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Old 08-26-2022, 07:30 PM   #21
SydneyFreedberg
 
Join Date: May 2019
Default Re: GURPS Sector General

A bunch of the books are affordably available on Amazon as used paperbacks or Kindle editions.
What I'd like to know is where fans recommend a new reader should start the series -- is it Book 1, or is there another one that's actually a better entry point?
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Old 08-26-2022, 08:29 PM   #22
Fred Brackin
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Default Re: GURPS Sector General

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A
What I'd like to know is where fans recommend a new reader should start the series -- is it Book 1, or is there another one that's actually a better entry point?
This is a collection of the first three oooks published and is probably best place to start.

https://www.amazon.com/Beginning-Ope...ps%2C99&sr=8-4
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Old 08-27-2022, 12:50 AM   #23
dcarson
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Default Re: GURPS Sector General

Do you have these as GCS templates or should I maybe do them when I get back from Chicon?
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Old 08-27-2022, 12:55 AM   #24
Pursuivant
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Default Re: GURPS Sector General

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Originally Posted by SydneyFreedberg View Post
What I'd like to know is where fans recommend a new reader should start the series -- is it Book 1, or is there another one that's actually a better entry point?
I'd start at the beginning. The original books are thin by modern standards, so getting the modern compilation is the better option.

That said, the first books, based on short stories, are a bit dated and have some silly premises. The later books are better in terms of basic scientific premises and writing quality.

The second book in the series (included in the first compilation), Star Surgeon, is possibly the best entry into White's mindset - a civilian trapped in a war zone for much of his life, just desperately wanting the conflict to end. It's also a highly gameable setting - heroic medics, first contact with a sinister alien empire, a sympathetic alien NPC, and a desperate battle to protect a peaceful interstellar federation. With some minor tweaks, it could be ported directly over to any space opera setting.

Book 4 - Ambulance Ship, introduces the EMS as diplomacy concept. The penultimate book in the series, Mind Changer, is probably his best.

It's also an utter pain getting copies of his short stories, but very much worth it. In particular, try to get "The Aliens Among Us." Tableau and Operation: Warrior are great military/anti-war SF stories.

White's best known work, "The Watch Below" is also worth reading.

Last edited by Pursuivant; 08-28-2022 at 08:27 PM.
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Old 08-27-2022, 01:01 AM   #25
Pursuivant
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Default Re: GURPS Sector General

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Originally Posted by SydneyFreedberg View Post
I will say that I find the format confusing : the way optional traits are mixed in with mandatory ones makes it harder to see at a glance what the essential nature of the species is like. I’m also curious how the Orligians can have the “missing finger” disadvantage, which implies they normally have five but all lost a finger in a species-wide wood shop accident….
Optional Traits are clearly marked as such and have their own sections. Yes, alternating blocks of optional and required traits can be confusing, especially given the imperfect text layout allowed by the forum software. It looks better as a properly-formatted word processor/pdf document.

Missing finger is a mistake. I wrote the template up years ago, before GURPS Furries came out. That established the racial feature of having four fingers which work just as well as five.

Before that, I used the hack of Missing Finger + High Manual Dexterity. Net point cost is zero.

Last edited by Pursuivant; 08-27-2022 at 01:13 AM.
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Old 08-27-2022, 01:12 AM   #26
Pursuivant
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Default Re: GURPS Sector General

Rhabwar Class Ambulance Ship

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Old 08-27-2022, 01:18 AM   #27
Pursuivant
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Default Re: GURPS Sector General

Pathologist or Physician (85 points)

This template represents a typical Galactic Federation pathologist or physician.

It uses slightly different terminology for the various medical specializations and assumes a high-tech or ultratech character. Depending on species, physicians and pathologists might receive academic, military, or religious training as well as scientific and technical training.

One conceit of the Sector General universe, which has aged very badly, is the notion that only males can be Diagnosticians - physicians and surgeons. Females get tracked as nurses or pathologists - medical researchers. This idea gets blown up in later books in the series, however, so it could be treated as a limitation in the technology rather than the science behind the technology.

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Variation: Pathologist (+0 points)
This variation represents a typical “pathologist” - a physician and medical researcher.
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Variation: Physician (+0 points)

This variation represents a typical “physician” - a physician and surgeon.
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Last edited by Pursuivant; 08-27-2022 at 01:22 AM.
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Old 08-27-2022, 01:29 AM   #28
Pursuivant
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Default Re: GURPS Sector General

Psychologist (80 points)

This template represents a typical Sector General or Monitor Corps “psychologist.”

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Variation: Chaplain (+10 points)
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Old 08-27-2022, 01:32 AM   #29
Pursuivant
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Default Re: GURPS Sector General

Space Rescuer (75 points)

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Old 08-27-2022, 01:45 AM   #30
Pursuivant
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Default Re: GURPS Sector General

Sector General Staff Lens (+23 points)

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