''GURPS Bestiary'' is a source book for the

GURPS The ''Generic Universal RolePlaying System'', or ''GURPS'', is a tabletop role-playing game system designed to allow for play in any game setting. It was created by Steve Jackson Games and first published in 1986 at a time when most such systems w ...

role-playing game system A role-playing game system is a set of game mechanics used in a tabletop role-playing game (TTRPG) to determine the outcome of a character's in-game actions. History By the late 1970s, the Chaosium staff realized that Steve Perrin's ''RuneQuest ...

containing information and

statistics Statistics (from German language, German: ''wikt:Statistik#German, Statistik'', "description of a State (polity), state, a country") is the discipline that concerns the collection, organization, analysis, interpretation, and presentation of ...

of animals. It also contains information animal

player character A player character (also known as a playable character or PC) is a fictional character in a video game or tabletop role-playing game whose actions are controlled by a player rather than the rules of the game. The characters that are not control ...

templates, and tips for fitting animals into adventures. The first edition was published in 1988.

The ''GURPS Bestiary'' contains over 200 creatures to populate the various worlds of the ''

'' universe. The book classifies creatures by terrain type, and deals with normal animals, legendary beasts, and otherworld creatures. The book also contains GM commentaries on handling animal encounters, hunting and trapping, animals as companions, and how to create new animals. This supplement describes several hundred animals and monsters, mostly organized by habitat (e.g., arctic, desert, forest, jungle, swamp and subterranean) plus dinosaurs, domestic animals, otherworldly creatures, and "loathsome crawlers"; the book also includes rules and guidelines for game-mastering animals, animal companions, and hunting. ''GURPS Bestiary'' is a universal sourcebook for ''GURPS'' that is intended to be usable in many different settings.

Publication history

The 1st edition of the ''GURPS Bestiary'' was written by

Steffan O'Sullivan Steffan O'Sullivan is the author of several role-playing game books. Career Steffan O'Sullivan was a ''GURPS'' writer whose projects included ''GURPS Swashbucklers'' (1990) and '' GURPS Bunnies & Burrows'' (1992). He designed the ''FUDGE'' role-p ...

, with a cover by Ken Kelly and illustrations by

Dan Carroll Dan Carroll (born December 17, 1949) is an American speed skater. He competed at the 1972 Winter Olympics and the 1976 Winter Olympics The 1976 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XII Olympic Winter Games (german: XII. Olympische Winte ...

, and was first published by

Steve Jackson Games Steve Jackson Games (SJGames) is a game company, founded in 1980 by Steve Jackson, that creates and publishes role-playing, board, and card games, and (until 2019) the gaming magazine ''Pyramid''. History Founded in 1980, six years after the cr ...

in 1988 as a 112-page book. The 2nd edition of ''GURPS Bestiary'' was updated by Chris McCubbin and Bob Schroeck, and had rules for were-creatures that wound up in '' GURPS Shapeshifters'' (2003). McCubbin and Schroeck wrote an article in a 1993 issue of ''

Pyramid A pyramid (from el, πυραμίς ') is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge to a single step at the top, making the shape roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrilat ...

'' (a magazine published by Steve Jackson Games), offering extra material for the book. The current version of ''GURPS Bestiary'' is the 3rd edition, which was revised by Hunter Johnson and again featured Ken Kelly's cover art. Released in 2000, this expanded edition is 128 pages in length. Johnson published extra material for the 3rd edition in a 2000 issue of ''Pyramid''. As of August 2014, the 3rd edition of ''GURPS Bestiary'' was out of print, and a 4th edition had not yet been released for the 4th edition GURPS RPG system. All three editions featured the same cover image by Ken Kelly.

Reception

Jim Bambra Jim Bambra (born 1956)Jim Bambra: Director Summary
Company Check Ltd is a Briti ...

reviewed ''GURPS Bestiary'' for ''

Dragon A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...

'' magazine #140 (December 1988). He comments on the book: "The art is fairly poor — about the same standard as that in the ''Monster Manual'' — so don't expect to be thrilled by the illustrations. The ''GURPS Bestiary'' has much to offer ''GURPS'' GMs, but it is of limited use to anyone looking for new critters to add to his favorite game system."

References

;Sources
Bestiary Website
*''GURPS Bestiary'' by Stephan O'Sullivan {{ISBN, 1-55634-412-0

Bestiary A bestiary (from ''bestiarum vocabulum'') is a compendium of beasts. Originating in the ancient world, bestiaries were made popular in the Middle Ages in illustrated volumes that described various animals and even rocks. The natural history a ...

Role-playing game supplements introduced in 1988

Contents

Publication history

Reception

See also

References