Re: (TFT) Why not GURPS?

[ErolB1@aol.com]

In a message dated 9/11/2003 3:10:05 PM Central Daylight Time, pvk@oz.net 
writes:

> Why do you play TFT and not GURPS?

1. TFT 5-second combat turns are at or near the ideal length; GURPS 1-second 
combat turns are way too short. 

2. GURPS screwed up, IMO, in pricing skills vs attributes. 

3. TFT penalizes armor in a way that may not be realistic, but which does 
suit my "swashbuckling" campaign style. GURPS armor is "realistic" i.e. a 
must-have. 

4. The GURPS defense and (especially) feinting system is screwy. 

5. TFT magic has a cool "2-D" quality: Spells depend on both IQ level *and* 
St cost. GURPS loses this feature. Worse, the GURPS "prerequisite" system is 
horribly inflexible, making it hard to modify the standard magic system. 

6. The added complexity of GURPS didn't seem to give proportionate benefits. 

7. Finally, GURPS has fallen to "Krommunism." Sean Punch ("Dr. Kromm") has 
taken over as the GURPS guy in charge, and his prefered style and intrepretation 
are things I had been fighting against for years (<nostalgia>I remember the 
BBS in the days before the SS raid. And the raid itself - I apparently missed 
being on-line, when the plug was pulled, by 30 minutes.</nostalgia>) 

The final straw was the way that the GURPS Powers That Be consider 
"cinematic" style play to be inherently silly and Pythonesque, and that only grottily 
realistic games can or should be taken seriously. The best (or worst) expression 
of this is the cover of the latest edition of GURPS Swashbucklers, vs the 
cover of the earlier edition, but the same attitude can be found in such optional 
rules as "bulletproof nudity" and the intro to GURPS Supers where the author 
basically shat on the genre. 

> What aspects of TFT do you prefer?

1. The 2-D quality of the magic system, and the way it encourages wizards to 
develop all three stats. 

2. The power level of the magic system, although I did tweak up the spell 
durations, finding them to be too short for the most part. 

3. The way heavy armor is discouraged by Dx penalties. 

4. The elegant simplicity of the system, and the ease of modification 
(although it helps that I've had a lot of practice in writing house rules for it.)

> What aspects of GURPS don't you like?

See "Why I play TFT and not GURPS," above. 

-- 
Erol K. Bayburt
ErolB1@aol.com
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