What is it?:
GURPS stands for Generic Universal Role
Playing System. Which about sums it up... Okay, it's an older RPG
that has a system designed to be used and adapted to any kind of game
your group could ever imagine. And now you know where some of my
terrible jokes come from...
The setting:
As this is a Universal System, GURPS
doesn't quite have a single setting. At least, it didn't until 4th
edition. In the 4th edition core books, there's now a
dimension hopping group and... Yeah. I didn't read too much about it.
Steve Jackson Games did get the license
to produce several “powered by GURPS” games including Discworld
and Star Fleet Battles: Prime Directive. They've also released tons
and tons of supplements for anything and everything you can imagine.
Including Burrows and Bunnies. There's books for Space, Super Powers,
Fantasy, High Tech, Ultra Tech, Martial Arts, Horror, and even
Cyberpunk (which brought Steve Jackson Games to the attention of the
FBI, look it up). If you can imagine it, there's a source book for
it. There's even series of source books for WW2. So, that means you
can mix and match these various books to make your own setting, as
they're mostly balanced across the whole system. You could, for
example, throw something together with Ultra Tech, Horror, and a
World War Two book and make an alternate reality where Nazi Germany
survived into the future and unleashed some horrors beyond the stars.
And I just came up with that off the top of my head.
If you're interested, there's a
Deadlands conversion to GURPS. There's also versions of Vampire: The
Masquerade, Traveler, and a whole host of other games. If you want
them, I'm sure you can find them.
There are several unique settings for
GURPS, including an original fantasy setting in the 3rd
edition core book.
The system:
The game is entirely d6 based, using no
other die types. If you need to roll dice, it's always a number of
d6s.
The game has four stats: Dexterity
(DX), Strength (ST), Intelligence (IQ), and Health (HT). Every human
starts with 10 in every stat, but you can pay points to increase the
stats. This is important because all of you skills are based around
what the related stat is. The higher your stat, the higher the skill
at the starting level.
Character creation is point-buy, so no
levels. When you make your characters, you can purchase Advantages,
stat boosts, and Skills. To get more points, you can take
Disadvantages, usually no more than 40 points can be taken. Most
people are roughly 25 points, but most player characters are 100.
All stat and skill rolls are 3d6 and
roll low, as this was before the D20 system. However, damage and
other rolls are when you want to roll high. Another anomaly is that
GURPS doesn't use square maps, instead using hexagons, which makes
creating and drawing maps a bit of a pain in the ass. Not to mention
trying to find paper with hexagons on it. While it does make sense
and look cool, it doesn't work that well for buildings as they
usually have straight edges.
When it comes to combat, the full
system GURPS is complex and clunky. Before the D20 revolution, it was
faster than old 2nd edition D&D, which was the only
other major competition for many years. There is (at least in the 3rd
edition of GURPS) a much simpler combat system that is easy to
master, but might not be enough for people who like their grit.
Combat uses Parry, Dodge, and Passive Defense, as well as a host of
different modifiers depending on the weapon... Yeah. It gets
complicated really fast. But, from what I remember it is easy once
you get it down. Getting it down is the trick, however.
Is it worth it?:
This is another “Maybe.”
I have respect for GURPS for what it
tries to do, create a system that can handle any setting, no matter
how bizarre and weird. I mean, Burrows and Bunnies, anyone? And that
is where GURPS has its major selling point, the wealth of source
books. You can find one for anything you like, and since they all use
the same system, you can combine them to make the most unusual of
games. You could throw together stone age magicians and advanced
biotechnological aliens in one setting. Or cowboys and dinosaurs. Or
aliens invading during World War Two. You can use GURPS to adapt any
book, movie, or comic and make a game out of it. But, there is a
rather steep learning curve to the game. But, you don't have to take
my word for it. If you head over the Steve Jackson Games sales
website (good old Warehouse 23), you can download a free sample of
the rules, so you can try before you buy.
If you want something with versatility,
at the cost of complexity, GURPS is probably the best thing you can
find. It may be old, it may be weird, and it might not be the best,
but it does try to please everyone all at once and does a decent job
of it.
For 4th edition, they split
the rules into a player's book (Characters) and a GM's guide
(Campaigns) which is kind of nice, as the players only need to focus
on what they need to know. The older editions has everything all in
one book, which has been almost an industry standard for many years.
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