How do you encourage players to leave classes behind?

Question

I have veteran players of class-based RPG systems joining my GURPS 4e campaign. I am having trouble consistently during character creation in getting these folks started. They are all hung up on the work of character creation being given a strong kick start with the character/race systems being well-established. I have embraced the fluidity of GURPS, but find others are paralyzed.

The simple solution is templates. This however does not help the player grow, but simply hands them the same crutch they are accustomed to. I want to offer them some physical therapy for their RPG repertoire. I want to give them the strength to stand without the crutch. To have the confidence to start from scratch even if the character comes out similar to a standard race/class combination. I wish they have had taken the time to evaluate how and why they chose to go that route.

Players new to RPGs as a whole seem to take to it much better. Mind you I handle the mechanics for them. I simply have them describe the character they want and help them shop the skills and abilities to make it happen. I have attempted to do this with veterans, but there seems to be some sort of creative block.

Anyone out there have an ice pick for this creative block?

Answer 1

Start by talking about the characters as people, not as game pieces. Use the background of the game appropriately to give you ways to find out about them beyond game stats.

Here are some examples of what I'm talking about:

• In modern games, I have given players job application forms to fill out for their characters (we were playing a superheroes-for-hire kind of game).
• Ask your players to write the blurb on the back of the imaginary book where their new PC is the main character. Or try riffing movie trailer voiceovers about them. You know: In a world where only corporations can own dragons, one troll has the power to see through walls. Only he can free the dragons from their corporate masters, but can he free his heart from the woman who betrayed him?
• Or how about this? "You're all in the mead-hall, mourning the passing of a great hero. Tell me your favorite story about him/her!" Of course, the dead hero is the PC they're creating now.

The point is to start with a character and then create an in-game avatar to represent that person.

Answer 2

Start with templates. It's OK, really. Even coming from a class-race system they will still expect a lot of options at character creation and as their characters progress, and that's when they will start dipping their toes into the deep waters of GURPS' point-buy possibilities.

The key is that they will be able to engage with the range of possibilities free of the dual pressures of 1) "gotta make a character c'mon you're holding up the groooooup!" and 2) "wow, there are a lot of choices".

Gamers suffer analysis paralysis just like everyone. Let them use the crutch of templates so they can ease themselves into learning how to stand on their own two feet with this new paradigm of flexible character creation.

Answer 3

Templates isn't a bad starting point. As long as you expect that they will be able to deviate from the class (either by their own cognizance or by a bit of encouragement), it should be fine.

I'd probably be prepared to sit down with the player (and probably have GCA or GCS at hand, to help with some of the mechanical tedium) and help them.

Maybe start with "OK, what type of character do you want?" (they'll probably mention something that is the moral equivalent of "Class X") Continue with "OK, so what skills would you need? What attributes would you consider most important?" and take it from there.

Answer 4

Start with Story

Ultimately templates, classes, and even races are about a hard-coded approaches to character concepts. Rather than diving straight into the math and many choice gurps offers characters (especially when you get to adding points to their total to spend by adding disadvantages), start your players with crafting the backstory, personality and ethos of the character they want to play. Who were they before, what drives them, what are their goals and how the set about achieving them? Even something as boring as just a class can be distilled into a concept that in general and then can have other aspects of the game itself applied to it.

Answer 5

Questioner specifically doesn't want to use templates, calling them a crutch.

I think the issue is that players coming from a hard-classed RPG system may not need a crutch -- they may need training wheels.

What I'd recommend is to run a starter adventure (a one-shot, ideally a one-session), and completely bypass character creation by using pregens. No player choices, or just let them select a disadvantage or two and a couple quirks from a short list by way of personalization -- but the trick here is to pregenerate characters that blur the old class lines by their nature, and will do poorly if players try to play them as tied to a particular class.

Every party needs a healer, right? What if your healer is also your traps-and-locks expert, a low-Magery witch with Movement spells up to Lockmaster (as well as Wallwalker or Levitation) and healing up to at least Minor Healing -- as well as an assortment of "security" skills related to traps, locks, and lightweight weapons like throwing knives. Or what if the party tank (big sword or axe and fairly heavy armor) is also a Fire college specialist? Or their generalist wizard is a pixie, just a foot tall with (fully functional) wings like a dragonfly and the political acumen of a Machiavelli?

A party of four or five of these "class-bender" pregens will give the player group a much better starting handle on what they can do with GURPS, and will help them get away from the "class" mindset. Even if they treat the pregens like modern D&D 5e mutliclass characters, they'll see that, in GURPS, this is the right way to think -- rather than "multiclassing" being a tradeoff, giving up some top-level ability to gain a crossover, it's a gateway.