Roleplayer #11, August 1988

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Basic Set, Third Edition

by Steve Jackson

Well, our press run of the second edition of the GURPS Basic Set is this close to running out, and the Third Edition is (almost) ready. Thanks to all those who have commented, by mail, in person, or on the BBS, and suggested -- or helped playtest -- the many rules additions, clarifications and changes.
I'm pleased with the way the Third Edition is shaping up. We don't want to "force" anybody to buy it if they already have an earlier edition . . . but if it's so good that they want to shell out $19.95 for it, so much the better. That price isn't a typo. We're dropping the cost by five bucks.
How? Simple. No box. A box drives up the cost of a game by a LOT. So this edition will be a single thick book; right now, it looks like 256 pages. A lot of material has been added. Some is "old" -- that is, it has already appeared in other places. For instance, many of the new advantages and disadvantages that first appeared in Roleplayer will be here. So will the basic rules for magic (including, probably, five colleges of spells) and psionics. But some material is brand-new. There will be much more detailed coverage of modern weapons, for instance. (A lot of that was originally written for High-Tech, but goes into BS3 instead.)
The purpose of all the added material, of course, is to make the Basic Set more truly generic and universal! There were comments -- quite justified, I'm afraid -- that the original Basic Set seemed to concentrate on medieval times, to the near-exclusion of others. Well, that's taken care of now.
With this new edition of the Basic Set, and the worldbooks that will be out by the end of the year, GURPS finally fulfills its original promise . . . it's truly a system that will let you do anything. By the end of 1989, we will have books out on all the major roleplaying genres, and several of the secondary ones. And our production system is now cranked up to produce, on the average, better than two new GURPS releases a month.
It's working! Our thanks to all of you. We'll keep working to justify your trust. Roleplaying is a worthwhile, creative pursuit, and we're proud to be in the forefront with a system that allows this much variety and freedom. It's work, yes -- but when we open the mail, it's worth it.
(Back to Roleplayer #11 Table of Contents)