Re: (TFT) Why not GURPS?

[pvk@oz.net]

John J Hyland wrote:
...
>        To a large extent for nostalgia, compatibility and simplicity.
> Especially simplicity. Elegant Simplicity.
...
> That simple fast and playable mix is very important to me, as I run a
> fairly combat heavy game which meets infrequently, so we don't want each
> battle to last hours on end.  Also I'm familiar with the rules, so I can
> run a satisfying 10 PC vs 15 opponent skirmish in about 45 minutes.

Yes, TFT is an excellent system and is rather simpler that GURPS. It took
us about six years for our detail/realism-heavy tastes to strongly want
more complexity.


> Then there is the teachability (also related to simplicity) of the 9
> players in my game only 3 have ever played TFT before, but i was able to
> teach the others the basics and get characters generated in about 90
> minutes total.  That just does not happen with GURPS - or most other
> systems.

Yes. Although, as a very experienced GURPS GM, I've had much success with
running games without even trying to teach new players the rules. I can
just ask them what they want to do, and immediately translate it to the
game system. Of course, I had 10 years of GM experience (2-3 in GURPS)
before I realized I could do this.


...
> Other things that I think will annoyingly slow down combat- Feints,
> impaling damage vs slashing damage vs crushing damage.  It occurred to me
> as I read the book that a single sword attack could require more than 6
> die rolls and 5 calculations to resolve
...

Ya it's more complex by a few times than TFT, though once you learn and
get used to it, it's not bad, at least to me. However I have to remind
myself I've been gaming so long that some of my capacities, tastes and
perceptions are unusual.


PvK
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