Steve Jackson Games Forums - View Single Post - Alternatives to GURPS? Other tabletop RPGs to try?

dbm · 07-21-2020, 09:34 AM

I play a number of other systems besides GURPS. In terms of GURPS, whilst I did briefly own a copy of the first edition it was third edition that clicked for me, and I was happy to make the transition to fourth edition as well.

My group does play a lot of D&D, which means so do I even though it isn't really a game I enjoy in the longer term. To be fair, I think 5th edition is probably the most enjoyable iteration so far. We also play a fairly broad range of other systems from time to time.

I love flexible systems (hence my GURPS history) but I must admit that I am less bothered about having lots of detailed rules, these days. I also find GURPS 4th edition perhaps too based in 'real reality' for my current tastes, which tend to more pulp or action movie in tone. Because of this I have been playing a lot of Savage Worlds recently (specifically the new Adventure Edition commonly referenced as 'SWADE').

SWADE is a very capable rules-medium system with an action / pulp emphasis (though you can step that up or down somewhat with fairly simple optional rules). It reminds me of GURPS 3e in a good way; to my mind 3e was a more loose collection of rules and options, whilst 4th is a tightly engineered set of rules. That wiggle room in 3e or SWADE makes it easier to 'not sweat the little stuff' in my personal experience.

Savage Worlds in general is also very well supported. There are a whole bunch of third-party developers producing content for it, as well as high quality first-party material. They have a strong set of 'plot point campaigns' which are typically campaign backgrounds with an adventure series based there. This is more a skeleton of a campaign as opposed to a highly detailed adventure path, but it still gives you a whole lot of material to work with. I am running a Last Parsec campaign at the moment (sci-fi) and it is great fun.

In these troubled times it is also useful that Savage Worlds is supported by both Fantasy Grounds and Roll20 virtual table tops. We are using Fantasy Grounds Unity and it is a really good implementation.

The latest core book (Savage Worlds Adventure Edition) brings into the core a lot of material that was previously expansion in various campaign books. It make the game really usable just from the core book. I would heartily recommend it.

07-21-2020, 09:34 AM	#14
dbm Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Lancashire, UK	Re: Alternatives to GURPS? Other tabletop RPGs to try? I play a number of other systems besides GURPS. In terms of GURPS, whilst I did briefly own a copy of the first edition it was third edition that clicked for me, and I was happy to make the transition to fourth edition as well. My group does play a lot of D&D, which means so do I even though it isn't really a game I enjoy in the longer term. To be fair, I think 5th edition is probably the most enjoyable iteration so far. We also play a fairly broad range of other systems from time to time. I love flexible systems (hence my GURPS history) but I must admit that I am less bothered about having lots of detailed rules, these days. I also find GURPS 4th edition perhaps too based in 'real reality' for my current tastes, which tend to more pulp or action movie in tone. Because of this I have been playing a lot of Savage Worlds recently (specifically the new Adventure Edition commonly referenced as 'SWADE'). SWADE is a very capable rules-medium system with an action / pulp emphasis (though you can step that up or down somewhat with fairly simple optional rules). It reminds me of GURPS 3e in a good way; to my mind 3e was a more loose collection of rules and options, whilst 4th is a tightly engineered set of rules. That wiggle room in 3e or SWADE makes it easier to 'not sweat the little stuff' in my personal experience. Savage Worlds in general is also very well supported. There are a whole bunch of third-party developers producing content for it, as well as high quality first-party material. They have a strong set of 'plot point campaigns' which are typically campaign backgrounds with an adventure series based there. This is more a skeleton of a campaign as opposed to a highly detailed adventure path, but it still gives you a whole lot of material to work with. I am running a Last Parsec campaign at the moment (sci-fi) and it is great fun. In these troubled times it is also useful that Savage Worlds is supported by both Fantasy Grounds and Roll20 virtual table tops. We are using Fantasy Grounds Unity and it is a really good implementation. The latest core book (Savage Worlds Adventure Edition) brings into the core a lot of material that was previously expansion in various campaign books. It make the game really usable just from the core book. I would heartily recommend it.