GURPS

GURPS (Generic Universal RolePlaying System), created by Steve Jackson Games,designed specificallyberole-playing game that adaptsany imaginary gaming environment.

PriorGURPS, role-playing games of1970s1980s were developed especiallycertain gaming environments,they were largely incompatibleone another. For example, TSR (the publisher ofDungeons & Dragons game) published its D&D game specifically for"fantasy" environment. Another game fromsame company, Star Frontiers, was developedscience fiction-based role-playing. TSR produced other gamesother environments, such as Gamma World, Top Secret, Gangbusters,more. Eachthese games was setits own self-contained rules system, andrulesplaying each game differed wildly from one game tonext. GURPSan attemptcreate an all-encompassing, "universal" role-playing system that allows playersrole-playany environmentplease without havingcreatenew setruleseach game.

GURPSnotfirst role-playing systempresent"universal" setrulesdifferent gaming environments. The Chaosium role-playing system, best known forhighly successful CallCthulhuRunequest role-playing games, were also developedbe"generic" setrole-playing rules. However, GURPSpart offirst waverole-playing games that eschews random generationcharactersfavor ofpoint-based system. Role-playing games of1970s1980s, such as Dungeons & Dragons, use random numbers generated by dice rollsassign statisticsplayer characters. GURPS,contrast, assigns each playerspecified numberpointseach categorytheir characters. Together withHero_System, GURPS was one offirst role-playing gameswhich characterscreated by spending pointsget characteristics, skills, advantages, getting more point by accepting low characteristics, disadvantages etc. Most other role-playing systems generate character characteristics using dice.

Gamers generally see GURPS as an attemptappealbeginnersrole-playing, by abandoningnumberarchaic (but profitable) idiosynchracies uniquerole-playing games. With its "generic" designits useonly standard six-sided dice (rather thanpolyhedral dice usedother systems),places an emphasis on role-playing rather than on deciphering complicated rulebooks.

GURPS' emphasis on its "generic" aspect has provenbesuccessful marketing tactic: itone ofmore popular role-playing games onmarket today.

One ofstrengthsGURPS, say its proponents, liesits large numberworldbooks, describing settings from several science fiction, fantasy,historical settings, adding specific rules but mainly giving general informationany game.

Before GURPS, Steve Jackson wrotesetgames called The Fantasy Trip, whichstrongly relatedGURPS.

A weekly online magazine devotedsupporting GURPSPyramid Magazine.

External Links

• A printable PDF version of"lite" rulebook
• Official websiteGURPS : http://www.sjgames.com/gurps/