy, a "GM's Guide" for fantasy that beats the last three D&D DMGs combined. You can run fantasy games without Dungeon Fantasy, and they will likely be radically different in terms of the "standard fantasy assumptions" - magic can be any type of power system in the non-Dungeon Fantasy games, from relic-based to granted powers. Or, they can follow along with the fantasy tropes.

You are probably right if you feel this is a bit more work than Dungeon Fantasy. It is more rewarding since you will build the world and magic system you dream of. Finding a group that buys into an original creation is a harder sell than TTRPG Fantasy or if you are simulating a known IP or fantasy novel.

For some worlds, though, not dealing with all the "stuff" Dungeon Fantasy brings in will make creating a world easier. If I am just doing a historic Rome game with no magic or one specific type of rare magic? GURPS Basic Set will do the job with a minimum of fuss. Even GURPS Lite works if you want fewer rules and a free PDF, so everyone can try the game out.

The identity of a world tied to a specific version of the rules is a thing for me. Greyhawk will always be AD&D 1e. The Forgotten Realms will always feel like AD&D 2e. Nerrath will be D&D 4E. It is hard for me to use GURPS for any of those settings since I remember vividly playing them when they came out, and my mind will always link the rules to the world. I get the same feeling with Paizo's Golarion, a world I thought was fantastic, but it faded some in recent years with all the changes they made. That world will always be Pathfinder 1e to me.

I don't have a world I associate with 5E other than Tales of the Valiant and Kobold Press' Midgard setting. I refuse to play Wizards' 5E and their settings, so I play indie 5E.

For GURPS, though, my best results come from "generic" world settings, such as the Aquilae rules-independent setting, which is just a map with place names. Do what you want with the map; it is just a map, and while they sell other books with more information about the places, you can ignore them and let your imagination fill in the blanks. I had a GURPS game here, which was just the northern tip of the world in a Norse-like culture. It was gritty, realistic, and fun. I will never go 10 hexes away from my starting town, but the world is there if I want it.

The other world I would like to play with GURPS is the excellent and rules-independent HarnWorld setting. This is another that feels gritty and realistic, has a few cultures similar to what we are used to, and has a pretty detailed and complete set of books to collect and read. This will most likely be my Dungeon Fantasy world since the world is detailed enough to answer questions about who and what is where while leaving enough room for you to make the place yours.

HarnWorld works well with GURPS Fantasy and Dungeon Fantasy, so this is an excellent GURPS setting worth collecting for ideas and reading. I am on Kickstarter campaigns they run, and those are highly recommended. My HarnWorld books moved from my 5E shelf to my GURPS shelf, which says a lot.

Even with indie settings like Aquilae and HarnWorld, GURPS gives me the freedom to tweak the rules and conventions of the setting to my liking without having to import all of the 5E tropes and power builds that will overwrite the tone and feel of the world that I want to see. If I wish for low magic, I can have low magic without "cantrip blasters" running around and ruining the theme and feel.

The world is still mine.