GURPS Articles

Return to GURPS

Here is where my thoughts, ramblings, and pontifications on GURPS end up. Many are of a rules-related nature, but don't really count as house rules, either because they're only guidelines or they focus on examining a rule rather than changing it. Others are just opinions or experiences that I felt were worth sharing. In all cases, I hope you find them useful.

Yes, Virginia, You CAN Afflict Yourself

In an attempt to put an end to the confusion about using Affliction to give yourself an advantage, I got to the bottom of how it's really supposed to work. Read why you can zap yourself with your own shrink ray, but why you may not want to.

Innate Attacks, Wuxia, and You

My thoughts on Martial Arts and allowing Innate Attacks in a cinematic wuxia game, along with some guidelines and limits that work well for preventing such things from harming the flavor of the campaign.

Nipping Problem Allies in the Bud

While few people actively set out to abuse the Ally advantage, certain designs can prove quite problematic if the GM isn't prepared for it ahead of time. After sparking a discussion about this with several veteran gamers, I've tried to condense the key issues (and solutions) down to a single article.

Preserving the Polarity of Weirdness Magnet

One of my pet peeves is the persistent meme that Weirdness Magnet is hardly a disadvantage. Both players and GMs often seem to treat it like anything from a minor inconvenience to an actual advantage. For those gamers, this part-rant, part-article attempts to present Weirdness Magnet in a new light.

Gun! Versus Pistol

A short article, based on a playtest email, which addresses the utility of Wildcard skills. Some gamers see each Wildcard skill as restricted to a fixed list, instead of as a cinematic "uber-skill." This is especially prevalent with the Gun! skill, which I address specifically here.

Return to GURPS