69
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What does dice notation like "1d-4" or "1d-2" mean?
GURPS uses 6-side dice for practically everything. It's more economical to refer to them as simply "d" rather than "d6."
GURPS uses six-sided dice only […] GURPS uses the "...
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31
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How are GURPS rules interpreted?
I started a thread on the official SJ Games GURPS forum about this question, and present here my collation of the responses:
Rule Zero
The game assumes that there is a GM, and that their rulings ...
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22
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How can I make GURPS less intimidating for my friends?
There's GURPS, and then there's GURPS
I've played GURPS since it's first (medieval combat only) version came out in 1985. I've memorized most of GURPS 3e and have had lots of success running GURPS for ...
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16
votes
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What does the "+1" in some weapons' shots mean?
It means you can have an additional round in the gun's chamber, in addition to a full magazine. If this is explained in the Basic Set I can't find it, but it is on p. 79 of GURPS High-Tech:
Shots: ...
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16
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Why should I use a big powerstone instead of smaller ones?
The quadratic pricing comes from the enchantment rules. Powerstones are made by taking a gem, making it into a 1-point stone, making that into a 2-point, and so on. But there's a chance of failure on ...
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15
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What is equivalent to an hour of "table time" in a play-by-post environment?
I would suggest using the Game Time enhancement found on page 108 of GURPS Powers. It's a +0% enhancement that converts powers like Luck, Serendipity, or Wild Talent to uses per game day, rather than ...
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15
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Does GURPS have a slow effect, if no how to model it?
Based on the clarifying description, you probably want to Afflict them with Decreased Time Rate (a disadvantageous form of Altered Time Rate), which makes targets which failed their resistance rolls ...
14
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Why should I use a big powerstone instead of smaller ones?
@JohnDallman gave a good answer about why larger stones cost quadratically more -- but why would a large Powerstone be worth that exorbitant cost?
Because, for a single casting, you can only draw on ...
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13
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How to represent a 'high intelligence' thing with no will (e.g. a very smart dishwasher)?
You want the AI and Automaton meta-traits, both from p. 263 of the Basic Set, to represent its mind. That gives it Reprogrammable, No Sense of Humour and Slave Mentality. If you reduce its IQ to zero, ...
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12
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What traits can I combine to make a long-lived race that matures at the human norm?
I'm pretty sure I remember an option at some point (perhaps in an older edition?) where the character would mature at a human rate, but then age slower.
That was Early Maturation, which cost 5/level. ...
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11
votes
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How to stat a character with truesight that is blind outside a certain radius?
There is a power from the Supers sourcebook that might do what you want.
Radar Sense 50pt +1 per hex of range
You have a complete radar image of everything around you. You can perceive shapes ...
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11
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How to shoot with skill greater than 9 when using a move and attack maneuver
You're reading the rule for melee attacks. The rule for ranged attacks is the sentence before that and is much less absolute (B365):
If you are making a ranged attack, you have a penalty of −...
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10
votes
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How to deal with lack of advantages for a character starting at low point total?
DF and DFRPG don't stick to the conventions of some editions of GURPS, where acquiring advantages after character generation is difficult or forbidden.
Standard DFRPG (and DF) characters can buy ...
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10
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What traits can I combine to make a long-lived race that matures at the human norm?
Use the Early Maturation feature from GURPS Bio-Tech (page 212).
Early Maturation: You mature at the same rate as if you had Short Lifespan (p. B154) without affecting the frequency of aging rolls. ...
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9
votes
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Is there a guideline for deciding how many points a GM should award players?
The Basic Set: Campaigns book, on page 498, describes "Awarding Bonus Character Points." I think this covers exactly what you're looking for.
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9
votes
Does GURPS tactical combat work well with miniatures but without a hex grid?
It can be done...
But one caveat, young student! When you tread that road, you turn your beloved RPG in several aspects into a tabletop wargame — if you want to retain most of the rules aspects.
...
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9
votes
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How can a single caster cast the Youth spell?
No, there isn't a straightforward way to cast Youth by yourself. It's a general intention of the spell magic system that spells that can have drastic effects on the world are hard to cast. ...
- 17.6k
9
votes
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Using the slide recoil of a semi-auto pistol as a weapon
Well, you can try it, but it's unlikely to be a good move. Since it's too cinematic to be in GURPS Gun-Fu, stacking on all the plausible penalties seems like the way to work out the odds. You'll want ...
- 17.6k
8
votes
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How do Big Lizzie Romance Points gained from death work with Unkillable?
Looking at the actual effect of the Romance points (second column, p5 of GURPS Big Lizzie), they only affect the order in which the characters get to attempt to win Donna Nesbitt's heart after the ...
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8
votes
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Is there a difference between Advantage cost modifiers given as percentages and as multipliers?
Yes, There Are Differences
The % notation is meant to be additive, as percentage points (in the regrettable gaming 'tradition' of conflating them with percents). For example, an Advantage with a base ...
8
votes
Using the slide recoil of a semi-auto pistol as a weapon
I've shot semi-auto pistols for many years, and currently own four -- a tiny .25 ACP, compact .380 and 9mm Makarov "pocket pistols", and a large frame EAA Witness capable of shooting .45 ACP, .38 ...
- 16.2k
7
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How can I make GURPS less intimidating for my friends?
In addition to Dronz's great answer, I have some tips.
Cut a lot of the rules out at first.
GURPS isn't like other RPGs, GURPS is a toolkit, not a game. Basically every rule is optional. The only ...
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7
votes
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What does point-cost difference mean?
The difference between the total price of both scores
It is what you call the cumulative difference. The rules literally say that ST costs 10 points per level in the attribute.
In your example case, ...
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7
votes
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When applying modifiers to advantages/disadvantages, do you round up or down?
You round up, to a whole number. See "Modifiers", p. 101 in the Basic Set, top of the third column.
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7
votes
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Do perks count towards the points spent on a style for the purpose of gaining more perk slots?
No, points spent on perks do not contribute to "points spent on the style's abilities." Style Perks on p. 142 of Martial Arts makes this clear:
Anyone may buy one Style Perk per 20 points ...
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7
votes
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GURPS Trinket Magic History
Well, it has a precedent in Advanced Wizard (published 1980), the second magic system book for The Fantasy Trip (TFT), the RPG designed by Steve Jackson before GURPS.
There, as in GURPS and the 2018 ...
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6
votes
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What skill to use when wielding a two handed weapon in one hand?
If you're using an axe that usually requires two hands with one hand, you use the (one-handed) Axe skill (which defaults to Two-Handed Ax/Mace -3).
Same for Two-Handed Swords used one-handed (use one-...
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6
votes
How point cost of Unhealing disadvantage on only part of the body?
The simplest way seems to be to base it on the rules for Damage Resistance with Partial coverage (pp B46-47). Damage Resistance on a single arm is bought at -40%.
However, we're limiting a ...
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6
votes
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How point cost of Unhealing disadvantage on only part of the body?
GURPS Ultra-Tech p. 207 covers how to build cybernetic body parts. The short version is that you take the appropriate disadvantage (One Arm in this case) and then apply a Mitigator (B112) based on ...
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6
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How to price "Lifting ST" with a "Payload Only" limiter?
Payload already has “I would like more” priced into it
Getting less Payload plus some kind of “Lifting ST (Payload only)” is not the way to model this.
To model most vehicles, you get an appropriate ...
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