Compendiums the same thing as the basic sets?

[bushido8000]

I'm new to GURPS. Are GURPS Compendiums I and II the same thing as the basic sets? Like could I buy the compendiums instead of the basic sets and know how to play the game?

[malloyd]

Originally Posted by bushido8000

I'm new to GURPS. Are GURPS Compendiums I and II the same thing as the basic sets? Like could I buy the compendiums instead of the basic sets and know how to play the game?

No. The two Compendiums are collections of later (and optional) rules that supplement the 3rd edition Basic Set (which was actually one book). The 4th edition Basic Set (which is in two volumes) contains updated forms of a lot of the material in them, as well as from 3e Basic, but is not the same thing.

You can read descriptions of all the GURPS releases linked from
http://www.sjgames.com/gurps/books/

[Refplace]

They are not.
GURPS has been around a long time and the Compendiums were additional rules, advantages and other stuff added to the 3e Basic book.
4e however is a new edition and added a lot of the material in the Compendiums to it.
If your going with 3e then they have utility but if 4e then skip them.

[Lord Carnifex]

In a word, no. GURPS, like many long running games, has seen a few versions over the years. The latest version is GURPS Fourth edition. The foundational works needed for a complete game are the Basic Set:Characters and Basic Set: Campaigns. They look like this.

The previous edition, GURPS Third edition has a basic set in one book. It looks like this. The 3rd edition Basic Set was supplemented with Compendium I (here) and Compendium II (here), which offered expanded and variant rules. It is possible to run a 3rd Edition GURPS game using the Basic Set alone, or with the Basic Set and one or both Compendia, but it is not really possible to run a game using the Compendia alone.

The fourth edition Basic Set incorporates many of the rules variants offered originally in the GURPS Compendia, and the compendia are not needed to run a Fourth edition game.

[bushido8000]

Thanks! :D