GURPSDay Feed

A martial arts tournament draws six strangers to the Valley of Peace. Battle royale, interrupted. Bandits and cabbages. Sneak attack. When the master falls, who will take his place? Who’s Who What Happened Welcome to a Mythic China that never was, where humanoid animals take the place of humanity. Everybody eats noodles and tofu dumplings. […]… Read more

This post summarises a line of thought that has been a very long time in coming. It’s a post aimed towards those friends, both on- and offline, who sometimes enjoy playing RPGs with me. It is an invitation to experiment with key assertions I have been making over the past 5 or more years of […]… Read more

Wizardry: Wu Jen Plant SpellsI find wu jen to be a fascinating D&D class, but my first GURPS reimagining of it was very poor. Now that I know better, I've reworked it, and because of this, I have to un-clericify and wujen-ify Plant spells. Animate PlantsKeywords: None.Full Cost: 15 points.Casting Roll: Skill.Components: V, S.Cost: 1 FP.Casting Time: 1 minute.Range: 10 yards.Duration:… Read more

DF Felltower features some intelligent items. Not a lot. There are several items people have ascribed intelligence to, but which totally lack it – they're merely magical effects. One example is the Targe of the Tiger (a variant Ward of the Wolf). It does something on its own, kind of, but it's just an effect of magic that makes it appear to be a living… Read more

Wizardry: Blood Mage Spell ListHere's a spell list for the blood mage. It's very short right now, but it will be expanded in the future. No cost adjustments are required – use them as is.Absolute Madness – [39]Agonize – [23]Blood Binding – [14]Blood Spear – [10]Boiling Blood – [18]Cause Fear – [30]Frozen Blood – [19]Locate Blood – [35]Locate Blood Mages – [22]Lower Plane Shift -… Read more

Blood Magic: Basic SpellsBack in the day, I made a sorcery-based subsystem for Blood Magic. It even saw play a couple of times, and the results were satisfying. While it isn't really intended for PCs, the rules must exist for NPCs as well. Now that I'm touching up all the spellcasting traditions in my setting, I reached blood magic, and I left the mechanics intact,… Read more

Download This month, Mike and Roger look at two of Mike's campaigns that have ended recently…. Read more

Wizardry: Shadowcaster Spell ListThere is another spellcaster that requires its own spell list along with an alternative college structure. I decided against writing up unique shadowcaster spells because they usually are more or less just renames wizard spells. The prices listed below are NOT adjusted (at least not yet) – these are wizard spell point costs. To derive the shadowcaster spell cost,… Read more

“[A] well-made hexcrawl nearly runs itself as the players are in the driver’s seat for what to do next. But a lot of work goes into making a hexcrawl that facilitates player-directed exploration.” –Hexcrawl Checklist: Part One, Prismatic Wasteland Hexcrawls are campaign frames and gameplay styles built around a hexmap wilderness exploration sandbox. Typically dungeonContinue reading "Locations For Hexcrawls 1: Starslam Barony"… Read more

Wizardry: Hexblade Spell ListThere is another spellcaster that requires its own spell list, because its scope of powers doesn't really fit into the GURPS college structure. Thus, here's a quite short list of spells appropriate for hexblades. The prices listed below are NOT adjusted (at least not yet) – these are wizard spell point costs. To derive the hexblade spell cost, do the following:o… Read more

GURPS Character Assistant 5.0.222.0 has been released. Get the updated installer from your Warehouse 23 downloads page. (I’ve posted some help on doing that at both the new and old stores here.) You get the updated installer by re-downloading the ZIP file from your Warehouse 23 account, and running the gca5setup_5.0.222.release.exe program that it contains […]… Read more

Gatekeeping Problem #1As a fun exercise, I wrote a problem. Using only rules from GURPS Basic Set, how many mistakes can you find here?Onhur has the following:ST 14 [40]      HP 14 [0]DX 12 [40]IQ 10 [0]HT 12 [20]thr 1d/sw 2dCombat Reflexes [15]Broadsword (A) DX+2 – 14 [12]Shield (E) DX+1 – 13 [2]Thrusting Broadsword (sw+1 cut or thr+2 imp at Reach 1)Scale Armor (DR… Read more

Magic item in placement in GURPS Dungeon Fantasy and the Dungeon Fantasy Roleplaying Game is naturally of a lot of interest to me. I started playing DF a bit late in the line's life – I wrote DF12 before I was able to get my first pure DF game going. I felt like I had to come up with my own approach since there was… Read more

D&D Taint/Corruption RevisitedA long time ago, I tried to adapt the D&D Taint/Corruption system from Heroes of Horror and Oriental Adventures based on the corruption system from GURPS Horror, but it didn't really work well in practice. The rate of corruption accumulation was too slow, and the countermeasures were absolute and relatively cheap, making the entire system… Read more

Years ago a common criticism of Call of Cthulhu‘s investigative adventures was “if the players fail a single Spot Hidden roll to find a clue, the adventure is over.” I think that’s mostly a lazy critique. It’s like saying if your D&D players never find the dungeon, the adventure is over. But there is some […] The post Placing Clues is Hard – Gotham ’39… Read more

Looking back on my Magic Item Placement post. How am I doing on these themes? The best is found, not bought. This is still true for magic items. The opportunities to buy magic items are even more restricted than when we started the game and no freer than in 2016. PCs generally buy their consumables and armor, but the best armor out there was found… Read more

Morale Rules in GURPSAs I’ve been on an AD&D and ACKS binge lately, I noticed some mechanics that rarely are present in the more modern systems. Well, ACKS is modern, but you get my point. One of such mechanics is morale. Not long ago, I wrote a post about Fright Checks where I actually managed to miss something important from DFRPG, and fear is somewhat… Read more

I had a friend, Jose, offer to upload wiki entries. It still required some fine tuning on my part, but the most time consuming aspect of the task is the formatting of everything. I’ve considered writing a script/code to convert a libre office document to a wikidot article. The only tools I can find are … Continue reading "Wiki Week Update: Politics, Engines of War,… Read more

Wizardry: Warmage Spell ListI'm currently reworking my "Powers of Karilan" setting document and encountered the issue of certain spellcasting traditions having vaguely defined scopes of powers. Thus, to fix the issue, I will have to write down separate spell lists for them. This one is for the warmage. The prices listed below are NOT adjusted (at least not yet) – these are wizard spell point… Read more

Wizardry: Scribe SpellsI got a simple request – write a spell that creates a writing of whatever the caster dictates. However, D&D has some spells of a similar nature, so I will convert them too.Amanuensis animates a quill pen to transcribe an existing text, providing its own ink.Copy instantly copies a writing without needing a quill pen or ink.Write writes whatever the caster… Read more

GCS Libraries and Compilation DocumentsIn the sidebar on the right side of the page, you can see the link to my Boosty page where you could subscribe for an exorbitant sum of money to gain access to compilation documents of Sorcery spells, GCS libraries of Sorcery spells, Wizardry spells, psionics, and some other stuff.Today, I thought "why?" First of all, I want to do something… Read more

Thanks to Blind Mapmaker for reviewing this . . . I completely missed this GURPS release. Given that I've spent a bit of work on compressing the number of skills we use, this is right up my alley. I'll give it a look and see what might be a potential way to upgrade DF Felltower to a simpler skillset. GURPS Power-Ups 10: Skill Trees… Read more

 The Cast of B-Team (Aersalus)The Traveling CourtThe Magistrate Listens to Ocean aka Osprey (Rory) Halfling The Prosecutor Trapper (Chris D) Gremian, artificer, hunter, Armsmaster.Court Sketch artist Rhum Kaldalsson (Curtis) Minotaur artist.Bailiff Unit 7 (Brice) A Cog, magical construct golem.NPC'sAltan ru Chuulaii the tax collectorRaitoTesseikai Watersinger, healerMurk the Lurk, spirit crabSkeleton ManHi Ho Hi Ho, To Ironhaul We GoWith the bandits dealt with and much of… Read more

Our current martial artist PC did a lot of running around last session. Questions came up – not relevant at the time – about Tiger Sprint from DFRPG Adventurers, pg. 31. Here is how we'll deal with it in DF Felltower. First, although DFRPG doesn't show you under the hood, this is Enhanced Move with a Chi limitation (-10%). Thus, when we need rulings, especially… Read more

Dramatis Personae Arsham uru Kajj damu Arasti (Played by Chris A.): Arsham experienced a traumatic event that led him to bury his sorrows in dangerous work, but he can be friendly once you get to know him.  Capabilities: Priest, assassin, parkour expert and camel racer. Occupation: Merchant’s bodyguard by day; assassin and priest for a […] The post Aersalus E-Team: Season 1, Session 4 –… Read more

Actual Date: 2/16/2025 Game Date: 12/12/2024 Weather: Cold, clear, dry. Characters Chop, human cleric (301 points)       Brother Quinn, human initiate (125 points) Duncan Tesadic, human wizard (335 points) Hannari Ironhand, dwarf martial artist (316 points)       Amlaric, human squire (125 points) Persistance Montgomery (303 point knight) Thor Halfskepna, human knight (306 points)       Leon the Eye, human archer (125 points)       Aaron, Brandon, Cedric,… Read more

Fun session today, but it didn't get resolved just yet. – the PCs finished off the big brawl with the cultist wizards, Iron Witch of Cornwood, mechanical knights, and gnolls – the iron witch and one cultist wizard managed to get away from the PCs – Hannari and Thor chased the cultist wizard, split up, and spent a long time unsuccessfully persuing him – the… Read more

I want to change how I handle cybernetics this time around. Previously I had used generic cybernetics and assumed people would just adjust their characters as appropriate. But as Psi-Wars continues to veer into inevitable comic-book territory, I notice that players of high powered characters need inspiration. In principle, PCs could create their own psychic … Continue reading "Robotic Industrial Bases"… Read more

Wizardry: Magic of Eberron SpellsThe next book to inspect for spells for my games is Magic of Eberron (yes, I'm determining them randomly). To my surprise, the spells section of this book is relatively short when compared to, for example, Magic of Faerun. Most of the spells are highly setting-specific, so I will only borrow several more generic ones.Control Elemental allows you to command an… Read more

Skill Trees sets out to de-clutter the GURPS skill list and achieves its goal and more…. Read more

This week has been focused on Fighting Fantasy as an RPG, an idea that certainly dates back at least to 1989 for me when I read “Dungeoneer”, but perhaps earlier when I was playing the Fighting Fantasy game books and feeling like they didn’t quite hit the spot. The missing element was the sense of […]… Read more

The GURPS module for Foundry was updated. It seems to have solved the drag-and-drop damage problem . . . I can't be totally sure because we're mid-combat. But that was a big issue in our last session. Some other bugfixes are in there, as well . . . but I don't know how many will actually affect us…. Read more

When I wrote cybernetics for Psi-Wars, I cribbed most of my material by integrating material from Ultra-Tech and Living Better with Cybernetics by Demi Benson. The results were satisfactory, and definitely an improvement over raw Ultra-Tech, but still left a lot to be desired. A lot of this month has been dedicated to expressing and … Continue reading "Cybernetics as Mutation"… Read more

In today’s article, I’ll be detailing a horror setting and set piece in the vein of GURPS Horror’s The Bad Place guidelines (see pages 128 to 130 of that book). Depending on the structure and villain of the adventure, the players may start by coming to this Bad Place, or arriving here only in theContinue reading "Glass Knave Hostel & Dorms: An Example Bad Place"… Read more

DF Felltower tries to play like an old-school, early-edition RPG game. It's heavily influenced by AD&D, Rolemaster, and my earlier-edition GURPS games. It is intended – like normal DF – to be a higher-powered version of the same. You sure don't start at "1st level" in DF. But in any case, GURPS DF isn't quite like the source material. I end up disallowing a lot… Read more

Available Put it in His Eye Ramming Speed Retroactive Poisoning (only for Assassins, Druids, Evil Clerics, Thives, Unholy Warriors) Sacrificial Block Third Hand Willful Warrior Greater Weapon Bond (Not recommended; this doesn't give any plot protection to your gear; we do not use Signature Gear in DF Felltower.) Heroic Reserves Peerless Slayer Training Two-Weapon Mastery Ultimate Ramming Speed All Barbarian Power-Ups (Mountain of Meat, Sure-Footed,… Read more

I am SO VERY sorry that this build took so long to get out. I’ve been having some issues, but this still should not have taken this long. Official release should follow relatively soon if nothing significant pops up in the next little while. * Miscellaneous The Available Modifiers list in the Modifiers dialog will […]… Read more

HT is probably the most boring, overlooked stats of the GURPS 4. Most characters I’ve seen hover between 11 or 12, rarely lower than 10 and rarely higher than 13. Sometimes, a player will ponder what they might be able to do with an HT-focused character, but such characters seldom go anywhere (though I had … Continue reading "Limits of the Human Form: HT"… Read more

Star Wars: The Old Republic is one of my favorite videogames. Over the years I’ve been thinking a lot about running GURPS in the setting, even though my only attempt so far was a highly recombined version in my Alternate… Continue reading →… Read more

IQ is probably only second to DX for popularity. I think you’re more likely to see IQ as a dump stat than DX, but only for extremely specific sorts of characters. IQ is probably the poster child for a relatively balanced stat, as it seems priced pretty fairly, and there’s rarely a player who minds … Continue reading "Limits of the Human Form: IQ"… Read more

If there is one thing that my experience with Fellmyr has taught me it’s that mapping out the initial play area does not need to be complicated or look pretty. I also learned that having an A4-sized GM map is an excellent tool for running a useful campaign in the early stages: A4 is portable […]… Read more

Comments on the VTT we use – Foundry, hosted on Forge, using the Unofficial GURPS module. Praises – the new GURPS module for Foundry has a die roll confirmation – you can now see the net roll, with your mods, before you roll it. It's very handy. It's an extra step on each roll, but it saves a lot of pre-roll double checking, or post-roll… Read more

Back to imagining the game Universe – just engaging with the idea of making an SF “World” has reminded me that what we are really talking about is a wider expanse of space. GURPS Space provides some suggestions around the types of society which have supported SF adventure in literature, film, the small screen, and […]… Read more

Rules and rulings from DF Session 204. – At one point Hannari did a Move and Attack – ran up, threw at a cultist from a yard away, and then the cultist's explosive spell went off. He had 1 more movement point, but you can't use ordinary movement points as a Retreat reaction by my ruling. I don't think anything in GURPS supports using "Move"… Read more

Following on from the earlier posts about my new GURPS Space game universe, I wanted to pause and think a little bit more about Methodology. Sitting alongside the World and the Rules of a game, this latter element is often invisible to gamers because they simply assume that it’s the same as using the Rules. […]… Read more

Of the four fundamental attributes, I feel like ST is the most divisive. Players either dedicate their characters to it, or they treat it as a dump stat. It’s the stat I think I see the most variety on, and it almost behaves like a cosmetic trait, especially if (like me) you want to represent … Continue reading "Limits of the Human Form: Strength"… Read more

GURPS offers a very high level of customisation and choice for your campaign world. The rules are servant of the setting so you need to make some decisions before you can really bring those rules to bear on supporting the world. Alongside the World and the Rules there sits the Methodology of play. This latter […]… Read more

Psi-Wars currently experiences a peculiar form of power-creep precipitated, I think, by my work in the Umbral Rim. As that part of the galaxy spawned so many mystical traditions, it naturally inspires super-powered space opera heroes, which means I must create powerful abilities. This has not resulted in a classic sort of power-creep where specific … Continue reading "The Limits of the Human Form: an Introduction"… Read more

Yesterday I picked up the latest instalment of “How To Be a GURPS GM“, all about improvising. Coming at a time of considerable funk and anxiety, I found the arrival of this 25-page .PDF strangely comforting and inspiring. In short, I realised that I’ve arrived at being a more improvisational GM almost by accident. For […]… Read more

Download This month, Mike and Roger talk about game adaptations that have failed, or indeed that never got a chance to fail…. Read more