I have to echo Jurgen's thoughts regarding GURPS. It's a very good system that utilized an elegant core mechanic years before D&D3e. Excluding rabid fanboys and haters from either side of the aisle, I'll try to give you an objective assessment.
GURPS gets a bad rap, much the same way D&D does at other sites like RPGNet. It won't ever be all things to all people, but for those who like it, it can handle a wider range of genres than d20 can without modification. This is a dual-edged sword for the game. Some people want to have a single place to go to reference, say, all of your combat rules - regardless of whether it's Stone Age or Space Opera. Others don't want rules on autofire and explosives taking up page count when they're only interested in running a fantasy campaign. It's been my experience that the latter type of gamer takes an all-or-nothing view of the game. Yet they don't bat an eye at having D&D core rulebooks & d20 Modern or other d20 variant even though there is usually a fair amount of repeated text. Why? I suspect because since those rules are scattered amongst various books, they consider it easier to take or leave what you want. Since GURPS was designed to support genre-crossing styles of play, you don't see the separation in different books that you do with d20 (at least in regards to character creation and combat).
What you will see in GURPS supplements are mechanics that supplement the genre or setting and a great deal of GM advice and suggestions. It baffles me that people who have no problem with the metric ton of d20 variant rules on the market cry that GURPS has "too much".
GURPS in play, is extremely quick. In my experience, it's faster than d20 because there are fewer exceptions or special circumstances employed (such as feats, attack of opportunity, etc.). As Jurgen stated, combat is a more visceral & dramatic affair. There's no D&D hit point "what does it represent" ambiguity. Called shots, hit locations, etc. are built into the core rules as advanced options. Does your critically wounded hero fight on through the pain? In GURPS he does, but in d20 (or at least D&D) he runs at peak efficiency until he drops unconscious. GURPS seems to keep my players on the edge of their seat more. Massive Damage and Wounds/Vitality help d20 get close to the level of tension, but not quite 100% there. My group has often said that GURPS plays out like a novel, while D&D plays out like a video game.
On the other hand, d20 has gone a long way to getting closer to GURPS in its ability to support multiple genres. However, rather than doing so via a Generic System approach, d20 can be tweaked, massaged, or hammered into the appropriate style desired to support a campaign or genre. D&D3/3.5 was still D&D to me - with all of the baggage that caused me to abandon it. D20 Modern, Spycraft, Conan, and Grim Tales showed me how versatile the system can be. Also, the classes-as-archetypes are a much easier learning curve for new players and for player improvement in general. Hit Die and levels are easier GM tools to work with when creating adventures than point totals.
If GURPS has an Achilles' Heel, it's that all that detail can result in long character creation times. As work and family demands continue to eat into available GM prep time, d20's faster character creation and "building block" levels shave 25-50% on character creation. Note: this is a self-inflicted problem. I like fully-statted NPCs (at least for tier 1 & 2 characters). I recently purchased GURPS Character Assistant - it's been the greatest time-saver I've purchased all year.
I still go back and forth between GURPS and Conan as to which is my preferred system. At the end of the day, they're both great games.
Azgulor
GURPS gets a bad rap, much the same way D&D does at other sites like RPGNet. It won't ever be all things to all people, but for those who like it, it can handle a wider range of genres than d20 can without modification. This is a dual-edged sword for the game. Some people want to have a single place to go to reference, say, all of your combat rules - regardless of whether it's Stone Age or Space Opera. Others don't want rules on autofire and explosives taking up page count when they're only interested in running a fantasy campaign. It's been my experience that the latter type of gamer takes an all-or-nothing view of the game. Yet they don't bat an eye at having D&D core rulebooks & d20 Modern or other d20 variant even though there is usually a fair amount of repeated text. Why? I suspect because since those rules are scattered amongst various books, they consider it easier to take or leave what you want. Since GURPS was designed to support genre-crossing styles of play, you don't see the separation in different books that you do with d20 (at least in regards to character creation and combat).
What you will see in GURPS supplements are mechanics that supplement the genre or setting and a great deal of GM advice and suggestions. It baffles me that people who have no problem with the metric ton of d20 variant rules on the market cry that GURPS has "too much".
GURPS in play, is extremely quick. In my experience, it's faster than d20 because there are fewer exceptions or special circumstances employed (such as feats, attack of opportunity, etc.). As Jurgen stated, combat is a more visceral & dramatic affair. There's no D&D hit point "what does it represent" ambiguity. Called shots, hit locations, etc. are built into the core rules as advanced options. Does your critically wounded hero fight on through the pain? In GURPS he does, but in d20 (or at least D&D) he runs at peak efficiency until he drops unconscious. GURPS seems to keep my players on the edge of their seat more. Massive Damage and Wounds/Vitality help d20 get close to the level of tension, but not quite 100% there. My group has often said that GURPS plays out like a novel, while D&D plays out like a video game.
On the other hand, d20 has gone a long way to getting closer to GURPS in its ability to support multiple genres. However, rather than doing so via a Generic System approach, d20 can be tweaked, massaged, or hammered into the appropriate style desired to support a campaign or genre. D&D3/3.5 was still D&D to me - with all of the baggage that caused me to abandon it. D20 Modern, Spycraft, Conan, and Grim Tales showed me how versatile the system can be. Also, the classes-as-archetypes are a much easier learning curve for new players and for player improvement in general. Hit Die and levels are easier GM tools to work with when creating adventures than point totals.
If GURPS has an Achilles' Heel, it's that all that detail can result in long character creation times. As work and family demands continue to eat into available GM prep time, d20's faster character creation and "building block" levels shave 25-50% on character creation. Note: this is a self-inflicted problem. I like fully-statted NPCs (at least for tier 1 & 2 characters). I recently purchased GURPS Character Assistant - it's been the greatest time-saver I've purchased all year.
I still go back and forth between GURPS and Conan as to which is my preferred system. At the end of the day, they're both great games.
Azgulor
