As I’ve probably said before, some of my best ideas bloom at the dinner table after game sessions. My players are all relaxed and the urgency to do something to further the plot is gone. Their bellies are full (or getting there) and their minds are still a whir with the events of the session. That’s […]
Continue readingTriple Threat – Spriggan
Spriggan Ugly, hunched creatures, spriggan are the bullies and thugs of Faerie – and sometimes bodyguards for those who can afford them. Though small (average spriggan is about the size of a human child), they can grow their size to giant-like proportions (over 15’ tall). Spriggans are distantly related to piskies and are widely thought […]
Continue readingGURPS101: I Got All the Heals
Been a lot of chatter about the Healing advantage on the forums lately and I always seem to end up in the discussion so I thought I might expound on this a bit on my blog. So…Healing…how does it break down? Healing as Pieces Parts So what does Healing do and how does it […]
Continue readingGamemaster’s Guidepost: NPC Frequency of Appearance in Game Time
I don’t have a ton of “house rules” – I pretty much like the GURPS 4th edition system as is, but there are a few things that irk me and one of those is the Frequency of Appearance for Allies, Contacts, Dependents, Enemies, and Patrons. In GURPS you basically purchase a Frequency for which your […]
Continue readingGamemaster’s Guidepost: Dirty Laundry
Something odd came up while I was helping a player create their character, he asked “What trait do I use to represent knowing someone’s dirty laundry? You know, blackmailable secrets nadf stuff.” I admit the first thing I went to was Favor + Ally, Contact, Patron and Completely Unreliable or Unwilling. But that seemed a bit […]
Continue readingGURPS101: Wound Absorption
Sitting around a table with your friends after a good game is some of the best times to breed ideas. Hell, they replicate like rabbits in such a situation. While gaming recently I had several ideas “fall” into my lap, but the most radical of them came from a conversation about a old World of […]
Continue readingGamemaster’s Guidepost: Plot Points, Expanded
One of the often overlooked things in GURPS Powers (and there are many) is a small box on p. 192 at the top right of the page titled “GM Bribery.” In it, it describes a new way to reward players called a “plot point,” which are basically like character points but can be used to […]
Continue readingBoil and Bubble: Mage-Blade Duelling
Inspired by +Peter V. Dell’Orto and +Douglas Cole posts (here, here, and here) on “Longsword Sport” I wonder if the style is portable to less modern settings…and what’s more, what if it were more than just a sport? But a way of two mages to settle a point of contention without spells? The Style I’m totally riffing off of […]
Continue readingGamemaster’s Guidepost: Benchmarking Modifiers
Figuring out exactly what a given modifier should cost that’s not in the rules can be extremely trying for any GM – much less a new GM. Here’s a couple of tricks I’ve learned over the years as both a GM, a game designer, and a writer. ……. Picking Over the Bones When it comes […]
Continue readingGamemaster’s Guidepost: Player Psychology
I like to think of myself as a student of human behavior. What makes people tick. Why they do what they do. That sort of thing. I learned early on to detect minute changes in the moods of others and its stuck with me my entire life. Besides being useful in a fight or when […]
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