GURPS
The Generic Universal Role-Playing System (usually abbreviated GURPS) is a pencil-and-paper role-playing game first published by Steve Jackson Games in 1986. GURPS is a modular game system applicable to any genre and gaming style.
The game, unlike many older (and some more recent) games such as Dungeons & Dragons, does not have a character class system; instead, there is a large selection of skills. A point-based character creation system allows the player to build any character he likes (a popular sport among GURPS players is to build oneself as a GURPS character). The available professions and races are a matter of the game background, not of the game system. The drawback of this flexibility is that setting up the game and ensuring a fair play requires more work from the game master.
GURPS offers a very rich selection of optional rules and is capable of very detailed simulation; however, the core rules are quite simple and also allow for a rules-light and narrative game. A compact, summary form of the game is GURPS Lite, available as a 32-page PDF from Steve Jackson Games for free.
History
GURPS was developed by Steve Jackson and published by his own company, Steve Jackson Games. The first edition was published in 1986, the second edition later the same year. The third edition followed in 1988. The fourth and current edition appeared in 2004.
