GURPS DF Character - by build, by equipment, or by personality?

I posted this reply to a comment on my weapon skills post:

I think the issue is that a lot of players seem to define their characters by what they wield, not by their personality. They don't say, "I'm going to make a curious and friendly knight" or "a swashbuckler who is always making ridiculous boasts and then tries to back them up," they say, "I'm making an axe-and-shield knight" or "I'm making a longsword swashbuckler with heavy armor." The curious and friendly knight could wield anything, and the boastful swashbuckler any sword, but the others are locked to their choices. Opening up the skill options probably seems like it's threatening character design more than expanding your options.

I think this is a thing that's crept along the longer I've played the game. More and more, the default character description I get is not of a personality, but an equipment set. DF lends itself to this, of course. Characters are more disposable, especially given the graveyard listing length for the campaign I run.

As I say above, I think this is one reason for "many skills" winning out over "very small list of broad skills" in our campaign skills change. If you define yourself by your weapon set, then flexibility in the weapon set isn't a useful thing. It's actually threatening your concept, in a way. And generally I hear about a new character by their stuff first, a build next ("he's an elf and will take the Wizard lens" or "she's gunning for Mountain of Meat and 50 HP"), and personality last.

I'm not saying this is bad, or reversed, although I generally go personality first, build second, equipment last . . . but not always. I may have an image of a full-armored knight with a flail and then build out from there. My conjecture, though, is that the rules set of GURPS DF, with the skill mix from Basic Set, helps encourage a focus on the gear and the build ahead of the personality.



All that said, it's the personality, not the weapons and build, that make all of the memorable delvers in DF Felltower memorable. Vryce, the practical mercenenary, who wouldn't kill fallen foes or run into battle. Ulf the increasingly paranoiad and cautious cleric. Dumb, dumb, dumb Aldwyn. Bruce, who'd sooner tear you apart bare-handed than use a weapon, and who was totally blase about battle. Hasdrubel, the ruthless and quick-tongued wizard. Dryst with his big helmet and his servants - some summoned, some PCs. It wasn't the loadout for any of them. So it's not like "I'm going to run a heavy armor knight with a two-handed sword" is limiting. But I do think the skill layout drives some designs, and thus changing the skill layout to a smaller set can see like too many choices - a blank canvas instead of a menu of choices.

Just a thought.