GURPS stands for Generic Universal Role-Playing System – that is essentially a very flexible descendant of The Fantasy Trip. Basic combat is simple, but advance combat is very position-oriented, almost a complicated boardgame. The level of complexity used is completely up to the players. The character improvement system is skill-based. The many additional supplements to the Basic Set enable GURPS characters to move easily from one gaming genre to another. The Basic Set includes a "Characters" book, "Adventuring", a 24-page book of charts and tables, and a 32-page book of two introductory scenarios, one a solo. The original GURPS Basic Set included the combat rules from the previously published Man to Man. Magic rules were omitted, but were released in GURPS Fantasy.
Third edition
The third editionGURPS Basic Set combines all the books from the previous sets into one volume. The third edition revised GURPS Basic Set replaced the adventure with an appendix covering new generic rules that should have been in the core book was printed in 1994. It was stated that "If you have an old Third Edition, and the new Compendium, you’ll have it all." Reviewers of the time called it "GURPS 3.5 edition" while Stave Jackson Game calls all their own non 4th edition GURPS material still in print "GURPS Classic".
Fourth edition
The GURPS Basic Set for the fourth edition of GURPS was published in 2004 by Steve Jackson Games and contains the core rules for the fourth edition of GURPS. The first volume, Characters, addresses what players need to know to create a GURPS character and play the game. Eight sample characters are included. The second volume is titled Campaigns and addresses the information a GM needs to build a world. All the basic information needed to run a GURPS campaign is here with genre or world-specific information in other books. The previous edition of the GURPS rules consisted of a Basic Set as the core rule book, with GURPS Compendium I and GURPS Compendium II released later to collate alternative and advanced rules in a logical place. Many source books published after the release of the compendiums required them for play. The fourth edition basic set shifts the majority of that material into the core rule books. In a move from previous editions, the books are hardbound and in color, a trend which has been followed in successive GURPS 4e books, with mixed reactions from players. To facilitate the transition from third edition to fourth, a free PDF update was released. It includes a quick but comprehensive guide to change characters or source book information to the new rules.
Publication history
The first edition GURPS Basic Set was written by Steve Jackson with Creede Lambard and Sharleen Lambard, with a cover by Denis Loubet, and was published by Steve Jackson Games in 1986 as a boxed set containing four books, sample character record sheets, and cardstock miniatures. The boxed GURPS Basic Set appeared at Origins in 1986. Steve Jackson Games began regularly supporting the game with supplements following the publication of the first GURPS Basic Set. The second edition revised GURPS Basic Set was published in 1987. The third edition GURPS Basic Set featured a cover by Michael Presley, and was published in 1988 as a 256-page book with a 16-page adventure. In 1994 the Basic Set third edition Revised was printed with an appendix replacing the adventure with various new rules.
Reception
The first edition of the GURPS Basic Set was reviewed by Marcus L. Rowland in issue 83 of White Dwarf magazine. Rowland comments: "While I can applaud the idea behind the system, I can't really recommend GURPS at its present stage of development. In the long run, GURPS and all its supplements may cover more ground than other systems, possibly at less expense, but in the short term there isn't enough support material to run a fully rounded game of any type, apart from gladitorial combat and medieval adventures." Michael DeWolfe reviewed GURPS Basic Set in Space Gamer/Fantasy Gamer No. 79. DeWolfe commented that "GURPS is a good roleplaying system. It combines old ideas with new and surpasses its contemporaries. Playability is paramount, though reality is sacrificed. Its ambitious goal of covering all game worlds looks to be accomblishable." Different Worlds #47 Aventurer #6 Second edition Basic Set reviewed in White Wolf #13 Michael DeWolfe reviewed the third edition of the GURPS Basic Set in Space Gamer/Fantasy Gamer #85. DeWolfe comments in his summary: "This game has looked at its peers and built on all of them; avoiding their mistakes and following their successes. If you're looking for a good point generation system, get GURPS. If you're looking for a truly generic system, get GURPS. If you're looking for a painstakingly coherent system, get GURPS. If you want a fine RPG, get this game. It is worth it." Jim Bambra reviewed the third edition of the GURPS Basic Set for Dragon magazine #149. Bambra comments: "Now in its third incarnation, the GURPS Basic Set is better than ever. It's a game designed to be used with an unlimited variety of backgrounds and settings; to its credit, the GURPS game does so admirably." Games Review #5 GURPS Basic Set, 3rd edition was awarded the Origins Award for "Best Roleplaying Rules of 1988". The third edition GURPS Basic Set was an ORIGINS and Gamers' Choice award-winner.
Awards and nominations
In 2004 GURPS 4e Basic set won the "Pen & Paper Fan Award" as Best RPG and was an inductee in its RPG Hall of Fame.
It was a nominee at the 2005 Origins Award for Best Role-playing Game.
