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[Yoink]

Can I get some opinions on GURPS? Who's played it?
Is it worth buying? I've wanted to run a game in a modern-type setting for a while, and having an actual system to rely on (instead of RTD rules) would make me a lot less likely to get bogged down and lose motivation, I think. Is GURPS good for games with modern weaponry, or would I be better off just re-purposing the basic 40k RPG rules?

[Mephisto]

Running a combat-heavy game while adhering strictly to the rules is pretty lethal.

A normal person with base stats does 1d+1 (swinging) or 1d-1 (thrusting) damage with a broadsword, less if weaker than average. Compare that to 2d+2 for a semi-auto 9mm, up to 9d+1 for a .338 sniper rifle, each unmodified by strength.

In a world where the average person has ST 10, and thus 10 HP, guns are dangerous.

That being said, GURPS is my favorite system. I would say it's worth a buy. Just be aware that a lot of the newer products are never released via dead tree, but they have a fairly liberal policy on printing out your own purchased copies.

[Hugehead]

Can I get some opinions on GURPS? Who's played it?
Is it worth buying? I've wanted to run a game in a modern-type setting for a while, and having an actual system to rely on (instead of RTD rules) would make me a lot less likely to get bogged down and lose motivation, I think. Is GURPS good for games with modern weaponry, or would I be better off just re-purposing the basic 40k RPG rules?

I've never managed to get a group together to play so you might want to take this with a grain of salt, but I've done a good bit of reading of the books.

In my opinion it's a good system that will work for almost any setting if you know how to use it. The important thing to know about GURPS is that you should not apply every rule in the books to your game. It's designed to be a toolbox that you can piece your game together from, if you try to use every rule in the basic set it won't work but if you pick just a few that fit the flavor of your game you'll likely have a good experience.

It will certainly work for running a modern game but the question of it being worth buying depends on what you want from it. It's very good for simulationist games but since you're used to running RTDs it might be a bit too crunchy for you. If you want to just get a feel for the system you should download GURPS Lite. It's enough to run a game with and if you decide you like it you can go on to buy the basic set.

[Mephisto]

It's very good for simulationist games but since you're used to running RTDs it might be a bit too crunchy for you.

Like everything GURPS, it depends. One of the mantras you'll find over on the SJGames forum is "when in doubt, roll and shout!" It's originally from Dragon Magazine, but it works here as well. The game is exactly as crunchy as you want it to be.

[nenjin]

I haven't played GURPs since the 90s, but, I remember being put off by how generic it felt as a rules system. If you master the system, I think it can be pretty good. But I found little endearing in the mechanics vs, say, WoD or RIFTS or Dead Lands.

[Yoink]

Thanks for the input, guys.
I'll certainly have a look at the lite version before making a decision, although I do much prefer having a physical rulebook to read from.

As for the RTD thing, well, I think the lack of "crunch" is the main reason all my RTDs have been dropped so quickly- without actual rules to go by I get distracted and sidetracked by minor details far too easily.

[puke]

GURPS is super crunchy.  Combat rounds are one second long, and there are modifiers for everything. 

I remember super ineffectual melee combat as we slipped around for several rounds, and then someone landed a blow and it was done. 

I remember shooting a .50 rifle through a tree trunk at an obscured target, and having the game results match (very satisfyingly) real world experience and expectations.  On the other hand, figuring out the various modifiers to the shot, cover, structural resistance, etc. probably took 15 minutes.  for one second of game time.

It's fairly realistic if you love simulations and are interested in that sort of thing.  It does not do fast paced well, and it does not do cinematic well. 

I'm not a huge D&D fan, but I'll pimp some of the OGL systems a bit here:  D20 Modern / True20 / Mutants & Masterminds / Star Wars Saga Edition all do great jobs of fast paced modern games.  They have mostly traditional mechanics that anyone should be familiar with, pretty simple, not as much new-age narrative stuff as you'll find in Fate or Cortex or Apocalypse World.  And fairly tight and consistent, not like the 40KRP stuff which is all over the place.

[Farce]

I heard Deadlands what is happening

I've never actually played it, but I've read it, and was like 'There is no part of this that doesn't sound amazing' the entire time.  The original system, anyway - when it shifted over to other systems, it lost a lot of charm.  I really really dig how flavorful it is that they worked poker into the mechanics and stuff.

Another of my never-played-but-loves is 7th Sea.  It looks so baller.

**EDIT**
What's that?  New edition of the Madoka Magica RP you say?  http://yarukizerogames.com/tag/magical-burst/

[Hugehead]

GURPS is super crunchy.  Combat rounds are one second long, and there are modifiers for everything. 

I remember super ineffectual melee combat as we slipped around for several rounds, and then someone landed a blow and it was done. 

I remember shooting a .50 rifle through a tree trunk at an obscured target, and having the game results match (very satisfyingly) real world experience and expectations.  On the other hand, figuring out the various modifiers to the shot, cover, structural resistance, etc. probably took 15 minutes.  for one second of game time.

It's fairly realistic if you love simulations and are interested in that sort of thing.  It does not do fast paced well, and it does not do cinematic well.

In my opinion it's a good system that will work for almost any setting if you know how to use it. The important thing to know about GURPS is that you should not apply every rule in the books to your game. It's designed to be a toolbox that you can piece your game together from, if you try to use every rule in the basic set it won't work but if you pick just a few that fit the flavor of your game you'll likely have a good experience.

[Telgin]

I have a pretty good bit of experience with GURPS, and I can generally agree with the sentiments so far.  It's a pretty good system that can model almost any setting, but it can get extremely complicated depending on how many of the rules you want to use.  If you just use everything from the Basic Set books it's pretty manageable, but once you start tossing in supplements like Martial Arts it can get pretty complicated, fast.  Part of the problem there, for me at least, is there seems to be a nagging feeling that if you ignore a rule, you're not playing the full game.  So... you go from getting stabbed, to checking to see if it's a major wound, to seeing if you are knocked down and stunned, to seeing if you passed out, to seeing that you did and that you'll wake up in X minutes, to seeing how many HP you lose to bleeding during that period, to checking for death for losing too many HP...

Having said that, I have an easier time keeping track of GURPS's rules than DnD 4E.  At least almost everything applies to everyone in GURPS, but in DnD 4E you've got so many unrelated abilities that only work in specific circumstances and stack specifically and so on...

GURPS also does suffer a bit from the fact that by attempting to be generic, it doesn't handle any given setting as well as a dedicated system likely could.  In particular, it has some fairly big problems with modeling some super hero types, which really boils down to one thing about GURPS that's already been mentioned: it's based heavily in realism.  You can tweak it to fit almost any setting, but it takes lots of ham fisting (which is a character trait in GURPS by the way!) to get it to feel like Dungeons and Dragons, for example.  Gritty fantasy, historical settings, modern settings and futuristic stuff are all pretty easy to do though.

That said, there are also some definite quirks in just about any genre you apply GURPS to.  The default magic system presented looks cool at first glance, but has lots and lots of problems when you analyze it, leaving you probably better off using the built in advantages system instead.  Space opera may have problems with the realism that spaceships are grounded in, such as their extreme fragility.  If you're playing a pirate game, you may quickly realize that the crew can sink an enemy ship with their hand guns in short order.  Things like that.

As a whole though, I'd definitely recommend giving it a shot.  Especially with a little house ruling here and there, it can serve almost any purpose.

As an aside, if you're interested in a less complicated generic RPG system, you could check out the D6 system.  It's completely free now and can also simulate most settings pretty well.  It used to even be used for the Star Wars RPG before it was converted to the D20 system, which is how I fell in love with it.

[nenjin]

*snip*

I remember effectively trying to create Akira in GURPs, and the attempt ground to a halt trying to figure out how many cubic meters of destruction or w/e I could maximally create. It pretty much sucked the fun out of the idea when you're trying to maths fantasy.

[puke]

I heard Deadlands what is happening

 The original system, anyway - when it shifted over to other systems, it lost a lot of charm.  I really really dig how flavorful it is that they worked poker into the mechanics and stuff.

I think the system changed again, and Deadlands is now the foundation for the Savage Worlds rules.  From what i've seen, it maintains much of the old charm.  And you can still get the classic books, if you prefer those.  A few weeks ago, BundleOfHolding did a classic deadlands bundle.

But I think the "reloaded" edition is generally well received by fans of the original game.  And yes, everyone agrees that the D20 version sucked all of the soul out of the thing.

Another of my never-played-but-loves is 7th Sea.  It looks so baller.

See, I like buckling swashes, but this thing never did it for me.  They set the thing in a quasi-historical analogue of Europe, but mashed up the geography into some sort of weird Pangaea thing where none of it makes sense. 

Its made by the L5R guys, and that game suffered from similar problems.  high points for style, but the fake history and mashup of cultures does not stand up to much scrutiny.

[Neonivek]

Ugh, I knew I should have had more then 2 DMing friends.

Anyone want to help me brainstorm for Pathfinder? I am a bit perplexed where I want to go next.

[sjm9876]

In what way? Plot-wise or something else?

[Neonivek]

In what way? Plot-wise or something else?

Basically plot wise. 'Where do I go from here?"