GURPS settings

[Joseph Paul]

GURPS settings- There are a lot of them and some are pretty well done. Is it worthwhile for Chaosium -or any one else- to write a setting that GURPS has already covered? I am thinking especially of historical or historical+fantasy settings (Mythic anything).

What has SJGames missed in the way of settings? Where are the setting write ups deficient? Lack of pre-gen characters/NPCs? Maps? Adventure hooks if not outright adventures? Too limited on the history? Too limited on the setting's fantasy elements?

Is BRP different enough that settings dedicated to it's mechanics would be better than converting GURPS settings?

Would a write up on converting GURPS to BRP be a welcome thing? Stats, skills and especially all of those advantages/disadvantages?

Joseph Paul

[Aycorn]

I think the GURPS settings are mostly pretty good. But I suspect BRP could do their own take on several of them, especially since many are going out of print.

[Enpeze]

Originally Posted by Joseph Paul

GURPS settings- There are a lot of them and some are pretty well done. Is it worthwhile for Chaosium -or any one else- to write a setting that GURPS has already covered? I am thinking especially of historical or historical+fantasy settings (Mythic anything).

What has SJGames missed in the way of settings? Where are the setting write ups deficient? Lack of pre-gen characters/NPCs? Maps? Adventure hooks if not outright adventures? Too limited on the history? Too limited on the setting's fantasy elements?

Is BRP different enough that settings dedicated to it's mechanics would be better than converting GURPS settings?

Would a write up on converting GURPS to BRP be a welcome thing? Stats, skills and especially all of those advantages/disadvantages?

Joseph Paul

Interesting question. I am too a fan of gurps setting books. Many of them are excellent.

IMO Gurps has missed 2 things. First a detailed good non-tolkienesque fantasy setting. Banestorm is not that bad but it has orcs and elves and other silly Tolkien stuff included. And the strange mixup with real world religions is not everybodys liking. (at least not mine)

And second there are not many good adventures. They produced many great setting books but nearly no adventures for them. (not even as pdf)

I dont think that a rule conversion Gurps to BRP would be interesting for more than a handful of people. While both systems are quite realistic, BRP is too different in its philosophy.

[Trifletraxor]

Is it too different to convert, is that what you say? I would warmly welcome any conversion rules that allow fro non-BRP supplements to be used for a BRP game.

Sverre.

[Aycorn]

Originally Posted by Trifletraxor

Is it too different to convert, is that what you say? I would warmly welcome any conversion rules that allow fro non-BRP supplements to be used for a BRP game.

Sverre.

I think the basic mechanics are pretty easy to convert. I have some notes somewhere I can post.

[Lord Twig]

As I don't own any GURPS material, and don't plan on buying any, I would be happy to see any kind of settings books from Chaosium regardless of what GURPS has done in the past.

[Simlasa]

I own a large pile of the GURPS stuff and a lot of the good stuff isn't all that mechanically specific... I mean, I figure I can stat up Julius Caesar in BRP just as well as the next guy... but all the info on the settings is invaluable.
That said, I'd really like to see BRP develop something of their own 'house' fantasy setting... NOT Tolkienesque... something evocative and flavorful... unique... that could pull in some interested newbies as well as giving Chaosium stomping grounds for a non-licensed set of publications.
I don't see the need for lots of different BRP specific historical/cultural books though...

[Lord Twig]

There seems to be a lot of ire directed toward Tolkien. Why is that?

A unique setting would be good, but if you get too far out there people won't be able to relate. Look at Tailslantia.

People understand what an Elf and Dwarf are. It is a fantasy element that can add a level of comfort to those new to the setting. That said there is no reason you can't play with them a little. Change things up.

Dwarfs are farmers instead of miners. Nobody knows the Earth better and they can grow anything. Elves are the master artificers and live in advanced floating cities.

Maybe ogres are a slave race created by the elves for manual labor. Trolls might be the Dwarfs answer to the ogre and were actually grown from plants. Hence the greenish skin, ability to grow back limbs (slowly) and vulnerability to fire.

I'm sure I could come up with more, but I should probably save that for the Settings forum.

[Atgxtg]

I think the Tolkien hostility is partly D&D backlash, along with the fact that many fantasy RPG staples are little more than LOTR rip offs.

People DO NOT understand what a elf or dwarf is, they know the D&D versions, and assume that those interpretations are universal.

I used to run in a more Mythic Earth type setting, and the players found out the hard way that the Tuatha de Daan and the Alfar are not D&D "elves".

[Sorloc]

Nor are Aldryami or Mostali anything like Tolkien elves and dwarfs...

At least RoleMaster had over a dozen Fey races, but only one was playable... the standard Tolkien elves with loads of special abilities, far superior to any human and especially dwarf.