GURPS - Basic Set 3r..

Time Use SheetsThe Time Use Sheet (Instant Characterssection) is to be used by players toplan their characters' time between playsessions.The amount of time covered by eachsheet is set by the GM. An even number ofweeks works best. At the end of each playsession, the GM should tell the playershow much game time will pass before thenext session. When they show up for thenew adventure, they can bring the recordsof how they spent the intervening time.When an adventure "stops in the middle"- when one play session ends at nightin the inn, and the next one starts the nextmorning - obviously no time use sheet isnecessary. Use one when there is a hiatusin an adventure (for instance, when theplayers must wait two weeks to catch theirship). And use one between adventures, togive the characters a chance to rest, earnmoney, and improve their skills.GMs: If this seems like too much book -keeping, don't use it! Feel free to think of asubstitute, or forget all this entirely, if itdoes not add to your players' enjoyment.There are three major reasons to keeptrack of time outside of play:Success RollsCharacters may have important missionsbetween play sessions. These mightbe tedious to game out, but vital - which iswhy you can do them "between times" andcover them with a few die rolls. Forinstance, in a treasure-hunting adventure,the group's scholar may need to spend afew weeks in the library making Researchrolls to find useful maps. Meanwhile thethief is tavern-hopping, making Streetwiserolls to pick up useful rumors. The GMchecks their sheets, sees how much timethey spent at it, and rolls (one or moretimes) to see what they found.Skill StudyCharacters may wish to put time intoactual study of their skills - or of new ones -to improve their scores or gain new skills.(If some characters are students, this isunavoidable!) The GM keeps a runningtotal of the time they spend studying.When it's enough to buy a skill increase,the character's skill goes up immediately.See p. 82 for details.JobsTime spent at work should also berecorded. It counts as study of the skillinvolved (though at only 1/4 rate - that is,an eight-hour day of work counts as twohours of study). And it pays enough to liveon - and maybe a little extra. (And in mostsocieties, anyone who does not show upfull-time for work will soon be fired, andhurting for money!) And a job can be agreat springboard to adventure in the handsof a creative GM. See p. 192.Award character points for good play - see below.File away the play material. NPC records, GM Control Sheet, etc., will all be usefullater - be sure to keep track of them! NPCs, in particular, can often be "recycled" in a lateradventure.Plan the next session with the players. This is especially important in a continuingcampaign. Decide where the game will take up next week, how much game time will havepassed, and anything else that the players need to know before the next session starts.AWARDING CHARACTER POINTSAt the end of each play session, the GM awards bonus character points for good play."Good play" is anything that advances the characters' mission, or shows good roleplaying -preferably both. Roleplaying is more important than mission success! If a player didsomething totally outside his character's personality (for instance, if a total cowardperformed a brave act), this would not be worth any points, even if it saved the day for therest of the group!Bonus points should be awarded separately (and probably secretly) to each character.Players should record their points on the character record sheets if they intend to play thatcharacter again; the GM may also want to keep his own record of bonus points granted.Bonus points will be used by the players to develop and improve their characters -seeCharacter Development, p. 81.Some guidelines for point awards, per session of play:For good roleplaying, within the original concept of the character: 1 to 3 points perplay session.For excellent roleplaying, even if it imperiled the mission: 4 or 5 points per session. Forpoor roleplaying, ignoring or violating the stated personality or objectives of thecharacter: -1 to -5 points. For successful completion of the mission, or progresstoward its completion in amulti-session adventure: 2 to 4 points. For partial failure, or significant setbacksin a multi-session adventure: -1 or -2points.For disastrous failure of the mission: -4 or -5 points. For a clever action or solution to aspecific problem, as long as it is in character: 1point per character per action.It is strongly suggested that no PC ever get more than 5 points for any one play ses sion.Two or 3 should be the usual ceiling. A character gets no points for a session in whichhis dependent NPC is killed, seriously wounded, or kidnapped and not recovered.A character's net point total for an adventure can be zero, but it cannot be nega tive.The worst you can do, at the end of an adventure, is 0 points. A character can end a playsession with a negative total, if that play session is part of a continuing adventure. Thenegative total is not subtracted from character points he has already earned, but it willcount against anything he may earn during the remainder of that adventure.Avoiding Character InflationAs GM, you should try to balance the number of points you give out, so that charactersimprove fast enough to keep things interesting, but not so fast that they outrun their foes andunbalance your campaign. Also, if the original characters are now 400-point demigods, newplayers, and their characters, may tend to feel useless unless they are specifically broughtinto the action.Some of this depends on the background; superheroic types are expected to improve fast(and their enemies improve, too), while ordinary cops or soldiers gain skills or promotions ata slower pace. In the final analysis, it's up to the GM to determine what is right for his owncampaign and his own players.