The restrictions are those of realism and point totals, not artificial 'classes.'" This creates room for a variety of distinct, dynamic characters. To quote the book, "Any character can learn any sort of ability or combination of abilities. These two pages bring out the strengths of the GURPS system as I see it.ġ) No character classes. The Creating A Character is another short overview, this time of the character creation system. Exceptionally good or bad rolls can cause "critical" successes and failures, which are usually interesting and sometimes spectacular. The success roll is a roll using 3 dice any result equal to or less than the target number is a success and anything higher is a failure. There are two basic concepts that you need to understand GURPS: the success roll and the character creation system. This is a page-long overview of the system, explaining the basic concepts. The quick start section is also well done. The "what is roleplaying" section is nicely done, giving a wide range of examples and campaign types. These sections are the traditional initiation to roleplaying that can be found in just about every system. Let's break this book down, chapter by chapter.Ĭhapter 0: What Is Roleplaying?, Quick Start, Creating A Character This goal provides GURPS with its many strengths and is also the unavoidable cause of some of its weaknesses.
So, GURPS tries to be the omni-system: a system you can use for any setting and any campaign. Well, at least they set their sights high. GURPS is an attempt to be "the most flexible roleplaying system ever created," "the roleplaying game that everyone can enjoy," and "the most realistic, flexible and universal system ever developed." This will be as in-depth a review as I can make it. You've never heard of it, you say? (You're merely a hypothetical construction to make writing this review easier, you say?) All right. GURPS - one of the most famous game systems in existence, and currently one of the top three best sellers.