I know, what?
This article is mostly about how you play Dungeon Fantasy and use GURPS Character Assistant 5 (GCA5). Do you use the base "Dungeon Fantasy" rules and GCA5 setup? Or do you use the GURPS Basic set plus the GURPS Dungeon Fantasy books? Now Dungeon Fantasy has a lot of the GURPS stuff stripped out of the game and focuses on Dungeon Crawling, where if you play with GURPS Basic as your "root sourcebook," your options change, and even more if you add GURPS Magic to the mix. So to summarize:
- Dungeon Fantasy (DF) = Everything in the game box.
- GURPS Dungeon Fantasy (GDF) = The GDF Warehouse 23 supplements, plus GURPS Basic Set, GURPS Fantasy, and GURPS Magic.
Note that DF is everything in the box, whereas GDF does not require the box. Here is my current GCA 5 setup for GURPS Dungeon Fantasy (GDF):
I stripped down the sourcebooks to remove duplicate options and hand-edited the "Remove Unnecessary Traits" script to add all the classic GURPS advantages and disadvantages, which are helpful for powers (flight) and some of the classics like enemies and other fun RP choices. Some of the scripts for technological advantages (digital mind) I kept in there to remove those options since I want to reduce clutter. This lets me add books that need the base GURPS advantages, such as Bio-Tech, or use the powers to create fantastic fantasy races, such as nagas, succubus, mermaids, or others.
GURPS Magic also has hand-edits to remove some power modifiers that put tons of useless repeat spells into my lists. My files are backed up, too, just in case of updates.
And here is the basic Dungeon Fantasy boxed-game setup with the optional Delvers to Grow book (DF):
Knowing what you are doing with plain Dungeon Fantasy gets a lot easier. Those Warehouse 23 sourcebooks are nice, but they are designed for GDF instead of plain DF, which means they NEED the GURPS Basic book to work and are meant for the hybrid style GDF style of play. Clerics in DF are all cleric-types, while clerics in my GDF setup are either holy or unholy. It gives you an exciting distribution of spells, with unholy clerics having a lot of ruin and despoiling powers, whereas holy clerics are more restorative and heal-y. The GDF Clerics supplement adds cleric domains, which I feel adds too many repeat spells to the list, so I do not load it. You also have many more spells in GDF, and my setup with things like flight and other advantages is helpful for different character types (angels, succubus, etc.).
It took a lot of tweaking and failed characters to get both of these setups and the skills needed to create characters for templates that validate and throw zero errors. They both make similar character types (and yes, you CAN copy and paste between characters to copy things like quirks and equipment lists, excellent). When you get good enough, you can mix and match characters - designed either way - into the same campaign. Just make sure to save characters created with a DF setup with unique code in the filename, so you know, like "Bjorn - DF" versus "Bjorn - GDF."
There are subtle differences in the setups, such as the clerics being different and the GDF having many more spells. But if you want an unholy cleric as a character in DF, this is the way to go.
DF is B/X & GDF is AD&D
Why not just play with GDF and not DF? DF has a few changes and notable changes to character design that if you just wanted to stick with the basic DF books, you are probably better off with the DF character setup. And Delvers to Grow only works with DF, an excellent book. I see the base DF box as a B/X-style game, and the GDF set up as an AD&D-type campaign.
What is AD&D? On a technical definition, B/X plus more stuff - including wacky, unbalanced, power-level breaking spells and abilities. In DF, you have a curated, balanced, fun set of powers, classes, and spells. In GDF, you have mages summoning dinosaurs to clear the Caves of Chaos and bards buying berserk and multiple levels of extra attack. If that is your style of game, totally go GDF. If you want a sensibly curated and focused game, play DF.
The cool thing is the characters work together well, and there really isn't much of a power-level difference between them, unlike B/X and AD&D (fighter hit dice, etc.). There will be spell differences, and some spells in a DF context will be unbalancing to the dungeon-crawling genre, so just be aware of that if you are aiming for a balanced game.
The DF setup in GCA5 also is easier to set up and use. In contrast, when you do the GDF setup, you are getting lots of repeat things added from GURPS Magic (unless you hand-edit the GCA5 files) and adding modules and realizing they put way too much junk in the lists and then banning them from your game. If you want an easier time, go base DF and the DF setup in GCA5, and you will be happy. There is plenty enough in the base DF game (and the expansion booklets) to keep you busy for a lifetime of fun.
But suppose you like hacking and want more freedom to design classic GURPS characters or characters that use magic or character systems from other books (Thaumatology, time-traveling aliens, GURPS Furries, or anything else you can imagine). In that case, the GDF setup is handy to have around for those exceptional cases. When you dive into GDF, you unleash the full breadth of GURPS characters and design systems, which can be incredible. It can also be time-consuming and confusing at times, so DF is better for new players and those wanting less basic set insanity creeping into their games.
For me? I am sticking with the basic Dungeon Fantasy box and DF GCA setup.
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