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Friday, March 22, 2013

Gurps Space

I was talking to my brother - the one I play Skyrim with and watch movies - about my story, NO REST, an NA scifi. He's pretty smart in the science department, and since I'm not he had a lot of great suggestions. In fact, he got so excited by my idea that he went and bought this, just so I could borrow it:



 And let me tell you, I started reading this, and I got pretty excited by my story, too! I could not believe how much information was packed into this slim volume (under 200 pages). Whether you're writing or gaming this book has everything you need to plan an adventure or write your scifi tale. For example, one of the things I found was a whole section on the type of society I had in my book. I didn't have a name for it but Gurps did. It's called the Corporate State, more specifically, a Cartel. In a cartel, "member corporations maintain private fleets, fight among each other militarily and economically, and spy on one another to obtain commercial secrets."*

Then there's a chapter on gadgets, like communications, contragav gear, and tools. There was even a bit on sensor and vision equipment, which I was just asking my CP for help with. Other chapters include Space Combat, Starships, and Civilizations.

Bottom line, this is a very cool reference manual and I'm not sure I want to give it back to my brother. If you write or play scifi, are you familiar with Gurps?

*Gurps Space 3rd ed. p. 14

44 comments:

  1. Awesome! Sounds like you need to get yourself a copy if your brother won't give you his.

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    1. I think he'll eventually forget that I have it...heheh.

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  2. It sounds wonderful - although it's hard to take it completely seriously with a name like "Gurps"! lol
    Good luck on your new NA. I've changed from YA to NA, too. Yay NA-ers! :-)

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    1. I thought the same thing until I read below and saw why.

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  3. Apparently there's a whole range of these books for different genres (so Google tells me). Will have to track one down and see if it's useful. cheers for the heads up.

    mood
    Moody Writing

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    1. Yes, it was originally intended for gaming but boy, it sure has exactly what I needed - more so that another book I have intended for writers.

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  4. this sounds like something my writer "dil" could use :)

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  5. Not familiar with this, but if I ever write scifi I will have to grab a copy....


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  6. They couldn't come up with a better title than that? It sounds like a bad B movie! :)

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    1. if you read on in the comments you'll see there's a reason for the name...

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  7. I myself own a private penguin, coon and possum cartel.... these days you can't work successfully in our galaxy without a bit of spying and cartelling :) Especially with those damned Ferengies....

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  8. Yay for your brother!! LOL!! And this book!! Take care
    x

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  9. Our gaming group played a bit of G.U.R.Ps as well as the Hero System (both very similar).

    Steve Jackson games is awesome on their sourcebooks, for sure :)

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  10. I love how your brother helped you and that you found a burst of energy for your story!

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  11. a guidebook to the future! sounds awesome!

    ps, love the hello kitty post!

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    1. It's more of an information book about types of ships, societies, possible aliens, what the worlds you explore might be like, equipment needed for exploring, etc.

      Glad you liked my hello kitty post :)

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  12. GURPS stands for Generic Universal Role-Playing System.

    GURPS books are typically excellent resources.

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    1. Ah, thank you for this clarification - and it is proving to be a very excellent reference!

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  13. Nope, never heard of it. But I'm all for you keeping it and not giving it back to your brother. :)

    And your flower photo at the top made me so happy when I opened this page. Come on Spring!!

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    1. I know, I just had to have some big color I'm missing spring and and summer so much.

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  14. Ok, I'm not a gamer or that into Sci Fi so you lost me at Skyrim, BUT, I had to stop and comment on that picture. It looks like summer in the high country. B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L!

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    1. It was taken in summer, at the botanical gardens - one of my favorite places to visit :)

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  15. Amazing information out there, if you know where to look. Cartels are fun to write about. :)

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    1. I am having fun with this wip (more so than my last one, I think), but it's also a lot of work. I have read a lot of scifi but never written it before.

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  17. I was not aware of this reference guide, but I am now :-)

    Thanks!!!

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  18. First off, I LOVE your new header picture with all the pretty flowers. Makes it feel more like spring already.

    No, I don't write sci-fi, but that book sure sounds like a terrific resource. And your brother sounds like a terrific guy for loaning it to you. What a guy! (Maybe he's in no hurry to get it back...)

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    1. Thanks, I love my new pic, too and to be honest, if I never gave it back, my brother might never notice.

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  19. It's always a great feeling to be excited about your project! I wish you the best of luck!!

    Hugs!

    Valerie Nunez and the Flying Platypi

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  21. First, I love your blog picture! You always have such beautiful photos and this one is soooo gorgeous!

    I've never heard of this reference book but I need it!

    Thanks for all the sharing. :)

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  22. Wow, that does sound like an awesomely helpful sci-fi writing book! Thanks for mentioning it, and good luck with NO REST. :)

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  23. What a wonderful brother you have! That was really sweet of him to take the time to help you so. And that's an amazing amount of material in such a slim volume. I don't know much about scifi, but there are cartels in those mystery books I read where people chase each other all over the world. But big applause for you for getting so much into your story without knowing about the book. Good luck with the rest. I know it's going to come together.

    Love your header photo. And your optimism. You've had a lot of snow this winter!

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  24. when I read fiction (not often enough these days) it is often Scifi.
    I haven't role-played for 20 years or so!

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  25. It sounds like a great resource! I think I'll be checking this one out myself. Thanks!

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