People, Not NPCs

If you don’t write a plot, what actually drives the events in your game?Pat and Che talk about running games with no plot. Instead, they prepare situations, full of people who want things. Che describes the HârnWorld game he’s setting up for his school club: a village at a river crossing, where a gang of bullies charge a toll and the mercenaries in the fort won’t let anyone in. He admits he used to be afraid of running NPCs. He also looks back at the moment in Karameikos when the innkeeper Yuri sat down and wept over his murdered son’s toy, and the table went silent. Pat unpacks Commander Mav'rick, a Star Trek NPC who went from smarmy to sinister over a single game of poker. From there, they get into casting NPCs from history, film and literature – Phil Sheridan, Peter Lorre, Alain Delon – and why casting against type might be fun to try. They look at how factions and a timeline turned one terrorist bombing (in Star Trek) into a dozen new agendas, and whether it’s really true that GMs never get to role-play. Pat finishes with a simple GURPS trick for finding one face in a cast of thousands.Thanks for supporting the show!GOT A QUESTION?Ask us via voice message:speakpipe.com/gurpstalkAsk us via an email:[email protected] a GURPStalk t-shirt or sticker? --> T-Shirts by Roleplay Rescue | TeePublicOR https://www.teepublic.com/user/roleplay-rescuePAT'S BLOG:Processing GURPS – Enabling Longform, Immersive TTRPG play using GURPSORhttps://processinggurps.com/RPR PATREON: patreon.com/rpgrescueTHANKS:Jon from Tale of the Manticore for the music:https://taleofthemanticore.podbean.com/Logo by MJ Hiblen:https://www.patreon.com/MJHiblenART/DISCLAIMER & NOTICE:The material presented here is our original creation, intended for use with the GURPS system from Steve Jackson Games. This material is not official and is not endorsed by Steve Jackson Games.GURPS is a registered trademark of Steve Jackson Games, and any GURPS art here is copyrighted by Steve Jackson Games. All rights are reserved by SJ Games. This material is used here in accordance with the SJ Games online policy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How much detail do you put into your NPCs before the dice hit the table?Pat and Che explore their very different approaches to preparing and running the non-player characters who fill their campaigns. Pat shares his one-page NPC profiles — appearance, background, motivations, and complete stat blocks formatted for quick reference mid-session. Che describes his leaner method of noting names, motives, and the few skills that matter, building out characters like Lady Arteris Penhaligon only when the story demands it. From Jumpin' Jack Fossier conjured on the spot to a watchman abandoning his post to change his shirt, they dig into how NPCs become memorable people rather than plot devices. Pat also explains his technique of mentally casting actors to give each character a distinct look, voice, and presence the players can latch onto.GOT A QUESTION?Ask us via voice message:speakpipe.com/gurpstalkAsk us via an email:[email protected] a GURPStalk t-shirt or sticker? --> T-Shirts by Roleplay Rescue | TeePublicOR https://www.teepublic.com/user/roleplay-rescuePAT'S BLOG:Processing GURPS – Enabling Longform, Immersive TTRPG play using GURPSORhttps://processinggurps.com/RPR PATREON: patreon.com/rpgrescueTHANKS:Jon from Tale of the Manticore for the music:https://taleofthemanticore.podbean.com/Logo by MJ Hiblen:https://www.patreon.com/MJHiblenART/DISCLAIMER & NOTICE:The material presented here is our original creation, intended for use with the GURPS system from Steve Jackson Games. This material is not official and is not endorsed by Steve Jackson Games.GURPS is a registered trademark of Steve Jackson Games, and any GURPS art here is copyrighted by Steve Jackson Games. All rights are reserved by SJ Games. This material is used here in accordance with the SJ Games online policy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What Does It Mean to Play In-Character, As-Character?Che and Pat unpack the distinction between actor stance—where decisions flow from character psychology, not player logic—and other stances like author, pawn, and director.Using the recent death of Valens in Che's Karameikos campaign as a case study, they explore how a dwarf scholar's curiosity and obsession with ancient dwarven history led him through a warning-marked door and towards his demise. Eighteen sessions without a death—then one that felt earned because it was true to who the character was. They also dig into player Matt's celebrated portrayal of Valens, Pat's interrogation scene playing as Lukas, and why emergent character action beats prescribed narrative every time.Thanks for listening and supporting the show.GOT A QUESTION?Ask us via voice message:speakpipe.com/gurpstalkAsk us via an email:[email protected] a GURPStalk t-shirt or sticker? --> T-Shirts by Roleplay Rescue | TeePublicOR https://www.teepublic.com/user/roleplay-rescuePAT'S BLOG:Processing GURPS – Enabling Longform, Immersive TTRPG play using GURPSORhttps://processinggurps.com/RPR PATREON: patreon.com/rpgrescueTHANKS:Jon from Tale of the Manticore for the music:https://taleofthemanticore.podbean.com/Logo by MJ Hiblen:https://www.patreon.com/MJHiblenART/DISCLAIMER & NOTICE:The material presented here is our original creation, intended for use with the GURPS system from Steve Jackson Games. This material is not official and is not endorsed by Steve Jackson Games.GURPS is a registered trademark of Steve Jackson Games, and any GURPS art here is copyrighted by Steve Jackson Games. All rights are reserved by SJ Games. This material is used here in accordance with the SJ Games online policy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Can theme and character arc belong to simulationists too? Che and Pat dive into the contested legacy of the Forge movement and argue that emergent story lives just fine without narrativist gatekeeping.They critique the GNS model's dominance, share war stories about players being told they're "doing it wrong," and explain why "author stance" leaves them both exhausted. Pat draws from his Dire Passages and Star Trek campaigns to show how setting themes and timelines can guide play without prescribing beats. Plus, they lay out the six priors shaping their long-form GURPS sessions and weigh in on why they play games instead of collecting them.This one's for anyone who's ever been told their table doesn't count.GOT A QUESTION?Ask us via voice message:speakpipe.com/gurpstalkAsk us via an email:[email protected] a GURPStalk t-shirt or sticker? --> T-Shirts by Roleplay Rescue | TeePublicOR https://www.teepublic.com/user/roleplay-rescuePAT'S BLOG:Processing GURPS – Enabling Longform, Immersive TTRPG play using GURPSORhttps://processinggurps.com/RPR PATREON: patreon.com/rpgrescueTHANKS:Jon from Tale of the Manticore for the music:https://taleofthemanticore.podbean.com/Logo by MJ Hiblen:https://www.patreon.com/MJHiblenART/DISCLAIMER & NOTICE:The material presented here is our original creation, intended for use with the GURPS system from Steve Jackson Games. This material is not official and is not endorsed by Steve Jackson Games.GURPS is a registered trademark of Steve Jackson Games, and any GURPS art here is copyrighted by Steve Jackson Games. All rights are reserved by SJ Games. This material is used here in accordance with the SJ Games online policy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What happens when you scale GURPS from tabletop combat to empire-level wargaming?Pat dives into his new Kriegspiel project — a structured, macro-level wargame tied to his ongoing Star Trek campaign. Players take on roles like Starfleet Task Force commanders, Klingon Regional Governors, and intelligence or diplomatic chiefs, with mechanics rooted in GURPS Realm Management and mass combat systems.Che and Pat explore the broader value of collaborative worldbuilding through player action, contrasting the Kriegspiel approach with games like Microscope. Thanks for listening to and supporting the show.GOT A QUESTION?Ask us via voice message:speakpipe.com/gurpstalkAsk us via an email:[email protected] a GURPStalk t-shirt or sticker? --> https://tee.pub/lic/kpgigrK23l4PAT'S BLOG:Processing GURPS – Enabling Longform, Immersive TTRPG play using GURPSORhttps://processinggurps.com/RPR PATREON: patreon.com/rpgrescueTHANKS:Jon from Tale of the Manticore for the music:https://taleofthemanticore.podbean.com/Logo by MJ Hiblen:https://www.patreon.com/MJHiblenART/DISCLAIMER & NOTICE:The material presented here is our original creation, intended for use with the GURPS system from Steve Jackson Games. This material is not official and is not endorsed by Steve Jackson Games.GURPS is a registered trademark of Steve Jackson Games, and any GURPS art here is copyrighted by Steve Jackson Games. All rights are reserved by SJ Games. This material is used here in accordance with the SJ Games online policy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How do you manage factions in GURPS without all the bookkeeping?Pat Mullen and Che Webster dive into CUFOS (Campaign Unified Faction Operating System)—a framework for managing organizations in GURPS campaigns. Pat breaks down how CUFOS pulls together tools from Boardroom and Curia, Realm Management, and Mass Combat into one unified system. They get into using LLMs to auto-generate organisation stats and NPC profiles, keeping things mechanically consistent while freeing the GM to focus on the emergent story. And Pat shows it all in action with his Star Trek campaign, where CUFOS juggles multiple factions and serves up real player hooks.Thanks for listening to and supporting the show.GOT A QUESTION?Ask us via voice message:speakpipe.com/gurpstalkAsk us via an email:[email protected]'S BLOG:Processing GURPS – Enabling Longform, Immersive TTRPG play using GURPSORhttps://processinggurps.com/RPR PATREON: patreon.com/rpgrescueTHANKS:Jon from Tale of the Manticore for the music:https://taleofthemanticore.podbean.com/Logo by MJ Hiblen:https://www.patreon.com/MJHiblenART/DISCLAIMER & NOTICE:The material presented here is our original creation, intended for use with the GURPS system from Steve Jackson Games. This material is not official and is not endorsed by Steve Jackson Games.GURPS is a registered trademark of Steve Jackson Games, and any GURPS art here is copyrighted by Steve Jackson Games. All rights are reserved by SJ Games. This material is used here in accordance with the SJ Games online policy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How do you make new custom powers for your GURPS games?Che and Pat discuss creating and evolving custom powers in GURPS, using examples from Pat’s campaigns. They review how to design abilities based on player concepts, such as “Visual Spatial Savant” for Steven’s Star Trek character and new psychic powers for his Dire Passages character, focusing on limitations, accessibility, and pricing. They also talk about the importance of immersive play, player agency, and how custom powers should enhance roleplaying rather than just add modifiers.Thanks to Steven for creating characters that inspire his GM.Thanks for listening to and supporting the show.GOT A QUESTION?Ask us via voice message:speakpipe.com/gurpstalkAsk us via an email:[email protected]'S BLOG:Processing GURPS – Enabling Longform, Immersive TTRPG play using GURPSORhttps://processinggurps.com/RPR PATREON: patreon.com/rpgrescueTHANKS:Jon from Tale of the Manticore for the music:https://taleofthemanticore.podbean.com/Logo by MJ Hiblen:https://www.patreon.com/MJHiblenART/DISCLAIMER & NOTICE:The material presented here is our original creation, intended for use with the GURPS system from Steve Jackson Games. This material is not official and is not endorsed by Steve Jackson Games.GURPS is a registered trademark of Steve Jackson Games, and any GURPS art here is copyrighted by Steve Jackson Games. All rights are reserved by SJ Games. This material is used here in accordance with the SJ Games online policy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What specific details do you add to your prep notes?Pat and Che discuss their GURPS preparation workflow and campaign management techniques. Pat shares his detailed preparation process for his Dire Passages campaign, which involves maintaining a comprehensive and ever-growing document tracking past events, current status, and future timeline elements. He demonstrates how he uses this system to prepare for sessions by documenting narrative outcomes, tracking NPCs and their activities, and planning future events with specific dates and mechanics.Thanks for listening to and supporting the show.GOT A QUESTION?Ask us via voice message:speakpipe.com/gurpstalkAsk us via an email:[email protected]'S BLOG:Processing GURPS – Enabling Longform, Immersive TTRPG play using GURPSORhttps://processinggurps.com/RPR PATREON: patreon.com/rpgrescueTHANKS:Jon from Tale of the Manticore for the music:https://taleofthemanticore.podbean.com/Logo by MJ Hiblen:https://www.patreon.com/MJHiblenART/DISCLAIMER & NOTICE:The material presented here is our original creation, intended for use with the GURPS system from Steve Jackson Games. This material is not official and is not endorsed by Steve Jackson Games.GURPS is a registered trademark of Steve Jackson Games, and any GURPS art here is copyrighted by Steve Jackson Games. All rights are reserved by SJ Games. This material is used here in accordance with the SJ Games online policy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What do you do with a split group when combat breaks out?Pat and Che discuss combat mechanics and pacing in role-playing games. Pat explains his approach to handling combat in his Star Trek campaign "Imminent Destinies," where he uses action time (one minute) rather than the traditional one-second combat system to allow multiple concurrent actions by different player characters. He details how he implements burst combat (3-second periods) and transitions between normal time, action time, and combat time to maintain momentum while enabling split-party scenarios.Thanks to Alex M for the call-in that inspired the episode.GOT A QUESTION?Ask us via voice message:speakpipe.com/gurpstalkAsk us via an email:[email protected]'S BLOG:Processing GURPS – Enabling Longform, Immersive TTRPG play using GURPSORhttps://processinggurps.com/RPR PATREON: patreon.com/rpgrescueTHANKS:Jon from Tale of the Manticore for the music:https://taleofthemanticore.podbean.com/Logo by MJ Hiblen:https://www.patreon.com/MJHiblenART/DISCLAIMER & NOTICE:The material presented here is our original creation, intended for use with the GURPS system from Steve Jackson Games. This material is not official and is not endorsed by Steve Jackson Games.GURPS is a registered trademark of Steve Jackson Games, and any GURPS art here is copyrighted by Steve Jackson Games. All rights are reserved by SJ Games. This material is used here in accordance with the SJ Games online policy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How do you GURPS up a setting like Star Trek?This episode of GURPStalk focuses on Pat and Che's ongoing project to create a Star Trek-inspired GURPS campaign set in 2225 in the Beta Quadrant near the He'shra (Orion Syndicate territory). Pat explains their approach to worldbuilding, including the development of cultural typologies for different species like Klingons, and details their system for handling cross-cultural interactions through cultural familiarity, status, and rank mechanics. GOT A QUESTION?Ask us via voice message:speakpipe.com/gurpstalkAsk us via an email:[email protected]'S BLOG:Processing GURPS – Enabling Longform, Immersive TTRPG play using GURPSORhttps://processinggurps.com/RPR PATREON: patreon.com/rpgrescueTHANKS:Jon from Tale of the Manticore for the music:https://taleofthemanticore.podbean.com/Logo by MJ Hiblen:https://www.patreon.com/MJHiblenART/DISCLAIMER & NOTICE:The material presented here is our original creation, intended for use with the GURPS system from Steve Jackson Games. This material is not official and is not endorsed by Steve Jackson Games.GURPS is a registered trademark of Steve Jackson Games, and any GURPS art here is copyrighted by Steve Jackson Games. All rights are reserved by SJ Games. This material is used here in accordance with the SJ Games online policy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.