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Iteration 4 - The Final Playtest
Starlight sprang back into view with a strange, eye-watering blur as Jenna Skyrunner slowly pulled down the throttle on the hyperdrive of the Grey Morning and revealed a planet, brown and desolate. She...
View ArticleGURPS-Day Cross Post: So you wanna play in a game, huh?
Hey, it's November, and this month, the GURPS blog selected "Community" as its theme. Being a good member of the blogging community, I'd like to join in. Originally, I wanted to talk about one of my...
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EM Guns Feedback Part 1: The G-Verse Context
Steve Jackons Games recently put out a call for feedback regarding EM guns and their damage and performance, specifically in comparison to ETK guns. Now, lots of people have already busted out some...
View ArticleEM Guns Feedback Part 2: G-Verse Variants
So, last post, I offered the context of G-Verse, for those who need to know how the setting works and how games played out. I've also tagged my Andromeda Incident After Action Reports from ye olden...
View ArticleBonus Post: There's a Sale!
Hello, dear Psi-Wars reader! I sometimes hear my readers comment on how they like and/or use my material "but don't have as many books as" I do. And I do use a lot of books, and part of the reason I...
View ArticleEnding Iteration 4
Well, that was quite an iteration, wasn't it? While it was entirely focused on one thing, ("Powers", and giving characters access to upgrades), it covered an enormous amount of ground. I think you...
View ArticleIteration 5: Psi-Wars as a Generic Setting
Ahhh, that wonderful, new Iteration smell. I think I'm always so eager to start a new iteration because few things are as tedious as playtesting and editing together notes. I am happy to say, though...
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"Who Gives a S**t?" A Meditation on Setting Design
Tons of people are doing settings, but that is kinda hard for me to wrap my head around. I love GURPS content, I love spells, powers, advantages, builds, encounters, adventures, but for me, a setting...
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Taking the War out of Psi-Wars: Saying No to Mass Combat
Psi-Wars is about war and definitely features huge fleets, heroic starfighter pilots, daring commando raids and maniacal commanders plotting the destruction of entire worlds. "War" is one of our core...
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Putting the War back into Psi-Wars: Saying Yes to Mass Combat
So last time I argued that Mass Combat was a terrible idea for Psi-Wars. I haven't changed my mind and I still think it's a terrible idea. Ergo, it's a waste of time to even look at Mass Combat,...
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Psi Wars and the Engines of War
So previously, I established that Mass Combat was a big no go, but then I looked at it anyway. What popped out was that it offered some interesting, if narrow, gameplay, but it mostly opened up some...
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Building the Officer: Strategy, Foresight and shades of Mass Combat
Director Krennic Arrives -- by Ashley ClappertonSo, I've established that Mass Combat is a terrible idea, and then tempted you with the possibilities of some rather cool scenarios (a single dreadnought...
View ArticleThe Officer 1.0
Officer 250 points The Officer excels at command and control. He’s mastered the art of planning, and can plan so well that he features the use of Foresight, allowing the player to retroactively declare...
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A Spoilerless Review of Rogue One
I've been excited for the release of Rogue One, because I am (as I'm sure you've noticed by now) a Star Wars fan, but also because the new turn of the films promises to reinvigorate a beloved,...
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Psi-Wars and GURPS Social Engineering
For my next trick, I'd like to look at GURPS Social Engineering and its associated products, like Pulling Rank.Normally, this would be the part where I argue against its inclusion, because each new...
View ArticlePsi-Wars and Social Engineering 2: Social Engineering Analyzed
Just as I did with GURPS Action 2, it's worth going over each page of Social Engineering to see if there's anything that leaps out at me as useful, and taking some notes as I go. I've summarized my...
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Socially Engineering Psi-Wars: Distancing Mechanisms
The GM’s most important trick in this kind of campaignis distancing mechanisms: situations, customs, or objects thatare alien and perplexing, both to the PCs and to the players.It’s best if they aren’t...
View ArticlePsi-Wars Linguistics
Whoa, lady, I only speak two languages, English and bad English.-Korben Dallas, the Fifth ElementIn a campaign, language diversity has two main functions. It provides an obstacle; when explorers...
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Psi-Wars Economics: Trade, Exotic Resources and Money
First Ship of the Year by Dress-7We've already touched on Psi-Wars economics when we looked at Psi-Wars infrastructure. This time, I'm going to get into a little more specifics, but not too much, for...
View ArticleFine Dining in Psi-Wars: Cuisine and Intoxicants
"So, what are we eating?"Ever played in an RPG where someone's in a tavern and he goes to order food, then stops and asks what he's ordering? What indeed! In a fantasy game, we can just hand-wave...
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