What can I do now

[Hrafnagudh]

Hello everyone.
I have been since long time looking for a system like GURPS, something capable of support some of my weirdest ideas.
Luckily for me, someone gifted the basics manuals to me and boy I am excited.

I have a pair of questions though. Reading around, I find how useful can be the different supplements to help define specific settings.

What can it be done without them, only with the basics?

If one is prone to have fun tweaking and inventing new stuff, let's say a submarines setting, or more spells and magic systems, without using any other book than the basics, in which extent can he do that?

Don't get me wrong, as soon as I start use GURPS more intensely I will linger in the other books anyway :)
Hoping to have written a clear question, thanks in advance

[Mark Caliber]

GURPS is very good at most settings that have a verisimilitude to reality.

(Yeah I know, because GURPS also has ray guns, laser swords, and magic spells. Bear with me for a moment).

How to say this. The physics and 'metaphysics' that govern GURPS feel plausible. Even something bizarre like ray guns, laser swords, and the magic spells feel organically realistic.

That said, you can do just about 'anything' with GURPS.

I recently posted the following options on my Discord channel in regards to GURPS:

Here are some thoughts about GURPS.
GURPS was designed from the ground up to be the ultimate multi genre/cross genre RPG.
You can do just about ANYTHING (almost) with GURPS.

* ADB, Inc even has a Powered By GURPS version of Star Trek (TOS, mind you because that's the license that ADB holds).
* GURPS does the traditional Fantasy RPG very well.
* SJ Games also has it's own Dungeon Fantasy line.
* With my copy of GURPS Powers, I could run a Superheros game.
* Want to try surviving the Twighlight 2000 scenario of being NATO soldiers stuck in Europe with the Soviet Bloc rolling over all resistance and trying to eek out and survive to the closest friendly port to get home?
* Check out GURPS "Black Ops" where you 'seek out intelligent life from other worlds! And kill them!'
* They adapted the Traveller universe for GURPS (3rd Edition mind you),
* Want to be Pirates in the Spanish Main? GURPS can do that.
* Vikings?
Check!
* With all the resources that I have on Tolkien's Middle Earth, I could easily drop a set of players in Middle Earth.
(Using GURPS).
* Want to try your hand at Law Enforcement? I've got that GURPS supplement.
* Better yet, want to be on the SWAT team? Got that book too!

My point is, if GURPS is the rule set that I can use as a GM, the more important question is, "What kind of stories do you want to deal with?"

GURPS is a pretty expansive set of rules and as a GM I think the more important question you have to consider is what limits and boundaries are you going to put in place.

I do remember a GURPS RIFTS campaign that had NO limitations and the three players (including myself) showed up with the three most campaign breaking character concepts that could be devised by GURPS.

But because it was RIFTS, it still worked.

I hope this helps answer your question!

However there are much smarter people on these boards who should be able to better address this topic.

[Stormcrow]

Originally Posted by Hrafnagudh

What can it be done without them, only with the basics?

You can do almost everything with only the Basic Set. A lot of the major supplements just tell you ways to use the Basic Set, sometimes giving you a few extra details.

If one is prone to have fun tweaking and inventing new stuff, let's say a submarines setting, or more spells and magic systems, without using any other book than the basics, in which extent can he do that?

As much as you like. Nothing is stopping you from making up everything you want. The basic rules give you all the tools you need to put rules to your stuff. There is plenty in the Basic Set to run an underwater campaign with magic, and if you want to make up your own spells instead of buying another book for a list of spells, there's absolutely no problem doing that.

[Hrafnagudh]

Thanks for the answers guys, very encouraging :)
Can't wait to try a lot of stuff.

I'm very curious about this RIFTS campaign, sounds awesome!

[Refplace]

Agree fully with the prior posters. You really dont need anything more than the Basic set to do pretty much any genre and most settings.
The supplements just add more meat to the bones.
My blog is aimed primarily at GURPS newbies and here is a page I made on the topic of genres and what books are best for such things.
https://refplace.blogspot.com/p/gurp...lable-for.html

[RyanW]

Everything outside of the Basic Set just adds extra options, guidelines, or pre-made materials, all of it optional. One of the key to making a good game is having a good idea what you want to do, and paring the many options down to what you need to accomplish that.

For a first time GM, I might suggest starting simple and looking through GURPS Lite to get a feel for the core, and only use Basic to fill in where necessary.

[RGTraynor]

If you were doing a fantasy campaign with magic at any level beyond the casual, you'll want the Magic book: it adds hundreds of spells, 175 pages worth instead of the 11 in the Basic set.

By contrast, you don't need Martial Arts: it adds a great deal of crunch that's pretty much optional.

As far as supplements for specific settings go, sure. If I was (say) going to run a campaign set in ancient Egypt, why not get GURPS Egypt and save myself some legwork?

But if, instead, you want to go with your own homebrew creation, naturally you can go without any worldbooks.

[mstlaurent]

I ran at least two full campaigns, and a ton of stand-alone adventures, using just the original GURPS boxed set. You can do all sorts of stuff with the basic set.

[Shostak]

The Basic Set can keep you going for a long time by itself.

However, if you should decide to get any other book, I would recommend that it be How to Be a GURPS GM. I've found it very useful.

And definitely get copies of GURPS Lite into your players' hands. You can't beat the price! It trims away a lot of information from the Basic Set that they don't necessarily need to play the game.

[Refplace]

Originally Posted by Shostak

And definitely get copies of GURPS Lite into your players' hands. You can't beat the price! It trims away a lot of information from the Basic Set that they don't necessarily need to play the game.

Also the Combat Cards are handy for getting used to selecting Maneuvers.