Review: GURPS by Steve Jackson Games | TTRPG System 

Before this video even starts I have to say that for me GURPS was a leap of faith. While leaning to play, I got discouraged a few times and set it down. Then after a few sessions I slowly begun to see the infinite amount of tactical decisions and combinations that come up in combat and just how suspenseful that second by second combat could be. Being able to create and play an elderly character with a bad back and being compensated for that disadvantage being built into the rules without having to work something out with a suspicious GM is a breather and bakes that aspect of role play right into the game. I'm not one of those guys who is going to tell you that learning GURPS is easy, because for me it wasn't ( I've played a dozen and GMed a handful ), but it was totally worth the effort. And the only thing I use it for ( at the moment ) is Rare Magic Fantasy. But I do want to try a GI Joe game using cybernetically enhanced Joes. Code Named: Team Bronze Heart.

GURPS has one real rule: Just because you can do anything does not mean you should do everything. Take the two core books. Add one setting book, one tech book, and one "flavor" book. Say build a game with space and horror. I started a year ago with GURPS Lite. Now I am using a lot of the 3E Traveller books in my own gritty far-future space campaign. We were all pretty new to the game, and having character templates really helped. The biggest problem I have had as a GM with players coming from D&D-like games is getting them to play their characters' advantages and disadvantages. In fact if it's Friday it must be game night. Looking forward to more GURPS content.

Funny comment you made about GURPS videos not doing well, it is true and it's a shame. Great overview and great to see more GURPS love being spread!

MORE CRUNCH MORE REALISM MORE TABLE

Aside from the Disadvantages which is the unsung hero of GURPS, the magic system mechanic of being able to tap your hitpoints when you run out of FP is my favorite mechanic in RPGdom. You can even go down to 0 hp to power a spell if you want which could create a really memorable moment. And that's how you win any RPG.

I love seein GURPS content, even if I've never played in a fulfilling campaign yet, I hope you do more builds and stuff for Gurps. I do find it interesting how you talk about 1 way of doing Magic, because GURPS has like 3 different variations of magic, even before customizing them further.

I've been playing GURPS for years (since high school). It is by far my favorite game. It is the last bastion of satisfyingly crunchy detail and playable simulationism (a dying style of game) while being flexible enough to be stripped down to a fairly rules lite game for newcomers. I think its reputation as being overly complex and the fact that it predominantly exists as PDFs now are its biggest enemies. Despite this, I think that GURPS should lean into the simulationism instead of the universality; Fate, Savage Worlds, and similar games are also universal without the crunch (and with faster character creation and less math), but the characters in those games generally have a superficial "sameness" to them. The crunch and simulationism of GURPS makes possible dramatic possibilities that are often ignored or forgotten by modern gaming culture. Generally when I introduce a new player to GURPS combat, the player is blown away and they never look at the combat in other games the same way.

GURPS is great and I've played it for years. I have personally played medieval sword & sorcery, far future space opera, modern day superheroes and modern day hidden magic with this system. My fav was in the far future one where I played an electrokinetic gagdeteering ninja.

I've always had a lot of love for GURPS... but it's been hard finding a group for it.

Excellent video! Love the game.

I own it and I totally respect the game, but I have never run it, because I have always preferred Chaosiums Basic Roleplaying system [BRP], it has all the crunch I need. But there is no denying, GURPS does have more options. Also, the GURPS settings books are some of the best out there. [I use them even with BRP]

Thanks! Very helpful. I've been trying to wrap my head around GURPS for awhile but keep getting distracted by other projects lol

GURPS require a new edition, they should take basic set and turn these two books into a single book with most used rules/traits/spells etc with maximum of 200 pages. Then make another book that will have all other leftover info. Even with all these summary tables, GURPS is very hard to get into. Although I like it a lot and use GURPS Lite from time to time, I only use basic set to get ideas for my own rules.

I know this might sounds immature or superficial, but to me the greatest drawback of GURPS lies in its books. They are dry, uninspiring, the layout looks right out of the 80s and the rules are scattered and not clearly explained. I find it extremely frustrating. I kind of love the gaming system per se, but every time I pick up a book, I swear, I *really swear* I'd rather be reading topological algebra or advanced python or almost eveerything else. I hope they'll make a 5th edition (the chances are slim, though) that doesn't look and feel like it belongs to the twentieth century. (I'm 50, btw, so it's not just a "young guy syndrome". It's just that reading up something for a game should be enjoyable, not feel like a chore.)