What does Capitan Alatriste do differently from GURPS?

Skarg · February 12, 2016, 12:39:54 PM

In rpgpundit's interesting recent review of the Spanish RPG Walkure, he mentions that there are several Spanish RPGs which have borrowed mechanics from English-language RPGs, and that the Spanish RPG Capitan Alatriste is a GURPS-like game,

He writes, "The important thing is that each of these games (even Fanpiro!) offered something original and different from the games they borrowed from."

As a designer and GURPS player who makes a lot of house rules, I'm curious if rpgpundit or anyone else who knows Capitan Alatriste would like to share what it offers that is original and different from GURPS.

Cheers!

kosmos1214 · February 13, 2016, 09:13:16 PM

yes sounds interesting

Omega · February 14, 2016, 06:28:57 PM

Yep. I have mentioned RPG Quest a few times now here. Same thing. Takes known RPGs and mixes things up in new ways. Alot of the best mainstream RPGs did the same. Tunnels & Trolls, Call of Cthulhu, Vampire, etc.

AsenRG · February 14, 2016, 06:51:29 PM

I can kinda read Spanish, but don't have the Captain Alatriste RPG, so this would be interesting:).

RPGPundit · February 16, 2016, 01:17:55 AM

Well, Alatriste slims down the GURPS mechanics to be specifically and only for playing in a non-magical 17th century historical game. And specifically within that, to play in a Spanish campaign. It also adds more sophisticated swordfighting/dueling mechanics.

AsenRG · February 16, 2016, 05:05:22 AM

Quote from: RPGPundit;879256Well, Alatriste slims down the GURPS mechanics to be specifically and only for playing in a non-magical 17th century historical game. And specifically within that, to play in a Spanish campaign. It also adds more sophisticated swordfighting/dueling mechanics.

How do these mechanics differ from the Techniques you can use in GURPS (which mostly trade bonus damage or special effects for a roll penalty, which mastering the technique can then negate)?

Omega · February 16, 2016, 05:59:17 AM

Quote from: RPGPundit;879256Well, Alatriste slims down the GURPS mechanics to be specifically and only for playing in a non-magical 17th century historical game. And specifically within that, to play in a Spanish campaign. It also adds more sophisticated swordfighting/dueling mechanics.

Would not that make it akin to any of the standard GURPs system books that focus and have new rules sometimes for specific settings?

RPGPundit · February 17, 2016, 10:59:53 PM

Quote from: AsenRG;879293How do these mechanics differ from the Techniques you can use in GURPS (which mostly trade bonus damage or special effects for a roll penalty, which mastering the technique can then negate)?

I can't really remember the specifics, it's been years since I've played or even opened the book (which I have somewhere in the library), but my recollection is that it is only special in terms of the amount of detail and attention it gives.

RPGPundit · February 17, 2016, 11:00:51 PM

Quote from: Omega;879308Would not that make it akin to any of the standard GURPs system books that focus and have new rules sometimes for specific settings?

Well, some of the rules are different, but largely the answer is that it is not really that different from what would be a really well-done 3e book, albeit with more rules mods than you'd get in an official GURPS book.

Skarg · February 18, 2016, 10:40:50 AM

Thanks RPGPundit!

That actually sounds really good. In fact, it sounds like something I think is missing in most GURPS books - a re-presenting of the system without the irrelevant material for the setting, and the addition of focused crunchy rules I'd want to run the setting.

GURPS world books generally don't reproduce the core rules, and many of them (at least before 4th edition) don't add many crunchy rules unless they are a crunchy rules book (Martial Arts, Magic, Tactical Shooting, etc).

The lack of books that give all the needed rules to run a setting, without lots of noise about rules for other settings, is I think largely responsible for GURPS seeming so dense and inaccessible to a lot of players.

arminius · February 18, 2016, 11:05:58 AM

Yes, that's a critique that's been raised here, and probably elsewhere. So far SJG has only done something like that in Prime Directive, I think.

There's a fan-made PDF in Spanish for converting Alatriste to GURPS. While a lot of it is just correspondences of traits and values, it might give a sense of what's "extra" in the original.

I thought the original GURPS Swashbucklers was very well done.

AsenRG · February 18, 2016, 11:39:25 AM

Quote from: RPGPundit;879718I can't really remember the specifics, it's been years since I've played or even opened the book (which I have somewhere in the library), but my recollection is that it is only special in terms of the amount of detail and attention it gives.

So, I'm better-off running Alatriste with "Le Pavillion Noir" and the novels:)? Thanks, that helps a lot, though it's not like I wouldn't get the Alatriste book, especially if coupled with "Maestros de Esgrima" supplement, if they ever appeared on RPGNow.
Still, nothing beats "Le Pavillon Noir" and its own fencing supplement when it comes to representing a conflict between proponents of the Italian and the Spanish fencing school;)!

arminius · February 18, 2016, 12:30:30 PM

Pavillon noir, surely?

AsenRG · February 18, 2016, 01:17:34 PM

Quote from: Arminius;879821Pavillon noir, surely?

Yes, thanks:). Is it already a tradition to say "fuck autocorrect" in such cases;)?
Anyway, "Le Pavillon Noir" is the best I have seen for Alatriste-style fencing.

Claudius · February 19, 2016, 02:01:15 AM

I wouldn't say that the Capitán Alatriste RPG is very original, but it offers a different approach from GURPS, especially in two points:

GURPS is generic, Alatriste is not.
GURPS is complex, Alatriste is not.

In Alatriste you will not find long and bloated lists of skills, advantages and disadvantages, only the relevant ones to the setting. Likewise, you don't get a big pool of points to buy skills and characteristics, instead, you get 6 points to assign to characteristics, you get characteristic +2 in one skill, characteristic +1 in two skills, etc, you get the idea, so chargen resembles more a game like Stormbringer 5th or Magic World than GURPS.