From: djwj <djwj@e...>
Date: Fri, 4 Jun 1999 12:19:42 -0600
Subject: Re: OT: Hard Sci-Fi Roleplaying Games...
I recomend Steve Jackson's Generic Universal Role-Playing System: it has a large following, excellent support, the rules have largely stabilized (meaning you won't have to buy a new edition of the basic set one year after you purchace it the first time), Steve Jackson Games isn't going out of business any time soon, and for my own opinion GURPS is a better "Role- not Roll- playing" system. Be advised: GURPS is not for the "hack-and-slash set". It is designed very much with the aspect of improvisational theater in mind. The character creation is rather cumbersome if you are planning on a high P.C. body count. As far as any specifics, describing it as a Meta System (GURPMS? nah wouldn't sound as good) is correct, it can be as realistic or as outrageous as you want it to be. The point system has its critics but a large number of games (Including TSR's D&D 3rd edition) are favoring the point system over the die system. It is at least an attempt (and most GURPS players agree that it is a good one) at balancing the player characters with each other so that no one player "steals the spotlight" as it were. GURPS is resistant to abuse (not abuse-proof, no system is). GURPS has a rare ability to combine otherwise seperate genres into any mix of circumstances you could want. You could create FASA's Shadowrun universe with as much or as little magic as you could want, add (or remove) space travel, make magic a secret,...and on and on and on..... I include some recommendations and reviews for anyone interested. The reviews are the common points between my own feelings and those that I have heard from other GURPS Players ***For general consumption I reccomend the following books: (This is the basic material that you would need to have as complete a character as you could want for most games.) GURPS Basic Set Third Edition Note: If you plan on getting well into GURPS it may be worthwile to find a copy of "Third Edition" not the "Third Edition Revised". Third Edition includes the sample adventure "Caravan to Ein Arris", and the information in the appendicies in 3rd Revised is all included in GURPS Compendium 1. Just trying to get more bang for your buck. GURPS Compendium I A collection of advantages, disadvantages, skills, and optional rules changes. ***For the Hard Sci-FI roleplayer: GURPS High Tech Heavy on guns from the renissance to today, but contains excellent information on care and abuse of firearms through the ages, improvised explosives, artillery, artillery observation and shot rounds from 12 guage to beehive cannister and flichette rounds. Written by a former U.S. Army supply seargent. GURPS UltraTech A well rounded catalog of equipment for the "edge of tomorrow" to "a sufficiently advanced technology" GURPS Space Contains an excellent random generator for creating planetary systems based on what we know of the universe and our own solar system, has an optional set of results for including "extraordinary" objects like ringworlds, and dyson's spheres, living stars, ect. The generator is as specific as what level of life has evolved on the planet, and what their government is like. It gets extremely cumbersome to generate many planets at once because of that detail, I have heard of a "Sector Generator" program that will let your computer do that for you, but I don't know where to find it. For "Soft" Sci-Fi Includes all the books recomended for "Hard SF" GURPS Psionics Borderlines a recomendation for "Hard" only because of the popular consensus about the validity of the topic. Has very good remarks about recorded observations and how to simulate them in GURPS GURPS Cyberpunk The first and best source of cyberwear, Cybernetic Interfaces, Hacking the Net. This book was confiscated by the U.S. Secret Service as a manual for computer hacking, at last report SJG still hasn't gotten back all their computers. ***For Traveler fans GURPS Traveler Not actually "Hard" SF, but GURPS is now the official source of Traveler. Already has two or three additional suppliments. ***For The Incureable GURPS Player (Like myself) (Not a complete listing but here for content information and reviews) GURPS Compendium II For those that *must* know the difference between a bronze machate and an iron shortsword. Includes detailed hit location chart, poisions, diseases, vehicle maintence.... GURPS Vehicles / GURPS Robots Must be *Absolutely Incureable* to actually want either of these. What the DSII design rules are to simplicity, GURPS design rules are to complexity. Vehicles has complete rules for making stone age carts, superscience starships, superscience carts, or a stone age starship. Very cumbersome to do, and you never really know how your creation will perform, even with practice. I hear that there is a computer program for this as well, but I'm not sure where it resides on the www GURPS Illuminati University (IOU) Really good just for the read. Excellent "Random Button Pushing Table" and "Random Side Effect Table". Illustrations by Phil and Kaja Foglio. GURPS Warehouse 23 Excellent source for the conspiracy buffs. Amusing read, try to figure out what has been really reported and what SJG made up. ***Books I reccomend avoiding GURPS Black Ops Restirctive character creation: out of 600 points (yes 600 points in a 100 to 500 point game system) 550 of them are spent. Very combat oriented with only hints to any type of "Sean Connery as James Bond" behavior. Not even a really good conspiracy sourcebook. Okay I've put in my $440.00 worth (the amount I've spent on GURPS books). I'm done now.