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View Full Version : [Gurps] 3E or 4E? Major differences?



Maeglin_Dubh
2010-03-25, 07:43 PM
I have the Third Edition rulebook for GURPS.

I'm aware that Fourth is the current edition, and I'm wondering what the major differences are, and how important it would be to upgrade, if at all.

Taelas
2010-03-25, 08:12 PM
Have a look at this (http://e23.sjgames.com/item.html?id=SJG30-6024) (it's free).

You might also want to look here (http://sjgames.com/gurps/ludography.html).

Tinydwarfman
2010-03-25, 09:04 PM
Eh, I recommend that you upgrade if you don't already have ridiculous amounts of material for 3e, but it's not really essential. Definitely an upgrade though.

Townopolis
2010-03-25, 10:25 PM
skills don't get quite as expensive. Abilities are weighted (dx & iq cost more than st and ht) and the cost is a flat 20/10 point per level instead of going up as the stat rises.

Lots of changes to ads & disads. Eidetic Memory is no longer t3h ub3r.

I didn't play a lot of 3e, so that's all I've noticed so far.

Maeglin_Dubh
2010-03-25, 11:39 PM
Main reason I'm asking is I was able to get 3E from Ebay fairly inexpensively, and got a 2E sourcebook for Ancient Rome.

Haven't gotten around to introducing the group to it yet, and we have all the WEG D6 stuff to use as well, if we want. Just wondering if it was a big enough deal to be looking for a cheap 4E book.

a_humble_lich
2010-03-26, 12:30 AM
The rome source book is almost certainly for 3e. GURPS second edition only lasted for about a year or two and very few source books came out then (I want to say Fantasy, Magic, and Space). Most likely you have the second edition of the Imperial Rome source book. Although GURPS went 20 years between 3e and 4e many of the source books got new editions (which then would call themselves "second edition" because the were the second edition of Imperial ROME). This makes more sense when you remember until 4e came out there really was basically only the third edition of the rules.

As for 4e, I like it. They changed around a few of the point values for things, and changed some things in the advanced combat rules, but it is still basically the same game. I'd say it is about the same as the difference between D&D 3e and 3.5. The big thing they did is collect rules and rule changes that before had been spread across many supplements and consolidate them. But most source books in 3e will still be quite usable in 4e--especially ones like Ancient Rome which are mostly just describing the historical time and not giving lots of new rules.

Satyr
2010-03-26, 01:15 AM
For 90% of the Gurps source books, the actual edition is pretty much irrelevant, because the crunch either have not changed, or just isn't that important in this regard.

The major differences are a more streamlined design, and a lot more options, especially when it comes to building your own supernatural powers and the like.
3rd edition is fine, though, the changes were more a few fine adjustments compared to the quite radical changes which mark the edition changes in D&D. Just try to get the compendiums. They are by far the most important source books for Gurps3, and include a lot of really nice extra rules and ideas how to run a game.