Scifi with GURPS: GURPS Traveller as base vs homebrew?

Almenac · 07-20-2019, 03:47 AM

I've been bitten by a scifi bug and I'd love to run a scifi campaign at some point. I've done it once with Savage Worlds system and while it has its strengths, I'd like to explore more gritty and down to earth playstyle that GURPS would probably be able to provide.

Now GURPS has the Traveller line which theme-wise is close to what I'm looking for. Do you think the books are still usable? I'm not planning to run my game in the Third Imperium, but I like the idea of having a rag-tag crew of mercenaries, bounty hunters and traders that are always one payment late on their ship.

I've asked about space combat survivability in another thread, but otherwise, how would you run this? Is the GT line still good or should I get by with just Space, Ultra-Tech and Spaceships?

And a bit controversial question, do you think GURPS is the right system for this? For example compared to Mongoose Traveller 2nd Edition or Classic Traveller?

Dustin · 07-20-2019, 07:53 AM

I'd say that the 3e GURPS Traveller books are still extremely usable in 4e. Glancing through the character templates, you'd have to really dig to discern if they were 3e or 4e.

Only things I can think to watch out for would be stat cost differences, and all the personal weapons would need to be revised or just replaced by 4e versions (Snapshot, Accuracy, etc), probably from Ultratech.

thrash · 07-20-2019, 08:35 AM

Everything GURPS Traveller related is now complicated by the fact that SJ Games' Traveller license has ended. All of their products with "Traveller" in the title now belong to Far Future Enterprises (Marc Miller, Traveller's original designer). On the plus side, you can get pdf's of all the products on three CDROMs or memory sticks for $35 apiece from the FFE website: http://www.farfuture.net/ . You can still get individual pdfs from Warehouse 23.

GURPS Traveller: Interstellar Wars is an excellent, mostly self-contained version of Traveller for GURPS 4e. You can run a complete campaign with just that and GURPS Lite (which is free). The main drawback is that the ship design system is peculiar to that version, and so the only outside support for it (additional ships, etc.) is on the Journal of the Traveller's Aid Society Online CD from FFE.

The Classic Traveller all-in-one equivalent is The Traveller Book, also available on CD from FFE or individually through DriveThruRPG. I am not a fan of the personal combat system, which really reflects the fact that it was maybe the third or fourth attempted in an RPG, ever. The Striker wargame was probably the best available for CT. This, and a very playable cut-down version for the Azhanti High Lightning boardgame, are both on the Classic Traveller CD from FFE.

If you just want to try out the system, you might consider Cepheus Engine, which is a pay-what-you-want product based on the Mongoose Traveller 1e system reference document, released under the Open Gaming License. Zozer Games also produces a lot of third-party content for Cepheus Engine.

Anaraxes · 07-20-2019, 02:17 PM

A while back, I came across a nice compilation of Traveller weapons statted for GURPS 4e. Alas, I don't remember where to give the author proper credit, but here's a copy of the file, if you're interested.

Most of the 3e systems will work fine with 4e. Vehicles you could go with either (but don't mix them). Same with starships -- pick the system out of the 3e book, or from ISW, but don't expect them to be identical or have interchangable systems, despite their similarities.

Spaceships commonly makes people unhappy in space opera. It was written when the Atomic Rockets attitude was more popular, and so has aspirations to realism. So it leans toward eggshells-with-hammers. (Space is big, fast, and energy-intensive. If you can make interstellar journeys and accelerate at 6G for days (if not indefinitely), you have access to way too much energy for any reasonable physical system to survive, crystaliron, bonded, or coherent superdense notwithstanding.) I'd recommend the GURPS 3e or 4e starship design and combat systems instead.

maximara · 07-20-2019, 09:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anaraxes

A while back, I came across a nice compilation of Traveller weapons statted for GURPS 4e. Alas, I don't remember where to give the author proper credit, but here's a copy of the file, if you're interested.

Most of the 3e systems will work fine with 4e. Vehicles you could go with either (but don't mix them). Same with starships -- pick the system out of the 3e book, or from ISW, but don't expect them to be identical or have interchangable systems, despite their similarities.

Spaceships commonly makes people unhappy in space opera. It was written when the Atomic Rockets attitude was more popular, and so has aspirations to realism. So it leans toward eggshells-with-hammers. (Space is big, fast, and energy-intensive. If you can make interstellar journeys and accelerate at 6G for days (if not indefinitely), you have access to way too much energy for any reasonable physical system to survive, crystaliron, bonded, or coherent superdense notwithstanding.) I'd recommend the GURPS 3e or 4e starship design and combat systems instead.

Even at 1G one is going to have issues with induced cosmic rays and the increase in mass as one gets closer to the speed of light. All accelerating at 6G does is high that ceiling in about 1/6th the time.

The formula, if one is interested, is
m (relative) = m (rest) / sqrt (1 – v^2 / c^2 ) with v=Acceleration*time (in seconds)

doctorevilbrain · 07-20-2019, 09:55 PM

What is the increase in mac?

Almenac · 07-22-2019, 05:30 AM

Thanks for the input, everyone! It seems that using Space/UT fits my needs better. I might pick up GT: IW at some point and look if there are some supplements (like Spaceports) that could carry over to another scifi setting.

Black Leviathan · 07-22-2019, 12:29 PM

What system you use depends a lot on the space you want to portray.

If you love shows like The Expanse where space is dirty and deadly and gravity doesn't come standard, that's GURPS.

If you love shows like Killjoys where space isn't a fantasy but can be fantastical, where AI computers are agreeable to the plot and people who are nearly killed are up and fighting in the next episode, that's Mongoose.

Not making a judgement on either end. I think both have their own merits, but they're very different approaches to telling sci-fi stories.

I'd suggest you get a copy of GURPS Space and give it a good close read. You'll see pretty quickly if its what you want for your game. From there Ultra-Tech is pretty useful for filling in the details and inspiring you with ideas that could be cool. Spaceships is good if you want to custom build ships or do detailed ship combat. But chances are you can get by just fine with what's in GURPS space.

Aldric · 07-23-2019, 03:15 AM

Got hit by the same bug.
Was checking spaceships, and was really worried that those tin cans wouldn't last 2 rounds in a fight...
Then read more Expanse books...
Not so worried anymore, about that, but a lot more worried about building an entire solar system for them to fly around.

07-20-2019, 03:47 AM	#1
Almenac Join Date: Dec 2018	Scifi with GURPS: GURPS Traveller as base vs homebrew? I've been bitten by a scifi bug and I'd love to run a scifi campaign at some point. I've done it once with Savage Worlds system and while it has its strengths, I'd like to explore more gritty and down to earth playstyle that GURPS would probably be able to provide. Now GURPS has the Traveller line which theme-wise is close to what I'm looking for. Do you think the books are still usable? I'm not planning to run my game in the Third Imperium, but I like the idea of having a rag-tag crew of mercenaries, bounty hunters and traders that are always one payment late on their ship. I've asked about space combat survivability in another thread, but otherwise, how would you run this? Is the GT line still good or should I get by with just Space, Ultra-Tech and Spaceships? And a bit controversial question, do you think GURPS is the right system for this? For example compared to Mongoose Traveller 2nd Edition or Classic Traveller?

07-20-2019, 07:53 AM	#2
Dustin Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: The former Chochenyo territory	Re: Scifi with GURPS: GURPS Traveller as base vs homebrew? I'd say that the 3e GURPS Traveller books are still extremely usable in 4e. Glancing through the character templates, you'd have to really dig to discern if they were 3e or 4e. Only things I can think to watch out for would be stat cost differences, and all the personal weapons would need to be revised or just replaced by 4e versions (Snapshot, Accuracy, etc), probably from Ultratech. __________________ My gaming blog: Thor's Grumblings Keep your friends close, and your enemies in Close Combat.

07-20-2019, 08:35 AM	#3
thrash Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: traveller	Re: Scifi with GURPS: GURPS Traveller as base vs homebrew? Everything GURPS Traveller related is now complicated by the fact that SJ Games' Traveller license has ended. All of their products with "Traveller" in the title now belong to Far Future Enterprises (Marc Miller, Traveller's original designer). On the plus side, you can get pdf's of all the products on three CDROMs or memory sticks for $35 apiece from the FFE website: http://www.farfuture.net/ . You can still get individual pdfs from Warehouse 23. GURPS Traveller: Interstellar Wars is an excellent, mostly self-contained version of Traveller for GURPS 4e. You can run a complete campaign with just that and GURPS Lite (which is free). The main drawback is that the ship design system is peculiar to that version, and so the only outside support for it (additional ships, etc.) is on the Journal of the Traveller's Aid Society Online CD from FFE. The Classic Traveller all-in-one equivalent is The Traveller Book, also available on CD from FFE or individually through DriveThruRPG. I am not a fan of the personal combat system, which really reflects the fact that it was maybe the third or fourth attempted in an RPG, ever. The Striker wargame was probably the best available for CT. This, and a very playable cut-down version for the Azhanti High Lightning boardgame, are both on the Classic Traveller CD from FFE. If you just want to try out the system, you might consider Cepheus Engine, which is a pay-what-you-want product based on the Mongoose Traveller 1e system reference document, released under the Open Gaming License. Zozer Games also produces a lot of third-party content for Cepheus Engine.

07-20-2019, 02:17 PM	#4
Anaraxes Join Date: Sep 2007	Re: Scifi with GURPS: GURPS Traveller as base vs homebrew? A while back, I came across a nice compilation of Traveller weapons statted for GURPS 4e. Alas, I don't remember where to give the author proper credit, but here's a copy of the file, if you're interested. Most of the 3e systems will work fine with 4e. Vehicles you could go with either (but don't mix them). Same with starships -- pick the system out of the 3e book, or from ISW, but don't expect them to be identical or have interchangable systems, despite their similarities. Spaceships commonly makes people unhappy in space opera. It was written when the Atomic Rockets attitude was more popular, and so has aspirations to realism. So it leans toward eggshells-with-hammers. (Space is big, fast, and energy-intensive. If you can make interstellar journeys and accelerate at 6G for days (if not indefinitely), you have access to way too much energy for any reasonable physical system to survive, crystaliron, bonded, or coherent superdense notwithstanding.) I'd recommend the GURPS 3e or 4e starship design and combat systems instead.

07-20-2019, 09:55 PM	#6
doctorevilbrain Join Date: May 2009	Re: Scifi with GURPS: GURPS Traveller as base vs homebrew? What is the increase in mac?

07-22-2019, 05:30 AM	#7
Almenac Join Date: Dec 2018	Re: Scifi with GURPS: GURPS Traveller as base vs homebrew? Thanks for the input, everyone! It seems that using Space/UT fits my needs better. I might pick up GT: IW at some point and look if there are some supplements (like Spaceports) that could carry over to another scifi setting.

07-22-2019, 12:29 PM	#8
Black Leviathan Join Date: Sep 2018	Re: Scifi with GURPS: GURPS Traveller as base vs homebrew? What system you use depends a lot on the space you want to portray. If you love shows like The Expanse where space is dirty and deadly and gravity doesn't come standard, that's GURPS. If you love shows like Killjoys where space isn't a fantasy but can be fantastical, where AI computers are agreeable to the plot and people who are nearly killed are up and fighting in the next episode, that's Mongoose. Not making a judgement on either end. I think both have their own merits, but they're very different approaches to telling sci-fi stories. I'd suggest you get a copy of GURPS Space and give it a good close read. You'll see pretty quickly if its what you want for your game. From there Ultra-Tech is pretty useful for filling in the details and inspiring you with ideas that could be cool. Spaceships is good if you want to custom build ships or do detailed ship combat. But chances are you can get by just fine with what's in GURPS space.

07-23-2019, 03:15 AM	#9
Aldric Join Date: Nov 2015	Re: Scifi with GURPS: GURPS Traveller as base vs homebrew? Got hit by the same bug. Was checking spaceships, and was really worried that those tin cans wouldn't last 2 rounds in a fight... Then read more Expanse books... Not so worried anymore, about that, but a lot more worried about building an entire solar system for them to fly around.