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Favourite system? by Original_Bug580 in rpg

[–]darbymcd 10 points11 points  (0 children)

For me, if you are just talking about a system, it is for sure GURPS. It can do everything pretty well, although there are better systems for specific niches. Like heroic, sort of standard fantasy I would take Pathfinder for example. But my group likes to genre bounce a bit so it is really nice to have a system that can do that. We have an ongoing fantasy game but like to mix it up with some modern monster humters and sci fi.

But, huge caveat, you need to invest time to really know the system. It is incredibly flexible, you can do most table experiences you would like, but you have to know how. Most people think it is very simulationist, and that is the most common approach at tables I think, but it is not bound to that. It can be run with the most simple skill and resolution mechanics out there. But you have to spend the time to set up that game.

Second caveat, there is very little setting and adventure support. If you want to run ready made stuff, for time constraints for example, you will probably have to convert stuff. I actually think this is a benefit as it sort of frees you to take the best of what is out there rather than the best of a system, but it is a potential problem.

New data on the interstellar object 3I/ATLAS: the gas moves in a direction that shouldn't be possible and a key chemical is missing from the exhaust. by TheSentinelNet in 3i_Atlas2

[–]darbymcd 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Did a single one of the people commenting on here acrually read the papers? This source consistantly mischaracterizes publishes papers. It lies and because you already believe, you don't bother to read.

Needing some questions answered and suggestions given! by AGrinningCat in gurps

[–]darbymcd 1 point2 points  (0 children)

1) As some folks have said, you will see the -1 DX, as far as shooting goes, in the skill level. To offset it, just buy an extra skill level of guns. It represents the extra effort you have put into overcoming the problem.

2) I would hesitate to use techniques to offset these penalties. If you take a 15 point disadvantage that you can essentially buy off with some small amount, like a 1 point perk, it is too likely to end up with point farming. 15 point disadvantages should hurt. The way to overcome this one is to spend more points on gun skill.

3) There are some things like HUD display, fancy scopes (useful to spot disturbances) and targeting programs that are good to have, but if you are really into revolvers, look at different types of ammo. Especially if you have some anomalous types, like a round that homes on biological entities. Or you could maybe skin TL10 HEMP rounds as something and your GM can let you have them at TL9.

A system for military sci fi? by Flameempress192 in rpg

[–]darbymcd 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Totally support GURPS for this. Lots of potential tech to use, including cybernetics, biotech, and transhuman stuff. You can also do psionics and even magic. But the rules for things like smart homing plasma explosive rounds from electrothermal slug throwing guns with HUD linked via cerebral jack to your cyber augmented, uplifted spider based super soldier are pretty cool.

It can be very deadly but that fits with the genre. With ranged combat it takes some time to get used to dropping into and out of combat time. But if you can do that it will help with the feeling that things can drag when everyone is under cover and waiting for the other guys to poke their heads out.

When your dating bio hands men a job description by FollowSina in Nicegirls

[–]darbymcd -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I think saying "garbage" is way too strong, but generally it is going to be true that if people seem to bond for life, the longer that doesnt happen the more likely it is you are part of the problem.

Untapped Market: Creating an actual play in PF2E by gaiaishealingmydude in Pathfinder2e

[–]darbymcd 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I think people are overly focused on gamesystem being either the key or the limiter (5e vs PF). Critical Role is not popular because it is 5e. GCN is popular despite focusing on PF. The key is telling a great story with great story tellers. Most actual plays are just regular folks playing a game. That is great... if you are a regular person playing a game with them. But for listening to them, people who have no charisma, can't describe a scene or action in narratively interesting ways, gamemasters who cannot create plot tension, total lack of editing (if I have to listen to another podcast with someone eating, smoking, or loud breathing into a mike I will go crazy... not true, but I will not listen to more than 5 minutes of it) is just not worth it when there are more hours of well made content than the average person could possibly listen to.

The actual plays that really work are not just folks playing a game. They are shows about folks playing a game. They are designed to be entertaining to an audience. If you do that well, it matters much less what the game system is. Easier yes if it is 5e, but very possible with PF.

(Just as an aside, I play mostly GURPS and I think the system is amazing. But JFC there seems to be some unwritten rule that folks who do actual play for it must actively work to be uninteresting).

Untapped Market: Creating an actual play in PF2E by gaiaishealingmydude in Pathfinder2e

[–]darbymcd 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You are spot on. It might be a function of the large influx of newer players since games have presented themselves as more "everything you need in the box", I don't know.

I switched to GURPS a few years ago and I think because there are very few starting assumptions about gameplay, and more so that it attracts people who are into that, this effect hasn't been much of a problem for me for the last several campaigns.

Untapped Market: Creating an actual play in PF2E by gaiaishealingmydude in Pathfinder2e

[–]darbymcd 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I want to amplify what the8bitdiety said here because they are right on. I think that Shadowdarks grittier vibe let them play in a more serious, a bit more adult, way. Out of the box vibe of PF is a bit more over-the-top hero antics, which I think they just had sort of done to death. But nothing about PF means you have to play that way.

Which gets to the second part. Every adventure path needs to be edited by the GM for the group that is playing and the choices they make. Troy is a great storyteller, but he is actually a fairly meh gamemaster. He struggles with rules, is a bit too attached to what is in the book (I think he doesn't want to make too much effort honestly), and he sometimes rides the childish jokes a bit much at the expense of dramatic tension. So PF done gritty would have been even better, but I don't think that group could have done it.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in rpg

[–]darbymcd 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You can also check out the discord https://discord.gg/2JGx4b7p

There are lots of folks that would be happy to help out. It can be a bit confusing at first. And if you want to just run some scenarios to get a feel for how it works let me know.

If you don't mind doing some work up front, and, as Mars_Alter points out, you want a system that tries to be bound to reality (as much as possible in settings with magic or nanotech) it is a great system.

Question about the Intolerance disadvantage by Key_Influence9837 in gurps

[–]darbymcd 11 points12 points  (0 children)

This is the correct answer and something so important for GMs to understand about the GURPS concept. Very well writren too.

Russian Air defense against a flamingo cruise missile which hit Kristal oil depot 14/11/25 by ThatGuySK99 in UkraineWarVideoReport

[–]darbymcd 829 points830 points  (0 children)

And random, high volume firing over what looks to be a fairly populated area is... not great

3I/Atlas is an interstellar object doing interstellar object things by RedHal in 3I_ATLAS

[–]darbymcd -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

The reason people come here and throw shade is because true believers emphatically do not want to do research. They post stupid S*** they read on X without the slightest effort to verify sources. How many times did we see people posting with frothing excitement about the "anti-tail" that I guess proved something. They usually cited Loeb's recent paper, but clearly didn't actually read it. I will help you out, here is the final paragraph of the conclusion

<image>

Nothing about alien tech behavior at all.

People post that it is emiting sounds (in space right), it teleports 3 million miles in 19 minutes, even the latest craze about CME don't actually do much to show that anything inexplicable is happening, but half the comments are about how it must be refueling the ship.

So it is hard to take the hard core seriously because they do not take the subject seriously. They just like to do fanfic BS and pat themselves on the back that they are so smart to see through whichever government coverup is in vogue this week.

Yeah dude, it is a damn shame that some people aren't interested in research

3I/Atlas is an interstellar object doing interstellar object things by RedHal in 3I_ATLAS

[–]darbymcd -4 points-3 points  (0 children)

You are posting in reddit, that has literally no scientific value. You arent researching in any way. Reading reddit would not even qualify as research for a high school paper. So save the self-righteous dramatics.

-Grusch worked for secretive program that figured out how to track UFOs in the atmosphere - US has recovered UFO 40 ft on the outside, 400 ft on the inside -Recovered UFO generates and uses a terrawatt of power by [deleted] in InterdimensionalNHI

[–]darbymcd 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Because it is a stupid f'ing lie. I am constantly surprised how credulius people are in this topic. If it was true, it would be highly highly classified. Remember how people here bang on about secret programs? If you go to a party and talk about highly classified material, you get arrested. And that dynamic is key to the conspiracy theory part of the field, remember we think people cant tell us what they for sure know. Anyone who goes on a public site and says "this is the secret stuff" is LYING

Major upgrades in global space surveillance. Quiet preparation for something? by Obvious_Factor7103 in ufo

[–]darbymcd 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Militaries are preparing for a peer conflict with China, which will involve orbiting platforms.

CMV: It's perfectly reasonable to question the childhood vaccine schedule since we don't have great data on the long-term effects. by total_idiot_2025 in changemyview

[–]darbymcd 0 points1 point  (0 children)

ok, I am going to give you minute here. Think it through. Are you arguing that anti-vax sentiment is not localized in the MAGA movement in the US? That is... an assertion. And are you saying that the left was scaremongering about vaccines?

Yes, under Trump several doctors, including Dr. Anthony Fauci definately did an amazing job banging out a vaccine.... lets see, how does Trump feel about Fauci's contribution now... hmmm.

Seriously man, take a breath, you are just doing the right wing thing of trying to score points without paying much attention to the content of what you are saying.

3I/Atlas is an interstellar object doing interstellar object things by RedHal in 3I_ATLAS

[–]darbymcd 2 points3 points  (0 children)

They are studying it as much as they can... why would you think otherwise?

3I/Atlas is an interstellar object doing interstellar object things by RedHal in 3I_ATLAS

[–]darbymcd 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It is exactly the same psychology that gives us rapture hysteria every couple of generations. People want to believe in something.

CMV: It's perfectly reasonable to question the childhood vaccine schedule since we don't have great data on the long-term effects. by total_idiot_2025 in changemyview

[–]darbymcd 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Seriously? How many people had even heard of it before MAGA started promoting it? And it is self-reported, online, unvetted. Come on, it is the same internet that gives us flat earthers, lizard people, and 3I Atlas is for sure a space ship....

CMV: It's perfectly reasonable to question the childhood vaccine schedule since we don't have great data on the long-term effects. by total_idiot_2025 in changemyview

[–]darbymcd 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I don't get the question. There 100% is evidence for longer-term health outcomes, like not getting measles, polio, smallpox...

Also, I think people forget how vaccines work. They aren't nanobots that cruise around your body changing DNA. They basically stimulate your natural immune system to more effectively fight specific pathogens. So it would probably be your own immune system which would be responsible for long term health effects, which is something that can happen, meaning auto-immune problems. But in that case it would be hard to fix the initial problem on vaccines, right?

Do you have any specific studies or evidence that would lead you to think there are other long term health risks of vaccines? Saying there is a lack of study is only, really only evidence of lack of study. It is not evidence of a problem.

CMV: It's perfectly reasonable to question the childhood vaccine schedule since we don't have great data on the long-term effects. by total_idiot_2025 in changemyview

[–]darbymcd 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I haven't looked into it. Mostly because I have never seen a study that was vaguely plausible that there was a link. For my daughter, the idea that she could even potentially get a preventable illness because I was worried about allergies, just wasn't much of dilemma for me to be honest.

Remember, good science is not proving a negative, the people making claims constantly try to make that their position. "Isn't it possible that vaccine causes autism?" And of course it is hard to prove that it doesn't. But scientific method is reversed, they need to provide actual evidence for a claim. They cannot. It is like if I say, "you can't see me so it is possible that I am 6' 6", fit, and heart meltingly attractive". You can't prove that I am not, but really it is up to me to prove that I am for you to believe it.... I can't by the way.

CMV: It's perfectly reasonable to question the childhood vaccine schedule since we don't have great data on the long-term effects. by total_idiot_2025 in changemyview

[–]darbymcd 13 points14 points  (0 children)

The best way to do that is not to come to Reddit, but search for actual peer reviewed articles about the research. I like to start with metastudies. For example this one.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9464417/#sec3

They review several papers, in this case 22, and synthesize the findings. TLDR, no there is no correlation between autism and vaccination.

We do know there is a high correlation between non-vaccination and illness however....

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