[gurps] How has 4th Edition changed your game?

[Bret Indrelee]

On Jan 1, 2009, at 7:51 PM, Zan Lynx wrote:
> On Thu, 2009-01-01 at 18:36 -0600, Bret Indrelee wrote:
>
>> I ask mostly because several die-hard DnD gamers I know have a strong
>> dislike of 4th edition DnD. Having read through the rules, I don't
>> blame them. It takes most of the role play and story fun out of the
>> game.
>
> I have to disagree here.  The system *never* made the role playing or
> the story.  It's just as good using Fudge or MERP or GURPS or D&D 2, 3
> or 4th edition.
>
> The story and the roleplaying depend on the game master and the  
> players.

The system can get in the way of role playing. In 4th edition D&D, you  
have discontinuities in the character abilities. At a certain level,  
they are no longer able to do something that they were doing for  
several levels. This gets in the way of my suspension of belief and  
story.

They also got rid of the idea of crafting / professional skills. No  
more game mechanics to determine how good you are at something outside  
battle.

I agree that a good GM can work around all of this. Why should they  
have to?

> GURPS does help by giving players disadvantages and quirks as hints to
> roleplaying their character, but honestly, its just as much fun
> roleplaying a haughty elf or a greedy dwarf with a fake Scottish  
> accent,
> a big axe and a bigger attitude.

I've always disliked D&D. It is the levels. The game enforces an idea  
that there are 'quantums of learning' and that at those points  
(levels), all of the sudden you get better at everything.

Why can't the character start to learn to swim between levels?

Why can't the character learn to craft items or become a shrewd  
business man?

That said, I've had a lot of fun in D&D campaigns where there was a  
good story. The amount of house rules varied with the edition and the  
game master, but still you could weave a reasonable story.

It isn't so much about advantages and disadvantages as continuous  
growth that makes sense without what feel like arbitrary and  
artificial limitations.

-Bret

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