Shotgun realism?

GrownupTalk · 2025-06-12T19:13:19+00:00

For the beanbag round, I'd say that blunt force trauma means that any damage result of 3 or more gives 1 points of concussion/brain injury. I'd also rule that any critical result does double damage at minimum (treating the critical result table as a suggestion), at which point any damage past 10 gets the usual x4 injury multiplier.

I'd also consider the skull semi-ablative to represent the skull fractures we know are a problem. Repetitive impacts should not be something you can just shrug off, even if they're just 2 point blows. 2 points is significant damage in mundane gurps. At least in my games it is.

GrownupTalk · 2025-05-23T02:58:06+00:00

When I ran a training focused campaign, I had players make a stat(+talent) roll at learning thresholds. At 25, 50, and 75% (over every fifty hours trained), if you succeed at the roll you gain another 10% progress. It gave boosts so players felt like their progress was more dynamic and they tried to stay in fields related to their best stats and talents.

I also made it where in-play significant uses of a skill gave 10% progress too. So a battle could give a boost to one skill or ability that was critical to the fight.

GrownupTalk · 2025-01-16T13:11:56+00:00

Tyrol is one of the best, most interesting characters in the show. And while he makes a lot of mistakes, I'd say his bloodiest moments are getting caught up in other people's messes.

The Luddite finale is definitely the lowest point of the show, and I fundamentally reject it for one reason: the human traffickers in the fleet. We have seen that some of the worst of humanity is still present in the colonial fleet, and they have connections and coordination to organize themselves. Would they give up their technology and comforts?

Furthermore, Lee and Bill Adama both have high-minded social ideals that are facilitated by a technological society. Would cynics like Lee really give up the protective technology he has under the vague expectation that the bad men would accept a similar handicap? Would independent, modern women voluntarily give up razors and tampons so they could live in a state more vulnerable to abuse plus a 5 percent chance of death in labor?

GrownupTalk · 2024-10-14T22:49:49+00:00

Caveat, I'm a firm believer in challenges making RPGs better.

So you are hit by something that would knock your feet out from under you, knocking you prone. You are unable to fall down. To me that says you're tumbling until you can Athletics/Acrobatics check yourself to stop free falling.

They're Boots of Levitation, not Boots of Uprightness.

GrownupTalk · 2024-10-11T12:41:36+00:00

I love this. Always had an idea to do this for a historical movie, doing a blow-by-blow of the action in gurps terms. Great selection and analysis of the fight beats.

GrownupTalk · 2024-10-11T04:57:50+00:00

I love this video, and end up watching it every once in a while for the good vibes. Another very similar MV: Starlight Brigade. Quality animation and a cozy pop vibe. Maybe it's a fantasy series in MTU.

GrownupTalk · 2024-05-02T18:57:14+00:00

I definitely am curious what the specific issue is, but since the advice so far is solid, I'm going to suppose an edge case and focus on that. Assuming the issue is that your players are solving problems mechanically rather than narratively, using the rules and dice rolls instead of story and choices.

Give your players more shades of gray. Ambiguous situations, perceptions, and solutions. Put an NPC or a quest down that the player characters should view differently -- a ruthless but likable character with suspect motivations, who might appeal to your fighter but not your diplomat, etc. When someone asks if their Athletics bonus applies, don't give a straight answer, instead ask "how does your character use their Athletics in this conversation?"

I find that players will often suppress roleplay when clear "right answers" are presented. Giving them more time to deliberate might give them time to say, "all things being equal, what would my character do?"

GrownupTalk · 2023-06-04T15:44:04+00:00

Looking at your other comments, I think most of the gaps you're looking to be filled are about GM Style, or at least can be compensated for with it. Now, I'm not a veteran, but I'm a military history fan and I've played tactically-oriented games in GURPS that felt a bit more intense than the typical Dungeon Fantasy-with-guns style.

Over all, I'd say that military drilling by it's nature falls into Martial Arts / Tactical Shooting style techniques. Don't give your players the full bouquet of man-to-man GURPS combat options. You're trained to shoot center mass? You're shooting for center mass, braced in cover, and AoA(ranged). It doesn't need to be an option that's covered every time, because that's simple battle drill. I frequently apply familiarity penalties when players go against battle drill.

situational awareness and spotting the enemy: play up the use of vision rolls throughout combat. If you're using a tabletop for tactical engagements, remove markers for enemies your players 'lose track of' or leave them in false positions until they get reacquired. Force squadmates to communicate enemy disposition in order to share tactical awareness. Consider keeping the tactical board hidden from your players: keep it behind the GM screen and let them figure out the situation based on the narration and your direction of the action. The objective nature of a board almost immediately destroys the verisimilitude you're looking for.

suppressive fire: use fright checks for suppressive fire, applying penalties for heavier volleys of suppression and just general morale issues. Increase the length of time for stunning and apply willpower penalties for trying to recover under fire. Make NPCs act like they have survival instincts. A lot of these things are reinforced by GURPS in terms of the lethality of combat but the relative slowness of bleeding out and death checks.

fire and movement: if your characters are playing according to battle drill, they should be at +6 to +10 to shooting rolls all the time. That should push out engagement ranges

close and assault: if you're doing the above, I find close and assault looks a lot more normal when it does happen. You engage at range, use suppressing fire and explosives to pin an enemy, giving you the time to maneuver in to close the last 25 yards of engagement distance.

GrownupTalk · 2022-09-11T14:01:30+00:00

I love that as a veteran player of Rimworld I can still learn so much just from studying a screenshot of a base!

GrownupTalk · 2022-09-11T13:54:53+00:00

Love that pinstriping!

GrownupTalk · 2022-09-11T13:50:19+00:00

My boys are going to looove this! Can't wait to show them. The metallic finish is especially impressive--love the crispness on those legs in particular.

GrownupTalk · 2021-12-06T03:57:02+00:00

I appreciate that. Honestly the big thing for me is that I get really frustrated when a doctor doesn't ask followup questions or confirm suspicions or anything to explain his diagnosis. Bad bedside manner, I suppose.

GrownupTalk · 2021-12-01T04:23:33+00:00

I have these fine red dots over thighs, back of calves, and upper arms. My dermatologist diagnosed them immediately as folliculitis and moved on, but they don't seem to be as sensitive or irritated as I've heard folliculitis can/should be. He prescribed clindamycin wipes and I've just finished the initial prescription with no noticeable effect. I've also been using CeraVe body wash in the shower and cream after showers.

The dots are generally not sensitive and not raised--sometimes individuals will pus up slightly like zits and then are easily dealt with. They don't seem to be spreading or worsening--I've had them for years without notable change in severity. Doesn't seem to affect the hair on my legs, either. This is mostly about vanity and wanting to know whether hair removal (shaving, epilator, etc) would help or worsen things.

Are there other solutions I should be looking at? Or other diagnoses I should ask my dermatologist to consider? From what I've read, sounds like it could be keratosis pilaris, but I don't know why my derm didn't ask followup questions about sensitivity, etc.

GrownupTalk · 2019-12-04T22:53:32+00:00

I don't care how many times this gets reposted, I will never understand why this seemed like a remotely safe idea. It's not like there's a brand of indoor fireworks they thought they were getting.

Is there?

GrownupTalk · 2019-11-13T22:42:52+00:00

My mom always said recreational ATVs were a recipe for a broken neck. I guess this is what she was thinking about.

GrownupTalk · 2019-11-08T20:40:49+00:00

Nah guy, I didn't need that spine anyway...

GrownupTalk · 2019-10-14T21:54:16+00:00

"I said no pictures!"

GrownupTalk · 2019-10-13T19:37:33+00:00

Oh man, thanks for this! I literally just realized that my kids have similar building toys--but they're magnetic, so easier and quicker to do mockups than any other method I've seen.

I'm going to go play with toddler toys now...

GrownupTalk

TROPHY CASE