Two months ago I asked:

What if we were to set up a campaign within the lands of Karameikos as inspired by that old supplement but run it with the much more grounded GURPS game system?

Today, we begin Session #1 of the Karameikos campaign powered by GURPS.

The journey began with that post in August and a consequent conversation with GURPStalk co-host, Patrick Mullen, who had been keen to play in a game that I GM. Largely I think Pat wanted to encourage me to play the long-form game he knew I wanted. We decided that we would try to assemble a group and, largely through Pat’s efforts, we managed to gather six players.

Having spoken about the process that Pat recommends on the GURPStalk podcast, I decided to take this approach with Karameikos. As the game will play online, I set up a separate Discord for the group, re-subscribed to the Foundry VTT via The Forge, and updated GCS on my PC. These digital tools have proven invaluable.

From the beginning, I decided that I would also incorporate the GM wisdom from Brian Jamison’s “Gamemastering” and utilise Johnn Four’s Campaign Logger to act as my “source of truth”. The former lines up pretty well with Pat’s process and the latter has made notetaking digitally much easier.

Back To Basic Set

We did not use the Dungeon Fantasy materials – neither the boxed game nor the earlier GURPS supplements. It took me a while to realise it, but the process of creating characters freeform within the stated 100 points limit (with -30 points Disads) was far simpler and much richer.

GURPS Basic Set contains almost everything we needed to get this game off the ground. For convenience, we added pieces from a few supplements but only as character concepts arose and it seemed fitting. I learned the truth of what I’ve said many times but rarely followed through on: “If you can describe the character you want, then you can use GURPS to build it.”

Our game has believable people as player characters. Instead of Dungeon Fantasy’s ” self-description as, ‘a guide to making two-dimensional “heroes” from a non-culture,’ we have created real-feeling people who are deeply rooted in the Karameikan culture. Each character is also the unique invention of their player, not a class with loose description and some gear.

Towards Session #1

This has been a slow process over around eight weeks. The first thing I had to recognise and resist was the temptation to rush the game to the table. My impatience – which really arises from a misplaced desire to please the players and not waste time – had to be put aside.

We took our time and Pat teamed up with me to lessen the load of helping players conceptualise their characters. Given his more free personal schedule, there were times when he was best-placed to sit with a player and build their character. Learning to trust a player as co-GM at the beginning was another learning point: it’s not all on you.

The richest experience from taking our time were the unique ideas that the players put forward as they completed the Biographical Sheet that formed the bedrock of the character process. Jamison’s guidance was helpful here in reminding me that asking players to root themselves in the setting through NPC connections is vital.

It was the players who, through their descriptions and suggestions, blended ideas into our Karameikos that make it feel much more grounded and real. For example, we have distinct magic for arcane wizards and divine powers for the Church’s priests. We have unique powers for the “Paladin” from the Order of the Griffon.

But more than the rules-related stuff, we have genuinely interesting characters who have motivation and connections within the world. The setting has become so rich that on several nights, especially this week as the game has come closer, I have been dreaming up ideas and possibilities that keep the flame of enthusiasm alive.

Yes, I feel nervous and some self-doubt pre-game. I also feel energised and motivated to run the game. I have the tools in place to run a game with the largest group of players I’ve gathered in quite a few years. The whole world of Karameikos seems alive but it’s also just the right balance between clarity enough to play and mystery enough to explore.

Game on!