 1st edition, cover art by Ken Kelly | |
| Designers |
|
|---|---|
| Publishers | Steve Jackson Games |
| Publication |
|
| Genres | Universal role-playing system |
| Systems | GURPS |
GURPS Bestiary is a source book published by Steve Jackson Games (SJG) in 1988 that contains information and statistics of various creatures both mundane and fantastical for the GURPS role-playing game system.
GURPS Bestiary is a sourcebook for GURPS that is universal in design, intended to be usable in many different settings. [1] It contains over 200 creatures that can be used by gamemasters to populate various worlds of the GURPS universe. These are organized by habitat (e.g., arctic, desert, forest, jungle, swamp and subterranean); [2] if a creature is found in more than one habitat, the creature's full information is duplicated in both habitats. [3]
In addition to ordinary animals, the book also covers dinosaurs, legendary beasts, otherworldly creatures, and "loathsome crawlers." [4]
The book contains advice for gamemasters on handling animal encounters, hunting and trapping, animals as companions, and how to create new animals. [4]
A revised second edition adds a system for creating and managing were-creatures. [5]
The third edition removes the information about were-creatures and the chapter on poisons. These are replaced by a chapter on creating animal player characters. More than thirty additional animals also appear in the bestiary section. [6]
SJG first published the GURPS role-playing game system in 1986, and many supplements and source books for it were published, including GURPS Bestiary in 1988, a 112-page softcover book written by Steffan O'Sullivan, with cover art by Ken Kelly and interior art by Dan Carroll. [4] [2]
A 2nd edition was released in 1994, a 128-page softcover book written by Chris McCubbin and Bob Schroeck [5] that re-used the original cover art by Ken Kelly. Interior art was created by Donna Barr, Daniel Carroll, Laura Eisenhour, C. Bradford Gorby, Topper Helmers, Douglas Shuler, Dan Smith, and Ruth Thompson. McCubbin and Schroeck later wrote an article in a 1993 issue of SJG's house magazine Pyramid that included extra material for the book. [7]
A 3rd edition was released in 2000, and again re-used the original artwork by Ken Kelly. The 128-page softcover book was written J. Hunter Johnson, who also published extra material for the 3rd edition in a 2000 issue of Pyramid. [8]
In Issue 42 of Abyss , Dave Nalle noted "A bestiary of some sort is a necessary element of any complete game system,. and with over 200 creatures described, this one does a fairly good job." However, Nalle pointed out that some mythical creatures were described incorrectly, and also found there were a number of omissions. For example, Nalle commented that the fantasy section "includes no elementals, daevas, djinni or demons, making it rather weak for many fantasy backgrounds." Nalle concluded, "On the whole, the GURPS Bestiary is an essential ingrediant of the system as a whole, something that GameMasters can live without, but will certainly find plenty of use for." [3]
In Issue 140 of Dragon (December 1988), Jim Bambra commented, "The art is fairly poor — about the same standard as that in the Monster Manual — so don't expect to be thrilled by the illustrations. The GURPS Bestiary has much to offer GURPS GMs, but it is of limited use to anyone looking for new critters to add to his favorite game system." [4]
In Issue 27 of the French games magazine Backstab, Croc commented, "And here we fall into pure, unadulterated GURPS territory: something where you think, 'I don't know if I'll ever use this, but I'm glad it's included.'" Croc concluded, "It's ludicrous, pointless, and therefore crucial to take a look at it as soon as possible. That said, players using animals (wizard familiars, etc.) will find plenty to work with." [9]