Grensche

50 minutes ago, Andrewgeddon said:

Nightfall / Ancient Dreams / Tales of Creation have been on rotation in my car this last month.

Very nice, Candlemass without Messiah just seems amiss to me. My cd player is busted in my truck so I've been listening to a lot of tapes.

Here is what I've been listening to through out last week:

Slayer - South of Heaven

Metallica - Ride The Lightning

Kreator - Extreme Aggresion

King Diamond - Conspiracy

Judas Priest - Painkiller

ANALOGUE MADNESS

Rocky George's solo on this song is amazing!

9 hours ago, Weav said:

Stitches get snitches 

Shouldn't that be the other way around?

14 minutes ago, Swan-of-War said:

we let you live

you let me live because I love your food.

Well with the scars you could always make up stories on how you got them. I have a couple scars on my face, I had two moles removed, but people don't know that so they asked me what happened. I would tell them all sorts of stories like I got into a knife fight with a Mexican Mariachi Band or I tried to do parkour off of the roof of a house.

On 9/19/2017 at 7:18 AM, jesselowe said:

I play GURPS and like it quite a bit. At the moment I'm playing in a quick Old West/Kung Fu game, and I'm running an Occult Victorian London game as well. Here's my short take on it.

At its heart, GURPS is quite simple: Your character has Attributes and Skills rated from 1 to infinity (but more likely, from 9 to around 20), with average skill at 10 or so. To do something, you roll 3d6 against a particular skill, plus or minus modifiers for equipment, environment, etc. If you roll less than your modified skill, you succeed.

Past that, it's got a LOT more depth. How much depth is up to the play group. You can play just about anything with the two core books (Characters and Campaigns), but there are literally hundreds of supplements, covering stuff from Ancient Rome to how to build a magic system to, if you really, really like detail, the Fairbairn Combat System. There are also many, many decisions for the GM to make at the start of the game, from what skills (out of around 300!) to allow to how many points characters should be built on - and that's before you get into the usual setting and story building you find in most RPGs. That's just the cost of using a system that can do anything: you have to trim away the stuff that does what you don't want before you get down to play, or you'll just get bogged down. 

Which is why, if someone's interested in the system, I recommend picking up something that's already made a bunch of those decisions for you. There are at present three options for this:

GURPS Lite is the usual entry point recommended by SJ Games. I think it's not the best, as it came out back when 4th edition came out, but it's free and it does introduce you to the system. Note that it is not particularly "light" - it's a full system, just with a lot of the options and such left out. Grab that and you can run a good modern-day or no-magic historical adventure; say, zombie survival or a bank heist, or a piratical treasure hunt. I'd recommend something along those lines so the setting is familiar and you can focus on the system and how it plays.

If you like Discworld, there's the Discworld Roleplaying Game. This takes GURPS and lovingly adapts it to Terry Pratchett's Discworld. It's complete in and of itself, and while you can use other GURPS books with it, there's no need for it.

Finally, the Dungeon Fantasy Roleplaying Game should be showing up on store shelves fairly soon. (My kickstarter copy should arrive this week!) It's a boxed set in the vein of classic OSR D&D, which is the genre it models. If you like D&D, this is the entry point I'd suggest for GURPS.

Or you can just dive in by buying the core set and (I highly recommend) How to Be A GURPS GM.

You can also find a lot of information on the SJ Games GURPS Forum. Fair warning: A lot of the posters there have been playing GURPS for a loooong time and love to get into absurd levels of detail, which I find a little off-putting.

 

TL:DR: GURPS is good, but can be complex. Start simple.

 

Anyway, that's my short intro for GURPS. Here's some more random details:

Characters are built on a point budget from 25 (average joe) to however big you want; a good range for competent adventurers is from 150 to 250. From this point budget they buy up Attributes (which every character has), Advantages, and Skills. They can get more points by taking on Disadvantages. Skills are based on Attributes - for example, spending 2 points gets you Shortsword at the same level as your Dexterity Attribute, while spending 8 points gets you DX+2. There are also subskills (Techniques or Specialties), and Advantages and Disadvantages can be modified by various enhancements and limiters.

Combat can be extremely detailed. It takes place in 1-second turns, which can take some getting used to (for example, firing a bow takes three turns: draw arrow, nock arrow, shoot bow). It's also best played out on a hex map for anything with multiple combatants, though that's not necessary. There is a hit location chart that can be used, so called shots (e.g., to the heart) are baked in, and there are various damage types (crushing, cutting, piercing, etc.). Basically, it can be as complex as you like - or it can be as simple as an opposed combat skill check so you can get on with non-combat stuff. (Also, there's an entire supplement devoted to grappling.)

By default, GURPS plays best for larger-than-life but not mythical heroes in a setting that acts in most regards like the real world, with gravity and physics and all that. I probably wouldn't use it to run Nobilis or Sandman, and I'd think real hard before using it for, say, Wraith: the Oblivion. But it's been used to run superheroes and Watership Down, so there's a fair bit of flexibility there. It really shines for modern-day action like Die Hard or the Bourne movies.

It's also very much a simulationist system, unlike something like Fate Core which puts story before physics. There are options to make it more story-driven, but they're not the default, and they can feel a bit tacked on.

Although SJ Games now makes most of its money via Munchkin and the like, it still supports GURPS and there's still a solid player base. The aforementioned forum is probably the best place to find more information. Almost all GURPS supplements are available as PDFs on Warehouse 23. They're not available on Drivethru or other venues for... uh, reasons. I guess. SJ Games has been in business for a long time, so I assume they know what they're doing even if I'd do it differently... They also tend to be a bit more expensive than PDFs from other companies. Some supplements are available as POD, and a few are conventionally available as hard copies in your FLGS. On the other hand... GURPS books are invariably beautifully edited and indexed. 

There is a regular PDF magazine for GURPS called Pyramid. It's also available through Warehouse 23. I believe it's monthly.

Whoa, thanks for your insight on GURPS. I downloaded GURPS Lite just to read about it and it seems to be a bit easier to understand, maybe it's because it's the Lite version so there is not a lot of explaining or because it uses six sided dice that makes it easier to understand how the system works.

I get easily confused when creating a character for D&D and Pathfinder (basic arithmetic is the extent of my knowledge, I'm a simple man). GURPS Lite surprisingly I was able to understand it's system, which blew my mind. So now I'm even more interested in GURPS.

I read that you could use the GURPS rule set to be incorporated into any kind of setting. Like if you wanted to roleplay an office work environment it could work. Normally I don't read about that kind of stuff but I guess with GURPS its possible.

I was invited to a RIFTS discord channel awhile back and there was one guy that would talk about using the GURPS system in RIFTS and it would work pretty well. It got me interested because I only know a few RPG's.

I'm fairly new in the RPG world.. I know D&D, Pathfinder, Shadowrun, and read up on RIFTS. But I keep seeing and hearing about GURPS. Can anyone explain to me how GURPS works and is it a system worth trying out?

4 hours ago, smashthedean said:

Let's do an experiment:
 

Orcs x 40: shields, full command
vs
Generic WS4/S4/T4/I3/1A/4+AS Opponent x 30
I3 - Opponent attacks 11 times, 5.5 hits, 2.75 wounds, 2.28 unsaved, 2 wounds
I2 - Orcs attack 11 times, 5.5 hits, 2.75 wounds, 1.84 unsaved, 2 wounds

or

Orcs x 40: paired weapons, full command
vs
Generic WS4/S4/T4/I3/1A/4+AS Opponent x 30

I3 - Opponent attacks 11 times, 7.37 hits, 3.69 wounds, 4 wounds
I3 - Orcs attack 16 times, 8 hits, 4 wounds, 2.68 unsaved, 3 wounds

The experiment shows us that against a superior opponent, shields are a better choice. I'm not going to run the numbers, but I can pretty much tell you that conversely against an inferior opponent, paired weapons or spears would be a better choice. I can also tell you that Common Orcs aren't really a superior unit to that many things in the game so overall you're probably going to be better off running them with shields. Now 'Eadbashers on the other hand...

From reading this (and my knowledge and experience is very little) the results are minimal between Shields and Paired Weapons, except Paired Weapons suffered a bit more than Shields.

So, is it basically up to the person whether they want shields or paired weapons then?  I'll still get some Orcs with shields because I can't get enough of Orcs.

I got a fever... And the way to cure it.. Is to have more Orcs!

Gotta have more Orcs!

That I don't know. I don't know how dead tissue can be used unless it was broken down to just cells.

Hahaha I'm sorry poop makes me laugh. But wouldn't something be either in the intestinal tract or the in the bladder for that to happen?  It would be interesting though, because something can't just dissolve completely and disappear.

I like hills and trees... and the occasional farm house.

On 8/30/2017 at 10:15 AM, Fixxer said:

One of my favorite builds in 8th edition was a 35 block of Big Un's with sword and board with the general and a BSB in there and the battle banner +1 CR on the units standard. This gave me 6 static combat rez. Now, if the general Waaghs on the charge for the additional D3 plus the charging combat rez, your at anywhere between 8-10 static. At that point your opponent needs to swing at an Orc lord, Big Boss or a big un who are WS 4 T 4 with light armor and shields... tough to get a lot of rez there to even tie a combat. This means most likely that you will auto break units on the charge. Mind you M4 is unlikely you charge, but I've seen people charge that unit only to bounce off and give the orcs free reign.

 

As for the new edition and T9A, I dont know how well this would work but hey... perhaps you could get close to a build similar. In that case, they'd be worth looking into. 

 

Even though I read this and liked. I still had no clue what you explained.. One of these days after having experience in playing and if I ever bump into you. I'll need you to explain this to me.

But from the gist of what everyone on this thread is saying, shields don't really matter based on the current rules. I just like the looks of it because it looks cool. :0)

I think with any foreign object whether metal or organic, your body is going to reject it and try to get rid of it.

Here's something crazy I learned. When a male suffers from testicular torsion and the affected testicle dies, you would think it will stay there rotting and fester while causing a big mess down there. Actually, the body will dissolve that dead testicle into nothing. Yeah there will be some discomfort but in the end it will be gone.

I assumed that stitches that don't dissolve will start to cause infection.

I had some moles on my face removed years ago. The stitches were the kind that dissolved but for some reason the end that is tied in a knot would remain in my skin. After awhile I would have an itching sensation on that spot and would scratch a lot, until eventually I pulled it out while thinking it was facial hair.

I'm sure there is another reason why, but that's all I could think of.

2 hours ago, smashthedean said:

At this point, I would say it isn't worth it. That said, we do have a new edition entering public playtest by the end of the year so it might be worth holding out and seeing what parry will look like in 2.0.

Yeah I'm also curious as to whether parry will help out or be left alone. I'm just focusing on getting my army set up and later if I find sword and shields worth it I'll add some into my army.

1 hour ago, Fixxer said:

One of my favorite builds in 8th edition was a 35 block of Big Un's with sword and board with the general and a BSB in there and the battle banner +1 CR on the units standard. This gave me 6 static combat rez. Now, if the general Waaghs on the charge for the additional D3 plus the charging combat rez, your at anywhere between 8-10 static. At that point your opponent needs to swing at an Orc lord, Big Boss or a big un who are WS 4 T 4 with light armor and shields... tough to get a lot of rez there to even tie a combat. This means most likely that you will auto break units on the charge. Mind you M4 is unlikely you charge, but I've seen people charge that unit only to bounce off and give the orcs free reign.

 

As for the new edition and T9A, I dont know how well this would work but hey... perhaps you could get close to a build similar. In that case, they'd be worth looking into. 

 

That's what I really want with my Orcs because I wasn't really sure if my Choppaz will be cut down to size instantly, but like with what smashthedean said, we'll see what T9A do with parry in 2.0.

As I sit here at work thinking about Orcs, I noticed that I see some Orcs equipped with shields. Then I look at the photos of my Orc Choppaz and thought "maybe I should get some Orcs with sword n' boards.

Nothing against duel wielding choppaz, that gets me going like a fat kid at a buffet but the REAL question is... Is it worth having some extra defense? If so, where can I get my greasy sausage fingers on some beloved sword n' board Orcs??

I can't get enough of Chris Holmes' solo stuff. It's kind of cheesey but he has that awesome WASP guitar tone that Blackie can't even mimic.

10 hours ago, TheBeninator said:

Glad to hear the orcs are coming along! My dwarves are horribly slow to start, I basically have 1 clansmen and 1 crossbowmen. Ill have to max out my lord allotment to ease the painting :D.

I never appreciated how easy lizardmen were to paint until I had to start painting bags, shoes, gloves, hair, helmets, pants, shirts, capes.

I was having the same issue with Orc bags and belts. I just spend one session painting only bags for example. Lately I've been listening to a lot of fantasy tavern music while I'm painting... Kind of sets the mood.

9 hours ago, Andrewgeddon said:

Yeah, I'm definitely excited to be working on 28mm projects; KoE Duke to Hippogryph is 1/2 built, and I'm excited to put together more bases for my Infernal Dwarf Immortals and start actually building minis. 10mm is just another way to play; I've got a buddy who liked WHFB, but had zero motivation to paint hundreds of models for an army. He's all about Minihammer though; says he would be 100% to play a large Fantasy Battle game at a "proper" scale XD

If I were to get into Minihammer, it would be while listening to heavy metal records and beer. I personally wouldn't paint 10mm miniatures. I'd probably just leave them the way they are.

Yeah I still have to prime the black orcs and trolls. But after reading this community's posts and watching battle reports on YouTube, I'm in 100%. 

Worldsmith... I'm going to have to do some researching, all the terrain looks so cool. I don't know why, I just want to have a field filled with trees and hills. But I don't know how that will work with big armies. Maybe small skirmishes would be ok..

7 hours ago, TheBeninator said:

What sort of buffet are we talking about?

A cake buffet, or a salad bar?

Cake, always go with the cake. Who eats rabbit food?

Personally I prefer the Granny's Buffet. One time I went to this Chinese buffet out in Renton called "Foody Goody", big buffet. I ate there twice and on the second time I ate there... Foody Goody wasn't so Goody. Had food poisoning, place was shut down.