GURPS Orcslayer - RPG Review (The First Early Access Adventure?)
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- čas přidán 7. 06. 2023
- Orcslayer is the earliest GURPS adventure, written by two industry legends -- Steve Jackson and Warren Spector. Does it still hold up over 30 years later? Could you easily adapt it to GURPS 4th edition, or even other fantasy games like Dungeons & Dragons? Find out in this classic RPG adventure review!
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/ sagethalcos - Hry
I've ran Orcslayer converted to GURPS 4e and it was a hit. The story does need some tweaks. I'd added some dwarven smiths which were being forced to produce quality weapons and armor for the elites of the orc horde. Once rescued they crafted a fine suit of hardened plate armor for each of the PCs as a reward, but of course by then the written adventure had ended. I also allowed the PCs to each have a servant and horses along until they reached the desert where the mounts had to be left behind.
I am excited to watch this. I got into GURPS back as a young man of 11 or so when Man to Man first came out in the the mid 80s and this was my first game that I ran in it. Thinking about doing so again.
Interesting history! I had always vaguely wondered how TFT, Man To Man, and GURPS are related. Good to know finally.
Now I want to run Orcslayer.
GURPS had the same appeal to me, the freedom of it after the "box" of D&D. When og GURPS Basic Set was released, I scooped it up and the first character I made was a mage with a sword. This was an awesome bit of nostalgia. Thanks!
Great review, great hints and tips, and great website!
One concern that I would have (or will have) is that as my players finish the adventure using your tips is,
Player Fighter: "Wait. So supposedly these mines that Bulgan was working on should be within half a days work of a TROVE of FINE Dwarvish axes and other gear, perhaps even magical weapons ..."
GM: " ... err ....Well yeah, that's what Kethrin said. Bu ...buu...but you and your party are mighty warriors, powerful wizards etc.! Mining is backbreaking, common labor, certainly beneath you and your valiant comra ..."
Player Thief: " *stroking his chin thoughtfully* " A trove of fine dwarvish weapons ...perhaps some coin and gems as well...
Player Wizard: "Melphisto, the wizened, picks up the nearest pick axe and swings it at the cavern wall."
Player Cleric: " I pray for guidance for which way to dig."
GM: *groans*
Hahaha! Brilliant point. I guess that’s when the Bolgan’s dad shows up with his dwarf army and says “Thank you very much, we will take it from here….”
I think I would use a different hook: maybe the army _is_ going after the orcs in order to rescue the prisoners, but the odds are grim (300 humans vs. 1000 orcs or whatever). In order to give themselves an edge, recon is critical. But army units are designed to operate in armies, not independently as special forces--would the PCs be willing to travel a day ahead of the army to scout things out?
And of course if the PCs have already killed or captured Bolgan by the time the main army gets there, having the human army there to exploit the chaos brings things to a more convincing closure than having the orc armies disintegrate spontaneously.
Well, you can always say, that there is a dwarf somewhere, with quite a few friends, who believes (rightly so!) that this is their lost property. So, thank you very much, I have this nice sack of coins for you and we will take it from here.
Or a lord on whose land this is miiiight want to equip his army a bit better...
Anyway, this might be a nice plothook for next adventures, like yes, you know there is a big treasure, now get someone that will get it dug for you.
You have a quite a treasure in fine weapons. Get someone that will buy it from you.
Maybe you can even make this your personal fort and equip YOUR man with this stash of fine weapons?
Excellent video as always! Would love to see more ould GURPS adventure gems reviewed.
Any requests?
@@1ShotJC the Conan solo adventures come to my mind. Maybe with some advice how to run them for a whole group?
@@Dieter-Doeddel I played Layer of the Frost Wrym a few winters back when I was learning GURPS. I busted out all the appropriate minis and put in a long track of Tundra Winds sounds that can be found on this platform. Really enjoyed myself considering it was solo play. 1Shot himself offers a great Arctic setting solo adventure for GURPS too, which could probably be retrofitted into the Conan adventure for group play, if one were so inclined. Sorry, no tips for how to run a solo as a group game but I've considered it myself. Most of prep would be playing a few times, which seems like a fun way to prep.
Someone told me recently that old GURPS adventures used to either reduce costs for certain advantages or ban them. When did that stop? I'd like to see some of those old adventures and how they did it.
@@ymdw45 hmmm… I don’t ever recall seeing that, but I’ll keep an eye out for it.
Perhaps have the lord (i.e. quest giver) tell the party that he's currently calling up his & his vassals' armies to march on the orcs homeland in a counterattack. However, he has just now learned of an orc observation outpost along his planned route of march. He can't take the chance of the orcs in the outpost spotting his army along the way, thus notifying the main enemy camp and allowing the whole orc army to be well prepared for his upcoming attack or even ambush him on the march. Unfortunately the lord has sent nearly all his personal guard out to call his bannermen and has none to spare for taking care of the orc watchpost beforehand, yet fears any further delay after the army is assembled (for the same reason of being discovered). That's where such mercenaries as the players come in.
Also: The orcs are well-known in their taking of prisoners and their watchpost is likely to have some of his people in it. So don't burn it all down or blow it up, please. He'd rather have his people back, for a little extra reward.
I like this take because it makes Lord Kirin seem tactically very smart. And obviously if he’s the lord of a castle sitting in the middle of Orcland, he’d HAVE to be a strong war leader to be believable.
I love Orcslayer...runs great in The Fantasy Trip, GURPS or DnD...want to try it in Daggerheart and the new monolith Conan game now.
I’m excited to check out the new Conan game too !