GURPStalk

If you don’t write a plot, what actually drives the events in your game? Pat and Che talk about running games with no plot. Instead, they prepare situations, full of people who want things. Che describes the HârnWorld game he’s setting up for his school club: a village at a river crossing, where a gang of bullies charge a toll and the mercenaries in the fort won’t let anyone in. He admits he used...

How much detail do you put into your NPCs before the dice hit the table? Pat and Che explore their very different approaches to preparing and running the non-player characters who fill their campaigns. Pat shares his one-page NPC profiles — appearance, background, motivations, and complete stat blocks formatted for quick reference mid-session. Che describes his leaner method of noting names, motiv...

What Does It Mean to Play In-Character, As-Character? Che and Pat unpack the distinction between actor stance—where decisions flow from character psychology, not player logic—and other stances like author, pawn, and director. Using the recent death of Valens in Che's Karameikos campaign as a case study, they explore how a dwarf scholar's curiosity and obsession with ancient dwarven history led him...

Can theme and character arc belong to simulationists too? Che and Pat dive into the contested legacy of the Forge movement and argue that emergent story lives just fine without narrativist gatekeeping. They critique the GNS model's dominance, share war stories about players being told they're "doing it wrong," and explain why "author stance" leaves them both exhausted. Pat draws from his Dire Pass...

What happens when you scale GURPS from tabletop combat to empire-level wargaming? Pat dives into his new Kriegspiel project — a structured, macro-level wargame tied to his ongoing Star Trek campaign. Players take on roles like Starfleet Task Force commanders, Klingon Regional Governors, and intelligence or diplomatic chiefs, with mechanics rooted in GURPS Realm Management and mass combat systems....

How do you manage factions in GURPS without all the bookkeeping? Pat Mullen and Che Webster dive into CUFOS (Campaign Unified Faction Operating System)—a framework for managing organizations in GURPS campaigns. Pat breaks down how CUFOS pulls together tools from Boardroom and Curia , Realm Management , and Mass Combat into one unified system. They get into using LLMs to auto-generate organisation...

How do you make new custom powers for your GURPS games? Che and Pat discuss creating and evolving custom powers in GURPS, using examples from Pat’s campaigns. They review how to design abilities based on player concepts, such as “Visual Spatial Savant” for Steven’s Star Trek character and new psychic powers for his Dire Passages character, focusing on limitations, accessibility, and pricing. They...

What specific details do you add to your prep notes? Pat and Che discuss their GURPS preparation workflow and campaign management techniques. Pat shares his detailed preparation process for his Dire Passages campaign, which involves maintaining a comprehensive and ever-growing document tracking past events, current status, and future timeline elements. He demonstrates how he uses this system to pr...

What do you do with a split group when combat breaks out? Pat and Che discuss combat mechanics and pacing in role-playing games. Pat explains his approach to handling combat in his Star Trek campaign "Imminent Destinies," where he uses action time (one minute) rather than the traditional one-second combat system to allow multiple concurrent actions by different player characters. He details how he...

How do you GURPS up a setting like Star Trek? This episode of GURPStalk focuses on Pat and Che's ongoing project to create a Star Trek-inspired GURPS campaign set in 2225 in the Beta Quadrant near the He'shra (Orion Syndicate territory). Pat explains their approach to worldbuilding, including the development of cultural typologies for different species like Klingons, and details their system for h...

How do we make Star Trek telepathy feel real? Pat and Che conduct a deep dive into GURPS mechanisms, specifically focusing on developing a Betazoid character concept for their upcoming Star Trek: Imminent Destinies campaign. Pat demonstrates his approach of prioritising concept over mechanisms, showing how he created a grounded, realistic portrayal of Betazoid telepathy that reflects the species'...

Can players get use from AI for their characters... and some other horse hockey... Pat and Che discuss the use of AI tools in tabletop role-playing games (RPGs), particularly focusing on GURPS. They addressed how players can use AI to assist with character creation while maintaining engagement with the game master (GM) and ensuring the process aligns with the game's priors, which emphasize long-fo...

What use might so-called AI tools have for an RPG? Che and Pat recorded an episode of their podcast discussing the use of "dark arts" - specifically AI tools like NotebookLM, Lumo, and Gemini - in role-playing game preparation. They shared how these tools help with research, analysis, and creating game materials more efficiently, while acknowledging the importance of user expertise in managing the...

Can you run an open table in a long-form manner with a consistent, grounded campaign world? And what about mysteries: can you run an investigative game in an open world style? Pat and Che discuss the challenges of running an open table while maintaining a consistent, grounded campaign world. Pat argues that open tables inherently conflict with world consistency due to the transient nature of playe...

How do we track time in GURPS... and what is an Open World? Pat and Che discuss time management and pacing in role-playing games, particularly focusing on GURPS. They explore how different campaign settings require varying approaches to tracking time, with Pat emphasising the importance of keeping detailed time records and Che sharing his practical method of using simple paper notes. The conversat...

How can we use digital technology to improve our games? In this episode of GURPStalk, Pat and Che dive into the intersection of technology and tabletop gaming. They focus on how GCS (GURPS Character Sheet) automates the math of character creation, taking the headache out of tracking points and skills. Pat breaks down his setup using Foundry VTT via The Forge, showcasing how cloud-based hosting str...

Brian asks, "Is equipment as important as the character's traits?" Pat and Che discuss equipment in GURPS, focusing on its importance and customisation options. They explore how equipment can reflect a character's background and personality, rather than defining it. The conversation covers the detailed and flexible equipment rules in GURPS, including weapon stats, armour options, and tech levels....

Focused on discussing GURPS (Generic Universal RolePlaying System) campaign management, particularly around random encounters and travel mechanics. Pat and Che share their experiences running campaigns, with Che describing his approach to Karameikos where he uses modified D&D encounter tables and implements a 4-hour watch system for travel. They discuss how to handle random encounters, with Pa...

What happens when the Speakpipe calls and email questions pile up? Pat and Che present questions from various individuals including Stan, Brian, Arina, and Frank. They answer those questions. Thanks for listening and supporting the show. GOT A QUESTION? Ask us via voice message: speakpipe.com/gurpstalk Ask us via an email: gurpstalk@pm.me PAT'S BLOG: Processing GURPS – Enabling Longform, Immersive...

What the heck is the Process thing? Pat and Che discuss The Process of character creation, using Ascend NA as an example. They outline the five steps involved, including player-GM discussions, bio sheet completion, and a final one-on-one meeting for character creation. Pat emphasizes the importance of having a defined setting and world before starting the character creation process. They also touc...

What happens when your game collapses and you need to start a new thing? Pat discusses his experience running a GURPS fantasy campaign and a Twilight 2000 campaign, highlighting how personal connections and real-life circumstances often take precedence over game mechanics. He explains how his Saturday table, initially a Rome campaign with five players, struggled to maintain its structure due to pl...

What the heck is "point salad"? Pat and Che discuss the concept of "point salad" in GURPS, a term used to describe when characters have an excessive number of points to spend on abilities, leading to complex character creation and potentially distracting gameplay. They discuss an anonymous listener's message about a GURPS campaign where players are creating characters with a complex point system,...

What do we mean when we talk about character development with the GURPS system? Che and Pat discuss the concept of bonus character points in GURPS, clarifying that they are not experience points but rewards for attendance and good role-playing. They discuss character development in tabletop role-playing games, focusing on mechanical rewards and how different systems handle character progression. P...

Why is GURPS Magic not, in fact, boring? Pat and Che discuss listener Alex's question about magic systems in GURPS, addressing concerns about the basic Magic system. Pat explains the GURPS Magic system, emphasizing its flexibility and suitability for new players. Che shares his experience using the system with a new GURPS group, highlighting its potential for creative spell use and character devel...

How can we use the GURPS skill system to deepen our experience in the Otherworld? Pat and Che discuss the mechanics of skill-based gameplay in GURPS, focusing on when players and the Game Master should roll dice for perception and information skills. They also discuss the mechanics and benefits of quick contests in role-playing games, focusing on their use in resolving instantaneous actions and ad...