Character point debt…hmmm. It can be annoying and it can be a wash, depending on the GM and the player. First, in case you’re not familiar with the concept, there is only one mention of it in the Basic Set (p. B295) and that is: The GM might opt to let you pay for your […]
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Gamemaster’s Guidepost: Character Death – Part II
And we’re back! Still talking about character death, its causes, possible outcomes, and what you can do about it. Well. That Was a Dumb IdeaIt’s happened to all of us. We went left when we should have gone right. You weren’t paying attention entirely to the GM when he spilled a crucial bit of information. […]
Continue readingGamemaster’s Guidepost: Character Death – Part I
Every player’s fear and a GMs’ nightmare – the death of a player character. Nothing can halt game play like a (unplanned – see below) death. Was it a bad roll? Did the player just make a mistake? Was it intentional? Was it GM error? Regardless of the why, the effects of how it can […]
Continue readingGamemaster’s Guidepost: Unusual Background, Revisited
I’ve covered this before, but I felt it was a worthy topic to return to. This time, focusing on the GM. As a GM when exactly do you use a Unusual Background? Though I personally found the trait rather intuitive, many GMs seem to be mystified enough to just ignore it – which I think […]
Continue readingGamemaster’s Guidepost: Starting Point Totals
Want to strike fear into the icy heart of any GURPS GM? Say the following words: Starting. Point. Totals. What I’m about to say is probably going to be viewed heretical by some, but in my experience running GURPS, it seems to be true. Point totals DO NOT MEASURE CAPABILITY/POWER. Trying to use point totals […]
Continue readingGamemaster’s Guidepost: Tactical Maps, Anywhere, Anytime
My best friend, C., came up with this crazy awesome way for my gaming group to make full use of even my largest map (a 4ft long monstrosity). Table space is at a premium no matter where you go unless you have a entire room devoted to gaming. What’s more is that even your kitchen […]
Continue readingGamemaster’s Guidepost: Character Points, Embodied
XP. Eeps. Exp. Experience points. Character points.Whatever you call them they are the currency that drives the player economy. In GURPS these are simply called “Unspent Character Points” (no abbreviation, however adoptive exists – CP is a GURPS Martial Arts: Technical Grappling term). In games that use GURPS Power-Ups 5: Impulse Buys or Influencing Success […]
Continue readingGamemaster’s Guidepost: The Soundtrack of Your Game
The following might not be useful for all GMs, because it relies pretty heavily on a gaming style I’ve come to call “Cinematic Chic.” Cinematic Chic is a gaming style that apes the hyperkinetic drama of action movies, fast-paced TV shows, and so on. The game play is fast, and the drama is high. I’ve […]
Continue readingGamemaster’s Guidepost: How Tough Is It?
Because GURPS is a point-buy system, figuring out what constitutes as a “tough” opponent can be difficult. Not only difficult, it can be downright arcane. There are situations where a 500-point character can have barely any impact on a combat (lots of social and mental advantages), and a 100-pointer absolutely dominates it (purely combat-oriented advantages). […]
Continue readingGamemaster’s Guidepost: Pacing Your Game Sessions
Pacing game sessions is hard. It’s not something a GM can (usually) do without learning from experience. You need to have ran multiple game sessions before you get in the RPGroove. Some lucky GMs pick it up easily, but let’s face it, for most of us, it’s something we learned. But fear not ye newb […]
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