Roleplayer #12, December 1988
GURPS 3rd Edition -- Bigger and Better
By Steve Jackson
At last, GURPS
Basic Set (Third Edition) is on the shelves. It represents
a complete reworking and re-editing of the system; we took into account
the comments on the thousands of feedback questionnaires we've
received since the game's first release, and did our best to make everyone
happy. (And if you're one of the people who returned a questionnaire, we
thank you very much, and we hope you got what you wanted in the
new edition.)
The most obvious difference is in the physical format. No box! Instead,
it's a single 256-page perfect-bound book, shrink-wrapped along with a 16-page
booklet that the user takes apart to get the maps, Instant Characters sheet,
etc. The striking new cover is by Michael Presley.
But the price is lower! This savings comes mainly from dropping
the box; boxes are expensive. That let us reduce the price to $19.95. This
is not wholly altruistic, of course. We expect this bigger, less-expensive
edition to make the GURPS system even more popular.
New Sections
This edition includes everything from the second edition, and a great deal
more. Our feedback indicated that buyers wanted to see a wider variety of
material in order to make the set truly "generic." Your wish is
our command . . .
First and foremost, the "medieval" bias of the earlier editions
has been erased. This edition adds much more material on modern and futuristic
weapons and skills.
The other really significant omission from earlier editions was, of course,
magic. The original GURPS plan called for magic
to be in the Basic Set, but we couldn't get it
into the first two editions. The Third Edition gives complete magic rules,
and a list of over 100 spells. That is not the whole spell list
from GURPS Fantasy, but it's a carefully chosen
subset -- enough to get any fantasy campaign off the ground. (The original
GURPS
Fantasy worldbook is now out of print, but an expanded
and updated GURPS
Magic will be at the printer by the time you read this.)
Another Third Edition addition is psionics. Those who have GURPS
Horror have seen the psi rules. Portions are also in GURPS
Humanx and Horseclans. We decided
that anything that had to be reprinted that often was basic information
-- so it's now in the Basic Set.
Other new chapters include Mounted and Vehicle Combat and Flight. Not a
complete chapter, but important, were the Fright Check rules from GURPS
Horror -- here, again, we thought it was "generic"
enough to include in the Basic Set. We've also
drastically reorganized and upgraded the sections on game-mastering and
on writing your own adventures.
And, of course, there are several new advantages and disadvantages. Some
you've seen in worldbooks or Roleplayer -- others are brand new.
Rule Changes
There are lots of small changes and clarifications here and there. The only
really major change is in the ranged-combat system. This was completely
revised for a more flexible and realistic representation of all kinds of
weapons, right up to TL12 beam guns. On p.5 of this Roleplayer,
we give the weapons from GURPS Horror in the new
game terms.
We also added the concept of the "Will roll." This is a new term,
but not really a new rule; we just introduced the term Will roll so we could
quit saying "Roll IQ, plus or minus Strong or Weak Will . . ."
GURPS Update
We are planning a special release in January, for those of you who have
the first or second edition and don't intend to purchase the new one. Of
course, we hope that everyone will want their very own copy of the Third
Edition . . . but we're not going to make you
buy it. Instead, we're collecting the significant changes and additions
in a separate book. The GURPS
Update should be 64 pages and retail at $4.95.
GURPS Players' Book
Also in January, we'll release the Players' Book. This
is essentially a reprint of the character-creation information, plus the
necessary weapon and equipment tables, from the Basic Set.
It is specifically intended for use when characters are created, and for
player reference during the game. If you're a
GM, you may want to keep a copy for new players to refer to; if you're a
player, this will let you get the rules you really need without buying the
whole Basic Set. It will retail for $9.95.
(Back to Roleplayer
#12 Table of Contents)