The Strengths of GURPS

GURPS is like 5E in that the characters are the strongest part of the game. You could argue that 5E is "GURPS in slow motion" since you are building a character of equal complexity, slowly, over 20 levels. Your choices in 5E are severely limited by the designers, first in class, and second in subclass, and you can only break that cycle through multiclassing. Still, even with multiclassing, you only get 5-10% the design flexibility of GURPS.

And also, in 5E, you pay a lot of money for each option. Playing 5E is expensive, and your design options are sold to you a few per book. If a sixty-dollar book has six new subclass options, and the rest is setting  info and adventures, that is ten dollars per option.

In GURPS, everything comes with the core books. All options. All powers.

In theory. Specialized books for designing powers and magic spells exist, but those give you more. You can theoretically design any power or spell you would need with the core books only, so the expansion books just exist to save you time and provide ideas.

If you are missing a 5E book with options you want, you are out of luck.

In GURPS, it is not really a problem. It may be a little more work and research, but you are not being limited by not having one of the expansions.

You are not slowly paying extra for years. This is the D&D and Pathfinder design model, and it has been costing gamers a ton of money since Wizards took over D&D for nearly 25 years. Yes, you can play with the core books only, but if you want options those books don't give you, you are going to pay a lot of money.

Again, you will eventually get a game with as many options as GURPS, but it will take you 15 years and a few thousand dollars. I have that with Pathfinder 1e, finally.

There is probably a story of someone who has only bought the core two GURPS books in 2020, versus someone who went through D&D 3, 3.5E, D&D 4E, Pathfinder 1e, D&D 5E, Pathfinder 2, and now D&D 5.5E. That person would likely be me (except for 5.5E, which I will never buy into), and I feel stupid for getting strung along so long. Yes, I enjoyed the books and had fun, and that is what matters, but five versions in 25 years means a new library of books every five years. I feel I need to constantly replace my D&D books, and any version of the game breaks quickly.

Versus one library, 2-3 shelves, of GURPS books that keep their value much better.

Another strength of GURPS is its combat. This combat system has held its own since GURPS 1.0, and it really has not changed all that much. Skill has meaning, and fighting a skilled opponent is hard. Your choices matter, and you can use skill to make huge bets - for huge payoffs. You can also take that "arrow to the knee" and start a chain of events where you will never be able to jump that chasm you easily jumped on the way in, and you slowly realize the fact you are not getting out of this dungeon alive.

From a single knee wound. In 5E? Short rest, and it magically heals. And there are no rules for a limb being wounded, so it does not matter anyway, and if a referee pulled this in 5E, the players would accuse the referee of being "unfair" and "breaking the rules." D&D is a videogame. The pen-and-paper mobile game MMO they wanted 4E to be. Death means nothing. Just respawn back at your bastion.

In the OSR, you make a ruling. It takes an imaginative referee to decide a wound that took away 25% of your hit points is that "knee wound" and what that does in regard to jumping that chasm. Maybe you rolled a hit location, in most cases you didn't. There is a lot of "just say" in the OSR, and that requires a bit of skill and experience in refereeing. It also requires a level of maturity from players to accept that ruling and ""go with it." Otherwise, the OSR is like 5E, and many referees just treat characters as a bag of hit points.

In GURPS, it is what it is. It happened. Maybe the hit location was random, and that is where the arrow landed. Maybe your character's legs were lightly armored. These were all choices you made, or things that happened due to the game. There is no "just say" here in regards to combat, but there could be if you play theater-of-the-mind. Still, there is always a way to determine hit location and what happens next.

The immersion in GURPS happens through discovery and realization you may have pushed your luck just a little too far, and now you are fighting a battle of how to get out of there alive. You can still make those OSR "rulings" in GURPS, but a lot of the game makes those for you where you need them. The guesswork and "making stuff up just because" is gone, and the game is easier to run.

Everything in GURPS is "zoomed in" a level, and it is sort of like Rolemaster's level of detail, but more physics-based and logical. When you defeat one foe, you feel a sense of accomplishment. The combat was likely gritty and real-feeling. The threat to your character was real, one lucky hit is all it takes. This is also why most OSR and 5E modules don't convert well into GURPS, there are way too many enemies in those adventures.

Take a module like Keep on the Borderlands, and it is happy to have 20-40 monsters in a room, and many rooms have 6-10 monsters. Some of these combats would take forever in GURPS played in-detail, unless a lot of GM fiat and simplification were used.

Even a game like Savage Worlds will simplify foes into "groups of enemies" and handle them as one. You see a few methods of handling large combats in several games, from D&D 4E's minions, to grouping foes, to keeping hit points low. My B/X mod uses original "hit points as rolled" from B/X, which could lead to goblins having 3 hit points in GURPS. And that is fine! One hit will take the goblin down, which makes the monster like a minion in D&D 4E, and in a dramatic and cinematic sense, that works in the style of game I am running.

For most of these group monsters, I will use GURPS Ultra Lite. Give the monster hit points, an attack skill, an acceptable parry/dodge number, a speed, and an armor value - and you do not need a bestiary or monster manual for any of them. If you want tough orcs, give them a higher STR and more hit points. Roll hit points for every monster, since they may enter the adventure in various states of wounds, health, and recovery, it is not an easy life being a monster.

Most monsters can be converted from B/X sources, once you know GURPS after a few combats. this isn't 5E, where first-level balance is a lot different than tenth-level balance. Numeric balance in GURPS stays relatively similar, which makes conversions a lot easier, and this is also why I really dislike the scaled damages and hit points of D&D 3.0 and beyond. The original White Box, First Edition, B/X, and BECMI hit points and ACs were just fine - and convert easier into GURPS as a result.

Not treating monsters as characters speeds up play, and also keeps the characters as the center focus of the game. The more you focus and play to the strengths of GURPS, the better your game will be. If monsters bog down your game and you find yourself slogging through them and your game feels slow - simplify them!

Focus on the game's strengths: the characters and the combat (if combat is a huge part of your game), and everything else can be simplified to just a few important numbers. You don't need to "port in" everything either, if you are doing a GURPS Car Wars or Star Frontiers, and find the original game's vehicle and ship combat rules work fine, use them! You can always make all skill rolls in GURPS and guesstimate modifiers.

Characters and having the control and design of exactly what you want is the core part of GURPS. This is the part of the game that returns the greatest satisfaction and enjoyment. Seeing how the design interacts with combat and the world is why you put the time into these designs.

Everything else is secondary. If you find something dragging down your game and leading you into endless conversion projects - stop, simplify, toss out, and borrow systems that work better.

GURPS and the OSR

I read a few comments about a few GURPS players who left for the OSR, and I can understand why. Yes, you don't get the fantastic character designs and total control that I love in GURPS. The combats are bland in d20 systems, and GURPS combat is much more tactical and satisfying. GURPS is learning once and running anything.

The OSR, the other hand, is a treasure trove for those who prioritize classic adventures over intricate character designs. It offers a class and level system that point-design games don't. However, this comes at the cost of limited choices, a less robust skill system, and the absence of advantage and disadvantage systems. Character customization is also more restricted.

The games are the way they are to facilitate group play at a table more than a simulation. Having classes makes creating a character and fitting in a party role easy, whereas, in GURPS, you can get a table full of random and unique character concepts with no role to fit into a party structure. Unless you pre-plan the party and pick roles beforehand, of course. Still, an OSR game is faster to pick up and play, providing a sense of reassurance and confidence in your ability to enjoy the game.

Many OSR games are unique prepackaged experiences: one book, one game, and infinite fun. Some are highly random, like Dungeon Crawl Classics. Others are throwback games to a particular time or version, such as Swords & Wizardry or OSRIC. Recreating all the tables, chaos, options, spells, and monsters in these games is a tremendous amount of work, and it is easier just to play the game as-is to experience what it has to offer. Unless you have a conversion system, like my Basic Fantasy mod for GURPS.

Still, there is fun in just turning off my desire to point-design everything and playing a party-based game with clear character roles. I don't mind "plugging into" an OSR game for a while; it is like playing a console game to change things up and experience something new. Games where I can run a character on a 3x5" index card are fantastic.

Part of me wishes GURPS was as plug-and-play as an OSR game, where the character choices were simple, the skill system did not have a few hundred choices, and what you had to write down and choose were a small number of easy options. You can do this through templating, but the framework behind the scenes is still heavy unless you just used GURPS Lite, which is 100% possible.

Most of my GURPS gaming never goes beyond GURPS Lite, and that framework can drive most games. Even Ultra Lite is a fantastic set of rules for NPCs and quick encounters, and you often only need a little more detail. A giant spider? Give it an "entangle and web skill" and use opposed rolls to avoid the effects.

This is also why I like Dungeon Fantasy. It is nice to have a self-contained game focused on one genre, something I can pick up and not be distracted with "other stuff," and I can have a focused experience in the books. I am not dealing with laser pistols or superheroes in the core GURPS book; this is just fantasy. My mind can focus on that, and the book immerses me from cover to cover.

The huge failing of Dungeon Fantasy is that it goes straight for the superhero fantasy experience with 250-point characters, cutting out the entire zero-to-hero run. That zero-to-hero experience is a part of the fantasy genre, as are the fantasy superheroes! That "growing into a character" and "learning the rules through growth" keeps the OSR games compelling. Dungeon Fantasy is very difficult for a newcomer since the 250-point characters are complex, and nearly a full page of GURPS skills and rules to learn on that character sheet.

The Delvers to Grow books are excellent patches for that problem, but they are third-party books fixing a problem the base game has. Still, not only do you have to learn GURPS, but you also need to learn 250-point characters. Then, you can go back and do these starter templates and finally enjoy that experience. This was my experience with Dungeon Fantasy, and it felt the same as being handed a 15th-level character sheet in 5E and told to learn that first before being able to start a 1st-level character.

Part of my frustration with the "kitchen sink" fantasy in GURPS is that it is way more complicated than it should be. What should be a genre where you get a 50-point noob and go turns into a massive project of learning the rules, endless conversions, choices on top of more choices, and becoming a "fan total conversion project" rather than something where you can pick up a book and play.

In a way, the core GURPS books are more accessible for the zero-to-hero fantasy genre than the Dungeon Fantasy game, which feels like the advanced version of the rules for expert players only. In some ways, Dungeon Fantasy is like a GURPS mod for the genre, and while it strips away the parts of the game you don't need, you get a lot of stuff, and it feels like Dungeon Fantasy is a solution that is a part of the problem.

My ideal version of "Fantasy GURPS" would be more the base GURPS core book but focused on the fantasy genre. But that is Dungeon Fantasy?! Yes and no. The core GURPS game standardized starting levels at 50, 100, 150, 200, 250, etc. When players pick an archetype role, such as "fighter," they get the 50-point template, a disadvantage or two, and they get playing. You could offer higher starting point packages for each role if players want more at the start. The book would have every rule needed to play, including combat.

Even the premade character sheets could be pre-filled in at each starting package deal. Print it out, pick or roll disadvantages, and you are playing. A new player does not need to open the book to sort through lists of choices. They should not. Hand them one character sheet and play.

Yes, I can do all this myself with what I have. But that is not the goal. I would love a GURPS book with the utility and ease of use as an OSR game. Even to the point of standardizing combat around GURPS Lite and making most of the combat rules optional advanced rules. The complexity and design of GURPS are not the problem, and mastering GURPS is a lot easier than mastering 5E.

The game needs to be focused, present experiences that players expect to see, and offer enough options to make it feel right.

It is an accessibility issue, and OSR games do that very well.

Updating the B/X Conversions Page

As I delve into my GURPS fantasy game, I've updated the B/X conversion page. The guiding principle is 'zero design', relying solely on conversions from B/X-like sources. I've opted for Basic Fantasy, a straightforward, ascending AC system that provides all the 'base data' I need for a robust conversion. Its simplicity and solid implementation give me confidence in the design choices.

Versions of the d20 fantasy game past the original B/X, BECMI, or AD&D do not convert well to GURPS. Everything past the video game-like D&D 3.0 scaled the hit point scale and eliminated the concept of hit dice, which are essential for the original numbers to work. Even AD&D 2nd Edition has very high hit points for the more enormous monsters, and they messed with the game's secret sauce when they changed the original damage scales.

An ancient red dragon with 660 (D&D 3.5E), 362 (Pathfinder 1e), 1,390 (D&D 4E), and 546 (D&D 5E) hit points shows you how much they scaled damage up to attract video gamers. In AD&D, S&W, or OSRIC? 88 hit points? BECMI? 90 hit points. OSE or B/X? 59 hit points. Even AD&D 2nd could have been better at 104 hp, but this is where it started. Fighters did not multi-attack in earlier editions of the game, which is what all damage scaling is based on. That 1d8+X longsword can still hurt a dragon in the earlier games, and in all later editions, that "basic attack" became a joke, along with most martial characters.

GURPS? The dragon has an HP of 50. This is an adult dragon, so an ancient red dragon would likely be 80 or 90, putting the GURPS HP scale directly in line with B/X games. GURPS was designed around the time of AD&D, so the numbers in the same area do not surprise me. The only real difference here is the curve, with B/X having a very weak low end, a sizeable middle distribution, and a longer high hit-point upper range. GURPS HP is primarily linear (since HP = ST in most cases) with a floor, starting at the default human 10 HP.

For me, the original B/X, BECMI, and AD&D games are not just fantasy; they are richly defined micro-settings, each inspired by a blend of Vance, Howard, Lovecraft, Leiber, Tolkien, and, surprisingly, the Bible. With their classic 'good versus evil' theme, these games are the authentic roots of the fantasy genre, a stark contrast to today's games that often dilute these classic conflicts with distractions and mass-media influences. They evoke a sense of nostalgia and appreciation for the origins of our beloved genre.

The fantasy genre is not the fantasy genre without biblical influence. Try to remove it, and it is AD&D 2nd Edition all over again.

Why not use Dungeon Fantasy monsters? I want to play the original adventures and directly use the statistics of the monsters and creatures in those books. The characters in Dungeon Fantasy are the heroes, while the converted monsters are the world's foes. It is an odd combination, more like GURPS characters in a strange, almost video-game-like reality, semi-based in the GURPS simulation, but with that classic dungeon-crawling feeling.

Yes, a goblin can have 1d6+2 HP. That is way less than Dungeon Fantasy's 12 for goblins and 14 for orcs. But using a hit-die scale lets me say, "These orcs are level 3 fighters; they have 3 HD." Suddenly, they are 18 HP beasts and have 14-minus skills. With armor, those are fearsome.

The base 1 HD versions of the monsters that serve a crucial role in the game-they are 'minions.' Dangerous in numbers, and with lucky hits, they can be taken down with one solid hit. Their presence adds a thrilling element to the game, making every encounter a strategic challenge.

Realistic characters in a B/X reality are the essence of the game. This means some monsters will be 'boss monsters' that a party needs to take on, while others will be more minion-like. Some monsters may be so formidable that they require modern weapons to defeat them or teams of twelve or more heroes at significant cost. This balance between realism and gameplay ensures that every encounter is immersive and challenging, adding depth to the game.

So, this is different from a typical GURPS game. The monster half is uninterested in simulation and presents that "hit die progression" where monsters start as minions and gradually outclass character power. The character side is 100% GURPS in living in a reality like that.

Each Character is a Game

Every character in GURPS is a game.

One of the things that I find most reassuring about this system is its straightforward and consistent rules. When you design a character, it's almost as if you're doing game design. Unlike the D&D-style' interrupt style design', GURPS doesn't endlessly tack on specific case rules that supersede the rule they just told you to handle one way.

If you have this ability, rule X works like special case Y. They keep doing this in the classes and spells, this endless series of short circuits and rule overrides. It is a spaghetti-coding waterfall rule design. But 5E is simple! When you start, yes. But after you buy the book, the first-level character is designed to get you into the game like a mobile game's first few hours.

300 special cases later from a dozen different classes and subclasses, I would rather be playing a game with consistent mechanics. As you level, things rapidly become more complicated.

I remember reading the first ability that gave me a "bonus action" in the 2014 5E rulebook. I flipped to the combat chapter and could not find anything mentioning "bonus actions," so I sat there, confused and wondering what the book was doing or if it was a typo. For a few hours, I sat there wondering, "What type of action is a bonus action, and where can I find it?" Later, we found the rules that said "only one bonus action per turn," we all realized "we were playing it wrong."

Again.

As detailed as GURPS combat is, I never had problems like this learning the system. Like the arcade game Qix, learning GURPS involves blocking off some rules, reading through them, trying them yourself, and then moving on to the next section. Even combat is like this. Learn turn structure. Learn to-hits. Understand the difference between melee and ranged. Learn how damage works. Learn how stunning works. Understand armor. Learn how dying works.

Once the GURPS framework is built in your head, the entire game is simple and straightforward.

As your character grows in power in GURPS, the system doesn't become more complicated. The odds improve, and you can buy more skills and abilities, but the fundamental structure of the rules remains consistent. You're not dealing with rule overrides, special action types, or creating interrupts to rulings.

GURPS actions are straightforward and consistent. You don't constantly change how you handle a situation, which can be a relief compared to other systems.

The math gets better.

The game doesn't get any more complicated.

Special actions open up, like the ones with hefty penalties, and you can do special attacks and defenses easily, where less-skilled opponents can't. You outclass your enemies and aren't gaining special attacks that lower-level characters can't have. All-out defense is not something only level 5 fighters unlock, and no one else can have, and it is designed to break a rule elsewhere.

Where the complexity of GURPS lies in character design. Designing a character creates a "game" that works within the GURPS simulation framework. Yes, you get the standards like attributes and skills, but you also get a set of powers you decide. You also get a set of advantages and disadvantages that define how your character works within the simulation.

And compared to a 5E or Pathfinder character, who can sometimes stretch across eight to twelve character sheets, most GURPS characters fit on a single two-sided piece of paper. I have had Pathfinder 1e characters in Hero Lab that came out to a dozen pages of text, spell descriptions, abilities, and exceptional cases up and down the two-column sheet.

But GURPS characters are a game in that the skills you pick unlock what you can do in the simulation. It sounds like "duh, that is what skills do," but it is more than that. When you build a character, you build the "game" you want to play in GURPS. Is your character more social? Stealth based? A melee combat juggernaut? A DX fighter? Or a mix of a few types? A crafter? A survival character? The character you build will be the "game" you play inside the "sim framework" of the rules.

YouTube: Solo Dungeon Fantasy, Vehicle Combat, and Live Play

Wow, we have a trio of cool videos to check out today, and the YouTube creators are really stepping up their games and putting out some great videos! All of these are new within the last day, and they are worth watching, giving views and likes, and supporting the GURPS YouTubers. To have so many cool videos dropping in one day is amazing, and I love to see the flood of GURPS content!

A GURPS vehicle combat example is a rare example of play and excellent for learning the game.

Imagine a video that's specifically tailored to your needs as a solo Dungeon Fantasy player. This is it! This video is a perfect starting point for those of us who prefer to adventure alone.

We also have a live play to watch and support. We love our live-play channels, which help spread the word about how great GURPS is for groups and streaming.

How did I find these? My search link is on the sidebar. Make your gaming world positive with the videos and creators we like that support our community, and avoid the constant drama and clickbait streams in the 5E world. Seeing people excited about playing, making games, and talking about playing makes me excited and keeps me positive and happy when I think about my games and recreation time.

Play games you love, immerse yourself in positive content, and be happy about your hobby.

After the End: Print Books

In the 1980s, my brother and I played the classic Aftermath game. This game got us out of AD&D and Top Secret, and we loved that system. So I saw pre-orders for the After the End books in physical copies, and I jumped at these.

The Aftermath game had a fantastic setting. It was not a "zombie" post-apocalypse setting; it was a gritty, hardcore, pick-the-end setting that offered two options: 20 years after or 200. The world could have ended due to nuclear war, plague, comet impact, alien invasion, societal collapse, or any number of other world-ending events.

Again, today, people don't get what an actual end-of-the-world setting feels like. There is far too much "Walking Dead" out there, which feels more like a videogame with infinitely spawning enemies that live forever, are always there for combat encounters, and never decay. I hate to be gruesome, but most of the "Walking Dead" would probably rot away within five years. You would see them naturally decrease over time. But because of television, they are immortal and infinitely respawn.

Like the Walking Dead, people are the reason we fight and the factions that oppose us. But the zombies in the setting are replaced by killer animals, androids, and high-tech warbots. Even a piranha can jump out of a river and bite your face, chasing you into an angry bear with a box of sweating TNT in his cave. We played that game with an insane twist, where even an ATM could try to kill you.

It was all worth it to get those cans of valuable beans.

https://www.gog.com/en/game/jagged_alliance

The original Jagged Alliance game on DOS felt a lot like Aftermath. You started out with small caliber pistols, scavenged 3-6 bullets here and there, used melee combat, and eventually found upgrades like hunting rifles, shotguns, and body armor. Everything had durability and wore down, needing repair or replacement. High-tech military weapons and ballistic armor were end-games +5 Vorpal swords and +3 magic plate mail. By then, you were fighting armored robots and androids in vast underground bunkers.

Jagged Alliance gets it, where finding one good quality crowbar opens up options to your party of mercenaries and explorers. That can be used to pry open doors, lockboxes, locked desks, storage lockers, and med-kits on the wall. The strong person in the group gets that, and possibilities open up. They could use it as a lethal weapon when in doubt.

And finding that pre-ruin crowbar is hard.

That incremental gear game is the heart and soul of Aftermath. You find something worthwhile, and raiders try to take it from you. You build a community, and raiders try to burn it all down. You explore the wilderness and ruins and deal with hazards from traps, radiation, bears, wild dogs, boars, weather, ambushes, and all sorts of other things that try to kill you.

It is like a puzzle game, where every critical gear discovery opens up more avenues and options for what the party can do, where they can go, how they solve problems, and how they proceed through the mission.

This isn't Fallout, either, at least not the "action game" new versions. These were the older Fallout games, where you never got in a pair of power armor or had personal nuke launchers. You had a single-shot pipe rifle and 20 bullets, and you learned how to repair it. Maybe some scavenged lamellar leather and metal layered armor that was heavy. Melee weapons were your mainstays. Archery and crossbows were viable alternatives.

Scavenging was a viable career if not a dangerous one.

The adventures here were simple and followed the familiar fantasy models. Bandits (orcs) raided trading caravans or stole animals or food. Someone was lost; a scavenging party hadn't returned yet. Rumors of a cache of weapons or other valuables circulated. A colony's water or power source needed parts for repair. Something strange was going on, and it needed investigation. The colony's radio picked up a SOS. Medicine was required to quell sickness. Dangerous mutated rats were sneaking in at night.

Or the model could follow the tried-and-true Western movie plots: bandits, bounties, sheriffs, gunfights, brawls, gangs coming into town, a lost horse, a remote farm or ranch sending a distress signal, or a messenger who needs to ride fast to an outpost or a nearby village asking for help. The mix of fantasy and the Western genre was fun, and you got to play with guns and high-tech stuff every so often.

Oh, and the Mad Max and Car Wars genre was not this either; that was way different, over the top and cinematic, with gas-powered mayhem and a Judas Priest soundtrack.

In those days, we did not need zombies or Fallout power armor; the post-apocalypse genre was better without them. The stories were more personal and realistic. The backdrop of the familiar world, now gone, compared with a future you make (or lose) is the drama of the setting.

It is good to see these two sourcebooks coming to print for the day when we lose all our electronic devices and need old-fashioned books to spend our time with after everything ends, and we find ourselves remembering a world that we knew once was.