Last week, during their first game powered by GURPS, the students commented on how the combat in the Dungeon Fantasy session was faster and more exciting than the combat had been with Basic D&D. This comment had me thinking…

Why was it faster? Certainly, the combat with five Giant Rats we fought with Basic D&D a few weeks before had taken (much) less clock time than a similar fight with five Giant Rats using GURPS. What was going on?

I think the perception of speed around the table was the difference.

You see, GURPS has a 1-second turn in combat whereas D&D has a 10 second round. That means you get to do one thing that can take up to a second: move a few yards, make an attack, ready a weapon, you get the idea. In play, you get around the table quicker.

There’s no Initiative roll every turn. There’s just “it’s your turn now, what do you do?” Bam, make a decision, roll the dice, now it’s my turn. Once the students had played a couple of turns, things moved swiftly. The players would move their miniature, or roll to attack, or maybe move then attack. But it was done quickly.

I think the table felt faster because our perception of time is dependent on many factors, not just the objective sense of clock time. Engagement, the haste of decision-making, excitement between players, and the GM making sure you decide swiftly all skew the perception.

Certainly, I remember sitting playing D&D and waiting my turn. Waiting to roll my 1d20 and miss. Then waiting. Watching the monsters hit me and take my hit points. Waiting for my turn. Watching each player decide what to do, roll 1d20, miss. Waiting.

In GURPS, you get your turn and you roll… and then the monster attacks you so you need to roll to defend… and it’s the other player’s turns but you are needing to watch carefully because they made some decision that effects your turn. What do you do next?

It’s a pacing thing. GURPS feels faster at the table. That’s why the kids love it!

Game on!