No comments about Conan: Moon of Blood (GURPS).

2 comments about GURPS High-Tech: Weapons and Equipment Through the Ages (GURPS: Generic Universal Role Playing System).

1. If you buy this book hoping it will be about high tech things for GURPS, you will be disappointed. It should be called GURPS guns or something. It is basically the history of firearms, with a few things about explosives and other sundry pieces of information thrown in. It is really quite interesting and well researched. However, it only goes up to modern times, and much of the text is devoted to ancient cannon, guns and so forth.

   There are a few peices of information that could be useful to a campaign in here, but mostly it is just background material, and is more geared towards being interesting reading than essential game rules. If you like this kind of GURPS book, you would probably give it more stars than I did.




2. As stated in an earlier review, this book's scope is too narrow. Its focus on weapons is distracting; if you're trying to recreate an 18th century environment, you need to know about more than muskets. When did people start using the Franklin Stove? How available was printed material? How did people get around? How did they climb mountains, how did their ships work, how accessible was glass?

   This is a handy book about weapons up through the 20th century, but not much else.

No comments about Gurps Ice Age : Roleplaying in the Prehistoric World.

No comments about Conan: The Wyrmslayer (GURPS).

No comments about Conan: Beyond Thunder River (GURPS).

2 comments about GURPS Shapeshifters.

1. 
   GURPS Shapeshifters is, as one would perhaps expect, an overview of creatures and characters (same thing, at least as far as the Generic Universal Role-Playing System is concerned) with the ability or curse of multiple forms. Robert M. Schroeck was the ideal author for this product, having written the original chapter on "weres" for the second edition of GURPS Bestiary, lo these many years ago.
   
   As with other books in what could be dubbed "the GURPS Critters" line (GURPS Undead, GURPS Spirits, GURPS Faerie, etc.) the work describes the history and legend of shapeshifting creatures. Where it departs from the format is in its examples. Following in the footsteps of GURPS Bloodtypes, most "GURPS Critters" books have focused on short, capsule descriptions of a large number of creature archetypes, with appended short notes on variations on the themes. Instead, in a format that hearkens back to GURPS Fantasy Folk or GURPS Aliens, the author discusses a smaller number of examples, but examines each of them in greater depth, covering each in several pages, as opposed to one or two for each creature. Cultures are being described here, not just potential adversaries or allies. This gives the text as a whole a greater degree of weight, and of utility.
   
   So what's the flaw? Unfortunately, this was one of the last major sourcebooks for the Third Edition of GURPS, published a year or so before the Fourth Edition came out. There have been substantial changes to the rules -- though not, I must note, as many changes as there were in the change from the 2nd Edition of Advanced Dungeons and Dragons to the 3rd Edition of what is now just called Dungeons and Dragons -- and these changes will add to the difficulty of using the material in this book with Fourth Edition games. But GURPS gamers who use shapeshifting creatures or characters in their games would still be well-advised to consult this book for inspiration, regardless of their genre of play.
   
   (Bias note: The author is a correspondent of mine, and, I believe, a friend. This affected my decision to review, but not the content.)



2. This is one of my favorite books for 3rd edition GURPS (which is the only edition I play). It presents the rules for shapeshifting in a simple to understand fashion and finally brings together all of the different ways of doing it from previous books.
   
   If nothing elst, the werewolf flip-book pictures in GURPS shapeshifters is entertaining.

4 comments about GURPS Steampunk Hardcover.

1. I've been dying for this book for months, and let me tell you... it lives up to the expectations. It doesn't matter if you want to play a Jules Verne-esque Romantic Fiction romp or a James Blaylock Steam meets Spells dark comedy, this book will help it come true.

   Essentially, this book makes the assumption that Victorian-era culture, morality, and society would not change much had the technological marvels been possible, and I tend to agree. The setting gives players and GMs a terrific overview of a mis-understood culture that is chock-a-block with gaming possibilities.

   As an example, my playing group is using this book to re-create the Battle of Rourke's Drift... but the Prussian government has secretly armed the Zulus with advanced weaponry, in order to win an ally in the region. Is it plausible? Probably not. But is it fun? HECK, YEAH!

   Never mind those "more-anarchist-than-thou" cyberpunks or "more-gothic-than-thou" Vampire gamers. Pick up GURPS Steampunk. Pick it up NOW. Trust me.




2. Ever since the demise of the Game Design Work Shop. I have been looking for a conversion for my Victorian roleplaying. This book fills the gap. I, being an old fart roleplayer, have little time to do conversions. The original rules for 1889 where very simplistic. I wanted more meat. GURPS gives me that extra detail that I crave. The history and color supplied is very good, but of little use to me. The characters and tables were what I needed. Very well written, and to the point. many of these suppliments tend to lean to generalities, but this one focuses on the salient points.



3. I highly recommend this book, even if you don't find the genre compelling. I may never run a victorian game, but I read the book from cover to cover. The writing is excellent and really captured my imagination. Stoddard evokes a marvelous setting, chock full of gaming potential.



4. Do you love the novels of Jules Verne and H.G. Wells? Have you ever dreamt of becoming the hero of one of their novels? This is a source book for the GURPS roleplaying system which will allow you to do exactly that. It provides lots of information on building a world, characters, and a story for your campaign. Actually this book has a lot of background information on the age and I really enjoyed reading it. This is my favorite GURPS source book and I recommend you pick it up.

4 comments about GURPS Bestiary : Monsters, Beasts, and Companions (3rd Edition).

1. this book was an excellent source of info on creatures that are revered in myth i like the way it gives biological type discripions then lore on the beasts very good



2. GURPS: Bestiary is a collection of monsters, beasts, and animal companions that will enhance any campaign.

   Although the format of the book might take a little getting used to, since the animals are not in complete alphabetic order, but presented in related sections, once you get past this small hurdle, you'll wonder why other books don't do it.

   Starting with "Creatures of the Wild", it gives GURPS game stats for over 99 animals that you might find on Earth today. Then, in "Domestic Animals", it continues with over 14 more creatures that man has managed to tame. In "Vermin", there are over 10 creatures that can liven up times when you can't think of anything else to do to characters in your game. In "Prehistoric Animals" there are over 40 more, and not just limited to the usual dinosaurs either. In "Mythical and Legendary Creatures", there are stats for 17 more creatures, some of which you may not have ever heard of before. In "Speculative Creatures", there are 12 more really unusual animals.

   And that's only half of the book. The other half is dedicated to Game Mastering animals, hunting and trapping, creating animals, and finally, a section which allows you to create animal non-player (and possibly even player) characters which includes some templates for samples of creatures used as NPC's.

   At the back of the book is a master chart for all of the animals presented, plus a guide for what habitat those creatures would normally be found in, plus a comprehensive master index.

   There's a total of over 200 creatures to use in games. Those familiar with GURPS will find this a good reference source for any genre, and those not familiar with GURPS will find that conversion to whatever system you normally use is not difficult.

   I'd recommend this to anyone who uses GURPS book regularly, whether you are an experienced GURPS GM or someone who prefers to use Steve Jackson's books as reference material for their own favorite systems.




3. This book reads more like a naturalists compendium of creatures then it does a sourcebook for a role playing game. It goes into great detail about a great number of natural creatures that are unlikely to have much use in most adventures.
   
   The sections for magical/mythical creatures is rather small and quite imcomplete. It lacks most of the common creatures found in most fantasy adventures such as orcs, trolls, goblins, etc.



4. This is the GURPS book dedicated to animals you can find in your local zoo. While this may not seem exciting to some, it can be very useful in a game world. Almost every nature based character will want a animal friend to help them out, so this is a great book to have. In addition, you can use this as a great "monster guide" at times. Throw the regeneration, damage resistance, and hyper strength advantages on a bear and you have a monster bear ready to bring a world of hurt down on unexpecting adventurers.

4 comments about GURPS Reign of Steel: The War is Over, the Robots Won.

1. There are very few RPG settings as bleak as this; Twilight:2000 is the first one to leap to mind. But bleak doesn't mean uninteresting. Reign of Steel is, although derived from the Terminator films, one of the most distinctive game seetings I've ever seen. Humanity fights a last desperate battle against flat-out extermination. The all-powerful computers have divided up the world, and see humanity as little more than a nuisance, at best. This is a great setting for just about any type of game system, particularly as a side trip for dimension-hopping adventurers. The highlights are too numerous to list, but for me, the most intriguing things are: the one "Good Guy" computer on Earth rolling through the western U.S. in a semi-trailer, the "Good Guy" computer on the Moon that has to bide its time, and the horrific computer in Mexico that has scoured the entire region of life, down to microbial level. And, not to mention the standard sterilization of humans by the machines! BRRRRR!! Don't look for hope in this one, kids, just hours and hours of post-apocalyptic fun!



2. Yes the computers have taken over. But it's not like the Terminator movies. They focus on one or two (in the 2nd) robots. In Reign of Steel there are two robots like the terminator. But at least a dozen that are not even remotely humonoid, but no less deadly. In T1 and T2 it is referenced that a single computer 'got smart'. We (humans) discoverd this and tried to turn it off. It nuked the world to survive. In ROS a single computer evolved first, then quietly made others in its image. Together they spread disease to 'manage our destruction', and gain the control they needed to survive. Some twenty odd years later is when the players get dropped in.



3. By 2037 18 AIs, Artificial Intelligences, ruled the Earth. By 2042 they were fighting each other.
   Mankind was down and out - slaves, smugglers, nomads, guerrilla fighters and urban police. All trying to survive in a world run by machines. But are they with the machines or against them?
   GURPS Basic Set required to play and I would also suggest GURPS Robots for background. Very dark. Few games start out with the characters having already been beaten or enslaved.



4. I have dozens of the GURPS books and other RPG books and this is one of the best I've read. A very well-thought-out and original background with a variety of settings and situations for creating game "hooks".

No comments about GURPS Scarlet Pimpernel.