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A set of templates to ease the creation of various fighter-types, from barbarians to gunslingers, Warriors would be a much more interesting product if it was useful as more than just a collection of NPCs.

GURPS Warriors presents 29 fighter templates, in an attempt to let you "quickly create the warrior that's right for you." Each of these is backed up by three NPCs made from that particular template, each from differing tech levels and campaigns. So far, so good. The idea, in fact, is a great one, especially because the NPCs are quite well written, and demonstrate the variety that can be achieved using a Warrior template. Just as an example, the Gladiator template features two traditional gladiators that one might expect to see in a Roman arena, but then departs from the obvious, and provides a boxer and a pro wrestler as well. The templates are many and varied, and the NPCs provided moreso.

The main boon of this book is that the templates can be used to quickly make an NPC with a particular set of skills. That said, they are not entirely useful. As a GM with a somewhat developed sense of logic, I don't see a need to be told that a cavalryman needs to know the Riding skill, and would probably find Animal Handling useful. Far more useful than the game data for the templates are the descriptions of possible changes to the template at varying levels of technological advancement.

Finally, it is somewhat disappointing that the book is nothing more than a collection of templates and NPCs. I realize that time and content constraints exist, but it would be nice to see some new advantages and disadvantages specifically designed for warrior-types, perhaps some new optional combat rules, a more detailed weapon list than one can find in the Basic Rules, etc.

Is GURPS Warriors a useful product? I would have to say yes. Is it worth the extremely inflated price that GURPS products tend to reach when moving onto Canadian soil? Alas, no.

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

GURPS Warriors
Author: John Goff Category: game Company/Publisher: Steve Jackson Games Line: GURPS Cost: $26 (Cdn) Page count: 128 ISBN: 9781556343933 Playtest Review by Marcin Wrona on 06/30/00. Genre tags: Generic	A set of templates to ease the creation of various fighter-types, from barbarians to gunslingers, Warriors would be a much more interesting product if it was useful as more than just a collection of NPCs. GURPS Warriors presents 29 fighter templates, in an attempt to let you "quickly create the warrior that's right for you." Each of these is backed up by three NPCs made from that particular template, each from differing tech levels and campaigns. So far, so good. The idea, in fact, is a great one, especially because the NPCs are quite well written, and demonstrate the variety that can be achieved using a Warrior template. Just as an example, the Gladiator template features two traditional gladiators that one might expect to see in a Roman arena, but then departs from the obvious, and provides a boxer and a pro wrestler as well. The templates are many and varied, and the NPCs provided moreso. The main boon of this book is that the templates can be used to quickly make an NPC with a particular set of skills. That said, they are not entirely useful. As a GM with a somewhat developed sense of logic, I don't see a need to be told that a cavalryman needs to know the Riding skill, and would probably find Animal Handling useful. Far more useful than the game data for the templates are the descriptions of possible changes to the template at varying levels of technological advancement. Finally, it is somewhat disappointing that the book is nothing more than a collection of templates and NPCs. I realize that time and content constraints exist, but it would be nice to see some new advantages and disadvantages specifically designed for warrior-types, perhaps some new optional combat rules, a more detailed weapon list than one can find in the Basic Rules, etc. Is GURPS Warriors a useful product? I would have to say yes. Is it worth the extremely inflated price that GURPS products tend to reach when moving onto Canadian soil? Alas, no. Style: 5 (Excellent!) Substance: 3 (Average)