Jim Dan Hill Library: Tabletop Role-playing Games Guide: GURPS 4th Edition

What is GURPS 4th Edition?

GURPS stands for Generic Universal RolePlaying System. It is a system of mechanical rules that can be used to run a story from any genre. The game has been around for decades and offers the core rules and many supplements to expand on those rules. If players want a versatile mechanical system to apply to the story of choice, they might like GURPS.

Resources For Playing

Game Manuals

GURPS Basic Set: Characters by Steve Jackson (Editor); Andrew Hackard (Editor)
Call Number: Games: GV1469.62.G85 C52 2012

Publication Date: 2004-08-01

This book contains nearly everything needed to make a character.
Gurps Basic Set: Campaigns by Steve Jackson Staff
Call Number: GV1469.62.G85 C53 2008

Publication Date: 2008-08-01

This book is intended for the Game Master and contains nearly everything needed to make a campaign.

Website Resources

GURPS 4e Official Website
The official website to gain more information about the game.
GURPS Character Sheet
A downloadable character sheet to use for the game.
Unofficial - GURPS 4E Character Builder
An online character builder to plan a character.
Unofficial - The Dice Roller
An online dice roller to use in place of physical dice.

Actual Play

The Darknet - Happy Jacks RPG Network
Players go on an adventure in a massive virtual reality program.
Film Reroll
Podcasters use GURPS to play through vario0us movies, changing the story based on their own choices and dice rolls.
Generally Unappealing Regular People Streaming
Podcasters play in a variety of settings using the GURPS system.

GURPS Inspiration From The Library

Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake

Call Number: Graphic Novels: PZ7.7.A45 Adv 2013

When Fionna saves a wild flame boy from a group of fierce fire lions, it sets her and Cake off on an unforgettable adventure.

Multiple figures from the story float among the clouds while holding onto a large umbrella.

Berserk Vol. 1

Available through Hoopla Digital. Click here to find Hoopla log-in troubleshooting instructions.

This manga tells the story of a feared swordsman who is supposed to be a sacrifice to evil. Not ready to give in to his fate, he chooses to fight back in this action-packed, yet often humorous tale.

Miura, Kentaro. Cover image. Berserk Vol. 1, Dark Horse Comics, 2023.

The main character poses with a crossbow in one hand and multiple arrows in the other.

Deadwood

Call Number: Video: PN1992.77 .D39 2008

This critically-acclaimed television series is a western set in the 1870s in the South Dakota town of Deadwood, known for its crime and corruption.

This white cover has a faint woodgrain. An image in the center shows four characters from the show. There are two women and two men, each dressed in the attire of the old west.

Don Quixote

Call Number: Garden Level: PQ6329 .A2 2005

A classic Spanish story, it tells the tale of a self-made knight and his loyal squire as they journey through different lands, facing challenges that are both real and imagined.

This red book has a blurred image of a knight's metal helmet but there is no person wearing it.

Firefly: The Complete Series

Call Number: Video: PN1992.77 .F57 2014

This series follows a small, friendly team on a spaceship as they take on different jobs to get by and steer clear of the galactic government and terrifying raiders. This TV show has a follow-up movie called Serenity.

Whedon, Joss. Cover image. Firefly, Mutant Enemy Inc., 2014.

The main cast of the show all pose on the cover. Behind them is outerspace. Earth is in the upper-right corner and their spaceship flies past.

Gladiator

Call Number: Video: PN1995.9.E79 G5 2000a

This movie is set in ancient Rome and tells the story of a Roman general who is betrayed and becomes a Gladiator. He then fights his way up the ranks while looking for justice.

Russell Crowe's character in the film is posed in the center. Behind him is the wall of the colosseum., all in a golden color.

Gulliver's Travels

Call Number: Garden Level: PR3724.G8 R58 2002

This book tells the story of Gulliver as he travels from one unusual place to another. The setting is mostly believable, but it includes some fantasy elements and plenty of humor that pokes fun at society.

A large man holding a half dome over his head. On the dome is a city. Below is a ship.

Slayers and Their Vampires : A Cultural History of Killing

Call Number: Garden Level: GR830.V3 M23 2006

This text explores the origins of vampire slayers in stories all over the world.

McClelland, Bruce A.. Cover image. Slayers and their vampires : a cultural history of killing the dead, University of Michigan Press, 2006.

This black book has an illustration in red. It depicts a heart with a ink pen stabbing through it.

Twin Peaks

Call Number: Video: PN1992.77 .T856 2014

An FBI agent arrives to investigate the murder of a young woman in a strange town.

Lynch, David. Cover image. Twin Peaks: The Entire Mystery: and the missing pieces, Paramount, 2014

A young woman smiles towards the viewer. However, the image is cracked and broken, revealing her pale face underneath after she was murdered.

V For Vendetta

Call Number: Video: PN1995.9.S87 V467 2006

Inspired by the graphic novel by Alan Moore, this movie is set in a future England ruled by a dictatorship. A young woman encounters a masked hero named "V," who transforms her life while battling against those in power.