GURPS isn't really that crunchy. The core of it is pretty easy to grasp (roll under stats with a 3d6 if I recall correctly); it gets really complex when one gets into making robot spaceship PCs or the like, or using sub-rules to do location-based armor and damage. But it doesn't have to be that crunchy.
I'll never understand the cliche that a good game for Solo Role Playing has to be a minimalist narrative game, when there are folks out here playing Traveller for crying out loud.
Charlie Vick i played GURPS all throughout the late 80's and mid-90's. It's the crunchiest system in existence. i love their world/resource books (and still have about 20 of them), but i could never bring myself to actually play it again.
Todd Rokely I like a biT of crunch but when you game solo, I find that it’s a bit more challenging, since one person has to keep track of everything. So I tend to go for slightly lighter games solo
Ivan Sorensen Well, it varies based on what you want to do and what you're interested in. I've done solo tabletop war games and hyper-minimalist RPGs--they all offer a different experience, but I'd hesitate to say that any of them are wrong or "bad" for solo gaming.
If anything, I find that Solo is more supportive of certain kinds of crunch than traditional. Like, when I do old school D&D, I actually bother with the "declaration" phase of initiative, which is kind of a neat element. My group, however, always skips it.
Just saying, you know, there are good Solo games that are longer than half a page.
Todd Rokely - Just for giggles, there are several excellent solo systems for Traveller out there and I'm actually working on one myself (slowly, but it is making progress.)
i would expect GURPS to be too crunchy for good solo play?
ReplyDeleteGURPS isn't really that crunchy. The core of it is pretty easy to grasp (roll under stats with a 3d6 if I recall correctly); it gets really complex when one gets into making robot spaceship PCs or the like, or using sub-rules to do location-based armor and damage. But it doesn't have to be that crunchy.
ReplyDeletesjgames.com - www.sjgames.com/transhuman/img/lite.pdf
I mean, I write prose with some Cthulhu Dark and Miso checks interspersed, so GURPS is too crunchy for me. But that's me.
Gurps scales down quite well.
ReplyDeleteI'll never understand the cliche that a good game for Solo Role Playing has to be a minimalist narrative game, when there are folks out here playing Traveller for crying out loud.
ReplyDeleteCharlie Vick i played GURPS all throughout the late 80's and mid-90's. It's the crunchiest system in existence. i love their world/resource books (and still have about 20 of them), but i could never bring myself to actually play it again.
ReplyDeleteTodd Rokely I like a biT of crunch but when you game solo, I find that it’s a bit more challenging, since one person has to keep track of everything.
ReplyDeleteSo I tend to go for slightly lighter games solo
I’ve played crunchier solo. As ever, it’s all up to the soloist. 🎲🎲🎲
ReplyDeleteIvan Sorensen Well, it varies based on what you want to do and what you're interested in. I've done solo tabletop war games and hyper-minimalist RPGs--they all offer a different experience, but I'd hesitate to say that any of them are wrong or "bad" for solo gaming.
ReplyDeleteIf anything, I find that Solo is more supportive of certain kinds of crunch than traditional. Like, when I do old school D&D, I actually bother with the "declaration" phase of initiative, which is kind of a neat element. My group, however, always skips it.
Just saying, you know, there are good Solo games that are longer than half a page.
Todd Rokely Yeah, I hear ya. The drive to "ultra minimalist" is kind of the zeitgeist too right now, i think.
ReplyDeleteI see people making "OSR" games that are a 1 page reference sheet and Im like "why ?"
Just realized that we aren't even talking about Che Webster's post. I like the write up! Did you actually play it out on a hex map?
ReplyDeleteNice! Looking forward to the read.
ReplyDeleteTodd Rokely Yup, played the combat on the hex map (albeit with stand in tokens for creatures). I like me some tactical combat.
ReplyDeleteWe ran a WW2 GURPS campaign where we used the hex rules extensively.
ReplyDeleteTurned it into more of a wargame really, with roleplaying between the encounters but it was a lot of fun.
Todd Rokely - Just for giggles, there are several excellent solo systems for Traveller out there and I'm actually working on one myself (slowly, but it is making progress.)
ReplyDeleteChe Webster - Fun stuff, thanks for sharing. It's been ages since I have seen GURPs in action. Still just as dangerous as I remember. :-)
ReplyDelete