GURPS - a matter of style and setting.
 

Our gaming group has gotten to the point where the fantasy feel of Dungeons & Dragons aren't as fun as it used to be. It is very fun, of course, but we belive it might be even more fun to play in other worlds and settings.

In todays game, we just created some characters out of thin air and threw them into a real world setting set in the mid 30s, where we battled on trains and all. Man that was fun! To make things worse, we had one tiefling and a fighter created for Forgotten Realms in the game. Odd indeed. Of course, non of the D&D rules worked very well, but who cares, it was a blast! But of course it would be even more fun with rules supporing "alternate" rules and settings.

Therefore we will start a game in GURPS. But, we have NO IDEA "what" we want to play, and how the world shall be. We do know we don't want to play fantasy or space travel campaigns, but that's pretty much it, and we don't want to play an evil campaign. Any ideas?

Thanks!

Well, if you hadn't already chosen gurps, I would have a few suggestions for you... Feng Shui, Shadowrun (both of these you could argue are fantasy, but...), Cyberpunk, or BESM... but I know little about GURPS. My version of GURPS is BESM :)

GURPS Steampunk rocks. Big style.
GURPS BalckOps is cool.
GURPS Cyberpunk I heard is pretty Funky.
GURPS Diskworld, if your familiar with the novels, for a more comedy central game.

You might also want to keep your eye out for D20 Modern, coming out in August. It's rules similar to D&D, but balanced for the modern world.

First off, if you're serious about GURPS, subscribe to Pyramid online. Great resource for GURPS in terms of articles, archeive, and the people there. Very GURPS/SJG intense stuff.

Second off, start with the basic rulebook, get the Hardcover is you can. Get Compendium I & II. (Please note that there is discussion of GURPS 4th ed so buyer beware)

Then determine a campaign setting/time period. Note, GURPS has books to cover just about any genre or time and several unique settings, but very little published support outside said Pyramid.

Seeing as I'm listening to "The House of Usher", a very Lovecraftian Goth band from germany, how about GURPS Cthulhupunk?

-Alla

Gurps is nice.

But if you want some crazy action, Feng Shui is at the top of the list. You could have almost played the same set up on the train if you used the Secret Wars background. FS has everything from the Karate Cop to Supernatural Beast. The game aims at everything related to Honk Kong cinema, most action flicks.

To keep going in d20, d20 Deadlands is not your Dad's fantasy DND game. It is set in an alternate 1800s Steampunk/Cthulu setting.

AEG also just put out Spycraft a modern Espinoge game.

You could do GURPs Star Gate (not space travel).
You could do GURPs Fringeworthy (not space travel).
You could do GURPs Delta Green.
You could do GURPs Supers - I'd do Hero but.....
You could do GURPs Voodoo - nice.
You could do GURPs Forgotten Realms (Not Fantasy). :eek:

Re: GURPS - a matter of style and setting.
 

Pick your favourite genre besides fantasy or space travel, and go with that. Alternatively, if you really have no idea, play a genre-hopping campaign, and get Alternate Earths for a few ideas.

However, note that GURPS is best when dealing with relatively low to moderate power levels. Supers along the lines of the Punisher or Daredevil work well. Characters like the Avengers or the JLA are a pain to handle in GURPS.

I would recommend, in order from best to whatever, the following:

• GURPS Cabal (Supernatural occult conspiracy)
• GURPS WWII (Military realism. The best book for portraying the war)
• GURPS Voodoo (A shadow war fought by rival sects of magi for the salvation of mankind)
• GURPS Black Ops (Think Men in Black)
• GURPS Horror (Definitive in the genre, has several optional settings)
• GURPS Steampunk (thorough treatment, several optional settings, very Jules Verne)
• GURPS Illuminati (General conspiracy theory. Great for everything from comedy to X Files)

Strange that no one has suggested it yet, but I think that Technomancer is one of the more interesting settings. This assumes you want some sort of setting rather than just ideas of how to mix different genres.

The setting is modern world with magic, Missles and Magic. This allows your players to deal with modern (well, actually a few decades ago) situations yet still encounter magic. The history diverges from our history with the first A-bomb test, which makes it a little easier.


Before you go too far with GURPS, I would suggest you try a few mock combats and situations. Get a reasonable handle on the rules before diving heavily into a campaign. This allows you and your players to try a few different character designs before starting the 'real' campaign.

And if you're coming from D&D, don't assume all the "neat" advanced rules are necessary...then complain that combat is slow and complicated.

Forget GURPS.......go with Deadlands (the original, not d20), or wierd wars (the d20 was a blast for this one)

Also get GURPS-lite (free pdf from SJGames website) and use it for a test run before you decide.

Something I've thought of doing for a 'take a break' campaign is a modern GURPS political campaign. Have your DM read All the King's Men, Primary Colors, and Fear and Loathing: On the Campaign Trail '72, roll up some political advisors and maybe a thug type, maybe/maybe not have the cadidate himself a PC, start half a year before the primaries, and go to it.

Oh, and way too much West Wing can't hurt either.

Or maybe I'm just brain-damaged from growing up in Washigton. ;)

In GURPS, you don't want to roll up characters.

The random generation system really doesn't work very well, and I would recommend people ignore it's existence. Design the characters, don't roll them up.

From best to whatever? Meaning that the first book on your list is the best one in your opinion? Damn; GURPS Cabal is the one book on the list that I don't have! :p
(My Horror book is quite old, but I'll get the new one in the next couple days...)

Better yet, get GURPS Deadlands! :cool:

GURPS - great choice!

nice campaigns:

1. conspiracy/illuminati/horror - GURPS Horror 3e, Illuminati, Warehouse 23, Cabal

2. GURPS Swashbuckler 2e

3. GURPS Steampunk & Steam-Tech

4. GURPS Conspiracy X

5. GURPS Cthulhupunk

6. GURPS Transhuman Space


....and get a Pyramid subscribtion!

If you liked the idea of throwing characters from different times and universes together in any kind of setting, they might or might not belong to (originally), and you like movies, you have two other options besides GURPS:
Torg. Unfortunately, it will become difficult to get the books for it (and you need several of them. Look at old WEG Sites, or internet auctions. Maybe you will still find some copies)
Or Feng Shu (I only read the "core book", but it sounds nice), but this is very "hong kong action" focused. (Not that that would be bad. But, compared to Torg, where you can use any typical movie setting - from cyberpunk to film noir to indiano jones style and contemporary - it is a narrow focus)

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