The first thing one will notice when they walk into their friendly neighborhood gaming store and walk past the shelf full of GURPS related material is that there are two shiny new additions, they look different from the rest of the works on the shelf. These books are hard cover and do not sport the words "Steve Jackson Games" running vertically down the spine. They are GURPS Basic Set Characters and GURPS Basic Set Campaigns.

What they are to those unfamiliar with GURPS:

They are the latest editions of the GURPS RPG created by Steve Jackson and published by Steve Jackson Games.

"Great!" you say, "but what is GURPS?"

GURPS is short for Generic Universal Roleplaying System, it is an attempt to create a system of rules that apply to any genre players wish to explore. GURPS fourth edition explain this in detail as well what Steve Jackson and his associates wished to accomplish in the creation of GURPS accompanied by a brief history of the game system, all this information can be found on the introduction on Page 5 of GURPS Basic Set Characters.

What they are to those familiar with GURPS:

They are STILL the latest edition of the GURPS RPG created by Steve Jackson, a revised, updated, re-organized, streamlined presentation of the information formerly found in GURPS Basic Set Third Edition as well as GURPS Compendium I and Compendium II.

Preamble:

Since Steve Jackson has decided to release the latest edition of GURPS in two volumes I will divide the main body of this review into three parts. There will be one for each book and the last for comments on the system as a whole, as well as mentioning features common to both volumes. It should be noted that it is somewhat obvious that these volumes are clearly one work which has been (albeit somewhat smoothly) into two volumes. Page numbers in Campaigns pick up from where Characters has left off. At some points in Characters the reader will be pointed to reference a page number beyond the scope of the book they have in their hands with no mention that this page is contained in a separate volume. Let us hope that future printings will fix this small inconvenience.

The first new entry in the world of GURPS Fourth Edition is the Characters book. Physically it is a hardcover volume filled with 336 glossy, full color pages. The volume seems sturdy and should stand up to the rigors of weekly gaming sessions with aplomb, however it will take some time to see if these perceptions ring true. The price tag for this book was a hefty $39.95, but I must say it seems to be well within the standard price range for roleplaying materials these days. The overall layout of artwork and text is good (indeed above the industry average). The book contains an accurate and useful table of contents as well as a comprehensive index. The index covers both books in the Basic Set and is found at the back of both books, it is included in my page counts for both volumes, while this is redundant information, the usefulness of having these indexes in both volumes forbids me from railing against this. Chapter headings are clear and do not take up excessive amounts of page space, in addition each chapter is color coded, making quick reference easier once you have familiarized yourself with the contents of the book. Artwork is plentiful enough without being intrusive and is of good quality (I am not, nor have I ever claimed to be, an art critic. I therefore refrain from making lengthy diatribes about the quality of artwork in RPG products, the art in the GURPS books doesn’t make me want to retch, so it must be decent). Text density is not as great as in past GURPS publications but still remains above the industry average.

GURPS Basic Set Characters contains everything you need to create a character for any GURPS adventure, observe the following coverage by Chapter:

Chapter One: Creating a Character

Starting at page ten, after the obligatory Introduction (including the now famous "What is Roleplaying?" answer essay) GURPS Basic Set Characters launches right into its titular purpose. GURPS uses a point-based character creation system. For those that need an explanation, this means that players are given an allotment of "points" which are then spent to purchase their characters attributes. Characters can also gain additional points by taking "disadvantages", attributes that make life harder for the character in question. This system is often considered the best type of character generation for game masters that want to ensure a certain level of equality between player’s characters power levels. It should be noted that it is also the type of system most often associated with "power gamers", those players which will spend their points in such a manner to maximize their benefits while minimizing their drawbacks. Chapter one gives an overview of this system and begins an example of character creation in progress (GURPS veterans will be familiar with the creation of Dai Blackthorn), this example starts in chapter one and ends in chapter four walking you through each basic step in character creation. The first section of chapter one ends with a Character Creation Checklist, this is a handy reference for people new to GURPS character creation.

The next section covers the basic attributes of a GURPS character. GURPS has four primary attributes Strength (ST), Dexterity (DX), Intelligence (IQ) and Health (HT). While this may seem somewhat limiting the character is fleshed out with a plethora of secondary attributes, all of which can be modified up or down from their base values, which are derived from their parent attributes. Secondary attributes include such things as Hit Points, Fatigue, Basic Lift (a characters ability to lift weight), Damage (based on strength, how much damage the character can inflict in melee combat), Will, Perception, Speed and Movement (Speed affects Movement, but also covers reaction time).

After attributes one is prompted to choose the "Build" of their character. Large, small, skinny or fat the options are limitless. Many options in the Build section are considered disadvantages and grant extra points for building your character, unless, of course, your character is of average build, then you can merely skip to the next section.

Got Build? Good, now go on to Age and Beauty. This section describes the advantages and disadvantages of playing characters which are elderly, or are children, the Age of your character has no inherent cost in character points. The advantages and disadvantages that are associated with age are listd and can be purchased in later chapters (see below). Physical appearance is a much more diverse (and longer) section than Age. Want your character to be a Monstrous, pitiable creature with wonderful fashion sense? Make it so!

Ok, we’ve got mass and arranged it into a shape pleasing (or retch-inducing) to the eye now we’ve got to figure out where this "thing" fits in. The next section in Chapter one allows you to flesh out your character’s social background. Language, culture, etc… are included in this section. This section actually spends a great deal of time on language and literacy.

Your character can now communicate with a group of people, now let’s see how well he’s done in the past with that. The Wealth and Influence section will flesh out your character’s place in the world, from actual hard earned cash, to military or church hierarchy you can build a coherent picture of your characters social position.

The last two sections in Chapter One (yup, still on chapter one, of the first book, man, this is going to be one long review….) are "Friends and Foes" and "Identities". These sections do little more than point you to appropriate advantages and disadvantages for a character with pre-existing allies and enemies, or established alternate identities.

Chapter Two: Advantages

Ok, I promise to keep this a lot shorter than the bit about chapter one. An advantage is

"a useful trait that gives you a mental, physical or social "edge" over someone else who otherwise has the same abilities"

-pg. 32 GURPS Basic Set Characters

All advantages fall into two of six categories (can you guess three of them already? hint: look at the above quote), The first three are physical, mental or social. This is a fairly simple concept to grasp so I’ll leave it at that. The second three categories are Exotic, Supernatural or Mundane. This second group of categories is useful for determining if an advantage is appropriate for a given setting. One wouldn’t want characters with Exotic advantages running around in your WWII historical campaign. Exotic or Supernatural advantages should come with an in-game explanation of how the character obtained such a facet, Mundane advantages are available to anyone… with one condition. All advantages, and disadvantages must meet GM (That’s game master, the term used for the person running the game throughout the GURPS books) approval. The list of advantages is over 70 pages in length containing well over one hundred different advantages, many of which have multiple levels or special enhancement options. Without delaying this review considerably it would be impossible for me to quantify all the options the advantages chapter gives to a budding character. From Absolute Direction to Zeroed, you’re sure to find the advantage(s) for your character if you can afford the cost in character points.

Following the lengthy advantage list is a page devoted to "Perks" these are one-point advantages. This is a new addition to GURPS, but is basically an inverse of the "Quirks" system that has long been a GURPS standard (those of you unfamiliar with the GURPS system please see below for more on Quirks). After Perks there is a section on Modifiers, these are features you can tack on to certain advantages to make them more or less useful, and affecting their cost in character points appropriately. Most enhancements and limitations apply only to combat oriented advantages (such as being able to shoot cream pies from one’s forehead) they include things like increasing the range of an attack or making it so that one can only use a power when a certain condition is met (such as ingesting a cream pie).

Chapter two wraps up with information on crating new advantages. Overall this chapter is filled with vital information for creating a character in any setting. However, depending on the genre being explored much of this chapter may seem useless. All advantages are listed alphabetically, this makes finding a specific advantage quite easy, but can make browsing for an advantages within a category quite time consuming.

Chapter Three: Disadvantages

See, these are getting more and more painless as we go along. This chapter is laid out in the exact same manner as Chapter Two. The listing of Disadvantages is only 40 pages in length, but once again this fails to account for all the special modifiers included in most listings. Also be aware that some disadvantages cover wide categories of "undersirable" qualities are rather broad think of all the variations inherent in a disadvantage like "Compulsive behavior". All disadvantages give you more points to spend elsewhere on your character if you accept the limiting conditions of the disadvantage. That said there is more than enough in this section to make that "Tragically flawed" hero you’ve always wanted to play.

Following the listing is a short section on "Quirks" long a mainstay of GUPRS character creation these are minor character traits that help define that character’s personality. Each quirk have a –1 point value even though they might not necessarily be a "disadvantage". According to the rules of GURPS character generation a character may take up to five Quirks. Much (ok, exactly) like the previous chapter this chapter wraps up with a short section on creating new disadvantages.

Chapter Four: Skills

Necessary for doing anything more than standing around, skills are a vital part of any GURPS character. They determine if your character is going to be able to defend themselves, drive a car, or remember the atomic weight of Cobalt. All skills are based on one of the primary attributes (I know, it’s been a while since they were listed, scroll up if you have to). The "level" of your skill is based on how high the primary attribute on which the score is based is, and how many points you are willing to sink into the skill. Skills cost is based on how difficult the skill is, four levels ranging from Easy to Very Hard.

Over fifty pages of skills are listed (many require a specialty to be chosen, once again making the actual number of skill choices incredibly high). From Accounting to Zen Archery, just about anything you’d want a character to be able to know or do is covered. While this chapter gives no advice about creating new skills (unlike the previous chapters on Advantages and Disadvantages), in reality it is exceptionally easy for a GM to do so using the expansive listing as an example.

After the skill listing is a section titled Techniques. This is an optional rule that allows characters to further specialize their skills by focusing on a specific aspect of a skill and advancing only that particular ability. For example someone who knows Karate could focus on Kicking, for a small point cost could have a better chance to land a kick than another karate attack (such as a punch). Many example techniques are given.

Chapters Five and Six: Magic and Psionics

Magic and Psionics in GURPS work in very different ways, but are both based on the advantage/disadvantage and skill systems outlined in the above chapters. Both of these chapters are very short and give you but a taste of things to come. Steve Jackson Games has an aggressive release schedule planned to support the Fourth Edition of GURPS, the Fourth Edition Magic supplement is scheduled for a December 2004 release. It should be noted at this point that the changes contained in fourth edition are relatively minor when one looks at the large scope of things. I was pleasantly surprised to find that nearly all of my old GURPS supplements are still just as useful with fourth edition as they were with third.

Chapter Seven: Templates

This is a brief chapter on the use of templates in the GURPS system. Character templates are "packages" which can be used to create quick characters. Most templates include a great deal of options. They amount to "quick pick" lists of skills, advantages and disadvantages all based on a given archetype (such as Investigator, or Mage). A second type of template is the Racial template. These are pre-designed packages with a totaled point cost already figured out, these can be stacked with character templates (a Dwarf Mage, for example). The final "template" is actually referred to by the dubious moniker "Meta-Trait" they are packages of advantages and disadvantages that describe "a particular mental, physical or supernatural state" this includes such things like the inherent traits of being a machine, or a domesticated animal. As far as an actual point of "review" this is the one chapter I wished was longer. I am sure that future GURPS (and indeed some past supplements are already in this category, as templates were added to GURPS between third and fourth editions) Supplements will add to the list of available templates (indeed templates are based on the genre/setting).

This chapter is a brief overview of all those things designed to separate a character from his/her hard earned dollars/gold pieces/quatlus/sheckles/etc… The majority of this chapter is taken up with tables describing various weapons and armor, the listing is sparse but gives you enough to go on. Other equipment is given the price-list treatment with a very short explanation of what exactly the items are.

Chapter Nine: Character Development

This chapter covers how characters improve. At the end of a gaming session (or adventure, or campaign, or when you bring the game master a bag of Oreo Cookies) the characters are awarded additional character points to add to their existing characters. These can be used to increase skills and attributes, adding and improving physical and mental advantages or buying off disadvantages (I really didn’t want my character to spontaneously burst into an Ethel Merman impression whenever subjected to sunlight). Since GURPS does not use a level based system advancement is (usually) a gradual process, character strength is measured by their point total (starting points + any points gained through adventuring, etc…). This is often considered more "realistic" than level based systems where characters hit a "switch point" and are suddenly more powerful, instead the characters are improved in minor ways every few sessions (more or less depending on gamemaster generosity). This chapter also includes sections on improving skills through education, having your character’s body surgically modified, transformed into a vampire, or subjected to brain transference and the like.

Trait Lists, etc….

The book wraps up with a quick reference list for Advantages, disadvantages and skills. These lists are alphabetical and contain basic information about the trait. For Advantages and disadvantages category information, point cost and page numbers are given. For skills the base attributes, difficulty level, skill defaults and page numbers are given. This is an extremely useful set of tables especially during play when you need to look up the exact effects of a trait and don’t want to sift through the whole index (what bonus to fright checks does Combat Reflexes give me?).

Following the Trait lists are some example characters and a copy of GURPS Combat Lite. GURPS Combat Lite is a bare-bones combat system available for free at Steve Jackson Games’ website. Without it’s inclusion in the book SJ Games could not call GURPS Basic Set Characters a complete gaming book. All of the information on GURPS Combat Lite is covered in the second book of the Basic Set, and so we have another five pages of redundant content between the two volumes (in addition to the index as mentioned above).

Overview of GURPS Basic Set Characters

GURPS Basic Set Characters is a clean and shiny new addition to the GURPS line. It does however, fail (much in the same way as the Dungeons and Dragons Players Handbook fails) to be the only book necessary for playing a game using the system. Most of the rules are contained in a separate volume (keep reading folks). While this book does give the basics for combat and the basic ways in which skills work it fails to address the types of actions the heroic characters enjoyed by gamers everywhere will eventually attempt (or be subjected to). As a guide to creating a character for GURPS, GURPS Basic Set Characters succeeds marvelously. The entire process is well explained and easy to follow. One of the biggest drawbacks seems to be that of too many choices. Character generation can take a long time, especially in group situations when one copy of the book floats around the table, as players browse the lengthy lists of advantages, disadvantages and skills. These drawbacks can be alleviated by a bit of preparation by the Gamemaster (more on this on the overview of the whole system at the end of this review).

The second volume for GURPS Fourth Edition is titled Campaigns. This book is written primarily for those of us out there interested in running a GURPS adventure or campaign. Physically this book resembles it’s companion volume in all but page count, at 237 pages it is a considerably smaller piece of work. Steve Jackson Games seems to have acknowledged this as Campaigns is priced five dollars cheaper ($34.95) than its partner (all prices are using the manufacturer suggested retail price). Further enforcing the idea that GURPS Basic Set Fourth Edition was originally intended to be one volume the layout and design elements are consistent with Characters, and page and chapter numbers pick up where they left off in Characters. The introduction of this book contains an explanation by Steve Jackson as to why the Fourth Edition Basic Set of GURPS has been split into two books and his explanation makes sense (to me at least). I add to his reasoning that the lesson of D20 is that it’s often handy to have the player’s information in a separate volume. While they are looking up some obscure bonus granted their character by some esoteric skill, I can be flipping through to see exactly what the incubation period is for that nasty disease they picked up while on that "pleasure planet". That being said, let’s crack the spine of Campaigns and see just what’s inside.

Chapter Ten: Success Rolls

Since this is really the meat and bones of the GURPS system I’ve saved getting into the mechanics of the system till this point of the review. The entire GURPS system is based upon the bell-cure of probability generated by rolling three six-sided dice at one time. While this creates possible values between three and eighteen these extremes are rare and most rolls are likely to fall between eight and twelve. Most often in GURPS a character is attempting to roll under the value of one of his/her skills in order to accomplish a given task (weapon skills during combat, stealth skills while sneaking, etc…). The game master is free to assign bonuses or penalties based on conditions. The average for skills and most attributes is ten. Weather this is truly the average result of 3d6 is a subject of some debates, especially the "multiple dice vs. one die" debate. Taking into account the accuracy of the randomness of the dice most gamers use really makes screaming about tenths of a percentage point really quite silly. Anyhow, lower being a better result than a higher number GURPS has deemed that any roll of three or four is always a success (even if the modified skill’s value falls below three), three being a great success,. Inversely a roll of seventeen or eighteen is always a failure, a eighteen being a critical failure. This gives a chance (albeit a small one) of success or failure for any task. Critical hits work slightly different in combat situations. The Success Rolls chapter covers all sorts of non-combat situations the characters may have to deal with. My one problem with this chapter is that there is a significant amount of combat related information in this chapter (including a personal favorite optional rule of mine which covers spending fatigue points in combat for extra effect). Despite this, the combat system information in this chapter is found in the sections about the non-combat uses of these systems. In addition there are sections covering physical feats, sense rolls, influence rolls and will(power) rolls.

Chapter Eleven: Combat

Those familiar with GURPS Basic Set Third Edition will recall that the combat chapters in that book were divided up into Basic and Advanced, depending on the level of complexity a gamemaster wanted in his/her game. This has changed in Fourth Edition, combat has been divided into Standard, Tactical (See Chapter Twelve) and Special Combat Situations. This first combat chapter gives all the rules usable in combat for those who are not into dragging out miniatures and a hex-grid battle mat (the standard for GURPS), all of that information is saved for the Tactical Combat chapter, the third chapter is filled with optional rules for dealing with all manner of combat situations. I find this a much more useful division. For those who feel that the Combat rules presented in Campaigns is too complex one always has the option to stick to the Combat Lite rules presented in the back of the Characters volume. GURPS uses a one second long combat turn (remind this to players who whine about how their character can’t do much during one turn, and point out that it took ten second for them just to whine about it…). While this may be quite realistic, it may be disheartening to characters who realize that it actually only took fifteen seconds to wipe out that paltry group of bandits. I must say however, that the players I run through adventures never take notice of this. Actions that may be taken during a combat turn have been broken down into several quite generic Maneuvers that all actions taken during combat should fall under. These maneuvers include thing like changing posture, attacking or moving. There are maneuvers to cover almost any action a character may take in combat. The Initiative system is fixed, the character with the highest Basic Speed goes first, and proceed from there, however any creative GM can alter this if they feel an element of randomness is needed in the initiative order.

Combat in GURPS works on an attack-defend-damage sequence. After the basic combat maneuvers are outlined further sections develop on the specifics of attacking, defending and damage calculation. Attacking is simple, the acting character simply rolls vs. their skill to score a successful hit, if the hit is a critical one the opponent gets no defense. For defense the opponent tried to dodge, block or parry the blow. If the hit is not successfully defended damage occurs. GURPS handles damage from different forms of attacks in different ways (something sadly missing from many roleplaying systems) this system can seem a little daunting at first to new players. Armor reduces the damage from successful hits. For those familiar with third edition, Passive Defense (PD) has been removed, however some protective items provide a Defense Bonus which adds to active defenses (parrying and dodging), in essence working in the same manner, however these items are now much more rare. Damage from Critical hits and misses are calculated by use of a Critical Hit/Miss Tables and effects range from extra damage to instant death. The combat chapter is well planned, actions most likely to occur in combat are found at the beginning of the chapter and more rare circumstances are found near the end.

Chapter Twelve: Tactical Combat

For fans of miniatures and battle mats GURPS provides it’s own chapter on combat. This chapter is quite short and addresses many details that cannot be easily kept track of without a map. These details include precise track of movement and distance, facing and arcs of vision. There are also rules for close quarters combat, weapon reach. This chapter builds on what is laid out in chapter eleven. More rules for map and mapless combat are given in chapter thirteen.

Chapter Thirteen: Special Combat Situations

Chapter thirteen is a toy box of optional combat rules for standard and tactical combat to deal with all manner of special circumstances and unusual maneuvers that your players may encounter. Rules for different types of surprise attacks, visibility conditions, hit locations and attacking from above are all given. This is just the tip of the iceberg when dealing with the content of this chapter. On the first page of this chapter it is made clear that all rules contained herein are optional, the gamemaster can use as many or few of them as they like. Veterans to roleplaying will understand that this statement is unnecessary, all rules in any system can be treated as optional. Some rules in this chapter are indispensable to a gamemaster running a modern or futuristic campaign as the Special Ranged Combat Rules cover a variety of firearms information. The final section in this chapter covers modifications to the rules that can be made to give your combat a more cinematic feel. This chapter is very useful, although most people running realistic pre-modern campaigns can skip it if they wish.

Chapter Fourteen: Injuries, Illness, and Fatigue

Chapter fourteen covers all the nasty things that can happen to a character throughout the course of an adventure. Anything from Damage from weapons, falling off a cliff or Exposure to nuclear radiation is covered in detail. This chapter also covers recovering from all these ailments. Details for everything from First Aid to advanced Surgery are given, recovery times may seem harsh for those used to more cinematic systems, but gamemasters can always fudge numbers for a more cinematic feel (or allow characters to take Rapid healing or Regeneration advantages). I find this chapter vital for running any type of campaign, especially modern campaigns, as there are sections on addictive drugs and radiation damage. Gamemasters who run campaigns that span great lengths of time will find the section at the end of the chapter on Aging to be invaluable.

Chapter Fifteen: Creating Templates

At this point in the book, Campaigns divulges from systems and gives Gamemasters a series of powerful tools for use in creating their own game worlds. This first chapter gives guidelines on creating templates for Occupations and Races. While these tools may seem unnecessary for some, they can be extremely helpful in expediting the process of character creation. They are also a great aid in transitioning players from class-based roleplaying systems to GURPS (For more on Templates see my write-up on Chapter Seven).

Chapter Sixteen: Animals and Monsters

Chapter sixteen gives gamemasters statistics for a good number of animals and a whopping three fantasy creature. GURPS has never given out a plethora of creatures (saving this information for the massive number of supplements covering various game worlds). Most common animals are covered in this chapter.

In addition to animal statistics sections are given on training animals and the value of trained animals as a trade commodity. Also covered are special rules for animals in combat, including dealing with swarms of very small creatures. While short, this chapter contains a good deal of information for any type of campaign world.

Chapter Seventeen: Technology and Artifacts

This chapter contains several valuable rules for game masters running any type of campaign. Those running modern or future campaigns will find all the rules they need for dealing with vehicles and vehicle combat, communications, sensors and computers. Supers and sci-fi gamemasters will enjoy the sections on inventions, gadgets and alien artifacts. This chapter doesn’t leave the fantasy gamers behind either it includes information on magic items and mystical artifacts. The chapter rounds itself out with the effects of damage on equipment and information on repairs.

Chapter Eighteen: Game Mastering

For anyone whose ever run a roleplaying session this chapter can be skimmed over to pick out those tidbits that are specific to the GURPS system, for those of you who haven’t run a game before I would advise a thorough read-through of this chapter. Inside you will be given the ins and out of running a GURPS session. Seasoned gamemasters are wise to check out the sections power level and the guidelines on awarding character points at the end of a session. An interesting sidebar is given on the advent of Online roleplaying with attention to the use of e-mail and IRC. The last five pages of this chapter are filled with advice about writing adventures and organizing a continuing campaign.

Chapter Nineteen: Game Worlds

Seventeen pages of Campaigns are given over to information relating to the creation of game worlds. Inexperienced gamemasters will find this information key to creating a backdrop for what ever stories they wish to tell. Experienced gamemasters can also use this chapter as a handy checklist when working on their new game worlds or refining existing ones.

Game world creation covers the basics of Cultures, Laws, Government and Technology levels. Tech Levels are a very important concept in GURPS they measure the technological of advancement of a game world and many skills are associated with a certain Tech level. If your game takes place in one time and place Tech levels will seem superfluous, but if you want your heroes gallivanting off between time, space and dimensions they become an invaluable tool in realism. Some attention is also given to the economic impact of cross time/planar travel in the Economy section. The chapter closes with a section on Planes of Existence which serves as a nice segue into the Infinite Worlds setting provided in chapter twenty. Nineteen is by no means a comprehensive guide to world creation, this would take a book in and of itself. One would be well advised to pick up future GURPS Fourth Edition supplements for the particular genre they wish to create a world in (or convert information from a 3 third edition sourcebook). Fantasy gamemasters have only to wait until November for the release of the new GURPS Fantasy. I only hope that Fourth Edition GURPS supplements are as information packed as their predecessors.

One of the strengths of the GURPS system is that it can be used for a great number of genres (with varying degrees of success, your mileage may vary). To showcase this GURPS has included some basic information about a dimension hopping game world called Infinite Worlds. In 1995 a scientist discovered the secret to interdimensional travel, it’s now 2027 and travel between dimensions is regulated by an organization known as Infinity Unlimited. The players are free to explore an unlimited number of alternate Earths. Some examples are provided and guidelines are given for creating more. It is clear to me that this game world was chosen to showcase the adaptability of the GURPS system and to allow players to use almost all the information provided in the Basic Set Fourth Edition. A full sourcebook on this setting is on the sjgames.com release schedule for January 2005. The information given on the setting in this book is minimal, and for such a diverse setting, it’s not enough for a gamemaster who is looking to avoid doing a lot of work on writing adventures. There are no statistics given for common antagonists, no maps of important installations, etc. It does give a good example of just what is capable with the GURPS system.

Appendix: Tables

The appendix provides a handy quick-reference to all the tbales a gamemaster will need while running adventures. Many of these tables are not printed elsewhere in the two volumes of the Basic Set. I like having all the tables in one place, it is even more hand then having a table of contents excusivley for tables. While reading through the book for the first time I often had to flip back to the tables to check out something referenced in the rules, but during actual game play I found it much nicer to have them all in one convenient location. The appendix is followed by a Glossary defining several game terms (useful to those new to the system), a Ludography which points the reader to other books published by Steve Jackson Games, and several useful gaming sheets, including the requisite character sheet as well as a few GM reference sheets. My main complaint with these sheets is that the sheet containing the NPC Record Card and Time Use Sheet has one card filled in and that both of these forms are given on the same Page. I would rather have preferred one page containing four blank cards (better value for my photocopying dime) and that the time use sheet was located on a separate page. Even the Downloadable PDF available at Steve Jackson Games’ website duplicates this grievous error.

Overall GURPS Fourth Edition is a solid product. As a new edition of an existing game system it does the job of being better its predecessors. The presentation and organization of the information given meet or exceed the industry standard. For people unfamiliar with GURPS this product is far superior to previous editions. I feel that this Fourth edition makes the GURPS system more accessible. Certain gamers will undoubtedly dislike the GURPS system, those who favor rules light systems are advised to look at GURPS as a guideline, I’ve had great success running a series of rules light sessions using the most basic pieces of the GURPS system. If you didn’t understand the GURPS system after reading previous versions I suggest you give this one a skim, the system is much easier to absorb in its new presentation. If you absolutely hated GURPS in its previous versions, Fourth Edition will probably not change your mind. Speaking as an advocate for the GURPS combat system, I have found that having the player take an active part in the defense of their characters makes them more accepting of receiving damage in combat. This is compared with those systems that roll the character’s defensive abilities into a total target number.

GURPS requires supplements only for those gamemasters who are too lazy or time deprived to work up their game worlds from scratch, even the Infinite Worlds campaign setting provided is too minimal to get a gamemaster out of doing a lot of work. If you are one of those game masters who like designing unique game worlds and don’t like game books full of meta-plot then you will definitely enjoy the GURPS system, even if you, like me, feel that the Infinite Worlds setting is wasted space in the Campaigns book. If it hasn’t become obvious, I like the GURPS system, I tried to stick to facts in this review and keep the opinionated outbursts to a minimum. When I have slipped them in I’ve tried to make it clear contextually that what is said is opinion.

As far as the ratings I am supposed to ascribe to this product I am awarding the following:

GURPS Fourth Edition Basic Set Characters: Style: 4, Substance: 4

GURPS Fourth Edition Basic Set Campaigns: Style 4, Substance: 4

GURPS Fourth Edition Basic Set (Whole): Style 4, Substance: 5

I know you’re probably wondering, "If each book got a Substance of four than how can the whole set receive a five". This boils down to the old adage of the sum being greater than the total of its parts. Together they are indeed a complete, generic and universal system.