Which GT items are useful for a CT game?
- Thread starter Supplement Four
- Start date
Qstor2
SOC-13
These books have gotten good "reviews" on other areas of the boards. I would say they're worth getting esp. Sworld Worlds for background if you're running a campaign in the Spinward Marches. If you're running a scout campaign GT: First In has a good writeup of the scouts, some good adventure ideas for Scouts and a detailed planetary generation system.Originally posted by rancke:
Nobles has already been mentioned. I can only concur about its usefulness.
Rim of Fire. Useful if you plan to campaign in the Solomani Rim, otherwise not so useful.
Sword Worlds. I'm biased, of course, but I really think SW is value for money. Most of it is background material that'll work with any rules set and there are a bunch of adventure and campaign ideas. The only question is if you'll like the background enough to run a campaign there. (You sure won't be able to use both SW and RoF).
Hans [/QB]
Maybe your FLGS can order the books for you. You might also try www.nobleknight.com an Internet game store that will ship them Priority mail USPS.
Mike
Qstor2
SOC-13
These books have gotten good "reviews" on other areas of the boards. I would say they're worth getting esp. Sworld Worlds for background if you're running a campaign in the Spinward Marches. If you're running a scout campaign GT: First In has a good writeup of the scouts, some good adventure ideas for Scouts and a detailed planetary generation system.Originally posted by rancke:
Nobles has already been mentioned. I can only concur about its usefulness.
Rim of Fire. Useful if you plan to campaign in the Solomani Rim, otherwise not so useful.
Sword Worlds. I'm biased, of course, but I really think SW is value for money. Most of it is background material that'll work with any rules set and there are a bunch of adventure and campaign ideas. The only question is if you'll like the background enough to run a campaign there. (You sure won't be able to use both SW and RoF
Hans [/QB]
Maybe your FLGS can order the books for you. You might also try www.nobleknight.com an Internet game store that will ship them Priority mail USPS.
Mike
daryen
SOC-14 1K
For the $10 price tags, I would recommend any of the alien books, assuming you have interest in enough of the races. Humaniti and Alien Races 4, in particular, are mixed bags, but at $10, they can be quite useful, and they are all very background heavy.
Also, all of the 'reused' races (e.g. Darrians, Bwaps) are completely faithful to their original treatment, but provide a lot of the detail that was missing from that original treatment. For example, the Darrians as shown in Humaniti are the exact same Darrians shown in Alien Module 8. However, the rest of the history is fleshed out (AM8 inexplicably stops at 788 or so), and their current condition is better described.
I will admit that many of the new races are questionable at best, absolute wastes of print in others.
Outside GT, any of the historical books can be exceptionally useful. If you plan on doing something like, say, Firefly, then GURPS Old West can be a tremendous boon.
Also, three of my favorite non-GT GURPS books are: Mars and Alternate Earths 1 & 2.
Mars provides great information on what living on Mars would entail, what terraforming Mars includes, and some options on going 'space opera' with Mars. And while you likely aren't going to find Mars in the Spinward Marches, its blood relatives are in great supply.
The Alternate Earths books are a great read all by themselves. They give reasonably detailed descriptions of (appropriately enough) alternate versions of Earth, given some fundamental change in history. Besides being a fun read (I just love Gernsback), they can be a great inspiration for alternative cultures Travellers can find during their wanderings. Several can be lifted whole onto their own world, or you can just steal themes. Either way, you have about a dozen or so worlds just waiting for your players to visit.
[Edit]
FWIW, I also recommend Nobles and Sword Worlds. Both are of great use outside GT.
Also, all of the 'reused' races (e.g. Darrians, Bwaps) are completely faithful to their original treatment, but provide a lot of the detail that was missing from that original treatment. For example, the Darrians as shown in Humaniti are the exact same Darrians shown in Alien Module 8. However, the rest of the history is fleshed out (AM8 inexplicably stops at 788 or so), and their current condition is better described.
I will admit that many of the new races are questionable at best, absolute wastes of print in others.
Outside GT, any of the historical books can be exceptionally useful. If you plan on doing something like, say, Firefly, then GURPS Old West can be a tremendous boon.
Also, three of my favorite non-GT GURPS books are: Mars and Alternate Earths 1 & 2.
Mars provides great information on what living on Mars would entail, what terraforming Mars includes, and some options on going 'space opera' with Mars. And while you likely aren't going to find Mars in the Spinward Marches, its blood relatives are in great supply.
The Alternate Earths books are a great read all by themselves. They give reasonably detailed descriptions of (appropriately enough) alternate versions of Earth, given some fundamental change in history. Besides being a fun read (I just love Gernsback), they can be a great inspiration for alternative cultures Travellers can find during their wanderings. Several can be lifted whole onto their own world, or you can just steal themes. Either way, you have about a dozen or so worlds just waiting for your players to visit.
[Edit]
FWIW, I also recommend Nobles and Sword Worlds. Both are of great use outside GT.
daryen
SOC-14 1K
For the $10 price tags, I would recommend any of the alien books, assuming you have interest in enough of the races. Humaniti and Alien Races 4, in particular, are mixed bags, but at $10, they can be quite useful, and they are all very background heavy.
Also, all of the 'reused' races (e.g. Darrians, Bwaps) are completely faithful to their original treatment, but provide a lot of the detail that was missing from that original treatment. For example, the Darrians as shown in Humaniti are the exact same Darrians shown in Alien Module 8. However, the rest of the history is fleshed out (AM8 inexplicably stops at 788 or so), and their current condition is better described.
I will admit that many of the new races are questionable at best, absolute wastes of print in others.
Outside GT, any of the historical books can be exceptionally useful. If you plan on doing something like, say, Firefly, then GURPS Old West can be a tremendous boon.
Also, three of my favorite non-GT GURPS books are: Mars and Alternate Earths 1 & 2.
Mars provides great information on what living on Mars would entail, what terraforming Mars includes, and some options on going 'space opera' with Mars. And while you likely aren't going to find Mars in the Spinward Marches, its blood relatives are in great supply.
The Alternate Earths books are a great read all by themselves. They give reasonably detailed descriptions of (appropriately enough) alternate versions of Earth, given some fundamental change in history. Besides being a fun read (I just love Gernsback), they can be a great inspiration for alternative cultures Travellers can find during their wanderings. Several can be lifted whole onto their own world, or you can just steal themes. Either way, you have about a dozen or so worlds just waiting for your players to visit.
[Edit]
FWIW, I also recommend Nobles and Sword Worlds. Both are of great use outside GT.
Also, all of the 'reused' races (e.g. Darrians, Bwaps) are completely faithful to their original treatment, but provide a lot of the detail that was missing from that original treatment. For example, the Darrians as shown in Humaniti are the exact same Darrians shown in Alien Module 8. However, the rest of the history is fleshed out (AM8 inexplicably stops at 788 or so), and their current condition is better described.
I will admit that many of the new races are questionable at best, absolute wastes of print in others.
Outside GT, any of the historical books can be exceptionally useful. If you plan on doing something like, say, Firefly, then GURPS Old West can be a tremendous boon.
Also, three of my favorite non-GT GURPS books are: Mars and Alternate Earths 1 & 2.
Mars provides great information on what living on Mars would entail, what terraforming Mars includes, and some options on going 'space opera' with Mars. And while you likely aren't going to find Mars in the Spinward Marches, its blood relatives are in great supply.
The Alternate Earths books are a great read all by themselves. They give reasonably detailed descriptions of (appropriately enough) alternate versions of Earth, given some fundamental change in history. Besides being a fun read (I just love Gernsback), they can be a great inspiration for alternative cultures Travellers can find during their wanderings. Several can be lifted whole onto their own world, or you can just steal themes. Either way, you have about a dozen or so worlds just waiting for your players to visit.
[Edit]
FWIW, I also recommend Nobles and Sword Worlds. Both are of great use outside GT.
Supplement Four
SOC-14 5K
Thanks for the tip!
I just purchased Nobles and Humaniti (plus JTAS 1-12) from nobleknight.
They've got the GT books on even cheaper than W23 ($8.95 for brand new GT books), and nobleknight's shipping is a lot cheaper than W23 as well.
OK. I've taken the plung. I've purchased my first GT books. We'll see if they were worth it.
Supplement Four
SOC-14 5K
Thanks for the tip!
I just purchased Nobles and Humaniti (plus JTAS 1-12) from nobleknight.
They've got the GT books on even cheaper than W23 ($8.95 for brand new GT books), and nobleknight's shipping is a lot cheaper than W23 as well.
OK. I've taken the plung. I've purchased my first GT books. We'll see if they were worth it.
mbrinkhues
SOC-14 1K
From my experience:
If you don't have the original Alien books, the four Aliens books are definitly worth it. Book four has some minor races that appeared in side-products like Challenge (i.e Hhkar - Mini TRex with Havannas)
Starships is useless unless you play GT
FarTrader and Starports (buy either both or none IMHO) are interesting if you use ships and starports a lot. If those are secondary, skip them
First In is the Scout Handbook. If you are into world construction and/or background on the scouts, this is highly recommended
Rim of Fire and Sword Worlds are great if you play in that region. If you play the T20 "Gateway Domain" I'd recommend RoF for additional material. While it represents post War of Terran Independence material, it's still quite useful
Ground Forces and Mercenaries are of limited usefulness unless you play GT. You'll have to convert the (very interesting) ships and the career templates are useless. The do give some good ideas on organisation, doctrin and training
Nobels is interesting. If you buy into their version of imperial nobility, it is great. If you use a slightly darker one (I find GT to cheerful and bright - GO DULINOR!) it is still extremly useful IMHO. Again, the (few) templates are of lesser interest but there are nice treaties on "what does a young noble do" and "what if I am not the heir" and similar stuff
Modular cutter is of limited use. For a GT player it is useful (Floorplans, some interesting ships and boats)
The A5 sized adventure books are a mixed lot. All are "rules light" (rules free) in the classic GURPS tradition (can you tell I love GURPS(1)). Some have great ideas (I liked Denulli Gems) some are "Classic adventure" level (Not a big fan of those)
Warning: This is based on 3rd Ed. I don't have 4th ed GURPS and given the high frequency of playing (1/quarter) won't get it.
GURPS sourcebooks outside the core (Basic Set, Magic, Grimoire, Psionics, Character Compainon I and II) are generally "rules light". The exception are the "Character compilations" that is "Rogues", "Warriors", "Mages" etc that are full of templates and short writeups on the ideas behind those templates.
The Magic Items books are semi-useful. They describe effects, looks and ideas rather rules free but give specific rules for the GURPS Magic system (That is rather low-magic)
The LowTech and HighTech books are semi-useful. Skip the game stats in the back and use the items and their description.
Most useful are the setting books like Japan, China, Western, Russia etc. They are close to very readable and useful "history in a nutshell" books combined with adventure ideas. If O'Reilly wrote history books, that's how they would be done.
The Alternate Earth series can be plundered as can Technomancer (The new General Motors Firebird with a 5.2liter infernal combustion engine). Fantasy is so-so (I don't like the way earth religions got in there), IOU is just "strange"
(1) GURPS and a .45 makes a GM happy. GURPS for the mature players, the .45 for the MinMaxers(2)
(2) No MinMaxers where harmed in the production of this post
If you don't have the original Alien books, the four Aliens books are definitly worth it. Book four has some minor races that appeared in side-products like Challenge (i.e Hhkar - Mini TRex with Havannas)
Starships is useless unless you play GT
FarTrader and Starports (buy either both or none IMHO) are interesting if you use ships and starports a lot. If those are secondary, skip them
First In is the Scout Handbook. If you are into world construction and/or background on the scouts, this is highly recommended
Rim of Fire and Sword Worlds are great if you play in that region. If you play the T20 "Gateway Domain" I'd recommend RoF for additional material. While it represents post War of Terran Independence material, it's still quite useful
Ground Forces and Mercenaries are of limited usefulness unless you play GT. You'll have to convert the (very interesting) ships and the career templates are useless. The do give some good ideas on organisation, doctrin and training
Nobels is interesting. If you buy into their version of imperial nobility, it is great. If you use a slightly darker one (I find GT to cheerful and bright - GO DULINOR!) it is still extremly useful IMHO. Again, the (few) templates are of lesser interest but there are nice treaties on "what does a young noble do" and "what if I am not the heir" and similar stuff
Modular cutter is of limited use. For a GT player it is useful (Floorplans, some interesting ships and boats)
The A5 sized adventure books are a mixed lot. All are "rules light" (rules free) in the classic GURPS tradition (can you tell I love GURPS(1)). Some have great ideas (I liked Denulli Gems) some are "Classic adventure" level (Not a big fan of those)
Warning: This is based on 3rd Ed. I don't have 4th ed GURPS and given the high frequency of playing (1/quarter) won't get it.
GURPS sourcebooks outside the core (Basic Set, Magic, Grimoire, Psionics, Character Compainon I and II) are generally "rules light". The exception are the "Character compilations" that is "Rogues", "Warriors", "Mages" etc that are full of templates and short writeups on the ideas behind those templates.
The Magic Items books are semi-useful. They describe effects, looks and ideas rather rules free but give specific rules for the GURPS Magic system (That is rather low-magic)
The LowTech and HighTech books are semi-useful. Skip the game stats in the back and use the items and their description.
Most useful are the setting books like Japan, China, Western, Russia etc. They are close to very readable and useful "history in a nutshell" books combined with adventure ideas. If O'Reilly wrote history books, that's how they would be done.
The Alternate Earth series can be plundered as can Technomancer (The new General Motors Firebird with a 5.2liter infernal combustion engine). Fantasy is so-so (I don't like the way earth religions got in there), IOU is just "strange"
(1) GURPS and a .45 makes a GM happy. GURPS for the mature players, the .45 for the MinMaxers(2)
(2) No MinMaxers where harmed in the production of this post
mbrinkhues
SOC-14 1K
From my experience:
If you don't have the original Alien books, the four Aliens books are definitly worth it. Book four has some minor races that appeared in side-products like Challenge (i.e Hhkar - Mini TRex with Havannas)
Starships is useless unless you play GT
FarTrader and Starports (buy either both or none IMHO) are interesting if you use ships and starports a lot. If those are secondary, skip them
First In is the Scout Handbook. If you are into world construction and/or background on the scouts, this is highly recommended
Rim of Fire and Sword Worlds are great if you play in that region. If you play the T20 "Gateway Domain" I'd recommend RoF for additional material. While it represents post War of Terran Independence material, it's still quite useful
Ground Forces and Mercenaries are of limited usefulness unless you play GT. You'll have to convert the (very interesting) ships and the career templates are useless. The do give some good ideas on organisation, doctrin and training
Nobels is interesting. If you buy into their version of imperial nobility, it is great. If you use a slightly darker one (I find GT to cheerful and bright - GO DULINOR!) it is still extremly useful IMHO. Again, the (few) templates are of lesser interest but there are nice treaties on "what does a young noble do" and "what if I am not the heir" and similar stuff
Modular cutter is of limited use. For a GT player it is useful (Floorplans, some interesting ships and boats)
The A5 sized adventure books are a mixed lot. All are "rules light" (rules free) in the classic GURPS tradition (can you tell I love GURPS(1)). Some have great ideas (I liked Denulli Gems) some are "Classic adventure" level (Not a big fan of those)
Warning: This is based on 3rd Ed. I don't have 4th ed GURPS and given the high frequency of playing (1/quarter) won't get it.
GURPS sourcebooks outside the core (Basic Set, Magic, Grimoire, Psionics, Character Compainon I and II) are generally "rules light". The exception are the "Character compilations" that is "Rogues", "Warriors", "Mages" etc that are full of templates and short writeups on the ideas behind those templates.
The Magic Items books are semi-useful. They describe effects, looks and ideas rather rules free but give specific rules for the GURPS Magic system (That is rather low-magic)
The LowTech and HighTech books are semi-useful. Skip the game stats in the back and use the items and their description.
Most useful are the setting books like Japan, China, Western, Russia etc. They are close to very readable and useful "history in a nutshell" books combined with adventure ideas. If O'Reilly wrote history books, that's how they would be done.
The Alternate Earth series can be plundered as can Technomancer (The new General Motors Firebird with a 5.2liter infernal combustion engine). Fantasy is so-so (I don't like the way earth religions got in there), IOU is just "strange"
(1) GURPS and a .45 makes a GM happy. GURPS for the mature players, the .45 for the MinMaxers(2)
(2) No MinMaxers where harmed in the production of this post
If you don't have the original Alien books, the four Aliens books are definitly worth it. Book four has some minor races that appeared in side-products like Challenge (i.e Hhkar - Mini TRex with Havannas)
Starships is useless unless you play GT
FarTrader and Starports (buy either both or none IMHO) are interesting if you use ships and starports a lot. If those are secondary, skip them
First In is the Scout Handbook. If you are into world construction and/or background on the scouts, this is highly recommended
Rim of Fire and Sword Worlds are great if you play in that region. If you play the T20 "Gateway Domain" I'd recommend RoF for additional material. While it represents post War of Terran Independence material, it's still quite useful
Ground Forces and Mercenaries are of limited usefulness unless you play GT. You'll have to convert the (very interesting) ships and the career templates are useless. The do give some good ideas on organisation, doctrin and training
Nobels is interesting. If you buy into their version of imperial nobility, it is great. If you use a slightly darker one (I find GT to cheerful and bright - GO DULINOR!) it is still extremly useful IMHO. Again, the (few) templates are of lesser interest but there are nice treaties on "what does a young noble do" and "what if I am not the heir" and similar stuff
Modular cutter is of limited use. For a GT player it is useful (Floorplans, some interesting ships and boats)
The A5 sized adventure books are a mixed lot. All are "rules light" (rules free) in the classic GURPS tradition (can you tell I love GURPS(1)). Some have great ideas (I liked Denulli Gems) some are "Classic adventure" level (Not a big fan of those)
Warning: This is based on 3rd Ed. I don't have 4th ed GURPS and given the high frequency of playing (1/quarter) won't get it.
GURPS sourcebooks outside the core (Basic Set, Magic, Grimoire, Psionics, Character Compainon I and II) are generally "rules light". The exception are the "Character compilations" that is "Rogues", "Warriors", "Mages" etc that are full of templates and short writeups on the ideas behind those templates.
The Magic Items books are semi-useful. They describe effects, looks and ideas rather rules free but give specific rules for the GURPS Magic system (That is rather low-magic)
The LowTech and HighTech books are semi-useful. Skip the game stats in the back and use the items and their description.
Most useful are the setting books like Japan, China, Western, Russia etc. They are close to very readable and useful "history in a nutshell" books combined with adventure ideas. If O'Reilly wrote history books, that's how they would be done.
The Alternate Earth series can be plundered as can Technomancer (The new General Motors Firebird with a 5.2liter infernal combustion engine). Fantasy is so-so (I don't like the way earth religions got in there), IOU is just "strange"
(1) GURPS and a .45 makes a GM happy. GURPS for the mature players, the .45 for the MinMaxers(2)
(2) No MinMaxers where harmed in the production of this post
Supplement Four
SOC-14 5K
I've been reading GT Nobles, and I've got to admit: It's having an influence on my game.
I've read several great ideas so far that I'm going to use with the Marquis PC we have in our campaign.
I still wish the rules were CT-friendly ... but, I'm glad I bought GT Nobles.
It was definitely worth the $9 I paid for it.
I've read several great ideas so far that I'm going to use with the Marquis PC we have in our campaign.
I still wish the rules were CT-friendly ... but, I'm glad I bought GT Nobles.
It was definitely worth the $9 I paid for it.
Supplement Four
SOC-14 5K
I've been reading GT Nobles, and I've got to admit: It's having an influence on my game.
I've read several great ideas so far that I'm going to use with the Marquis PC we have in our campaign.
I still wish the rules were CT-friendly ... but, I'm glad I bought GT Nobles.
It was definitely worth the $9 I paid for it.
I've read several great ideas so far that I'm going to use with the Marquis PC we have in our campaign.
I still wish the rules were CT-friendly ... but, I'm glad I bought GT Nobles.
It was definitely worth the $9 I paid for it.
Supplement Four
SOC-14 5K
Supplement Four
SOC-14 5K
I find Nobles & Behind the Claw useful as well as the Alien Books. I've lucky that I've gotten most of my Gurps Traveller books as presents or found them used.
I find Nobles & Behind the Claw useful as well as the Alien Books. I've lucky that I've gotten most of my Gurps Traveller books as presents or found them used.
