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GURPS resembles a wagon wheel. The Basic Set is the hub, while the Compendiums are the fittings that fix the hub to the wheel. GURPS Magic- as with Psionics, Martial Arts and Vehicles- is one of the spokes that connect the Basic Set to the rest of the GURPS product line. It is from this book that all other magic-related material derives from- even the wholy alternate system from Voodoo.

Most of the book consists of the vanilla GURPS magic system and a couple hundred spells to use with it. The text is a tad dry, but it is clear and concise. Enough examples abound to answer most proceedural questions, and the rest are easy enough to derive from those given. The remaining sections describe alternate systems that compliment the vanilla rules in the front of the book, but none of them are much more than slap-ons. (This is good; it forces the GM to devise house rules to fine-tune the system to his liking.)

The artwork in my copy is all Smith on the inside; he's not Tim Bradstreet, but he's a fair bit better than John Cobb or some other such wanker. His artwork does the job, fits the piece and gets the point across. That's all a technical book like this needs, and that's what I got.

If you're a world designer or a hardcore GM, go ahead and get this book. (It's a good piece of work, but the audience is limited.) Otherwise, go borrow someone else's copy when you need it.

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

GURPS Magic
Author: Steve Jackson Category: game Company/Publisher: Steve Jackson Games Cost: $17.95 (US) Page count: 128 pages ISBN: 1-55634-286-1 Capsule Review by Bradford C. Walker on 09/15/98. Genre tags: none	GURPS resembles a wagon wheel. The Basic Set is the hub, while the Compendiums are the fittings that fix the hub to the wheel. GURPS Magic- as with Psionics, Martial Arts and Vehicles- is one of the spokes that connect the Basic Set to the rest of the GURPS product line. It is from this book that all other magic-related material derives from- even the wholy alternate system from Voodoo. Most of the book consists of the vanilla GURPS magic system and a couple hundred spells to use with it. The text is a tad dry, but it is clear and concise. Enough examples abound to answer most proceedural questions, and the rest are easy enough to derive from those given. The remaining sections describe alternate systems that compliment the vanilla rules in the front of the book, but none of them are much more than slap-ons. (This is good; it forces the GM to devise house rules to fine-tune the system to his liking.) The artwork in my copy is all Smith on the inside; he's not Tim Bradstreet, but he's a fair bit better than John Cobb or some other such wanker. His artwork does the job, fits the piece and gets the point across. That's all a technical book like this needs, and that's what I got. If you're a world designer or a hardcore GM, go ahead and get this book. (It's a good piece of work, but the audience is limited.) Otherwise, go borrow someone else's copy when you need it. Style: 3 (Average) Substance: 4 (Meaty)