GURPS Essential core books

[Mailanka]

Originally Posted by Kalzazz

Ill definitely have to give Action 2 a look again

As someone who can't stand 'anything I could sorta, kinda, if I'm half drunk and squinting hard enough vaguely see existing' I will admit I haven't used action much

But if its good for Sci Fi? Well, I do like that

Sci-fi, especially space opera, often feels like "X genre, in spaaaaace." For example, how easily could you translate Mass Effect into a generic action movie? A renegade soldier uncovers an insidious conspiracy where a powerful agent has turned against his country. At first, the government doesn't believe him, but when he proves his case, he is recruited by the government to hunt the rogue agent down. Cue lots of gunplay, running and jumping, chase scenes, infiltrations and hacking.

And guess which book has the best rules for all that? Action.

Sci-fi is also often about "20 minutes into tomorrow," where we explore the cutting edge of technology and its impact on the world. And if you read through Action, it's perfect for heists. And what is the classic sci-fi heist genre? Cyberpunk.

What would you use to run Minority Report? Action. The Matrix? Action (with a heavy dose of Action 3)... and probably some supers. Equilibrium? Action with LOTS of Gun Fu. Aliens? Action with lots of Tactical Shooting. Predator? Action with a single alien.

It won't cover everything. Star Trek is more about exploration and diplomacy and technology, so it's sort of a classic "GURPS Space" kinda game. The same is true of Doctor Who. And Star Wars is more GURPS Fantasy + GURPS Martial arts IN SPAAAAACE than GURPS Action.

But still, Action can do quite some sci-fi, especially with some modifications. And I think that's one reason Action doesn't get more support: It's more generic, more flexible than GURPS DF or GURPS Monster Hunters. It's already well supported with GURPS High-Tech, GURPS Gun Fu, Tactical Shooting and various generic pyramid articles (including one on turning Action templates into Cliffhanger characters). So I don't think the lack of support for action really has anything to do with its lack of popularity so much as it has to do with Action's flexibility. It's also why it tends to get a lot of generic recommendations while, say, Monster Hunters or DF gets less.