GURPS: Dungeon Fantasy Again

I’ve been really impressed with the Dungeon Fantasy Roleplaying Game, powered by GURPS. Despite a hectic week of work filled with evening commitments, I had the opportunity on Tuesday evening to take this game to the school club and begin a short beginner’s session using the from-the-box scenario, “I Smell A Rat”.

In short, we had a good time. On top of that, I remembered why I think this game is cool.

Moribund Inspiration

After 20 years of largely continuous Friday night gaming, the group that meets at my house is moribund. To be honest, I’ve not been missing it this past month. Not really.

On top of that, I’ve been trying to get an online game going using Castles & Crusades but with little success due to player scheduling problems. That’s ok, I guess. It’s life ‘n’ all that.

Yet, the space between the gaming groups has been filled with my previously mentioned inspiration to create a new fantasy world – Mykenia – and to see where it all leads me.

With a gap in my gaming hobby, I’ve been revisiting various fantasy games with which to bring play to my new world. As the very talented Douglas H. Cole launched his Kickstarter for “Hall of Judgement” – a supplement and adventure module for GURPS Dungeon Fantasy RPG – I found myself leafing back through the pages of the game.

Taking It To School

I meant to do this back in February but I bottled it. This week, though, I did it. I took the Dungeon Fantasy RPG to school.

We had a new player – one of the quieter girls from lower school – and two of my regular players up for a game. I wasn’t well prepared but I had printed out some pre-gen characters from the useful supplement that is packed with the GM’s Screen. They chose a character, I outlined how to roll dice, and off we went.

They agreed to investigate the funny noises coming from the cellar of the Merle’s inn. I placed the pub in my own town of Greyward, my first step in starting to use this game in my new world, and then we just dove on down the stairs.

To avoid spoiler’s, I’ll just say that they got into a sticky wicket almost straight away. The cool thing was how easy it proved to get the newbie playing and the slightly more experienced guys having some fun. I forgot some rules but we plunged on and it went well. A good energy that arose from ease of play combined with some clever game design and a nice scenario… not to mention some willing players.

Things I Like…

I like that there are only really two die rolls I needed to teach them – success rolls (3d6, roll low) and damage rolls (roll high). Yeah, I can slip in stuff like Reaction Rolls but they are a GM tool. I will bring up stuff like Self-Control rolls and Quick Contests as they are needed. It’s minimal stuff to teach.

I like that the characters are highly capable – like the Catfolk Swashbuckler with a Sword skill of 21! It makes the players feel heroic and tough, able to do cool things. I also like that heroes are squishy if they get into bad situations. They have limited hit points and are vulnerable in a pretty believable way. That’s cool.

I like that the books are so well written and laid out that finding things is easy. I like that the Spells book is useful at the table. In fact, all the books are useful because they are high-quality softcover books around 8″ x 10″ and perfect for table use.

I like that there’s a lot of pre-designed monsters and spells, not to mention some races and professions, and loads of equipment and magic items all in the box. That said, there’s also stuff on designing your own monsters and spells, races, equipment, and magic items. I feel that I can customise the game to my world fairly easily.

I like that the box comes with cardboard miniatures and useful maps for the adventure included. It’s visually appealing and encourages the tactical elements of the game without making it compulsory to use them. I think that’s both pragmatic and exciting to play with.

Taking It Forward

I’m hoping that the guys want to continue on Tuesday. I feel as though I want to dig deeper into this game too. Without the need to plan regular games I am finding myself able to explore the stuff I want to explore. Writing for my world is becoming something enjoyable and less of a chore in preparation for a session. What GURPS Dungeon Fantasy is doing is scratching the itch to play a detailed game alongside creating my own material.

In short, it all feels pretty exciting.

Game on!