seventeenth issue - RPG Review

GURPS: From The Fantasy Trip Onwards
by Lev Lafayette
There can be no doubt that what was the goofy code­name GURPS (Generic Universal Role Playing System) has
become an overwhelming success in the history of roleplaying games. First published in 1986, GURPS won the Origins
Award for Best Roleplaying Rules of 1988, and become part of the Origins Hall of Fame in 2000. GURPS in now into
its fourth edition with hundreds of supplements to the core rules with at least 1.5 million books in print. With an
obsession with "reality checking" GURPS has produced some of the finest introductory texts for "realistic" settings
(e.g., GURPS Space), speculative technologies, and, most famously, historical sourcebooks. GURPS does come with
its own history however. This article looks at the development of GURPS, from its ascendant The Fantasy Trip, and
major influences such as Champions, through the four editions that have been released, to successful games that have
been heavily influenced by GURPS.
The Fantasy Trip
The story of GURPS begins in 1977 with "Melee", a single­unit combat
system with a hex boardgame. Each character had two characteristics,
Strength and Dexterity. Strength determined hit points, what weapons a
character could use, and their hand­to­hand combat. Dexterity determined
weapon skill, ability to disengage, and speed. Dexterity could be adjusted by
armour, wounds and so forth. Armour, as the industry was just beginning to
learn, reduced damage. The combat system had five second turns, and
initiative was based on a random roll. Actions depended on whether the
character was engaged or disengaged, and facing was important. Attempts
to strike were based on rolling under the character's adjusted DX (as it was
already called) on 3d6. The game had critical hits and misses, and damage
was based on a random roll (unadjusted by Strength). Missile weapons were
given range increments in 3­hex diameter "megahexes". The game even had
an experience point system, based on the ability of the opponent and
deadliness of the encounter. This could be used to purchase improvements
in characteristics.
A well­crafted and inexpensive game, "Melee" was followed by "Wizard" in 1978 which introduced magic­using
characters. It introduced a new characteristic (IQ), but interestingly only allowed for the same number of points in
Melee (8) to be added to the now three characteristics (Fighters were assumed to have an IQ of 8). Strength was
extended to include how many spell points a wizard had. Spell casting would cause an energy drain that was just as
effective at harm as physical damage, which could be especially challenging with spells which required renewal each
turn. Intelligence determines how many spells a wizard can know, and their resistance to illusions and control spells.
Due to invisibility and secret protection from magic, a new rule allowed for the introduction of hidden movement; as
this system was slow it was noted at this point that the game should include a referree. Missile spells (e.g., fireball,
lightning bolt) were treated like missile weapons in terms of line­of­sight and blocking. These were differentiated from
"thrown spells" which targetted at distance, but not directly at the caster. Over 60 spells were provided, albeit with
minimal description.
The two supplements underwent a fundamental reconstruction in 1980, with the simultaneous release of "In the
32 RPG REVIEW ISSUE SEVENTEEN September 2012