Magic book(s) recommendations

[Fred Brackin]

Originally Posted by gsquid

Wow, thanks everyone for your suggestions! They are very helpful.

I already have Martial Arts 2nd Ed. (for GURPS 3rd Ed.). I wonder if this is sufficient?

No. There was major re-thinking about how to do things when the 4e book was done and the 3e book looks quite awkward in comparison. I actually compared them quite recently and martial arts is not one of the things that worked better in 3e at all.

If you don't have Grimoire for 3e then Magic for 4e will basically double yyour spell list.

I forgot to mention it but thaumatology also ahs the decanic astrological magic system form Cabal in it, but not the same level of "world" detail..

[whswhs]

Originally Posted by Fred Brackin

No. There was major re-thinking about how to do things when the 4e book was done and the 3e book looks quite awkward in comparison. I actually compared them quite recently and martial arts is not one of the things that worked better in 3e at all.

Not only is that true, but also 4/e Martial Arts incorporates all the fighting oriented parts of GURPS Swashbucklers from 3/e. So it's roughly two books in a single package, though not to as great a degree as 3/e Magic and Grimoire in 4/e Magic.

[gsquid]

Great, thanks so much! I'm going to need to find a way to finance all these new book purchases....... All this info really is helpful, though, for proceeding forward in a thoughtful manner.

It's especially nice to have all of the 3E/4E comparisons. The blurbs and sample pages (especially table of contents) on the website are helpful, but of course, they don't tell the whole story.

I am very knowledgeable about a lot of roleplaying systems.... that became obsolete by around the year 2000. Which, on the other hand, is great, because I can acquire all the cool old books I never had, second-hand through the wonder that is eBay. 4E just seems too cool to pass up.

David

[lachimba]

Originally Posted by gsquid

Great, thanks so much! I'm going to need to find a way to finance all these new book purchases....... All this info really is helpful, though, for proceeding forward in a thoughtful manner.

It's especially nice to have all of the 3E/4E comparisons. The blurbs and sample pages (especially table of contents) on the website are helpful, but of course, they don't tell the whole story.

I am very knowledgeable about a lot of roleplaying systems.... that became obsolete by around the year 2000. Which, on the other hand, is great, because I can acquire all the cool old books I never had, second-hand through the wonder that is eBay. 4E just seems too cool to pass up.

David

While I'm sure SJ Games will be happy with your purchases its important to remember that almost everything can be done with the Basic Set.

Now Magic is kind of an exception requiring 'Basic set 3' Powers and/or one of the myriad of magic books.

But even then... maybe not so much. A lot depends on what you want to do.

E.G. you can have everyone use the same magic sytem, but call each refer to their own system as psionics, clerical magic etc

[Pragmatic]

Originally Posted by gsquid

Thanks again for all the help and suggestions!

Also, I want to apologize that my last post degenerated into book "have" and "want" lists!

If we didn't like detailed lists, we wouldn't be supporting GURPS. :-P

Just wait until we start getting into the Pyramids you have to buy, to get excellent supplemental material. (E.g., there's a relatively recent issue that, if you find you enjoy Magical Styles, offers TONS of new options.)

Basically, pace your purchasing to stay within your budget. And then, once caught up, buying things as they come out (and it's down to a Pyramid and maybe one or two new products per month) keeps you from getting behind. :-)

[Captain Joy]

Originally Posted by gsquid

Any recommendations for post-apocalyptic?

GURPS After the End.