GURPS Ruleset Features For New Users

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February 28th, 2026, 15:46
QuirkyBirky

GURPS Ruleset Features For New Users

I've been gearing up to run GURPS on FG for a while. It's taken so long as I'm completely new to GURPS (though I can remember it coming out in the 80s - just never got around to playing it).

The reason for this post is that, while I've played around with the 4e ruleset and have watched various YouTube videos of the ruleset in action, it seems that the ruleset is evolving and new functionality being added (never a bad thing!). This means that the videos I've been watching are likely out of date and missing newer features, such as automatically applying ranges, the damage helper etc. Therefore I'm keen to get a feel for what the ruleset can handle automatically or semi-automatically, and I'm sure I'm not alone. If there's already an FAQ somewhere that I've missed or a recent YouTube video that does a good job of showcasing the ruleset then please point me in the right direction.

I'm really looking forward to running my first GURPS game, probably starting with a few one shots to ensure my players know how unforgiving combat can be.
March 1st, 2026, 05:14
ronnke

Quote:

Originally Posted by QuirkyBirky

I've been gearing up to run GURPS on FG for a while. It's taken so long as I'm completely new to GURPS (though I can remember it coming out in the 80s - just never got around to playing it).

The reason for this post is that, while I've played around with the 4e ruleset and have watched various YouTube videos of the ruleset in action, it seems that the ruleset is evolving and new functionality being added (never a bad thing!). This means that the videos I've been watching are likely out of date and missing newer features, such as automatically applying ranges, the damage helper etc. Therefore I'm keen to get a feel for what the ruleset can handle automatically or semi-automatically, and I'm sure I'm not alone. If there's already an FAQ somewhere that I've missed or a recent YouTube video that does a good job of showcasing the ruleset then please point me in the right direction.

I'm really looking forward to running my first GURPS game, probably starting with a few one shots to ensure my players know how unforgiving combat can be.

Unfortunately, there is nothing that showcases the latest features. If I can get some time, I will do an update video.

Until then you could probably watch some of our actual plays to see how we use the ruleset.

https://www.youtube.com/@OlympusRPGGroup
March 1st, 2026, 18:31
QuirkyBirky

Quote:

Originally Posted by ronnke

Unfortunately, there is nothing that showcases the latest features. If I can get some time, I will do an update video.

Until then you could probably watch some of our actual plays to see how we use the ruleset.

https://www.youtube.com/@OlympusRPGGroup

Thanks. I'd stumbled across a few of those videos when trying to fathom out the ruleset. Quite impressive stuff, and also showcases GURPS' versatility (Warhammer & Star Wars).

I'm confident enough in being able to run a basic game, but we like all the additional bells and whistles, which piles on the pressure as a novice GURPS GM. I'm planning a short campaign of one-shot style games (yes, that sounds like a contradiction, but there's some logic there) to help introduce the group to the system and the FG ruleset. Maybe start fairly basic and add elements as we go. Then hopefully I can start a more serious campaign when we know what we're dealing with (likely using Harn as a setting).