A point-buy toolkit for building characters and rules in any genre, using 3d6 roll-under checks and detailed, realistic combat.
From 39 firsthand play reports in 6 r/rpg threads. The threads alone average 6.7.
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921 r/rpg posts named it, October 2023 to October 2026.
Very heavy. Hype 4.7 for its age.
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Players describe GURPS as slow to set up and smooth once play starts. Tables ran long campaigns in supers, sci-fi, fantasy and modern settings. Opinion splits on the rules: some groups love the character building and tactical combat, while others trimmed the rules down or moved to lighter games.
Each thread is rated for the play it describes, from the firsthand reports in it. Load one here or read it on Reddit.
Long-term GURPS players mostly report good, durable campaigns, including supers, modern-day and sci-fi games, and say it runs smoothly once the GM trims it down. The recurring problems are slow character creation, a bland out-of-the-box feel, heavy GM work, and poor fit for high-power or narrative play. 10 firsthand · 485 comments
The thread is about GURPS, and the firsthand reports are split. Some GMs ran flexible long campaigns (an 8-month mech game, then high fantasy) and had players building characters in minutes. Others found the simulationist crunch slowed play and eventually moved to lighter systems. 8 firsthand · 574 comments
The few people who describe actually playing GURPS say it runs smoothly once character creation is done and can model almost any concept, with memorable high-power games. The costs they name are slow combat, a heavy character-building workload for the GM, and rules subsystems that combine badly. Most of the thread is design debate and not table reports. 6 firsthand · 133 comments
The thread is mostly about recommending alternatives (Savage Worlds, Fate, Cortex Prime, Cypher), so firsthand GURPS reports are few and mostly come from the OP and passing remarks. Those players value GURPS advantages/disadvantages for producing memorable characters, but they report combat with defense rolls and rules lookups that can run six hours and put off casual players. 5 firsthand · 46 comments
The thread is mostly about which supers system to pick over GURPS, and the few people with real GURPS supers experience say it works but is a lot of work and too lethal for four-color comics. Several still like the system itself and say workarounds like ablative DR and half-damage/double-knockback help. 5 firsthand · 62 comments
The people who actually ran or played GURPS mostly report a great time. The OP says it brought back their love of RPGs, players enjoy tactical combat, and realism-based adjudication gives players room to be creative. The one clearly negative firsthand report is about hard-to-read rules presentation and being told to buy more supplements; the rest of the thread is mostly about SJG's licensing, its website and book design, and so is ignored. 5 firsthand · 107 comments