Review of GURPS 4th Edition, Characters & Campaigns (original) (raw)

GURPS 4th edition is the latest version of the venerable GURPS roleplaying system by Steve Jackson Games (18 years old now). It is made up of a two book set, Book one is GURPS 4th edition, basic set, Characters, and Book two is GURPS 4th Edition, basic set, Campaigns. I am going to touch on the mechanical changes and the way the system works now instead of giving a by the numbers review of the product. For a good general review, check out Eli Smiths Review.

Presentation and Layout

You might be surprised to see me mention this but I had to mention the problems I encountered with my copy, since I have heard other people mention problems with the books' construction. The books themselves are pretty full color hardbacks, with color page borders and full color photos adorning the text as well as colored sidebars. The artwork is decent, but not terribly inspiring, it does illustrate the text at most points. The text is laid out in three columns, which I found kind of annoying, since it is moderately hard to follow columns where certain sections overlap. A 2 column layout would have been better in my opinion. However, the copies I received, which were purchased through Amazon.com, had some serious flaws. In the back pages of my copy of Book One, two of the pages were stuck together, I was able to separate them but the facing page ended up being slightly torn, luckily the text is still readable despite this flaw. In addition, the binding on this copy seems to be hit or miss, with some pages laying flat and other's not folding flat when opened. The binding has a scalloped look between certain pages as well. I am afraid that the pages may come loose, though they have held up to my perusals so far. In Book Two, I actually had a couple pages in the index of which the bottom portion was folded over and improperly bound. I ended up having to rip one of the pages to get it to unfold. In addition it wasn't cut properly, it was extending beyond the length of the page with page edge marks still on them. I had to unfold this page and cut off the excess to have the page fit in my book. There was a second page that was also folded over and improperly bound, which I had to unfold. Luckily these were in the index, and I am still able to read the text.

Book One: Characters

Chapter One: Creating a Character

In this chapter we find a number of fundamental changes in the game compared to third edition. We still have the four basic attributes, Strength (ST), Dexterity (DX), Intelligence (IQ), and Health (HT), however the costs have been changed to a flat rate, 20 points per level above or below 10 for DX & IQ and 10 points per level for ST and HT. The point totals are also a bit looser, allowing for players to buy higher stats than previous additions.

Strength has seen a lot of changes in this edition. Now your hit points are based on your Strength. And fatigue points are now based on Health, a reversal of how they were in third edition. Additionally, your lifting capability is based on the square of your strength, rather than a flat linear rate as in the previous edition. Additionally you can buy up your Lifting and Striking Strength separately for a few points above your strength. Strength can also be bought cheaper for larger sized creatures. with a 10% discount per level of SIZE modifier, to a maximum of -80%.

A lot of the concepts first presented in GURPS Gulliver by Bone have been incorporated into this version of GURPS, making it better able to handle different size creatures. SIZE is officially considered by giving character's a SIZE modifier rating. Which is given a 0 cost, as the benefits and drawbacks are assumed to cancel out in this edition. (TBone appears in the credits btw).

Will and Perception are also given costs for adjustment, making them effectively sub-attributes of IQ. Hit points and Fatigue Points can also be bought up or down a few points from their base at a cost of 2 points and 3 points per level respectively. Additionally you can buy up your Basic Speed a few points as well, at a rather steep 5 points per .25.

Another major change in this edition is considerations of a character's Social Background. Character's are given a Tech Level rating, which represents their familiarity with a given technological infrastructure. They are also given cultural familiarity, allowing them to effectively use social skills against people of a particular culture. There is a familiarity penalty when using social skills against people of a culture with which you are not familiar. Finally, languages have been changed from being given a skill rating to instead being rated at one of four levels from None, broken, accented and Native.

Chapter Two: Advantages

Whoa baby, is this chapter huge, and full of changes. Chapter two is majorly changed from GURPS 3rd, with the addition of "powers" type advantages, such as flight, teleportation, telekinesis, invisibility, insubstantial, etc. along side your old stalwarts of ambidextrous and absolute direction. The powers presented are pretty comprehensive, made more so by the inclusion of enhancements and limitations that can be applied. The major advantages that have been added include Innate Attack and Affliction, and Binding, for doing damage, and Damage Resistance and Injury Tolerance for taking it.

Innate Attack gives you a ranged attack to which you can apply number of modifiers. Major modifiers allow for penetrating type advantages such as contact agent, blood agent, area effects such as cone and area effect, etc. Additionally, this innate attack can be of a number of damage types. The 3rd edition damage types of crushing (cr), cutting (cut) and impaling (imp) are here along with a new addition of Piercing, in four flavors no less, from small to huge. Piercing here refers to bullets mostly. in addition are corrosion (cor), burning (burn), fatigue (fat), and toxic (tox). Each of these is given a wounding multiplier versus living targets.

Affliction lets you apply a non-damage effect to a target, such as blindness, weakness, paralysis, etc. There is also binding, which lets you entangle people with your attack.

Damage Resistance costs 5 points per level and allows for a number of enhancements and limitation including absorption and reflection, it can also be made to stop only certain types, such as piercing, like a bullet proof vest. Injury Tolerance removes some of the vulnerabilities common to living creatures, such as neck or eyes, and includes such advantages as unliving, homogeneous, and diffuse. These reduce the wounding modifiers of various damage types against you. Another major inclusion is the use of armor divisors. These reduce the targets DR by 2,3,5,or 10, before subtracting it from damage. This can be counteracted by levels of Hardened DR. Certain attacks have a fractional armor divisor, increasing the targets DR before subtracting it from damage. This represents attacks which are poor at penetrating armor.

There are tons of powers type advantages listed along side the talent like advantages common in GURPS third. I think this makes this chapter kind of a pain to use, instead of separating the powers out into a powers section. Since most of these advantages are not going to be legal for most characters in most campaigns. Keeping the talent type advantages separate from the powers would have been better in my opinion.

Although there are tons of power type advantages I was unable to find any adjustment type powers in my read through of the game. There is no Power drain or attribute drain ability, or any attribute or advantage boosting ability. This can be a problem for creating certain affects. There is an absorption affect for DR, and a neutralize ability for psi powers. But no direct adjustment powers that I found. So overall the powers included are quite comprehensive, but there are some missing effects compared to Hero system.

Chapter Three: Disadvantages

This chapter is much like in third edition, however there are more racial/body makeup type traits, allowing different character morphologies to be represented in the game. All in all there are ton of disadvantages to chose from, along with a table listing all of them in the back of the book.

Chapter Four: Skills

Skills are significantly changed in comparison to third edition. The difference between mental and physical skills has been eliminated. With skills being based on all four attributes, plus will and perception, though most are still based on IQ and DX. Skills are still given a difficulty, easy, average, hard, and very hard. However, the cost to get a score relative to your attribute has been reduced for most skills, especially physical skills, Additionally, there are no 1/2 point levels, you must spend a full point to buy above default ability in a skill now.

The skills list is huge, and very inclusive thanks to all of the skills that were added from the various compendiums and other supplements.

Chapter Five: Magic & Chapter Six: Psionics

The magic system is much the same as in third edition, with certain bits clarified and revised. The same goes for the Psionic system.

Chapter Seven: Templates

Templates is a new addition to the GURPS system, they weren't in third edition. These are a smart idea, allowing the defining of character roles unique to individual campaign worlds. They also allow for the creation of certain character states such as ghosts, elementals, and other racial types common to characters.

Book Two: Campaigns

This is the 2nd book of the Basic Set. Though they claim you only absolutely need the character's book, there are several spots where they refer you to pages in book two. So you need Book Two to fully understand the game.

Chapter Ten: Success Rolls

The basic success roll rules are just like the ones in 3rd edition, everything still revolves around comparing an ability score to the total of a roll of three six-sided dice.

Chapter Eleven: Combat, Chapter Twelve: Tactical Combat, Chapter Thirteen: Special Combat Situations

The combat system in fourth edition is much like third. In terms of maneuvers, the Move and attack maneuver is new, allowing for a full move followed by a poorly aimed attack. A major change from the third edition rules is the removal of Passive Defense scores for Armor. In third edition, armor had a Damage Resistance stat and a Passive Defense stat. The PD added to your active defense chances, this has been eliminated in fourth edition. Your active defenses are now equal to 3 plus half of your relevant skill for parry and block, or speed for dodge,(with a modifier to dodge for encumbrance). Shields now provide a defense bonus that adds to your active defense, they are the only item providing such a defense bonus now.

The damage rules are more detailed in fourth edition, taking into account rules for targets that are unliving, homogeneous or diffuse. There is also the larger number of damage types in GURPS now. There are also rules for handling linked and follow up attacks, which can be created using the innate attack power and associated enhancements and limitations. The effect of the powers included in the rules can really be seen in the options for the combat system.

Chapter thirteen includes detailed rules for many situations not covered in third edition. The rules for rapid fire have been changed, with multiple shot hitting dependent on the recoil of the weapon. Specifically, for every recoil points by which the attack roll is made, another round hits the target. This is a simpler and cleaner rule than that in third edition. There are numerous other special case rules for both melee and ranged combat.

Chapter Fourteen: Injuries, Illness and Fatigue

The injuries rules are largely the same as in third edition, with a character passing out at 0 or less HP and having a chance to die at -HP, with mandatory death at -5xHP. The hazards rules (starvation, thirst, heat, cold, lack of sleep etc) have been revised and clarified to work against fatigue mostly. This chapter is chock full of rules for most every hazard you can think of from poison, suffocation, vacuum, heat, fire, falling, collisions, etc.

Chapter Fifteen: Creating Templates

This section covers creating templates for the GM. As I mentioned previously templates were not included in the basic set third edition. The rules cover creating templates for both occupations and races, allowing a GM to define a lot of the feel and specific thrust of a game world by injecting unique world elements into the template design process. This gives the players a set of archetypes with which to form an idea of the setting.

Chapter Sixteen: Animals and Monsters

This is a short chapter listing various animals, this is much like the rules in the third edition. The difference is the inclusion of the size modifier and the Differences in hit points. (There no longer split hit points/HT for creatures, instead HP come off of STR now.) A lot of the advantages such as claws, striker and other morphological advantages are listed in the various animal write ups, again more evidence of the toolkit nature that the powers inclusion has given the game.

Chapter Seventeen: Technology and Artifacts

This chapter includes rules for handling all types of equipment and gear within the game system. Vehicles have changed significantly in their write up, a major change being that hit points for vehicles are now based on the cube root of the weight, where they used to be based on the square root of the weight. This is a major change to how things are modeled in GURPS. Thus 4th edition Vehicles is incompatible with 3rd edition Vehicles. Rules are included for computers, communicators, electronics, etc.

Chapter Eighteen:Game Mastering

This chapter includes information on game mastering, it covers the same ground as that found in the third edition rulebook. Notable additions are the sidebar on gaming online.

Chapter Nineteen: Game Worlds

This chapter covers several topics involved in constructing a game world, including culture and languages, laws and customs, society and government types, tech levels, economics, and other planes of existence. The section on other planes of existence is new.

Chapter Twenty: Infinite Worlds

This chapter is all new material presenting an overview of the infinite worlds setting, the new default setting for GURPS 4th. Overall it is pretty interesting, with many familiar features (The parallel world ruled by Nazis is in there of course.)

Appendix: Tables

This section includes several tables and charts. Of interest is the DR and HP of structures as it shows that DR is based on the Cube root of the mass of objects, again different from third edition GURPS.

Summary

Ok, so we have seen that there are a lot of significant changes in GURPS 4th. I am pleased with the changes made and think that the system is quite solid, and leaner and meaner in this revised write up. The information is well organized and the text is easy to read. I like the use of the powers and enhancements and limitations and thinks that it gives the GM and player a lot of room to tinker with various effects and abilities available to them. I like how the system integrates the new powers into every aspect and think that the hit points based on the cube root of mass is a good idea, I do the same in my game:). I still think they should have separated the powers advantages into their own section however, and left the ambidexterouses to an advantage section.

Overall I am quite impressed with this edition of GURPS and recommend it to anyone who may be interested in a realistic crunchy detailed system. It is more toolkit oriented in this edition, making it more like HERO system. I would recommend GURPS 4th over HERO 5th for most everything except superheroes. Hopefully your copy won't have any of the printing errors mine had.