GURPS

GURPS (Generic Universal RolePlaying System), created by Steve Jackson Games in 1986, is designed specifically to be a role-playing game that adapts to any imaginary gaming environment. In 1989, GURPS won the Origins Award for Best Roleplaying Rules of 1988 , and in 2000 it was inducted into the Origins Hall of Fame. Many of its expansions have also won awards.

Overview of the GURPS Mechanics

Character Points

A character in GURPS is built with character points. For a beginning character in an average power game, the 4th edition suggests 100-150 points to modify attribute stats, purchase levels in skills, and select other modifications. A player can select numerous Advantages and Disadvantages (including above-average or below-average Wealth, Status and Reputation) to spice up the character with special abilities and weaknesses. Advantages benefit the character and cost points to purchase. Selecting Disadvantages returns character points. There are also many Perks and Quirks to choose from which give a character some personality. Perks (minor Advantages) and Quirks (minor Disadvantages) hinder or benefit the character a bit, but they mostly add role-playing flavor.

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Attributes

Characters in GURPS have four stats:

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• Strength (ST) A measure of the character's raw muscle power.
• Dexterity (DX) A measure of the character's physical coordination.
• Intelligence (IQ) A measure of the character's mental capacity.
• Health (HT) A measure of the character's bodily stamina.

Having only four stats is much simpler compared to other role-playing games which can have several main stats that cover more defined abilities. Each stat has a number rating assigned to it. Normally they begin at 10, representing typical human ability, but can go as low as 1 for nearly useless, to 18 (or higher) for superhuman power. Players assign these ratings with points. The higher the rating the more points it will cost the player, however, assigning a stat below the typical 10 gives the player points back to assign elsewhere. Since Skills are almost all based on Dexterity or IQ, those attributes are twice as expensive (or yield twice the points, if purchased below 10). Stat ratings also calculate several derived stats for the character, called Secondary Characteristics, such as Basic Speed, Move, Willpower, Perception, Hit Points, Fatigue Points, Basic Lift, Basic Damage, and others.

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Skills

Complementing the stats are numerous skills. A player buys skills with character points. Skills represent physical and mental areas of specialty which can prove useful in the game. Skills vary widely, from Acrobatics to Vehicle Piloting. The availability of skills depends on the particular genre the GURPS game is played. For instance, in a Medieval Fantasy world, skills for operating a computer, or flying a fighter jet would not normally be available for the player to choose unless they time traveled. Skills are rated by level, and the more levels purchased with character points, the better the character is at that particular skill.

Related Topics:
Acrobatics - Medieval - Fantasy - Computer - Fighter jet - Time travel

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Skills are categorized by difficulty: Easy, Average, and Hard. Easy skills cost less points to purchase levels in, while Hard skills cost more. A player can purchase a skill for his character at any level he or she can afford. The lower you choose the less points it costs to buy the skill, and the higher you go, the more points it costs. Some skills have default levels, which indicate the level rating a character has when using that skill untrained (i.e. not purchased). For example, a character with a Dexterity of 12, uses the Climbing skill untrained. Climbing has a default of DX-5 or ST-5, which means that using the skill untrained gives him a Climbing skill level of 7 (12-5) if he tied it to the Dexterity stat. If the character had a higher Strength stat, he could have a better chance of success if they tied the Climbing skill there instead.

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Success Rolls

GURPS uses six-sided dice for all game mechanics. For instance, if the damage of a weapon says "3d+2" then you'd roll three six-sided dice, add the results of each die together, and add 2 to that result. Likewise, if it said "2d-1", you'd roll only two dice and subtract 1 from the total result. For stat and skill checks, the player always rolls three six-sided dice. Note that this makes a "default" skill check (a skill of 10, based on an unmodified attribute) 50% likely to succeed.

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Making stat and skill checks in GURPS is the reverse of the mechanics of most other RPGs, where the higher the total of the die roll, the better. GURPS players hope to roll as low as possible under the tested stat's rating or skill's level. If the roll is less than or equal to that number, the check succeeds. There is no "target number" or "difficulty rating" set by the Game Master, as would be the case in many other RPG systems. The GM may however, calculate various modifiers to add or subtract to the die roll. In this way, positive modifiers increase the chance for success by adding to the stat or skill level you must roll under, while negative modifiers deduct from it, making things more difficult.

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For example: a character makes a pickpocketing test for his character. The player has assigned a Pickpocket skill with a level of 11. Rolling 3 dice, the result must be 11 or less to succeed the test. If the player rolls above 11, then the character has failed his attempt at pickpocketing. No matter the level of the skill, a die roll of 18 or 17 is always a failure, and a roll of 3 or 4 is always a success. The Game Master may choose in such cases, that the character has failed miserably and caused something disastrous, or succeeded incredibly well and gains something beneficial as a result.

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Combat

Like most other RPGs, combat in GURPS is organized in rounds. A round is equal to one second of real time (other RPGs typically have longer rounds- Dungeons and Dragons initially featured suspension-of-disbelief-defying one minute rounds, in which characters could move a maximum of 60 feet). In one second, a player can allow his character to take an action, such as attack, or move. Free actions are simple actions that can be done at any time. Characters in a party have a set initative every round that is based upon their Speed factors.

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There are two kinds of attacks, Melee (with hand-to-hand weapons) and Ranged (for bows and guns). Attacks made by a character are checked against their appropriate skill in the particular weapon they carry. For instance, if a character is attacking with a pistol, it is a good idea to have high levels in the Firearms skill. Like any other skill check, a player must roll equal to, or less than the level of the skill. Failure means a miss, success scores a hit. Rolls of 3 or 4 are "critical hits", where the weapon deals it's full possible damage to the target without rolling it. Attack modifiers are set by the GM when factoring in such things as body armor, and cover.

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Damage

Damage from melee weapons, (clubs, swords, daggers, etc.) is calculated based on a character's ST rating. The weaker a character is physically, the less damage he or she is capable of inflicting with a handheld weapon. Ranged weapons have a set damage value for the projectile they fire. When damage is inflicted upon a character, it is deducted from their Hit Points, which are calculated with the Strength stat. Like any other RPG, when a character loses their hit points, they're in trouble.

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Advancement

Finally, the most useful award after playing a good session of GURPS are more character points, which can be used to advance the character with boosted stats and skills, and other goodies.

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