GURPSGEN GURPS GENRE GUIDE Most genres have several sub-genres. Assume that all recommendations from the main genre also apply to its sub-genres. These recommendations assume you are using the 4th Edition Rules and only suggest 3rd Edition books for background material, genre advice, and inspiration. ACTION Fast-paced excitement, with plenty of chases and probably some explosions. Inspirational fiction: Dirty Harry, James Bond, and Jason Bourne films. Required books: Basic Set. Recommended books: Action 1-2, High-Tech. Suggested books: Action 3-6, Martial Arts, Power-Ups 5. Recommended Pyramid articles: Alternate Guns Specialties and Techniques (3/65), Colorless Green Ideas Sleep Furiously (3/44), Survivable Guns (3/44). Suggested Pyramid articles: Chase Cards (3/23), Hot Rides! (3/40), I’ve Got a Great Idea (3/53), Monster Hunter Firepower at the Movies (3/31), The Football (3/112). Recommended optional rules: Chases (Action 2), Falls (Action 2), Simplified Range (Action 2). Beefcake Blockbuster 1980s action movie style, featuring heavily muscled cops and ex-military men. Inspirational fiction: Commando, Die Hard, Lethal Weapon, Rambo. Recommended books: Gun-Fu. Suggested books: Action 7, Power-Ups 7. Suggested Pyramid articles: Horde Ninja (3/70), The Compleat Jumpsuit (3/67). Recommended optional rules: Cannon Fodder (Basic Set), Cinematic Explosions (Basic Set), Cinematic Knockback (Basic Set), Cross-Trained (Gun-Fu), Dumb Mooks (Action 2), Flesh Wounds (Basic Set), Flimsy Cover (Gun-Fu), Infinite Ammunition (Basic Set). Suggested optional rules: Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy (Martial Arts). Choppy-Socky Focused on unarmed combat, either tournaments or street-fighting criminals. Inspirational fiction: Enter the Dragon, Kung-Fu Hustle, The Karate Kid. Recommended books: Action 3, Martial Arts. Suggested books: Martial Arts: Technical Grappling. Suggested Pyramid articles: A New Take on Grappling (3/34), Coming to Grips With Realism (3/61), Delayed Gratification (3/52), Horde Ninja (3/70), Takedown Sequences (3/61). Recommended optional rules: Melee Etiquette (Basic Set), TV Action Violence (Basic Set). Suggested optional rules: Cannon Fodder (Basic Set), Unarmed Etiquette (Martial Arts). Cl ffha!gers Two-fisted action in the early 20th century. Inspirational fiction: Doc Savage, Indiana Jones. Recommended books: Cliffhangers (3rd Edition), High-Tech: Pulp Guns 1-2. Recommended optional rules: Cannon Fodder (Basic Set), Flesh Wounds (Basic Set), Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy (Martial Arts), TV Action Violence (Basic Set). D saster# A natural or man-made hazard provides the main threat. Suggested books: Disasters: Hurricane, Disasters: Meltdown and Fallout, Underground Adventures, Y2K (3rd Edition). Recommended Pyramid articles: GURPS Fathom Five (3/26). Suggested Pyramid articles: Things Fall Apart (3/40). $e st Daring criminals try to get away with their loot. Inspirational fiction: Heat, Public Enemies. Suggested books: Social Engineering, Social Engineering: Keeping in Contact. Suggested Pyramid articles: Dealing with the Law (3/53), Fortunately, I Saw This Coming (4/53), Safes and How to Open Them (3/47), The Civil Arts in GURPS (3/54). $ero c Bloo%she% Modern gangsters and hit-men settle things with stylized gunplay. Inspirational fiction: Hard Boiled, John Wick, Leon: the Professional, Shoot ʼEm Up. Recommended books: Gun-Fu. Recommended optional rules: Bullet Time (Martial Arts), Cannon Fodder (Basic Set), Cinematic Knockback (Basic Set), Cross-Trained (Gun-Fu), Dumb Mooks (Action 2), Flimsy Cover (Gun- Fu), Infinite Ammunition (Basic Set), Pants-Positive Safety (Gun-Fu), The Contest of Wills (Martial Arts). Tact cal Operat o!s Elite soldiers, law enforcement, and intelligence agents battle gangsters, guerrillas, and terrorists. Recommended books: Tactical Shooting. Suggested books: Cops (3rd Edition), Covert Ops (3rd Edition), SEALs in Vietnam, Special Ops (3rd Edition), SWAT (3rd Edition). Suggested Pyramid articles: Dodge This (3/57), Hell on Wheels (3/53), Marine Protector and Dolphin (3/93), On Target (3/77), Tigerphobia (3/67). DETECTI&E DRA'A Investigation of crimes, by professional or amateur sleuths, often in historical settings. Inspirational fiction: Phillip Marlowe, Poirot, Miss. Marple, Sherlock Holmes. Required books: Basic Set or Lite. Recommended books: High-Tech, Mysteries. Suggested books: Cliffhangers (3rd Edition), Cops (3rd Edition), Social Engineering, Social Engineering: Keeping in Contact. Recommended Pyramid articles: Colorless Green Ideas Sleep Furiously (3/44). Suggested Pyramid articles: Human, Flawed (3/42), Penguin Dreams (3/59). (ANTAS) Magical adventures in other worlds. Inspirational fiction: Lord of the Rings, Lyonesse. Required books: Basic Set. Recommended books: Fantasy, Low-Tech, Magic, Thaumatology. Suggested books: Dragons, Low-Tech Companion 2, Powers, Religion (3rd Edition), Spirits (3rd Edition), Vehicles: Transports of Fantasy. Recommended Pyramid articles: Art of Prophecy (3/38), Blessed Be (3/78), Cursed Thou Art (3/78), Languages, Culture, and the Common Tongue (3/16), Spirits in Everyday Life (3/41), The Material Difference (3/66). Suggested Pyramid articles: A Killing Breath (3/33), Ars Metallica (3/68), Codex Duello (3/91), Eight Artifacts (3/82), Festivals of the Unknown (3/58), Instruments of Enchantment (3/82), It’s Pure Chemistry! (3/28), Low-Tech Armor Design (3/52), Ten Tweaks to Customize Combat (3/34), The Thaumaturgy of Metallurgy (3/91), The Village Green (3/95). Dark Fa!tasy Gloomy stories which combine fantasy and horror elements. Inspirational fiction: The Black Company, Zothique. Recommended books: Horror. Suggested books: Banestorm: Abydos, Locations: Hellsgate, Magic: Death Spells, Myth (3rd Edition), Undead (3rd Edition), Zombies, Zombies: Day One. Suggested Pyramid articles: Altus Brat (3/81), Bell, Book, and Candle (3/81), Cruel and Unusual (3/9), Dark Alchemy (3/91), How Very Tempting (3/67), Indian Ghouls (3/92), May the Shadows Guide You (3/47), Necromantic Tools (3/1), Safe as Houses (3/58), The Children of the Coming Darkness (3/41), The Gryndel Menace (3/80), The Sin Eaters (3/19), The Tome of the Black Island (3/91). Recommended optional rules: Power Corrupts (Horror). DUNGEON (ANTAS) Required books: Basic Set, Dungeon Fantasy 1-2, Magic. Recommended books: Dungeon Fantasy 3, 5, 7, 8, & 15-18, Dungeon Fantasy Monsters 1-4, Low-Tech. Suggested books: Dungeon Fantasy 4, 6, 9-14, & 19-21, Dungeon Fantasy Adventures 1-3, Dungeon Fantasy Denizens: Barbarians, Dungeon Fantasy Denizens: Swashbucklers, Dungeon Fantasy Encounters 1-3, Dungeon Fantasy Treasures 1-4, Magical Styles: Dungeon Magic, Thaumatology, Thaumatology: Magical Styles. Recommended Pyramid articles: Wizardry, Refined (3/60). Suggested Pyramid articles: Auras of Power (3/19), Clerics of Order and Chaos (3/77), Cultists of the Elder Gods (3/43), Dark Summonings (3/50), Dire and Terrible Monsters (3/76), Dungeon Brewmasters (3/82), Dungeon Saints (3/35), Eastern Adventures (3/89), Gog and Magog (3/80), Horde Ninja (3/70), In All Series-ness (3/60), It’s a Threat! (3/77), It’s a Trap! (3/60), Just Rewards (3/75), More Charms (3/82), More Power to Dungeon Warriors (3/61), More Psionic Threats (3/80), Monster Slavers (3/47), Seven Mythical Artifacts for Dungeon Fantasy (3/38), Pointless Slaying and Looting (3/72), Psychic Swords Against Elder Evil (3/76), The Demolisher (3/35), The Magic Touch (3/76), The Musketeer (3/36), The Sorcerer (3/82), Traits for Town (3/58), What Doesn’t Kill Me Makes Me Stronger (3/99). DUNGEON (ANTAS) RO*EP*AYING GA'E Required books: Adventurers, Exploits, Monsters, Spells. Recommended books: Magic Items, Monsters 2, Traps. Suggested books: Companion 2, Magic Items 2, Dungeon: Against the Rat-Men. Suggested Pyramid articles: Grave of the Pirate Queen (3/98), The Monstrous Monstorum (3/98), You All Meet at an Inn (3/98). Ep c Fa!tasy The heroes of epic fantasy are truly powerful, both personally and politically. Recommended Books: Power-Ups 1 & 5. Suggested books: City Stats, Low-Tech Companion 1, Magic: Artillery Spells, Mass Combat, Powers: Divine Favor. Recommended Pyramid articles: All the Epic Ways (3/25), Combat Write Large (3/77). Suggested Pyramid articles: City Management (3/54), God is Dead (3/41), Heroes on the Mass Scale (3/84), Knowing Your Own Strength (3/83), Lord of Your Own Domain (3/63), Tactical Mass Combat (3/44). Recommended optional rules: Cannon Fodder (Basic Set), Flesh Wounds (Basic Set). (a rytale Inspired by traditional stories featuring capricious magical entities. Inspirational fiction: Tales of 1,001 Nights, The Brothers Grimm. Recommended books: Thaumatology: Alchemical Baroque. Suggested books: Arabian Nights (3rd Edition), Fayrie (3rd Edition), Horror. Recommended Pyramid articles: The Magic of Stories. (urry Fa!tasy Instead of dwarves, elves, and goblins, furry fantasy has sentient animals. Inspirational fiction: The Chronicles of Narnia, Redwall. Recommended books: Furries. Suggested books: Powers: Enhanced Senses. Recommended Pyramid articles: When We Were Very Small (3/34). Gr tty Fa!tasy Bleak stories where filth and squalor are common. Inspirational fiction: First Law, Game of Thrones. Suggested books: Low-Tech Companion 1 & 3. Suggested Pyramid articles: Anatomy of a Crossroads Bargain (3/81), Concealed Armor (3/52), Driving Us Mad (3/32), Low-Tech Transportation (3/95), Medieval Prisons (3/33), On the Bounty Board (3/80), Purveyors of the Priceless (3/87), Scurvy Dog Sorcery (3/64), Survival