Hey guys, hopefully someone will see this. I've been trying to set up a short one-shot RPG session with some old friends who are RPG veterans and a new friend who has never played a PnP RPG. Normally I just go the Call of Cthulhu route and write up a horror adventure, but I'm not sure the friend who is new to PnP roleplaying would dig the genre (and Cthulhu requires a bit of "back-knowledge" gained from reading the books). On the other hand he is a Skyrim fiend and likes more fantasy themed stuff.
So I was thinking, perhaps GURPS "has it all" and will be open enough for me to create something both "adventurey" and horror at the same time - akin to playing a Van Helsing monster hunt or something.
Have any of you used or played GURPS? What is your opinion? For reasons unknown, I have the GURPS 4thE Horror sourcebook but I do not have the Core manuals. Before spending money on them, I though I would see general and respected opinion. Is GURPS worth a look?
I also happen to have Trail of Cthulhu and I think it had some potential to be a lot of fun. Call of Cthulhu holds a lot of nostalgic value for me, but that may be something to ease the new friend into.
Any thoughts?
you could always go for the D&D Ravenloft modules for some fantasy horror
can't tell you about GURPS, tho - sorry
Haven't played GURPs since 1st edition, no idea how it's changed.
I'd suggest a level 5 D&D style game. That way you have enough hit points to survive a few fights. Let the new guy play a fighter type, with good armor class.
Have the DM roll up the player characters ahead of time, including equipment and stats. Include a paragraph of backstory as a hook for each player. Since the new guy will have many questions, run a system everyone's comfortable with. Avoid use of jargon (Thatco?) whenever possible. Take time to explain the system mechanics. Go with something fairly simple to prevent information overload.
Often publishers will have free tournament modules or other samples on their website.
I know nothing about it but there is a free GURPS lite version available.
http://e23.sjgames.com/item.html?id=SJG31-0004
I'm sure you have already made your decision. If you have not, also give the FATE system a look see.
I used GURPS back in the late 80's and had lots of freewheeling fun (usually post-apocalyptic earth-based sci-fi, or deep space sci-fi) with the guys who wrote and play-tested this:
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2F2.bp.blogspot.com%2F_DSs2bX13hVc%2FTCGCTzpjLBI%2FAAAAAAAACL4%2F6inigKx9P68%2Fs320%2Falma.jpg&hash=d2bd013bd74683d90a90f4a89d67dcd1ba698067)
I was never a big fan of fantasy, so GURPS gave me what I needed, imagination-wise. I mainly went down the road of GURPS Traveller. You might want to check-out GURPS Horror, based on what you've said.
Not a bad thread on Horror themed games with the Pathfinder series, here: http://paizo.com/threads/rzs2itnf?Great-Horror-Adventures