3 comments about GURPS Mage: The Ascension.

1. No offence to Robert M. Schroeck, but just buy the original game. The GURPS version is good, but seriously the game was designed under a COMPLETELY different dice mechanic. The original Mage the Acension is VERY good, with a huge amount of support, most of it quite good. So if you want to play a Mage game, buy the original. But if you want REALLY powerful Magick Users in your GURPS campaign get this book.



2. This GURPS supplement is derived from White Wolf's Mage game, from when that game was in its first edition. It adapts White Wolf's much more free-form magic system into GURPS mechanics. It's not really compatible with the (then) pre-existing magic system for GURPS, as this version is far more powerful, and if your GURPS game mixes genres, old-style wizards and magic-user types are liable to feel ripped off, as they will have paid more character points for less power.
   
   I feel that this adaptation captures much of the feel of the original White Wolf game, while adding the ubiquitous game-mechanics of GURPS in an appropriate manner. Much of what makes the White Wolf version hard to play is the absence of hard-and-fast system rules. The GURPS version attempts makes up for that without eliminating the open-ended feel of the original magic. In the end, a compromise is reached. This version strikes a balance between total game mechanics-oriented and free-form story-oriented magic.
   
   



3. Mage The Ascension was a fairly groundbreaking game, to me. Just like the GURPS version of Vampire the Masquerade, Steve Jackson's shot at transporting a White Wolf game to their system just did not seem to measure up, which was a shame, as integrating that into other areas of GURPS would have been pretty cool. An example of an attempt that failed.

2 comments about GURPS Fantasy Folk (GURPS: Generic Universal Role Playing System).

1. This excellent source books provides a way to create fantasy races and provides some very good examples using well-chosen fantasy races. People who have read the Fantasy Trip, Tunnels and Trolls and D&D rpgs will recognise and welcome these architypal races presented in a fresh and interesting style.



2. If you are planning any sort of Fantasy based game for GURPS, this book is a must. Not only does it present the classic races of elves, dwarves, gnomes, orc, halflings, and various others, but also gives them character more so than any other game I have found. Each race is given at least 2 to 3 pages of text, and that doesnt include the game mechanics. Also, because of the GURPS system, it is easy to modify and change the existing races for your personal games.
   
   Also, their is a section on creating your own races for your game, which proves invaluable to any game master wanting to put in his own ideas. This is an award winning book, and a quick look through its pages will show you why.

1 comments about GURPS Vampire Companion: The Masquerade (GURPS: Generic Universal Role Playing System).

1. This expansion brings in the 4 independent clans the Sabbat with their two clans and all the antitribus and a few bloodlines (daughters of cacophony, salubri and a decaying nosferatu like one) with conversions for high level powers new clan powers and their merits and flaws. Very useful for turning the full VTM world into gurps or for adding stuff to a normal gurps world.

No comments about Deck Plan 1: Beowulf-class Free Trader (GURPS Traveller).

5 comments about GURPS Traveller: Science Fiction Adventure in the Far Future (GURPS Traveller).

1. Well...as an avid Traveller player, I was very interested inseeing what SJG could do to Traveller. I approached buying the gamewith great apprehension. But, in the end I was throughly satisified.Sure, I beef with the GURPS mechanics, but there is more than enough background info which one can overcome that by possessing another rulebook. If you are a Traveller collector, which owns everything that GDW ever produced for the game...then this game is not for you (you will find too much repetition). But, if you are like most of us with a decent Traveller collection. You will find happy to see everything under one roof, so to speak. In the meantime, lets hope T5 is everything we want!



2. As a big fan of Traveller, I was eager to see how Loren Wiseman would adapt the game for GURPS. While I suppose GURPS Traveller is a necessary book to introduce Traveller to GURPS, the book certainly isn't very meaty and doesn't have much in it that you couldn't just glean from purchasing the GURPS main rulebook. The character archtypes are a must but beyond that, they could have distributed the material among GURPS other sourcebooks. I would have rather scene a more detailed history section, akin to those I've come to expect from my Traveller products.



3. to set up a new campaigne or universe. I've been away from gaming for about 15 years and have passed on all my old Traveller stuff. Never having used Gurps before, I thought that the Traveller book would be enough to get going again. I figured it would contain the basic info as found in the first three original Traveller books. Wrong! There's no real info on world creation or space combat or even charactar creation. That's all covered in other GURPS books. By the time I get all the books I think I'll need, I'll be in for $100 or more. The GURPS system takes the narrow yet deep info approach to gaming. Travellar is a good background book if you're already a GURPS player but you need other books if you're new to this. It looks like I'll be getting "Traveller Scouts: First In" for world building and "GURPS Space" for space combat as well as "GURPS Basic Set" and "Compendium II" (charactar creation) . The good thing is that SJGames (publisher of GURPS) has a free GURPS Lite pdf file you can download that gives the basics of GURPS roleplaying. This may let me put off picking up the Basic Set for a while.



4. I'm a twenty year traveller veteran - I cut my teeth on classic Traveller, played MegaTraveller so much I probably could have won the rebellion single-handedly ;-) - and enjoyed wandering around the ruins of the Third Imperium, in Traveller : The New Era.

   ...Let me say straight out that this is a *great* addition to that legacy. Loren Wiseman has done a fantastic job of presenting a background rich in detail that will be accessible to newbies and ancient grognards alike. Set in an "alternate universe" in 1120, where the Imperium never fell, the supplement lovingly brings the feel of classic traveller to the GURPS system.

   The book is packed with library data, essays on the Imperium and its worlds, character templates, weapons, equipment - and the second edition even includes a modular starship design system to ease the pain associated with the enormous detail in GURPS vehicles.

   So without further ado - I bequeath this supplement ...5 stars. Its well written, beautifully presented and just a joy to own. If you are inquistive about Traveller this is a great book to start with. If you are vaguely serious about Traveller this is a purhase that you just can't do without.




5. Wow! Finally got round to playing Traveller with the GURPS system last night and I was amazed at what a good fit they make. The attention to detail in GURPS (and in particular combat) really works well with Traveller. The weapons and armour are beautifully realized and the character generation system gives a level of detail and flexibility that sits well with the depth of the Traveller universe. My worry that we would get bogged down in details was groundless. Though the GURPS rules cover pretty much everything, they don't get in the way. And another thing, how nice, how Traveller, to only be using six sided dice!

1 comments about GURPS Arabian Nights: Magic and Mystery in the Land of the Djinn (GURPS: Generic Universal Role Playing System).

1. The book is a very good reference for historical facts and characters. It describes the medieval arabian culture and society very well. However, it is not a book for present Arabia, only for the periods before 1.300 a.C.

   The book does a good job in the "fantasy" side, introducing elements of Thousand and One Nights, such as monsters and races (complete sheets of the legendary Djinns, Rocs, Persian Dragons and such). The Magic and Magic Itens section is average. It's not as "fantastic" (or "sparky", or "flashy") as al-Qadim, but in the end it's an advantage (there, the Great Caliph is served by hundreds of Djinns!)

   The book could have more details about the dangers and facts of living in the desert, handling camels, cooking and surviving, just like GURPS Imperial Rome, which details the life in the court. Also, it could modify more things in magic, just like GURPS Celtic Myths, to improve the interference of "destiny and fate" and the arabian flavor.

   In the end, it's a great book! Worths very well the money paid for it.

3 comments about GURPS Space.

1. This book does wonders for a far future GURPS campaign. The world and ship generation techniques are excellent. Lots of cool gadgets too. The weak point of Space is it's lack of detail on creating alien races. But if it were more detailed they wouldn't have needed to make GURPS Aliens right?



2. Ahem ...

   This is one of the best roleplaying books I have ever read and certainly among the best for GURPS. If you want to create a pace-based science fiction campaign, this is the book for you whether you play GURPS or not. Everything is in here: spaceship design, alien races, solar systems, planetary governments ... all organised in a take-it-or-leave-it fashion. If something seems to techy to you - leave it out! If you want hard sci-fi with colony ships and no aliens, GURPS can oblige. If you prefer Flash Gordon to Carl Sagan, GURPS has the reactionless thrusters (scientifically divided into slow and fast) primed and ready for take off. If you are desperate for a REAL hard sci-fi setting, then GURPS Traveller maybe a better purchase but if you're itching to create your own strange new worlds, this is the book.

   Generic in the best possible sense.




3. GURPS Space is one of the many competent supplements for Steve Jackson's Generic Universal Role Playing system.
   
   Or, handy when you want to go haring around in spaceships and that sort of fun stuff. Mostly we used it as an adjunct to the other games we were playing at the time, but worth a look.

No comments about GURPS Modern Firepower.

1 comments about GURPS Cthulhupunk: Ancient Horror Crawls into the Dark Future (Steve Jackson Games).

1. This book is an excellent suplement in the cyberpunk universe. It's descriptions of the Mythos are quite good although they do contradict Lovecraft in places, though none of these contradiction are very major. The setting is a future earth where larg corporations have taken over and dark powers man can't hope to understand hide in the shadows. These powers will not be content to hide forever. They feed off the suffering of mankind in this dismal age. The major drawback of this world is that you really need GURPS CyberWorld (Which happens to be one of the best Worldbooks GURPS has ever done) to play it effectively. This is a departure from typical GURPS suplements in that it really isn't a stand alone worldbook. Overall though it is an excellent supplement and a must for anyone who loves Lovecraftian Horror and Cyberpunk.

4 comments about GURPS Ultra-Tech: A Sourcebook of Weapons & Equipment for Future Ages.

1. I loved this book! If the technological device in a sci-fi book somewhere, the rules for having it are in here. It is organized by Tech Level so it is very easy to find what you want. There are also very good descriptions of possibilities of what life will be like in the future at every tech level. Of course at TL 15-16 things get a little hard to conceive. The book has a somewhat optomistic outlook on the future, which, compared to GURPS supplements like Cyberpunk is quite odd. This is a definite must have for people who want to play campaigns of high technology set in the future. Of course one should also look out for Ultra-Tech 2 which is in the process as I type. It has a good blend of playing rules for both cinematic and "realistic" and has rules for the following things that are vital
   Cybernetics
   Weapons
   Melee Weapons
   Transportation
   Armor
   Medical Technology
   
   etc. I would definitely recommend this to people who play futuristic GURPS and to those who don't, try it, it's awesome!



2. Fantastic gaming source. Provides futuristic technologies and gadgets for any science fiction game, as well as some ideas on the changes society might go through in dealing with advanced technology.



3. I don't think this is GREAT utility but it is certainly very good. The book has several sections for different Tech Levels but only a handful of items that sometimes seem completely unrelated. I would have liked to have seen a whole mass of civilian items that seem more related as well as military. Very good but could have been better.



4. This GURPS sourcebook is designed to work well with any science fiction setting, and can easily be converted for use in a non-GURPS game. Hundreds of items are listed, described in relatively short capsules (1-3 paragraphs, usually) with good descriptions of game effects.

   While the books is useful beyond description, there are a few (minor) flaws. First, for people inclined to mercantile campaigns, a great deal of the book deals with weapons and armor. Secondly, there is nothing to differentiate between hard-sf equipment and cinematic "rubber science" sci-fi type gear. For those of us who play games closer to Larry Niven than George Lucas, this can be irritating, especially if we know more about history than physics.