''GURPS Space'' is a sourcebook 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 ...

(SJG) for use with ''

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 ...

'' (''Generic Universal Role-Playing System''), published in four editions from 1988 to 2006.

Description

''GURPS Space'' is a toolkit that enables

gamemasters A gamemaster (GM; also known as game master, game manager, game moderator, referee, or storyteller) is a person who acts as an organizer, officiant for regarding rules, arbitrator, and moderator for a multiplayer role-playing game. They are m ...

to create

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 unive ...

role-playing campaigns using the ''GURPS'' rules. Guidelines are provided for designing games using

science fantasy Science fantasy is a hybrid genre within speculative fiction that simultaneously draws upon or combines tropes and elements from both science fiction and fantasy. In a conventional science fiction story, the world is presented as being scientif ...

space opera Space opera is a subgenre of science fiction that emphasizes space warfare, with use of melodramatic, risk-taking space adventures, relationships, and chivalric romance. Set mainly or entirely in outer space, it features technological and soci ...

, or

hard science fiction Hard science fiction is a category of science fiction characterized by concern for scientific accuracy and logic. The term was first used in print in 1957 by P. Schuyler Miller in a review of John W. Campbell's '' Islands of Space'' in the Novem ...

genres, by creating worlds, planets and alien races.

First edition

''GURPS Space'' was one of the broad genre books that was published after the 1986 ''

GURPS Basic Set ''GURPS Basic Set'' is a role playing game publication written by Steve Jackson, Sean M. Punch, and David L. Pulver. The first edition ''GURPS Basic Set'' box was published in 1986, a standalone third edition book in 1988, and a hardcover, two- ...

''. ''GURPS Space'' was designed by Steve Jackson and William Barton, and published by

as a 128-page book. The book features additional material by W. G. Armintrout, Stephen Beeman, Ben Ellinger,

John M. Ford John Milo "Mike" Ford (April 10, 1957 – September 25, 2006) was an American science fiction and fantasy writer, game designer, and poet. A contributor to several online discussions, Ford composed poems, often improvised, in both complicated ...

, Don Gallagher, J. David George, Mike Hurst,

David Ladyman David Ladyman is an American game designer of board games such as ''Car Wars'', and role-playing games such as ''GURPS''. Career In 1977, while studying linguistics as a grad student at University of Texas at Austin, Ladyman began playtesting ga ...

, and Mike Moe, with a cover illustration by Michael Goodwin. This first-tier genre book is supported by several second-tier sourcebooks that helped expand the ''GURPS Space'' universe, including several '' GURPS Space Atlases'' (1988-1991), ''

Unnight ''Unnight'' is a supplement published by Steve Jackson Games (SJG) in 1988 for the science fiction role-playing game ''GURPS Space''. Contents ''Unnight'' is a planetary setting for ''GURPS Space'' in which gamemasters can set science fiction gen ...

'' (1988), ''GURPS Space Bestiary'' (1990) and ''

GURPS Aliens ''GURPS Aliens'' is a sourcebook for ''GURPS'' published in 1990. Contents ''GURPS Aliens'' is a complete sourcebook on extraterrestrials, intended for use with ''GURPS Space'', ''GURPS Horror'', or ''GURPS Supers''. ''GURPS Aliens'' is a ''GUR ...

'' (1990).

Second edition

Following the release of a third edition of ''GURPS'', a second edition of ''GURPS Space'' was published in 1990 to conform with the new ruleset.

Third Edition

The Third Edition includes a reprint of some of the

GURPS Vehicles ''GURPS Vehicles'' is a sourcebook for ''GURPS'' by David Pulver. The first edition was published in 1993. Contents ''GURPS Vehicles'' explains how to build and operate an array of conveyances, from sailboats to starships to witches' brooms. Ste ...

rules and some high-tech weaponry.

Fourth Edition

The fourth edition of ''GURPS Space'' was released in 2006, and covered the creation of star systems, worlds and alien races, either completely randomly or with any amount of gamemaster intervention during the process. Advice is also provided on planning campaigns and other related material. Coverage of spacecraft is aimed at setting level issues such as choosing the technology used by spacecraft in the game. This section does not worry about game mechanics issues, but rather helps players and gamemasters determine the broad capabilities of the vessel in question.

Reception

In the January 1989 edition of ''

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 ...

'' (Issue #141),

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

commented, "Even if you never intend to play the ''GURPS'' game, the ''GURPS Space'' game is worth picking up on the basis of its ideas alone. For GMs who enjoy designing unique backgrounds for their players, and for ''GURPS'' players everywhere, this book is well worth getting." In the January 1989 edition of ''

Games International ''Computer Games Magazine'' was a monthly computer and console gaming print magazine, founded in October 1988 as the United Kingdom publication ''Games International''. During its history, it was known variously as ''Strategy Plus'' (October 19 ...

'' (Issue 2), James Wallis was impressed by the breadth of coverage, noting that this book "covers everything from planetary system design ..to lists of equipment." Wallis felt that the only significant item missing was robots. He concluded by giving this a perfect rating of 5 out of 5, saying, "''GURPS Space'' is ideal for any referee who isn't satisfied with existing SF systems and wants to design their own or to convert a favourite book into a rolegaming environment ..Every SF referee should have one."

Awards

At the 1989

Origins Awards The Origins Awards are American awards for outstanding work in the game industry. They are presented by the Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts and Design at the Origins Game Fair on an annual basis for the previous year, so (for example) the 1979 a ...

, the first edition of ''GURPS Space'' won ''Best Roleplaying Supplement of 1988''.{{cite web, url=http://www.originsgames.com/awards/1988/list-of-winners , title=1988 Origins Awards winners , accessdate=2007-08-24 , archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081121112811/http://www.originsgames.com/awards/1988/list-of-winners , archivedate=2008-11-21 , url-status=dead

Other reviews

* ''Games Review'' Vol. 2, #9 (review of second edition)

References

External links

GURPS Space
page at SJGames website.
RPG.net review
GURPS 1st/2nd edition GURPS 3rd edition GURPS 4th edition

Space Space is the boundless three-dimensional extent in which objects and events have relative position and direction. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions, although modern physicists usually consider ...

Origins Award winners Role-playing game supplements introduced in 1988 Science fiction role-playing game supplements Space opera role-playing games