GURPS 4th Edition

GURPS 4^th Edition: Characters

Generic Universal Role Playing System… or GURPS is an amazing table top game. GURPS is a “pen and paper” system for table top role playing. If you are not familiar with what that means here is how it works. You have a character, the Game Master narrates a story, and you roll dice to see if your character succeeds at the challenges in the story. At its core GURPS is the same game as Dungeons and Dragons and many other table top games such as Robotech, Fate, Shadow Run, ect.

There are more pen and paper table top games than you can shake a stick at these days. The success D&D has had propelled many game designers to come up with alternate versions. I am a hardcore D&D player and always will be. That being said, I am a passionate GURPS player, and right now GURPS 4^th edition is my favorite table top game.

GURPS can be played in any genre, and the core rule books have rules for every genre (fantasy, western, sci fi, ect). I play fantasy so my examples below will relate to that, but keep in mind you can play GURPS during any time period.

Why GURPS?

GURPS does several things that I love. First off GURPS is extremely lethal. Your Hit Points are equal to your strength score which is typically between 10 and 14. Your hit points do not automatically go up at each new level like they do in other games. This means the fear of god (the GM) is with you every time you roll the dice to dodge block or parry.

That’s right I said it, you roll to dodge, block, or parry. That is the second thing I love. An enemy attacks you and if their attack is successful then you have to roll to see if you dodge, block or parry. The mechanic is so much fun I wish more game designers would structure their games this way. This mechanic makes GURPS amazing.

The last aspect that I will bring up with respect to what makes GURPS my favorite game to play is the character creation process. Players build their characters with a point buy system. This means that you start with a total number of points, 150 for example, and purchase skills and abilities. There are not preset character classes that railroad you into set roles. In GURPS you can have the healing powers of a cleric, the ability to sneak like a thief, and the strength of a fighter. You create the character you want to play, and… you guessed it… it’s amazing.

 Pros or Cons

There are aspects to GURPS that you may or may not appreciate. GURPS is a game that is structured to be as realistic as possible without killing the flow of the game. This means that there are a lot of rules. Take the ones you like and leave off the ones you don’t. I play in one group that is very interested in making the game follow the rules and I GM another group where we focus on the cinema of the game more than the realism. Both groups are a lot of fun.

GURPS, in my opinion, is a role playing game and should be played as such. I find that “min maxing” isn’t as fun in GURPS as it is in other games. GURPS is all about character development and role playing. Can it be a hack and slash? Sure. The combat mechanic is amazing (I get paid by amazing.com every time I use that word), but so is the character development process. Reputation scores, status modifiers, and reaction roles make developing your character as more than a combat machine fun and rewarding.

I love GURPS and if you are able to get a group together it is well worth reading the rules and learning the game. It takes a little work up front, but once you get rolling the combat and role playing aspects of the game are… I’ll let you finish that sentence.

If you are in the Bay Area and are having trouble getting the game down, drop me a line and I will come visit and teach you guys the game. Obviously the beer is on you (assuming you’re 21… if not then iced tea will do!), but that is a small investment considering the amount of fun you will have when your gaming group makes the leap to hyperspace!

Buy the book here: GURPS 4th Edition Characters
Check out SJ Games here: http://www.sjgames.com/
Check out the e23 store for some more GURPS Crack! e23