The Inside Scoop on Gaming

Although large and, for a new player, maybe a little bit unwieldy, the GURPS system as a whole allows an experienced gamemaster the ability to draw information from a vast number of sources and create a wonderfully diverse gaming environment.

Like all games, GURPS depends heavily on the skill of the GM to create an entertaining setting, and deciding what to use, and what to set aside can make or break a campaign. If you want to run a simple fantasy game, you can do so, with all the old standby's of magic, psionics, swords shields and critters. If you would like a little more depth and variety in your fantasy campaign, any one, or all, of those aspects can be enhanced with another book.

Likewise, if you wish to run modern day games, you can do so within the same basic rules structure. The characters would likely have a different feel to them, but then again, how many guys on the streets nowadays could pass for a knight of the roundtable. Any game which tries to do this much is going to fall short in some areas, but overall it is the system I like the best, and the one I tend to choose when running a game.

Style: 3 (Average)
Substance: 5 (Excellent!)

GURPS System
Author: Steve Jackson Category: game Company/Publisher: Steve Jackson Games Capsule Review by William Harris on 11/20/98. Genre tags: Fantasy Science_fiction Modern_day Historical Horror Far_Future Space Comedy Anime Espionage Conspiracy Post-apocalypse Old_West Vampire Asian/Far_East Generic	Although large and, for a new player, maybe a little bit unwieldy, the GURPS system as a whole allows an experienced gamemaster the ability to draw information from a vast number of sources and create a wonderfully diverse gaming environment. Like all games, GURPS depends heavily on the skill of the GM to create an entertaining setting, and deciding what to use, and what to set aside can make or break a campaign. If you want to run a simple fantasy game, you can do so, with all the old standby's of magic, psionics, swords shields and critters. If you would like a little more depth and variety in your fantasy campaign, any one, or all, of those aspects can be enhanced with another book. Likewise, if you wish to run modern day games, you can do so within the same basic rules structure. The characters would likely have a different feel to them, but then again, how many guys on the streets nowadays could pass for a knight of the roundtable. Any game which tries to do this much is going to fall short in some areas, but overall it is the system I like the best, and the one I tend to choose when running a game. Style: 3 (Average) Substance: 5 (Excellent!)

GURPS System