The Unofficial Reference

GURPS

Generic Universal Roleplaying System
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A chapter-by-chapter guide to the GURPS Basic Set — rewritten for clarity, with worked examples and the math explained.

Browse by book and chapter

Book One

Characters

Introduction
Introduction
What GURPS is, how to use this book, and the core philosophy behind the system.
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Chapter 1
Creating a Character
Building a character from the ground up — concept, point budget, attributes, and the full character sheet.
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Chapter 2
Advantages
Innate abilities and positive traits that set your character apart, each with a point cost.
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Chapter 3
Disadvantages
Flaws, limitations, and negative traits that define character and return points to spend elsewhere.
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Chapter 4
Skills
How skills work, what they cost, defaults, tech levels, specialties, and a full probability breakdown.
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Chapter 5
Magic
The GURPS magic system — spells as skills, mana, casting rolls, and the structure of magical colleges.
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Chapter 6
Psionics
Mental powers, psychic abilities, psi skills, and how they interact with the core rules.
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Chapter 7
Templates
Pre-built character packages — racial templates, professional lenses, and how to apply them.
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Chapter 8
Equipment
Weapons, armor, gear, and everything your character carries — stats, costs, and how it all works.
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Chapter 9
Character Development
Spending earned points, improving attributes and skills, and evolving your character over a campaign.
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Chapter 10
Trait List
A searchable quick-reference index of every advantage, disadvantage, and skill — with costs, categories, and page numbers.
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Book Two

Campaigns

Chapter 10
Success Rolls
How the 3d6 roll-under system works in play — modifiers, contests, physical feats, sense rolls, and fright checks.
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Chapter 11
Combat
The full combat sequence — initiative, attacks, defenses, maneuvers, and resolving violence.
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Chapter 12
Tactical Combat
Grid-based play — facing, range, cover, terrain, and the optional hex-map combat rules.
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Chapter 13
Special Combat Situations
Fighting in unusual circumstances — darkness, underwater, mounted combat, vehicles, and more.
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Chapter 14
Injuries, Illness & Fatigue
How damage, shock, knockdown, bleeding, disease, poison, and recovery all work in detail.
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Chapter 15
Creating Templates
How to design racial and professional templates for your own campaign setting from scratch.
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Chapter 16
Animals & Monsters
Building and running non-human creatures — stat blocks, instincts, and designing encounters.
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Chapter 17
Technology & Artifacts
Tech levels in depth — how TL affects equipment, what's available in each era, and super-science.
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Chapter 18
Game Mastering
Running the game — encounter design, pacing, secrets, worldbuilding, and GM advice from the system itself.
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Chapter 19
Game Worlds
Designing campaign settings — genre conventions, tone, scale, and making the rules fit the world.
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Chapter 20
Infinite Worlds
GURPS's official multiverse setting — dimension-hopping, Homeline, Centrum, and cross-genre play.
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Chapter 21
Tables
All the reference tables from Book 2 — hit locations, range penalties, reaction modifiers, and more.
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Index
Index
Full alphabetical index to the Campaigns book — every rule, term, and table, with page references.
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Glossary
Glossary
Definitions for every key term used across both GURPS Basic Set books.
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