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Islands of War Blog
Here you'll find blog entries related to GURPS, my campaign settings and various role-playing activities. Entries will be few and far between, but likely also interesting, as I often do strange things with GURPS.
Cancer Lasers
Don't ask. Just don't ask. It's one of the more silly ideas I've had. Affliction (Disadvantage, Terminally Ill, Up to two years, +50%; Extended Duration, Permanent, +150%) [30]
By default, Affliction is a ranged attack with characteristics like most hand-held weapons. In other words, it's like a laser!
Now, for the cost of just 30 character points, you too can cause cancer. Now I need to make a useless super hero named Captain Cancer, with this as his only power and lots of Disadvantages related to guilt over causing bad men to develop cancer.
No, you may not play a Jedi!
Every once in a while, I get asked by a new player, “Can I play a Jedi?”
I usually say no. Sometimes I explain why, but sometimes not, because I've been asked this so very many times. I prefer that my players use their own ideas for characters. Something all their own.
If I said yes, I'd have to shoe-horn someone else's universe into the one my players and I are building together. I'd have to say, “Yes, this is the same universe that the Jedi are from.” That forces me to be consistent with it. No thank you. Too much work. That's why I make my own stuff.
I don't mind my players emulating characters from other sources. That's okay. I had a few players that loved this movie called The Shadow. They made psionic characters that were a bit of a mixture of The Shadow and their own ideas. I don't mind that at all. Eventually I even saw the movie. Very good, I might add.
Sometimes this Jedi question isn't asked directly. Sometimes the player tries to get clever about it. This is the way it gets on my nerves:
Player: Can I play a psionicist?
GM: Sure. (If it fits the campaign, anyway)
Player: Can I have telepathic powers.
GM: Yep.
Player: Can I take the ability to make psionically enhanced suggestions?
GM: Okay.
Player: Can I be really good with a sword?
GM: Whatever. (Not quite paying full attention, since I'm helping others make their characters, too)
Player: Can I have a magic sword?
GM: Yeah. That can be your starting magic item. (Something I often do in fantasy campaigns)
Player: Can I make my sword glow with mind powers?
GM: I guess. (Starting to get suspicious, preparing for the next question that I know is coming.
Player: Can I make it really hot with my mind, so I can melt through stuff with it?
GM: No, you may not play a Jedi!
There's a few variations on the above, but they all end with that one statement. *Sigh* Why does everyone and their dog want to play a Jedi?
These days, this is one of the stories I tell my players while we're in the midst of the first character creation session. I usually get a few smiles or a chuckle. It also subtly gets the idea in their head right off the bat that I prefer that they play something original.
Introductions
Hey folks,
I'm a GM, or Game Master for all you that aren't into tabletop RPGs. In other words, I run role playing game groups when given the chance.
My game of choice is GURPS, arguably the most awesome RPG ever.
I do like to play on occasion, but I prefer to tell a story rather than take part in one. Just a preference. When I do play, I tend to play very strange characters, such as a sentient golem in a fantasy setting or a guy with multiple personalities and the ability to turn into many different super heros and super villans. I love playing the seemingly-dumb fighter who turns out to be quite clever.
Anyway, you're probably wondering why this blog is called Islands of War. It's the name of a campaign setting I'm working on. You can find it here. There's some interesting stuff there. This is just the blog to accompany the wiki.
The main purpose of this blog is to give me a place to write down the often-random ideas I have so they don't get lost. It'll also give me a place to write about the strange things that frustrate me about being a GM and how I deal with them.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy my ramblings. I know I usually do.
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