Thread: GURPS 4E Core Ruleset
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January 20th, 2017, 00:10 #151
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Timezone: Australian EST (GMT +10).
Systems/Rulesets: GURPS 4th Edition.
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GURPS Traveller - The Empty Peace
GURPS Shadowrun - Power Plays
GURPS Banestorm - Dark Clouds Rising
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January 20th, 2017, 00:13 #152
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Timezone: Australian EST (GMT +10).
Systems/Rulesets: GURPS 4th Edition.
Campaigns (Ultimate License Holder)
GURPS Traveller - The Empty Peace
GURPS Shadowrun - Power Plays
GURPS Banestorm - Dark Clouds Rising
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January 20th, 2017, 00:15 #153
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January 20th, 2017, 01:51 #154If you fully flesh out your NPCs, why don't you just create a PC sheet for them? NPC sheets should be used like the little NPC index cards in GURPS - just some basic info. If you have a fully fleshed out NPC, just create a PC sheet for him and put it under GM control, so your players can't see him.
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January 20th, 2017, 02:12 #155
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I just can't see spending the time to fully flesh out hundreds of NPCs like this. A half dozen or so "boss" bad guys, sure. But most of the mooks should have no more than a couple skills, maybe a few spells, and couple attacks. I just don't get spending the time to do all that, nor tracking hundreds of "major" NPCs.
Like it says in the Campaigns book: "You should design important NPCs just like player characters, but you can give “cannon fodder” and “bit players” logical abilities by using templates (see Character Templates, p. 445) or by assigning appropriate traits on the spur of the moment without regard to point value."
I just don't think there are very many GMs out there that fully flesh out minor, one time use NPCs. Certainly I don't think there are enough to justify making the NPC sheets as extensive as the PC sheets.
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January 20th, 2017, 02:19 #156
I'm all for items! Being able to drag and drop from a library module would be awesome!
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January 20th, 2017, 02:20 #157
I guess it's because for the last several years I have revolved my game around one city, where I have each of the shop members, important government people, etc all fleshed out because they are visited often. Also when it comes to allies and villains, I play my game similar to comic books where everyone is a reoccurring (until they die) at some point. The players get to know the personalities of the townsfolk, and who they are related to, in love with, their past, plans for the future etc. It really gets the players invested into the world. So yeah maybe I do it different then most, but I can't see how adding more room for NPC details is a bad thing. If someone runs a game where they don't need much info for their NPCs that's fine. Just fill in the fields you want. But for others like myself, I was just saying it would be great to have more to work with.
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January 20th, 2017, 02:23 #158
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January 20th, 2017, 02:35 #159
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I have a campaign that's been running for several years, revolving around a central city, and have all that same stuff (shopkeepers, government people, etc). Other than 3 main villains, no one else is fully fleshed out. There are even NPCs that travel with the party (so they're in play constantly) and they don't consist of any more than a few key skills, a few common attacks, and a series of notes. I don't track advancement for them (though they will advance periodically as the party advances) - I just don't see the need for massive book keeping like that. I'm not an accountant by trade, but even if I was, I would not bother to use it in game.
That said, there are software logistics. Adding NPCs that are as complex as PCs makes the database grow exponentially. And it does so, even if you're not using that data - so adding that for the relatively few people who would use it would cause problems for the large number of people who don't, in a software system that already can have problems with memory size. In addition, it makes maintaining and updating the software more complex as well, and makes the UI much more complex and crowded.
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January 20th, 2017, 02:42 #160
Well Andraax I guess that is where we are different. Either way, he was asking for suggestions so I gave my two cents on what I would like to see for my play style. In the end it's up to Ronnke if he wants to implement it or not. Either way I'm fine and I'll make due with the current NPC sheets. They are after all much much better than the last version of the ruleset.
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