GURPS settings appreciation thread

[Edgar Ironpelt]

So many! I do like the Traveller version of the setting they made.

Yes, GURPS and the Traveller setting were a good fit.

I do have a minor aesthetic regret that SJG put the original "Beowolf calling for help" on the cover rather than the ad text of a ship replying "Hang in there Beowolf. Help is on the way."

 

[Bravesteel25]

Since a lot of GURPS settings habe been mentioned in the thread about Revised 4rth edition, I thought I'd start a thread were people can gush about GURPS settings old and new.

I'll make a start with Banestorm: I never played it and read the new version only cursory a few years ago because I wasn't expecting to play it anytime soon (if ever), but I love it's core concept of having imported earth cultures (along with religions) that have already gained a strong foothold in a fantasy world. It gets around all the awkwardness of obvious non-XY-cultures, while at the same time, it provides ample space for pseudo-historical gaming without actual history getting into your hair. Plus, the elves being the ones who f***ed it all up is kind of a nice bonus twist. I just realized that the fantasy folk series for GURPS includes info on most of the fantasy folks within the Banestorm setting, so there even seems to be a lot more setting material than I expected.
(BTW, I never checked out Banestorm when it was still GURPS Fantasy, because I thought it was mainly a portal fantasy setting where people from our time travel to Yrth, bringing along their machine guns ... I wasn't into this and realized only much later that while that theoretically is a possibility in the setting, it's not at all what the whole banestorm thing is about!)

I think I finally should give it a proper read. While the next rules system I want to try is Daggerheart, Yrth could be a good setting for it.

Banestorm is hands down my favorite GURPS setting. It pops into my head every couple of months and it is high time I gave it a shot. Daggerheart is one of my two systems of choice at the moment and it would be a great way to finally run Yrth.

 

[pawsplay]

I'm actually a convert to Banestorm. Back when it was just GURPS Fantasy, I found it a little bland, SCA-inspired, and lacking in adventure opportunities. The newer versions emphasize more adventure hooks and mysteries that make it feel more like a heroic fantasy setting, and less like an exercise in bad history.

 

[Tonguez]

I'm actually a convert to Banestorm. Back when it was just GURPS Fantasy, I found it a little bland, SCA-inspired, and lacking in adventure opportunities. The newer versions emphasize more adventure hooks and mysteries that make it feel more like a heroic fantasy setting, and less like an exercise in bad history.

Sounds like I need to check out the new version of Banestorm. I share your experience of finding GURPS Fantasy a bit bland

 

[Jahydin]

As much as I loved the GURPS sourcebooks, I don't think I ended up buying a single one. Core was more than enough to keep me busy as a kid...

That said, enjoyed Diskworld, In Nomine, Bestiary, and Martial Arts.

 

[Voadam]

I really like Fantasy II for GURPS 3e. Very unique. PCs are a type of indigenous culture caught in a nightmare land. Once human monsters who are defined by how they are warped, the headless, the heightless, the skinless, etc. are all fairly horrific. There is a decadent super mage culture ridiculously powerful culture with no respect for the PC types. There are the gods, indifferent Chaos beings who accidentally warp and crush humans as they crash through the land (and they are based on Winnie the Pooh characters).

I felt they fit right into 2e AD&D Ravenloft's original Nightmare Lands with the Abber Nomads who think reality is just a dream to be gotten through. My group never got there though.