GURPS/Settings
The GURPS roleplaying system can potentially be used to roleplay in any setting, but you'll probably have an easier time of it if someone else has done the work of deciding how to apply the GURPS rules to simulate the various facets of the setting. This is the domain of sourcebooks.
Steve Jackson Games has itself published more than 200 GURPS sourcebooks. Most of these are for the outdated third edition rules; you can find them here. It's possible to use many of these sourcebooks in the fourth edition with only minor modifications. The new splatbooks (High-Tech, Magic, etc.) usually but not always have new versions of the items in the old sourcebooks; and to use the old sourcebooks' advice on making characters, refer to GURPS Update.
Particularly popular worldbooks from the Third Edition are:
- GURPS Alternate Earths
- Discworld (redone for the Fourth Edition)
- GURPS Reign of Steel
- GURPS Supers
- Hellboy
- Lensman
- Transhuman Space
- Wild Cards
The Fourth Edition of GURPS has the following worldbooks:
- Banestorm
- Casey and Andy
- Infinite Worlds - a GURPS-exclusive multiverse, with a Fantasy Kitchen Sink flavor similar to Rifts
- Lands Out Of Time
- Prime Directive, by Amarillo Design Bureau, is a
Star TrekStar Fleet Battles worldbook. - Hot Spots: Renaissance Florence
- Reign Of Steel: Will to Live, a conversion guide elaborate enough to serve as its own rulebook
- SEALs in Vietnam
- Tales of the Solar Patrol
- Transhuman Space: Changing Times, a conversion guide like Will to Live
- Traveller: Interstellar Wars. The Intersteller Wars are one of the most important periods in Traveller . This version is a good entry-level as the Terran Confederation is a United Space of America and Terran characters can act roughly like 21st century people without adapting to a new culture. The Culture Shock of Terran PCs on meeting Vilani will be comparable to what an In-verse Terran would feel and thereby carry the roleplaying smoothly. Later versions would require more practice to play especially if the PC is a character from a non-human race. ISW is also beautifully made with a handsome black hard cover, and wonderful pictures.
- ISW is a Shout-Out to the board wargame Imperium.
- Vorkosigan Saga
With Fourth Edition, Steve Jackson Games has chosen to focus more on "genre books" than worldbooks. The advice and rules in these books can be applied to any setting in its genre, and each book comes with advice on applying its rules to various subgenres.
- Action
- Bio-Tech
- Creatures of the Night - weird creatures
- Dragons - actually a third-edition supplement, but with official conversion rules
- Dungeon Fantasy - rules and advice for games à la Dungeons & Dragons
- Fantasy
- Gun Fu
- High-Tech - "the gun book"
- Low-Tech - book of gear from the Stone Age to the Age of Sail
- Magic - an expansion on the magic system from Basic Set, with many many spells
- Martial Arts - expands the tactical combat system to allow for more tactical depth and action
- Monster Hunters
- Mysteries
- Powers - replaces the very short Psionics chapter from the Basic Set with a more detailed way of constructing superpowers; adds six new crazy-powerful advantages appropriate for superheroes; adds tons of new modifiers for advantages and disadvantages; and gives usage advice on all of the above
- Psionic Powers - followed by Psionic Campaigns detailing the sociocultural effects of psi.
- Space
- Spaceships
- Supers - as in superheroes
- Thaumatology - covering magic systems of all sorts
- Ultra-Tech - all manner of Applied Phlebotinum
GURPS is a registered trademark of Steve Jackson Games. All rights are reserved by SJ Games. This material is used here in accordance with the SJ Games online policy.