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Before recommending whether or not you should buy GURPS Religion, I want to make it clear what GURPS Religion is not. Many roleplaying gamers, especially those who play fantasy, are familiar with the standard archetypes of the game; warriors, thieves, etc. Among these are wizards and clerics. GURPS Magic gives all the standard GURPS rules for magic, and everything you need to create cool wizards with a wide range of powers. From this, you might conclude that, hey, GURPS Religion must be the "cleric-maker" book, as GURPS Magic is the "wizard-maker" book. While there is a section of GURPS Religion that addresses this, this is in fact not the primary focus of the book.

GURPS Religion is a fairly comprehensive treatment of using religion in a roleplaying game. The presentation of the material favors the worldbuilder or GM who wants to create new religions and deities for his world, but there is reference to real world religions, and the book will still be of (lesser) use for GMs who wish to use religions from history or fiction in their games. It provides a lot of food for thought that should help worldbuilders create religions that hang together and make sense, and that have depth that will help bring flavor and a sense of reality to their game worlds. It discusses creation myths, deities, the development of religions over time, as well as the trappings of religion such as holy days, traditions, rituals, and symbols. Very little in these sections is spelled out as "rules." Rather, it is presented in a narrative style, helping the worldbuilder see what he should be thinking about and what questions he should be asking when creating a religion for his world. There are several very different sample religions in the book, one of which (The Gods of Bethany) could be used as a capsule background for an entire game world. The sample religions help bring into focus the huge weight of advice the reader has just read through.

In addition to this, yes, there are some rules for dealing with clerics (both with and without magical powers) and the intervention of deities. This includes a rather good section on divine magic, with instructions for using the magic from GURPS Magic for clerics, as well as a few new spells that are especially appropriate for priests.

The art in the book is black and white, and about par for an "earlier" GURPS book. A few pieces are quite good, some of it is rather dire, most of it is simply fair. The layout of the book will be familiar to readers of other GURPS books, most of it having the "main text and sidebar structure." Either you like it, or you don't. (I do, though occasionally I find it maddeningly nonlinear.) I found that the text of the book to be rather wordy and dry. To some extent this may have been unavoidable, since the book was presenting a set of tools and suggestions, not a series of rules, stories, or setting details. However, there are enough gaming products out there I want to read, and my leisure time is limited enough, that I consider "being a good read" an valuable quality for most non-reference gaming materials.

In summary, if you are a GM or player who is mostly interested in having cleric characters who can invoke magic in the name of their faith and their deity, you are better off with just GURPS Magic and GURPS Compendium I (which has short sections on the advantages Clerical Magic and Power Investiture, as well as those such as True Faith). Use common sense common sense to adapt the powers to cleric-style mages. These GMs and players will not find that the bulk of GURPS Religion is worth it for them. On the other hand, if you are a GM who wants to deal with religion in some depth, then you will find GURPS Religion has useful tools for you. Especially if you are creating religions for your world, and you want your religions to seem three-dimensional and real, then the advice in this book will be invaluable.

Style: 3 (Average)
Substance: 4 (Meaty)

GURPS Religion
Author: Naylor, Janet and Julian, Caroline Category: game Company/Publisher: Steve Jackson Games Line: GURPS Cost: $21.95 Page count: 176 ISBN: 1-55634-202-0 Capsule Review by R. Knop on 05/22/99. Genre tags: Generic	Before recommending whether or not you should buy GURPS Religion, I want to make it clear what GURPS Religion is not. Many roleplaying gamers, especially those who play fantasy, are familiar with the standard archetypes of the game; warriors, thieves, etc. Among these are wizards and clerics. GURPS Magic gives all the standard GURPS rules for magic, and everything you need to create cool wizards with a wide range of powers. From this, you might conclude that, hey, GURPS Religion must be the "cleric-maker" book, as GURPS Magic is the "wizard-maker" book. While there is a section of GURPS Religion that addresses this, this is in fact not the primary focus of the book. GURPS Religion is a fairly comprehensive treatment of using religion in a roleplaying game. The presentation of the material favors the worldbuilder or GM who wants to create new religions and deities for his world, but there is reference to real world religions, and the book will still be of (lesser) use for GMs who wish to use religions from history or fiction in their games. It provides a lot of food for thought that should help worldbuilders create religions that hang together and make sense, and that have depth that will help bring flavor and a sense of reality to their game worlds. It discusses creation myths, deities, the development of religions over time, as well as the trappings of religion such as holy days, traditions, rituals, and symbols. Very little in these sections is spelled out as "rules." Rather, it is presented in a narrative style, helping the worldbuilder see what he should be thinking about and what questions he should be asking when creating a religion for his world. There are several very different sample religions in the book, one of which (The Gods of Bethany) could be used as a capsule background for an entire game world. The sample religions help bring into focus the huge weight of advice the reader has just read through. In addition to this, yes, there are some rules for dealing with clerics (both with and without magical powers) and the intervention of deities. This includes a rather good section on divine magic, with instructions for using the magic from GURPS Magic for clerics, as well as a few new spells that are especially appropriate for priests. The art in the book is black and white, and about par for an "earlier" GURPS book. A few pieces are quite good, some of it is rather dire, most of it is simply fair. The layout of the book will be familiar to readers of other GURPS books, most of it having the "main text and sidebar structure." Either you like it, or you don't. (I do, though occasionally I find it maddeningly nonlinear.) I found that the text of the book to be rather wordy and dry. To some extent this may have been unavoidable, since the book was presenting a set of tools and suggestions, not a series of rules, stories, or setting details. However, there are enough gaming products out there I want to read, and my leisure time is limited enough, that I consider "being a good read" an valuable quality for most non-reference gaming materials. In summary, if you are a GM or player who is mostly interested in having cleric characters who can invoke magic in the name of their faith and their deity, you are better off with just GURPS Magic and GURPS Compendium I (which has short sections on the advantages Clerical Magic and Power Investiture, as well as those such as True Faith). Use common sense common sense to adapt the powers to cleric-style mages. These GMs and players will not find that the bulk of GURPS Religion is worth it for them. On the other hand, if you are a GM who wants to deal with religion in some depth, then you will find GURPS Religion has useful tools for you. Especially if you are creating religions for your world, and you want your religions to seem three-dimensional and real, then the advice in this book will be invaluable. Style: 3 (Average) Substance: 4 (Meaty)