Diseases in GURPS: Which supplements have real world examples?

jimminy · 06-14-2009, 04:18 AM

Howdy y'all,

My GURPS-Fu fails me. I'm looking for some GURPS examples of real world diseases.

I don't recall seeing any in any of the 4e supplements. I am playing 4e but it is easy enough to convert from 3e.

I remember something being discussed (perhaps vitamin deficiency?) in one of the 3e WWII books, and I have a feeling there might have been some in one of the 3e Compendiums. I didn't bring my 3e books overseas with me, but I am ready, willing and able to buy a supplement right now from e23 for conversion and use in today's game if anyone can tell me without a doubt that there are some juicy diseases and infections in there.

Thanks in advance!

The Benj · 06-14-2009, 04:28 AM

Biotech has some, but not many.

Woodman · 06-14-2009, 04:35 AM

And the ones in Biotech (P.113-114) are mostly the really nasty ones Anthrax, Ebola, Bubonic Plague, the only one i would inflict on PCs would be the Influenza and even that is a hard one.

jimminy · 06-14-2009, 04:45 AM

Thanks! But yeah, those are just a LITTLE too nasty...

To be more specific, last adventure they fumbled around in a pit under a castle where Byzantines or Turks had dumped the bodies of people who had died of infection. The bodies were lying in water, it was nasty, and the PCs scrabbled around in it looking for treasure... and both failed a HT roll, with various modifiers, to resist infection. The bodies were old but the area had been sealed. They PCs have contracted SOMETHING... But something less than Bubonic plague, I hope.

The year is 1097 and they're in Anatolia, if that helps.

jimminy · 06-14-2009, 05:20 AM

I've decided to use something with effects similar to Influenza and Rabbit Fever to simulate Dysentery, but if anyone knows where Dysentery can be found, or has house rules to simulate it, let me know! It has come up in both my historical campaigns and formal rules would be rad.

My 3e books are at home with a friend; I had him scan, and he says Compendium II details Typhoid. I'll have those rules by the time it becomes important in my game :p

Ah, poor players...

Refplace · 06-14-2009, 03:27 PM

I lost all my 3E stuff :(
But I think I recall some diseases mentioned so I would guess Low Tech, Ice Age and maybe Swashbucklers. Or maybe Special Ops or a supplement world book.

cptbutton · 06-14-2009, 04:35 PM

Note: This is based on quick checks of the indexes and indexed text of the books, so I may have missed things.

GURPS Reign of Steel has a few, Pages 111-112 list detailed rules for cholera, Pan-Asian Flu, Ebola Zaire B, and "Mnemosyne Plague". PAF and EZB are artificially enhanced versions of old diseases, and MP is actually a nanotech poison.

GURPS Ice Age and GURPS Dinosaurs (which has much of the GIA material included in it) don't seem to have details, just a bit of stuff about how shaman treat disease in general.

GURPS Classic: Swashbucklers has details on scurvy (vitamin C deficiency) and a sidebar on "Fever" with some rules details. This is the 1999 edition, which it looks like it is the one on e23.

GURPS Classic: Cyberworld has a sidebar on two pages on "Tolliver's Disease". You can see the first half of it on the last page of the free preview.

GURPS War Against The Chtorr (OOP, not on e23) has a sidebar with plague rules, but rather generic ones which don't give many details of particular disease.

Akicita · 06-14-2009, 04:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jimminy

he says Compendium II details Typhoid.

Compendium II actually details quite a number, including leprosy and cholera.

06-14-2009, 04:18 AM	#1
jimminy Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Adelaide, Australia	Diseases in GURPS: Which supplements have real world examples? Howdy y'all, My GURPS-Fu fails me. I'm looking for some GURPS examples of real world diseases. I don't recall seeing any in any of the 4e supplements. I am playing 4e but it is easy enough to convert from 3e. I remember something being discussed (perhaps vitamin deficiency?) in one of the 3e WWII books, and I have a feeling there might have been some in one of the 3e Compendiums. I didn't bring my 3e books overseas with me, but I am ready, willing and able to buy a supplement right now from e23 for conversion and use in today's game if anyone can tell me without a doubt that there are some juicy diseases and infections in there. Thanks in advance! __________________ I have a role-playing (loosely) themed radio show 'The Role-Playing Hour'. Tune in online and listen! Audio clips (some are a little blue, I warn) here and episodes here!

06-14-2009, 04:28 AM	#2
The Benj MIB Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Platform Zero, Sydney, Australia	Re: Diseases in GURPS: Which supplements have real world examples? Biotech has some, but not many.

06-14-2009, 04:35 AM	#3
Woodman Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Hannover - Germany	Re: Diseases in GURPS: Which supplements have real world examples? And the ones in Biotech (P.113-114) are mostly the really nasty ones Anthrax, Ebola, Bubonic Plague, the only one i would inflict on PCs would be the Influenza and even that is a hard one.

06-14-2009, 04:45 AM	#4
jimminy Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Adelaide, Australia	Re: Diseases in GURPS: Which supplements have real world examples? Thanks! But yeah, those are just a LITTLE too nasty... To be more specific, last adventure they fumbled around in a pit under a castle where Byzantines or Turks had dumped the bodies of people who had died of infection. The bodies were lying in water, it was nasty, and the PCs scrabbled around in it looking for treasure... and both failed a HT roll, with various modifiers, to resist infection. The bodies were old but the area had been sealed. They PCs have contracted SOMETHING... But something less than Bubonic plague, I hope. The year is 1097 and they're in Anatolia, if that helps. __________________ I have a role-playing (loosely) themed radio show 'The Role-Playing Hour'. Tune in online and listen! Audio clips (some are a little blue, I warn) here and episodes here!

06-14-2009, 05:20 AM	#5
jimminy Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Adelaide, Australia	Re: Diseases in GURPS: Which supplements have real world examples? I've decided to use something with effects similar to Influenza and Rabbit Fever to simulate Dysentery, but if anyone knows where Dysentery can be found, or has house rules to simulate it, let me know! It has come up in both my historical campaigns and formal rules would be rad. My 3e books are at home with a friend; I had him scan, and he says Compendium II details Typhoid. I'll have those rules by the time it becomes important in my game :p Ah, poor players... __________________ I have a role-playing (loosely) themed radio show 'The Role-Playing Hour'. Tune in online and listen! Audio clips (some are a little blue, I warn) here and episodes here!

06-14-2009, 03:27 PM	#6
Refplace Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Yukon, OK	Re: Diseases in GURPS: Which supplements have real world examples? I lost all my 3E stuff :( But I think I recall some diseases mentioned so I would guess Low Tech, Ice Age and maybe Swashbucklers. Or maybe Special Ops or a supplement world book.

06-14-2009, 04:35 PM	#7
cptbutton Join Date: Jul 2007	Re: Diseases in GURPS: Which supplements have real world examples? Note: This is based on quick checks of the indexes and indexed text of the books, so I may have missed things. GURPS Reign of Steel has a few, Pages 111-112 list detailed rules for cholera, Pan-Asian Flu, Ebola Zaire B, and "Mnemosyne Plague". PAF and EZB are artificially enhanced versions of old diseases, and MP is actually a nanotech poison. GURPS Ice Age and GURPS Dinosaurs (which has much of the GIA material included in it) don't seem to have details, just a bit of stuff about how shaman treat disease in general. GURPS Classic: Swashbucklers has details on scurvy (vitamin C deficiency) and a sidebar on "Fever" with some rules details. This is the 1999 edition, which it looks like it is the one on e23. GURPS Classic: Cyberworld has a sidebar on two pages on "Tolliver's Disease". You can see the first half of it on the last page of the free preview. GURPS War Against The Chtorr (OOP, not on e23) has a sidebar with plague rules, but rather generic ones which don't give many details of particular disease.