Spaceships in GURPS 4th
 

Hi there!

Can anyone give me examples on building Starships using GURPS 4th?

We are having problems getting our ships down. We need examples of different ship hull types. If anyone has managed to translate the ships from the Star Wars SAGA RPG, that would be a great help (off site link please). But if anyone can give us guidelines on converting a 3rd Edition Spaceship to 4th -- that would also be great.

So thats three things:

1. A list of starships generated using 4th Edition rules.

2. Star Wars SAGA ship conversions.

3. Guidelines on converting ships to 4th.

and last but not least:
4. Sci-Fi campaigns set up with GURPS 4th Edition: SPACE.

Got one, and we hit a snag. We can't figure out how to make starships, so we really need help.

Re: Spaceships in GURPS 4th
 

Go to e23 and buy GURPS Spaceships 1. That's what you need.

Re: Spaceships in GURPS 4th
 

Have you looked at the Spaceships series of PDFs yet? It's a new system for building ships. Pretty simple, much more so than 3e Vehicles. Stats aren't really comparable enough to bother converting, as opposed to re-building in the same spirit. Those PDFs include example ships (some of which you'll recognize).

Re: Spaceships in GURPS 4th
 

Did you say, Spaceships I?

I must have skipped over that when looking at the catalogue.

Re: Spaceships in GURPS 4th
 

Spaceships 1 has the complete design rules (as well as the basic rules for maneuvering and combat) but only a couple example builds. If you want lists of premade spacecraft, check out some of the other SS books. They typically include additional rules pertaining to running games that involve particular types of spaceships. For example, SS2: Traders, Liners and Transports has guidelines covering different classes of Spaceports, ways to handle the purchase/hiring of spaceships and crews, operating expenses, liscences, etc. SS3: Warships and Space Pirates has an optional Tactical Space Combat ruleset, allowing spaceship engagements to be played out on a battlemat rather than using SS1's more abstract system. SS4: Fighters, Carriers and Mecha has cinematic optional rules that can help simulate the frantic dogfights that are so common in Sci Fi movies and shows.

If you're on a tight budget you can get by with just the first book, of course, but I've not regretted any of the additional SS purchases.

Re: Spaceships in GURPS 4th
 

If you can pick up more than one book, I would say this one would see the most use for a typical Star Wars campaign after the core rules in SS1. Or perhaps SS1+SS2 if your game focuses around the crew of a tramp freighter.

Re: Spaceships in GURPS 4th
 

I would generally recommend to take SS3 if you're picking up Spaceships. The Tactical combat system is much cleaner than the Abstract one, even (surprisingly) for rules-clueless types.

SS4 is overall good to have if you want a bit more flexibility, especially in designing odd system/ship sizes.

SS2/SS6 is only useful for trade-/industry-heavy campaigns; even so, there exist a number of strong criticisms regarding the economics of SS2 and SS6. SS5 is mostly useful for campaigns matching the PDF title.

SS7 is just cool to have, even for some Fantasy games (trust me). It's that fun.

Re: Spaceships in GURPS 4th
 

Vicky- Does SS2 or SS6 add much to SS1 in regards to just designing those publications' respective ship types? New equipment, new ship parts, etc.

Re: Spaceships in GURPS 4th
 

Some new stuff or clarifications for old stuff, but it's pretty specialized.

Re: Spaceships in GURPS 4th
 

SS2 to SS6 each adds tiny amounts of flexibility in the form of new options.