The Inside Scoop on Gaming

This is the second of the two compendiums, and it's every bit as useful as the first.

The first section is all about equipment. They list historical weapons and armor. They have rules for repair and maintainance of just about anything. They reprint the rules for computers, which I like, and they have rules for constructing weapons and armor out of materials other than steel. They deal with alien and pulp tech, and they deal with details like starting wealth and improvements at higher tech levels. All of this, collected into one book, is enough to justify buying the book. It's not all there is, and for that I am grateful.

The second section is the combat section, and they go to town about all sorts of variant way to beat someone into a bloody pulp. Highlights include the cinematic combat options from Martial Arts and Special Ops, the Chambara fighting rules from Japan/Supers I, rules for Bullet Shyness, Jousting, Naval Combat, Competition Fighting and Duelling. (The last one is my favorite.) If there is a way to maim or kill someone, it's here. All genres are addressed, so you can remake _Enter the Dragon_ one week and then run a medieval tourney the next. This amount of utility is astounding, especially since its not usually seen in an RPG suppliment.

The third section is the campaigning section. It's the shortest of the three, but it's no less useful. It addresses cinematic and high-powered gaming in GURPS, something that isn't addressed often in the gaming public. (I'm sure that the dedicated GURPS forums have- otherwise it wouldn't be in the book- but they don't count as public.) Most of this deals with shaping the system to fit the style. The rest are divorced (more or less) from the mechanics, and they serve players of any RPG well. These include a discussion on alternate planes of existance and another on models of society. The last page is an appendix of common rules, such as the Rule of 12, and the metric conversions. After that is an index, and it's the usual quality index that SJ Games publishes.

If you play GURPS, you will want this book. If you don't, you'll find enough useful information to make it worth your while. Therefore, I recommend this book to every gamer. Get your copy ASAP.

Style: 4 (Classy and well done)
Substance: 4 (Meaty)

GURPS Compendium II
Author: Sean Punch (Editor) Category: game Company/Publisher: Steve Jackson Games Cost: $22 (US) Page count: 192 pages ISBN: 1-55634-327-2 Capsule Review by Bradford C. Walker on 02/08/98. Genre tags: none	This is the second of the two compendiums, and it's every bit as useful as the first. The first section is all about equipment. They list historical weapons and armor. They have rules for repair and maintainance of just about anything. They reprint the rules for computers, which I like, and they have rules for constructing weapons and armor out of materials other than steel. They deal with alien and pulp tech, and they deal with details like starting wealth and improvements at higher tech levels. All of this, collected into one book, is enough to justify buying the book. It's not all there is, and for that I am grateful. The second section is the combat section, and they go to town about all sorts of variant way to beat someone into a bloody pulp. Highlights include the cinematic combat options from Martial Arts and Special Ops, the Chambara fighting rules from Japan/Supers I, rules for Bullet Shyness, Jousting, Naval Combat, Competition Fighting and Duelling. (The last one is my favorite.) If there is a way to maim or kill someone, it's here. All genres are addressed, so you can remake _Enter the Dragon_ one week and then run a medieval tourney the next. This amount of utility is astounding, especially since its not usually seen in an RPG suppliment. The third section is the campaigning section. It's the shortest of the three, but it's no less useful. It addresses cinematic and high-powered gaming in GURPS, something that isn't addressed often in the gaming public. (I'm sure that the dedicated GURPS forums have- otherwise it wouldn't be in the book- but they don't count as public.) Most of this deals with shaping the system to fit the style. The rest are divorced (more or less) from the mechanics, and they serve players of any RPG well. These include a discussion on alternate planes of existance and another on models of society. The last page is an appendix of common rules, such as the Rule of 12, and the metric conversions. After that is an index, and it's the usual quality index that SJ Games publishes. If you play GURPS, you will want this book. If you don't, you'll find enough useful information to make it worth your while. Therefore, I recommend this book to every gamer. Get your copy ASAP. Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 4 (Meaty)

GURPS Compendium II