Article by Ben Finney This document presents many of the rules in GURPS Fourth Edition that refer to measurements, and converts them to the world-standard SI (modern metric system) measurements. Article notes Attached to this page are three files: XHTML and RST (reStructuredText, given .txt extension here) files with the article content, and the license file. [Note: As of this writing, the XHTML file is unavailable; the redesigned site will not allow its upload. It will be added later if the issue is fixed.] The article is copyright Ben Finney, and is licensed to all recipients under the GNU General Public License. If you’d like to publicly comment on this…
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Godzilla is stronger than you.
Well, sure, you knew that. But how much stronger? I was browsing John Woodward’s nifty GURPS Godzilla page. His is no mere lazy stab at a handful of stats (like… well, this post is), but is a thorough guide to roleplaying the the Toho cinematic universe. Characters, monsters, history, plots, and more. A campaign in a box, if you will. GURPS Godzilla A tall drink of (heavy) water How big a box? To hold the Big G, at least 300 feet high – that appears to be the canonical height of Godzilla, despite some variance throughout his storied career. And how tough is our radioactive pal? ST 7500, says John,…
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It’s here! GULLIVER Mini for GURPS 4e!
We interrupt your browsing for a special infomercial from T Bone’s GURPS Diner. Hmm. Well, since we can’t run actual infomercials here, I can at least show you the script. (Cue T Bone [TB], in cheap suit before polyester-curtained background. Flashes slick grin and points at camera.) “GURPS gamers! Need to lay on the Leprechauns, but don’t know where to start? Do your Ogres lack oomph? Are you loving 4e’s new-found support for all creatures big and small, but frustrated by scattered rules?” “Help is on the way! Introducing a big new game aid in a tiny package: GULLIVER Mini for GURPS 4e! “ (Cheesy video effect of a…
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GULLIVER rules expansion for GURPS
Many a GURPS newcomer (and some experienced players too) ask: Can GURPS handle huge and tiny creatures? You bet! And it does so well, too. But even in GURPS 4e, the built-in tools are lacking in spots. A little added clarification and exposition fills in the gaps, giving you all you need to unleash beings of any size in your game. What is it? The original GULLIVER for 3e is an old, nut-made fan-crafted expansion for the GURPS 3e roleplaying game. It explores many topics, mostly dealing with character/creature design and physical performance. (It does so thoroughly, and is renowned for its volume.) The newer GULLIVER Mini for 4e is…
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FEND: Fully Enabled Defenses (GURPS 4e/3e)
Defense stats in GURPS are based on skill divided by two, an odd mechanic not used elsewhere in the game. What if defense used full skill, just like any other skill-based action? This GURPS rules hack is a look at a simple, single, “for the heck of it” rules change, followed by the usual commentary. As always, it’s yours to use, abuse, or refuse, as you choose. History v1.0: Created 2003/04/28 v1.1 update (2009/07/27): Modified for use with 3e or 4e. Using Full Skill for Defenses There’s one funny bit in the GURPS skill system. Nothing that need ever actually bother anybody, just a little oddity that’s so basic to…
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RPG science: Biomechanics fun
I would have liked to hear the speech by the inimitable Steven Vogel on “Power from the People: Life When Muscle Was Our Main Motor”, an overview of how biomechanics shaped the lives and work of our ancestors. The article at http://scienceblogs.com/principles/2007/02/archeological_biomechanics.ph… provides some interesting fodder for the dilettante game designer, though it’s unfortunately brief. Less sober: The Science of Godzilla, at http://scienceblogs.com/tetrapodzoology/2007/02/the_science_of_godzilla_… . The radioactive breath jet? It’s all thanks to a plasma gland. Yep, a plasma gland. (How we know that, isn’t answered.)
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Edge Protection: Armor enhancement for GURPS 4e and DFRPG
Edge Protection is a simple suggestion for a new GURPS armor stat which, together with DR, realistically simulates any level of armor rigidity vs flexibility and associated effects. It nicely handles some situations that current armor rules don’t, yet is no more complex than the existing flexible armor rules it replaces. History v1.0: Part of old article Gird Your Loins!. v2.0: 2007.03.27 Taking the edge off GURPS handles flexible armors like mail as follows: the wearer suffers one point of “blunt trauma” damage per full 10 points of damage (5 points if crushing) that doesn’t penetrate DR. In addition, some of these armors have a split DR score that offers…
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T Bone’s rules of dilettante game design, Part II
More navel-gazing, following an earlier inward journey of pretentious self-discovery (aka Part I). Back in the days of GURPS 3e, there were quite a few areas of rules that were “broken” – or at least problematic – in a wide range of ways. (4e is much improved in this regard!) Many gamers worked up house rules and patches to address these. I placed a big collection of my re-workings (developed with the aid of many helpful folk, especially a fellow going by the handle Dataweaver) into a big “3e overhaul” I named GULLIVER. While moving old site and GULLIVER FAQs to a new FAQ page, I extracted some “GULLIVER game…
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Game design musing: It’s about time (Part III)
Part 3 of 3. If you thought the articles were geeky before, be warned: it gets worse here.The past two articles: Part IPart II Jumping into the new: Action points, Version 1 In the last episode, I detailed some of my early endeavors at gaming more varied action times. Enough of that. Here’s another general method: action points. I can’t point to any single system as an example; I’ve seen many variations in home-brew games or as options for existing systems. One reader (see comments in first article) points to an AD&D version from an old Dragon magazine. The idea is simple: give each character some number of “action points”…
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Game design musing: It’s about time (Part II)
More on the subject of attack time and pacing in RPG combat systems, focusing on a couple of old home-brew efforts. Continued from Part I: On to another round of writing. I planned to wrap this up, but it looks like there’s going to be a Part III as well. (One note: With occasional digression, I’m discussing melee, not ranged, combat.) Recap Looking at how a few game systems (including some I haven’t mentioned) handle action time and pacing in their combat systems, the below seem par for the course: Combat actions take place in turns, with a default of one attack per turn. Under turns, there’s typically no mechanism…
