The Inside Scoop on Gaming

This is a last of review of my GURPS trilogy. So I will review the compendium 2 and then, tell you my final thoughts about the system overall.

First and foremost, if you have any question as to what is and what is not a compendium, see my review of the compendium 1.

The compendium 2 is a useful companion of any GURPS gm. On the , cover is written: "A digest of advanced rules for combat and injury, hazards and threats, campaign design and equipment. A rules expansion for the basic set, third edition." And, that's really what this book is all about !

The overall appearance of this product is "gurpish". Meaning it is uninspired, but very clearly written. At this point, I have to give two thumbs up to Sean Punch for his work on the compendiums. With all this amount of rules clarifications and expansion, it must have been really difficult to put all this together into a coherent effort. But he did it rather nicely. Let's examine each chapter of the book.

Equipment : This is a melting pot of all sort of things, from alien technology to rules for making your own gadget on the spot, from computer security to an arsenal of new weapons of all tetchnological levels. Covers a lot of things. This chapter is "ok"

Combat : You will either love or hate this chapter. It has tons of useful tables, but also a lot of optional rules for combat. If you are to put all those rules into application, you will soon end up with more realistic outcomes to your combats, but the drawback of all this is the time it will take to resolve EACH blow. Believe me, it slows the game DRAMATICALLY. As a gm, you will probably find this chapter interesting. But be careful, and bring those options one at a time in your game sessions. Keep those you find interesting and forget about the rest ! Needs fixing (So does GURPS overall!)

Other combat systems : These are rules for unusual form of combats, like jousts, showdowns (à la Clint Eastwood), duelling and other forms of competition. 12 pages of useful tips. It can ad some color to your campaign.

Abstract vehicular combat : covers naval combat, space combat, and space opera combat, the latter being a more cinematic and colorful version of space combat. A very good chapter for those of you who hate maps and tokens. These system don't get in the way of role-play, something I dearly appreciate. Avoid this chapter if you like detailed systems.

Mass combat : Over the years, in various GURPS settings like "Japan" and "Conan", many mass combat system for GURPS have been designed. Most of them sharing the same philosophy and sporting a similar game mechanic, but still not compatible with one another. This mass combat system is meant to fill the gaps. Once again, it is an abstract system resolved in a few dice rolls. It is meant to cover ANY tech level. You could plan an assault of medieval knights on warhorses VS the 1991 US army with this system. Cool stuff, but needs some fine-tuning by the GM.

Hazards and environments : A very useful chapter, even if you're not into GURPS ! The REAL deal on what happens to your players (and NPC) when they face all kinds of situation. How do you react to cold ? Heat ? Acceleration ? Altitude ? Gravity ? Poisons ? Radiation ? Etc, etc... Very good stuff.

Injury, illness, fatigue and recovery : Nothing really out of the ordinary. Can be useful. Don't expect to learn much.

Campaigning : This is some boring stuff Steve Jackson Games are throwing at us to fill the book at 192 pages. A lecture on power gaming and cinematic playing. Every veteran GM has an opinion on what style of campaigns he prefers. Reading this chapter will not change your way of planning and gming your GURPS game. Total "loss of time" chapter.

Overall, this book is more useful then the compendium 1. A gm needs to get informations quickly during play. If you are a GURPS-head, buy this book. You will need it and love it. If you're not into GURPS that much, there are still a couple of chapters in this book you might found useful, especially if you are trying to infuse some realism in your games.

My final thought on GURPS, the system : This is a complete, very professional game aiming more toward the realistic side of things. Sure you could play a vampire using GURPS, but you're better off with the storyteller system. The magic system is boring (yeah, even if you buy "GURPS MAGIC") so your fantasy games will need a lot of extra work. Your space opera games will lack a lot of components, so you're better off with Star Wars or some other fine games. The sole advantage of GURPS is you can do any game, in any place, in any time. From fantasy to ultra-realistic, from supers to robots, all with one set of rules.

On the 150 books supporting GURPS, at least 5-10 will be mandatory if you are serious about covering every time frame and style. "SUPERS", "PSIONIC", "MAGIC", "VEHICLES", "HIGH-TECH", "ULTRA-TECH 1" and "ULTRA-TECH 2" spring to mind. And there are some very good support products. Some of them are classics and unequalled. Their "MARTIAL ARTS" book for instance is very realistic and playable. All their realistic settings, like "EGYPT", "CELTIC MYTHS" AND "GREECE" are very well done and accurate. Most of those books can easily be adapted to another generic RPG. I suggest you take a look at other, more flexible universal system like the very good "CORPS" (I will review this game later, but you can already read Anthony Salter's review at RPGnet) I know that generic system are rather scarce (In fact, e-mail me if you know about any good generic game out there, please.)but this game needs a serious face-lift. The binding of the books is cheap, the art work is at most, ordinary. But if you are ready to play the game as it is, and don't like to fix things yourself, if you like to have rules that cover every situations without having to make one up, pick that game.

It should also be noted to be fair that Steve Jacksons games web site is absolutely killer. They are truly ahead of their time. Except when it comes to game mechanics ! :)

Be warned : 150 books x (about $20 each) = about 3000$ !!!!

Style: 2 (Needs Work)
Substance: 5 (Excellent!)

GURPS compendium 2
Author: (Compiled by) Sean Punch Category: game Company/Publisher: Steve Jackson Games Page count: 192 ISBN: http://www.sjgames.com/gurps/ Playtest Review by Warrior on 10/19/98. Genre tags: Generic	This is a last of review of my GURPS trilogy. So I will review the compendium 2 and then, tell you my final thoughts about the system overall. First and foremost, if you have any question as to what is and what is not a compendium, see my review of the compendium 1. The compendium 2 is a useful companion of any GURPS gm. On the , cover is written: "A digest of advanced rules for combat and injury, hazards and threats, campaign design and equipment. A rules expansion for the basic set, third edition." And, that's really what this book is all about ! The overall appearance of this product is "gurpish". Meaning it is uninspired, but very clearly written. At this point, I have to give two thumbs up to Sean Punch for his work on the compendiums. With all this amount of rules clarifications and expansion, it must have been really difficult to put all this together into a coherent effort. But he did it rather nicely. Let's examine each chapter of the book. Equipment : This is a melting pot of all sort of things, from alien technology to rules for making your own gadget on the spot, from computer security to an arsenal of new weapons of all tetchnological levels. Covers a lot of things. This chapter is "ok" Combat : You will either love or hate this chapter. It has tons of useful tables, but also a lot of optional rules for combat. If you are to put all those rules into application, you will soon end up with more realistic outcomes to your combats, but the drawback of all this is the time it will take to resolve EACH blow. Believe me, it slows the game DRAMATICALLY. As a gm, you will probably find this chapter interesting. But be careful, and bring those options one at a time in your game sessions. Keep those you find interesting and forget about the rest ! Needs fixing (So does GURPS overall!) Other combat systems : These are rules for unusual form of combats, like jousts, showdowns (à la Clint Eastwood), duelling and other forms of competition. 12 pages of useful tips. It can ad some color to your campaign. Abstract vehicular combat : covers naval combat, space combat, and space opera combat, the latter being a more cinematic and colorful version of space combat. A very good chapter for those of you who hate maps and tokens. These system don't get in the way of role-play, something I dearly appreciate. Avoid this chapter if you like detailed systems. Mass combat : Over the years, in various GURPS settings like "Japan" and "Conan", many mass combat system for GURPS have been designed. Most of them sharing the same philosophy and sporting a similar game mechanic, but still not compatible with one another. This mass combat system is meant to fill the gaps. Once again, it is an abstract system resolved in a few dice rolls. It is meant to cover ANY tech level. You could plan an assault of medieval knights on warhorses VS the 1991 US army with this system. Cool stuff, but needs some fine-tuning by the GM. Hazards and environments : A very useful chapter, even if you're not into GURPS ! The REAL deal on what happens to your players (and NPC) when they face all kinds of situation. How do you react to cold ? Heat ? Acceleration ? Altitude ? Gravity ? Poisons ? Radiation ? Etc, etc... Very good stuff. Injury, illness, fatigue and recovery : Nothing really out of the ordinary. Can be useful. Don't expect to learn much. Campaigning : This is some boring stuff Steve Jackson Games are throwing at us to fill the book at 192 pages. A lecture on power gaming and cinematic playing. Every veteran GM has an opinion on what style of campaigns he prefers. Reading this chapter will not change your way of planning and gming your GURPS game. Total "loss of time" chapter. Overall, this book is more useful then the compendium 1. A gm needs to get informations quickly during play. If you are a GURPS-head, buy this book. You will need it and love it. If you're not into GURPS that much, there are still a couple of chapters in this book you might found useful, especially if you are trying to infuse some realism in your games. My final thought on GURPS, the system : This is a complete, very professional game aiming more toward the realistic side of things. Sure you could play a vampire using GURPS, but you're better off with the storyteller system. The magic system is boring (yeah, even if you buy "GURPS MAGIC") so your fantasy games will need a lot of extra work. Your space opera games will lack a lot of components, so you're better off with Star Wars or some other fine games. The sole advantage of GURPS is you can do any game, in any place, in any time. From fantasy to ultra-realistic, from supers to robots, all with one set of rules. On the 150 books supporting GURPS, at least 5-10 will be mandatory if you are serious about covering every time frame and style. "SUPERS", "PSIONIC", "MAGIC", "VEHICLES", "HIGH-TECH", "ULTRA-TECH 1" and "ULTRA-TECH 2" spring to mind. And there are some very good support products. Some of them are classics and unequalled. Their "MARTIAL ARTS" book for instance is very realistic and playable. All their realistic settings, like "EGYPT", "CELTIC MYTHS" AND "GREECE" are very well done and accurate. Most of those books can easily be adapted to another generic RPG. I suggest you take a look at other, more flexible universal system like the very good "CORPS" (I will review this game later, but you can already read Anthony Salter's review at RPGnet) I know that generic system are rather scarce (In fact, e-mail me if you know about any good generic game out there, please.)but this game needs a serious face-lift. The binding of the books is cheap, the art work is at most, ordinary. But if you are ready to play the game as it is, and don't like to fix things yourself, if you like to have rules that cover every situations without having to make one up, pick that game. It should also be noted to be fair that Steve Jacksons games web site is absolutely killer. They are truly ahead of their time. Except when it comes to game mechanics ! :) Be warned : 150 books x (about $20 each) = about 3000$ !!!! Style: 2 (Needs Work) Substance: 5 (Excellent!)

GURPS compendium 2