Premise
The title says it all: Generic Universal Roleplaying System. It’s a broad set of rules that was designed to cover as many situations as possible.
Core Mechanics
Roll 3d6, aiming to get below a target number. The lower, the better.
This is the only consistent rule throughout the book, but most other rules either modify this, or require a success on this roll.
Quick and Dirty Character Creation
You have a certain amount of points to build your character. Everything you want your character to have, or be able to do above and beyond what’s normal for a human, you pay points for.
This includes Attributes, Skills, Special Maneuvers, Magic, and other special Advantages.
Disadvantages can give a player character more points.
What It Does Well or Interestingly
GURPS is comprehensive; for almost everything you could imagine, GURPS likely has a sourcebook for.
GURPS Lite is available for free, and is fully usable on its own. Though if you want more features, it’s compatible with the full version of the game.
Potential Pitfalls
GURPS is comprehensive. If you don’t have an idea of what you want to do, you can easily overwhelm yourself with everything that’s available.
Sections to Pay Attention To
The table of contents and index. This isn’t the sort of rulebook you should read without a clear idea of what kind of game you want to run.
Final Thoughts
A useful addition to any game master’s repertoire, since it can technically do anything. Also a nice toolset for would be game designers to play around with. Just don’t let this be the only game you decide to play.
