sourcebook
A sourcebook is a collection of writings on a subject that is intended to be a basic introduction to the topic presented.
Academic use
In American universities, a sourcebook, either a standard one or a custom collection, may function as a supplem ...
science-fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel univers ...
role-playing rules set in an interstellar commonwealth of humans and the Thranx, allied insectoid aliens. The book covers character rules for nine alien races, basic
psionics
In American science fiction of the 1950s and 1960s, psionics was a proposed discipline that applied principles of engineering (especially electronics) to the study (and employment) of paranormal or psychic phenomena, such as telepathy and psychok ...
, spacecraft and equipment. "The Commonwealth Gazetteer" section describes the inhabited planets, their cultures, and history. The book also includes statistics for characters from Foster's
Humanx Commonwealth The Humanx Commonwealth is a fictional interstellar ethical/political entity featured in the science fiction novels of Alan Dean Foster.
Publication history
''GURPS Humanx: Roleplaying in Alan Dean Foster's Humanx Commonwealth'' was written by Curtis M. Scott with Mary Scot and J. David George, with a cover by
Michael Whelan
Michael Whelan (born 29 June 1950) is an Americans, American artist of imaginative Realism (arts), realism. For more than 30 years, he worked as an illustrator, specializing in science fiction and fantasy cover art. Since the mid-1990s, he has ...
, 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 1987 as a 96-page book. Whalen's cover art was taken from the
Ballantine Books
Ballantine Books is a major book publisher located in the United States, founded in 1952 by Ian Ballantine with his wife, Betty Ballantine. It was acquired by Random House in 1973, which in turn was acquired by Bertelsmann in 1998 and remains ...
edition of ''
Nor Crystal Tears
''Nor Crystal Tears'' is a science fiction novel by American writer Alan Dean Foster, first published on 12 August 1982. Foster's ninth book set in the Humanx Commonwealth, it is a first-contact story about the meeting of the insectoid Thranx ...