From: mfterman@flower.Princeton.EDU (Mutant for Hire)
Subject: Re: My Problems with GURPS
Originator: news@nimaster
Reply-To: mfterman@phoenix.princeton.edu (Mutant for Hire)
Organization: Mutant for Hire, Inc.
Date: Wed, 27 Jan 1993 18:40:10 GMT

In article <44027@sdcc12.ucsd.edu>, bkoike@sdcc13.ucsd.edu (Bryce Koike) writes:
>In article <1993Jan22.190708.16065@Princeton.EDU> mfterman@flower.Princeton.EDU (Mutant for Hire) writes:
>>1. There are only four attributes, and sometimes the distinction
>>between Strength and Health can get extremely confusing.
>
>Not really.  Health determines how you deal with damage, disease,
>how fast you heal, etc.  Strength deals with physical exertion,
>stamina...

Partially true, but partially wrong. Strength and stamina tend to be
found together, but there are distinctions. Its the difference between
being able to do a single power life and the ability to haul loads all
day. People can train to do a single burst of exertion or to do a long
set of exertions. The difference between a sprinter and a long distance
runner. HERO allows you to model this since they have STR, CON, REC,
and END stats. Strength, general health, your recovery rate and your
energy.

>Are you saying that you're unable to do this yourself?  Not a very
>valid complaint.  There's no specific space because hit points and
>extra fatigue are only introduced in certain very specific genres.
>Generally-speaking, HP=HT and Fatigue=ST in almost all games unless
>you're running with your own house rules or you're playing with
>supers.

They're linked because that's the way the rules work in your mind. If
you set up such correlations and say they're the norm, then you're
totally right. I'm disagreeing that they are so necessarily linked.

>It's impossible to deal with all cases generically.  Try it out, I
>know that I have.  You HAVE to deal with specific cases with
>specific rules sometimes.  Try running a cinematic campaign without
>the cinematic rules...

HERO does a pretty good job. Before you claim that its purely for
the cinematic case, remember the advantages and disadvantages are
merely for the purposes of point balance. Its in skill resolution
and combat that HERO is cinematic.

>If you want a generic framework, they're available for many cases.
>And GURPS tends to be fairly consistent among its advantages and
>disads so that I have no problem with them.

The problem is that they rarely make such systems. Or I would prefer
it if they came up with a system, but said "individual tailor to
really reflect the disadvantage" and give some examples.

>GURPS has the problem of being overly specific or too generic when
>it came to designing the system.  I think that the designers found a
>nice, comfortable middle ground that's quite acceptable.  I've
>rarely had a case where some "psych lim" or "physical lim" was so
>obscure that either I couldn't stick it under one of the available
>headings or I couldn't develop a point worth for it.

It would be nice to find out the system they came up with for determining
costs so I don't have to play a guessing game when I invent one of my own.

>As always, if you have problems with a system, go ahead and change
>it.  Nothing in GURPS says that you have to stick with the rules
>presented...

The problem comes in knowing that one has to tinker with a system
heavily in order to get it to one's taste.

>Advantages and disadvantages are considerably different from skills.
>Or am I the only person on this planet who feels that way?  Advs and
>disads can't always be gained during play.  You can't just pick up
>Acute Hearing and Danger Sense while traipsing through the forest.
>Enemies can be gained and lost.  A leg can be lost in an accident as
>easily as a bad guy can cut it off...how should I determine such an
>accident "realistically"?

That's funny. Last I heard, Enemies and Patrons were advantages. And
it seems quite reasonable that you can pick them up during play. How
about reputation as well? Or all those psychological limitations?
Have a traumatic time in the torture dungeons, pick up a phobia to
edged weapons or lose that pacifism disadvantage?

-- 
    Martin Terman, Mutant for Hire, Mean Ol' Top, Priest of Shub-Internet
    Disclaimer: Nobody else takes me seriously, why should you be the first?
mfterman@phoenix.princeton.edu mfterman@pucc.bitnet terman@pupgga.princeton.edu
"Sig quotes are like bumper stickers, only without the same sense of relevance"