Roleplayer #22, November 1990

In This Issue
Letters
Short Notes
Cthulhu Lives! Lovecraftian Horror in GURPS (David Ellis Dickerson)
PCs Do It by Default: Using Default Skills in Character Creation (Walter Milliken)
New for GURPS
Return to Nightmare City: New Sectors for Flight 13 (W.G. Armintrout)
.......[& Osmids, a new race for use with Flight 13, or other SF&F games! -- arcangel@io.com]
GURPS Q&A
A Half-Dozen Gaki to Go: More Hungry Ghosts for GURPS Japan (Tom Henrichs)
Magic Affinities as a Limiting Factor: Aspected Magery as a Tool for Game Balance (Steffan O'Sullivan)
Bronze Skeletons: Magical Monsters -- or Machines? (Robert Collins)
Zen and the Art of Game Design: Martial Arts Designer's Article (C .J. Carella)
Preliminary Bout: Starting an Adventure with a Bang! (William Wilson Goodman Jr.)
Bring 'Em Back Alive! A Cliffhangers, Old West or Special Ops Adventure (Barry Link)
Are You and Your Players Playing the Same Game? Matching Play Style with GM Style (John Sgammato)
Errata
Bestiary: The Yrl-Tree: An Enlightening Encounter (Scott Maykrantz)
What's In the Chest? Outtakes from GURPS Magic Items (Chris McCubbin & Daniel Thibault)
Coming Attractions

Spreading the Word

Why do people play GURPS? Well, okay: "Because it's a good game." But what gets them to try the system in the first place? We've never had much of a promotional budget. The thing that gets people into GURPS is . . . other players. This system has grown almost entirely through good word of mouth.

So we do what we can to help that word get spread. For years, we've supported game conventions by providing prizes and other support. Now we'd like to get a bit more organized about it, and you can help.

Loot

In the first place: We will donate prize certificates, wall posters, and sometimes other material. This can be either to a game convention, or to an SF convention with a game track -- just as long as you're running competitions in our games. The convention's tournament organizer needs to write us with the name and date of the convention; how many attendees are expected; which of our games are being run, and how many players the tournament will accommodate. Send us a copy of your convention flyer, and/or last year's program book, to prove you're genuine. All we ask in return is that you distribute the loot fairly, see that everyone has a good time, and give us credit in the program book. An ad would be nice, but we'll settle for a one-line thank-you.

If you send us a copy of the program book afterward, with a letter telling how it went, you'll get a reaction bonus next year.

Tournament GMs

"But," you say, "our convention doesn't have anybody who can run GURPS." And good GMs are sometimes hard to find. So here's what we are doing. If you are interested in being a referee at a convention, write me a letter. We're starting a database. And if you are running a con, and need referees, write and ask. We'll see what we can do about matching people up. (Con organizers, note:
Usually, if someone volunteers to spend most of the convention running games, it's only polite to let them in free.)

Let the games begin!

-- Steve Jackson

Editor: Steve Jackson

Managing Editor: Loyd Blankenship

Editorial Assistant: Monica Stephens

Production Manager: Carl Anderson

Production: Don Arburn

Cover Art: Ruth Thompson

Illustrations: Don Arburn, Guy Burchak,
C. Bradford Gorby, Rob Prior, Ruth Thompson

Circulation Manager: Mike Hurst

Roleplayer (ISSN 1050-3609) is published bimonthly by Steve Jackson Games Incorporated, Box 18957, Austin, TX 78760. Roleplayer, AADA, Illuminati, GURPS, Autoduel and the all-seeing pyramid are registered trademarks of Steve Jackson Games Incorporated. Other product names mentioned herein are trademarks of Steve Jackson Games Incorporated or their respective publishers. Copyright © 1990 by Steve Jackson Games Incorporated. All rights reserved. Printed in the USA.

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