''GURPS Time Travel'' is a

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 ...

for ''

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 ...

''. It was written by Steve Jackson and

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 ...

and published in 1991.

''GURPS Time Travel'' presents options to allow

gamemaster 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 ...

s to create systems to match their campaigns, including the way that time streams work. ''GURPS Time Travel'' also involves

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 ...

s travelling to different worlds.

Publication history

''GURPS Time Travel'' was designed by Steve Jackson and

, and published as a 128-page softcover book 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 ...

. The book was edited by

Loyd Blankenship Loyd Blankenship (born 1965), better known by his pseudonym The Mentor, is a computer hacker and writer. He has been active since the 1970s, when he was a member of the hacker groups Extasyy Elite and Legion of Doom. Writings Hacker Manifesto ...

, and features additional material by Chris McCubbin, J.M. Caparula,

Walter Milliken Walter Milliken is a writer and game designer who has worked on a number of ''GURPS'' products for Steve Jackson Games. Career Walter Milliken ran the ''GURPS Digest'' discussion list on the internet in the early 1990s. In a lawsuit that received ...

David Pulver David L. Pulver (born 2 November 1965 in Kingston, Ontario) is a Canadian freelance writer and game designer, author of more than fifty role-playing game rulebooks and supplements, including the award-winning ''Transhuman Space''. Early life and e ...

, Daniel U. Thibault, and Dale F. Reding. Illustrations are by Dan Frazier, Michael Barrett,

Timothy Bradstreet Tim Bradstreet (born on February 16, 1967)is an American artist and illustrator, best known for his work on comic books, book covers, movie posters, roleplaying games and trading cards. Early life Tim Bradstreet was born February 16, 1967, in Che ...

, Topper Helmers, Karl Martin, Doug Shuler, and Dan Smith, with a cover by

John Zeleznik John Zeleznik is an artist and illustrator. Career Zeleznik has provided covers and illustrative work for many role-playing games including ''Shadowrun'', '' Rifts'' (and other Palladium Books games), and ''GURPS''. He graduated from the Otis/Par ...

Reception

''GURPS Time Travel'' won the

Origins Award 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 aw ...

for Best Roleplaying Supplement of 1991.

Rick Swan Rick Swan is a game designer and author who worked for TSR. His work for TSR, mostly for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, appeared from 1989 to 1995. Swan also wrote ''The Complete Guide to Role-Playing Games'' (1990), published by St. Martin's Pre ...

reviewed ''GURPS Time Travel'' 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 #191 (March 1993). According to Swan, "''GURPS Time Travel'' borrows ideas from everyone from H.G. Wells to Dr. Who and blends them into a cohesive whole, resulting in the most comprehensive take on time travel to date. Though intended for the ''GURPS'' system, the material is generic enough for any system, presuming the referee does his homework. Bursting with baffling jargon and giddy analyses of nonsensical concepts, ''GURPS Time Travel'' is exactly the type of book that makes civilians think role-players are out of their minds. Consider that a recommendation."

Reviews

*''Dragão Brasil'' #1 (1994) (Portuguese) *'' Envoyer'' #15https://web.archive.org/web/20030512100022fw_/http://www.envoyer.de/ausgaben/1998/01/home.html

References

{{reflist Alternate history role-playing games

Time Travel Time travel is the concept of movement between certain points in time, analogous to movement between different points in space by an object or a person, typically with the use of a hypothetical device known as a time machine. Time travel is a w ...

Infinite Worlds Origins Award winners Role-playing game supplements introduced in 1991 Temporal war fiction Time travel and multiple reality role-playing games Works by John M. Ford

Contents

Publication history

Reception

Reviews

References