GURPS Steampunk

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GURPS Steampunk
GURPS Steampunk cover.jpg
GURPS Steampunk cover
Designers William H. Stoddard
Publishers Steve Jackson Games
Publication2000 (1e)

2002 (hardcover)

2018 (1.3e)
Genres steampunk, Victorian era
Systems GURPS

GURPS Steampunk is a role-playing game sourcebook written by William H. Stoddard and published by Steve Jackson Games in 2000. The supplement facilitates play in the steampunk genre using the GURPS system. Upon publication, the book won the Origins Award for "Best Roleplaying Supplement". As the most detailed definition of the genre at the time, it was also credited with reifying the attributes of steampunk. [1] GURPS Steampunk was accompanied by licensed publications in the world of Castle Falkenstein and followed by supplements by Jo Ramsay and Phil Masters. Since 2016, SJG has published additional releases in the genre, compatible with GURPS Fourth Edition.

Contents

GURPS and steampunk

GURPS is the Generic Universal RolePlaying System, a tabletop role-playing game system designed to allow for play in any setting, created by Steve Jackson Games in 1986. [2] Steampunk is a science fiction subgenre concerned with 19th-century industrial steam-powered or clockwork machinery, bringing the modern or futuristic concepts of robotics, computers, or other ahistorical machines into the Victorian era. [3]

GURPS Steampunk

GURPS Steampunk was published on November 1, 2000, written by William H. Stoddard, and edited by Alain H. Dawson. [4] Stoddard was an editor for scientific publications and for Prometheus, the Libertarian Futurist Society newsletter. [4] He cites Michael Flynn's Prometheus Award-winning book, In the Country of the Blind, as one of his main inspirations for GURPS Steampunk. [5] Stoddard had previously contributed to other GURPS publications, but this was his first book main author credit. [6] He would later become the president of the Libertarian Futurist Society, and the principal author of other GURPS books, including the fourth edition versions of GURPS Fantasy and GURPS Supers , as well as creating GURPS Social Engineering, which won an ENnie Award in 2012. [5] [6] [7]

GURPS Steampunk is a genre book, providing information about the steampunk setting, but relying on the GURPS Basic Set for much of the play mechanics. [8] It starts with extensive factual information about the Victorian Age, before going into campaign possibilities that arise from steampunk technology and alternative histories and their. [9] It uses the existing GURPS Technology Level mechanics, but introduces the concept of a diversion, specifically setting most GURPS Steampunk campaigns at TL5+1 (the historical Age of Steam plus the ahistorical innovations, which have many of the effects of later technology levels). [10] It ends with four possible alternate histories for suggested campaigns, each with a date of divergence from real history: Etheria, with interplanetary travel; Iron, a dystopian Marxist industrial timeline; Qabala, with golems; and Providence, with a religious secret society. [11]

GURPS Steampunk received the 2000 Origins Award for Best Roleplaying Supplement. [12] Though not the first, it was the longest and most detailed definition of the steampunk genre to that point, and was followed by a number of steampunk settings for other roleplaying games. [1] [13] It was reprinted multiple times, including in hardcover in 2002, and received a 1.3 version update in 2018. [14] [15]

GURPS licensed steampunk publications

GURPS Difference Engine

The 1990 novel The Difference Engine by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling, is often credited with popularizing the concept of steampunk. [16] In 1991 and 1992, Sterling and Jackson respectively announced GURPS Difference Engine, an adaptation of the setting of the novel for the role-playing game, as "in the works". [17] [18] However the author working on the book died during its development, and although Space: 1889 contributor Mark Clark held discussions with SJG about submitting a proposal, [19] by 1997 the project was defunct. [20]

GURPS Castle Falkenstein

GURPS Castle Falkenstein
GURPS Castle Falkenstein.jpg
GURPS Castle Falkenstein cover
Designers James Cambias, Phil Masters
Publishers Steve Jackson Games
Publication2000
Genres Steampunk, Victorian Fantasy
Systems GURPS

In the second half of 2000, SJG released another GURPS steampunk offering: GURPS Castle Falkenstein, by James Cambias and Phil Masters. Castle Falkenstein was a highly original role-playing game by Mike Pondsmith, which offered Victorian adventure in an alternate history where Steampunk technology operated alongside magic, and faerie races enriched the setting. [21] : 283–4  The original game had largely ended production by the time Steve Jackson licensed the property from R. Talsorian Games, engaging designers with previous experience in both GURPS and Castle Falkenstein to produce the GURPS adaptation. [21] : 294  According to Masters, the goal of the project was not to adapt Falkenstein's original mechanics to GURPS so much as to present its New Europa setting as a backdrop for GURPS players; nevertheless, a new magic system is included to satisfy the setting's unique requirements. [22] and was praised by some critics. [23]

GURPS Castle Falkenstein: Ottoman Empire

GURPS Castle Falkenstein: Ottoman Empire
Designers Phil Masters
Publishers Steve Jackson Games
Publication2002
Genres Steampunk, Victorian Fantasy
Systems GURPS

GURPS Castle Falkenstein: Ottoman Empire, by Masters, was another steampunk offering, released in 2002 under the same license as GURPS Castle Falkenstein. Unlike most GURPS system conversions, this book introduces new material at the frontiers of the New Europa setting that had not been included in R. Talsorian publications, presenting game statistics for the original Castle Falkenstein game as well as GURPS. [24] In his "Designers Notes" for the book, Masters reveals that the book originated in a draft he had written for R. Talsorian before they shut down the line. Masters was therefore able to publish the material he had previously developed, while adding GURPS statistics; in spite of the alternate history and steamtech elements, the book emphasizes the potential of adventures based on the documented culture and history of the Ottoman Empire. [25]

GURPS Third Edition steampunk supplements

GURPS Steam-Tech
Designers William H. Stoddard
Publishers Steve Jackson Games
Publication2001
Genres Steampunk
Systems GURPS

GURPS Steam-Tech was a 2001 supplement providing ideas, and game statistics, for alternative history inventions for steampunk games. In the style of the historical ( GURPS High-Tech and Low-Tech) and futuristic ( Bio-Tech and Ultra-Tech ) tech guides published for GURPS, Steam-Tech presents fictional machines to be incorporated in a variety of settings and campaigns within the genre. Stoddard selected and compiled the work of 33 authors, including Jo Ramsay and Phil Masters who authored other Steammpunk supplements for GURPS. [26] [27] [28] Developing analytical engines and other counterfactual technologies raised questions about the rules for technological design included in other GURPS publications, and ended up clarifying the machinery rules for GURPS Steampunk. [29]

GURPS Screampunk
Designers Jo Ramsay
Publishers Steve Jackson Games
Publication2001
Genres Steampunk, Gothic horror
Systems GURPS

GURPS Screampunk was a short supplement also published in 2001, written by Jo Ramsay, [30] which presented a combination of steampunk and gothic horror elements for roleplaying. [31] This crossover had seldom been touched by previous game publications. Although Gothic horror literature flourished in the decades preceding the Victorian era in which most of the Steampunk genre is set, the book makes the case that invoking Gothic aspects can help compensate for weaker or more superficial aspects of steamtech storytelling. [31] Screampunk was praised by reviewers for the instruction it offered on including gothic horror themes in roleplaying games - advice that was seen as applicable outside of GURPS. [32] [33]

GURPS Fourth Edition steampunk supplements

Phil Masters was the main author of the following GURPS Fourth Edition works, published in electronic format. [34]

GURPS Infinite Worlds: Britannica-6 is a steampunk-inspired campaign setting written in 2008, an alternate history world within the GURPS Infinite Worlds game universe. [35] Masters describes it as TL5+2, diesel-electric (rather than steam), and Regency era rather than Victorian. [22]

GURPS Steampunk 1: Settings and Style was an October 2016 book, the first in a numbered series updating the GURPS Steampunk rules for GURPS Fourth Edition. The intent was to reflect the changes both in GURPS and in steampunk that took place since the original publication in 2000. The book includes a review of sources - both historical and steampunk fiction - and advice on using the setting in a roleplaying campaign. [36] [37]

GURPS Vehicles: Steampunk Conveyances followed in August 2017. While ostensibly part of the GURPS Vehicles series, Steampunk Conveyances is linked in to GURPS Steampunk 1: Settings and Style both thematically and explicitly in the text. It provides fourth-edition statistics for a number of vehicles, including some from the original GURPS Steampunk book. [38] [39]

GURPS Steampunk 2: Steam and Shellfire, published in November 2018, is a listing of technological gadgets other than vehicles. It updates old examples to the fourth edition of GURPS while also introducing new ones. [40] [41]

GURPS Steampunk 3: Soldiers and Scientists followed in February 2019. It focuses on steampunk characters, providing notes and creation templates for people from the setting. [42] [43]

GURPS Steampunk Setting: The Broken Clockwork World is a short campaign setting about a steampunk based alternate reality crossing to our world, released in July 2020. [44]

Related Research Articles

<i>GURPS</i> Tabletop role-playing game system

The Generic Universal RolePlaying System, or GURPS, is a tabletop role-playing game system designed to allow for play in any game setting. It was created by Steve Jackson Games and first published in 1986 at a time when most such systems were story- or genre-specific.

<i>GURPS Supers</i>

GURPS Supers is a superhero roleplaying game written by Loyd Blankenship and published by Steve Jackson Games. The first edition was published in 1989.

A generic or universalrole-playing game system is a role-playing game system designed to be independent of setting and genre. Its rules should, in theory, work the same way for any setting, world, environment or genre in which one would want to play.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Campaign setting</span> Fictional environment setting for a role-playing game

A campaign setting is usually a fictional world which serves as a setting for a role-playing game or wargame campaign. A campaign is a series of individual adventures, and a campaign setting is the world in which such adventures and campaigns take place. Usually a campaign setting is designed for a specific game or a specific genre of game. There are numerous campaign settings available both in print and online. In addition to published campaign settings available for purchase, many game masters create their own settings, often referred to as "homebrew" settings or worlds.

<i>Castle Falkenstein</i> (role-playing game) Tabletop role-playing game

Castle Falkenstein is a steampunk-themed fantasy role-playing game (RPG) designed by Mike Pondsmith and originally published by R. Talsorian Games in 1994. The game is named for a legendary unbuilt castle in the Bavarian Alps. Players play the roles of gallant adventurers who take on quests of intrigue and derring-do in the spirit of Victorian adventures such as The Prisoner of Zenda.

<i>Girl Genius</i> Comic book and webcomic series

Girl Genius is an ongoing comic book series turned webcomic, written and drawn by Phil and Kaja Foglio and published by their company Studio Foglio LLC under the imprint Airship Entertainment. The comic won the Hugo Award for Best Graphic Story three times, has been nominated for a Hugo Award for Best Professional Artist and twice for Eisner Awards, and won multiple WCCA awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Character creation</span> Process of defining a game character

Character creation is the process of defining a player character in a role-playing game. The result of character creation is a direct characterization that is recorded on a character sheet. This may include a representation of the character's physical, mental, psychological, and social attributes and skills in terms of the specific game's mechanics. It may also include informal descriptions of the character's physical appearance, personality, personal back-story ("background"), and possessions. Games with a fantasy setting may include traits such as race, class, or species. Character creation is the first step taken by the players in preparation for a game.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike Pondsmith</span> Game designer

Michael Alyn Pondsmith is an American roleplaying, board, and video game designer. He is best known for founding the publisher R. Talsorian Games in 1982, where he developed a majority of the company's role-playing game lines. Pondsmith is the author of several RPG lines, including Mekton (1984), Cyberpunk (1988) and Castle Falkenstein (1994). He also contributed to the Forgotten Realms and Oriental Adventures lines of the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, worked in various capacities on video games, and authored or co-created several board games. Pondsmith also worked as an instructor at the DigiPen Institute of Technology.

<i>GURPS Bio-Tech</i> Tabletop role-playing game supplement

GURPS Bio-Tech is a GURPS, the Generic Universal Role Playing Game, sourcebook that covers the implementation of biotechnology in the game. The first edition of the book was written for GURPS Third Edition, while the second edition of GURPS Bio-Tech was written for GURPS Fourth Edition. Both editions of the game are primarily focused on providing supplemental rules, campaign material, and examples of the uses of biotechnology for the players and game-master alike. The second edition contains two outlines for campaign settings but is primarily focused on providing rules and examples of devices that Game Masters could adapt for use in their own campaigns.

<i>GURPS Discworld</i>

GURPS Discworld and the related supplements are role-playing game sourcebooks set in Terry Pratchett's Discworld fantasy universe using the GURPS role-playing game system. GURPS Discworld was designed by Phil Masters and first published in 1998.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phil Masters</span> British role-playing game designer and author

Phil Masters is a British role-playing game designer and author.

David Ladyman is an American game designer of board games such as Car Wars, and role-playing games such as GURPS.

<i>Comme il Faut</i> Tabletop role-playing game supplement

Comme il Faut: All Things Right and Proper is a supplement published by R. Talsorian Games in 1995 for the fantasy steampunk role-playing game Castle Falkenstein.

<i>Six-Guns & Sorcery</i> North America supplement for the Castle Falkenstein tabletop roleplaying game

Six-Guns & Sorcery is a supplement published by R. Talsorian Games in 1996 for the steampunk-themed fantasy role-playing game Castle Falkenstein.

<i>GURPS Arabian Nights</i> Role-playing game supplement

GURPS Arabian Nights is a supplement by Phil Masters, published by Steve Jackson Games in 1993 for GURPS.

<i>GURPS Planet Krishna</i>

GURPS Planet Krishna is a role-playing game supplement published by Steve Jackson Games (SJG) in 1997 that helps a gamemaster design a GURPS campaign using the Viagens Interplanetarias science fiction setting of L. Sprague de Camp.

<i>GURPS Vikings</i>

GURPS Vikings is a supplement published by Steve Jackson Games in 1991 for GURPS.

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  2. ↑ Schallegger, René Reinhold (February 16, 2018). The Postmodern Joy of Role-Playing Games: Agency, Ritual and Meaning in the Medium. McFarland. p. 126. ISBN   978-1-4766-3146-2 . Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  3. ↑ "What Is Steampunk All About? | Gear Gadgets and Gizmos". www.geargadgetsandgizmos.com/. 25 September 2017. Retrieved Feb 23, 2020.
  4. 1 2 Stoddard, William H. (November 1, 2000). GURPS Steampunk (First ed.). Steve Jackson Games. ISBN   1-55634-419-8.
  5. 1 2 Grossberg, Michael (17 September 2020). "Interview: LFS President William H. Stoddard on fandom, freedom, favorite novels and the power of language". Prometheus Blog. Libertarian Futurist Society . Retrieved 31 March 2021.
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  10. ↑ de Oude, Jake (December 31, 2001). "Review of GURPS Steampunk". RPGnet . Retrieved 31 March 2021.
  11. ↑ Franson, Robert Wilfred (October 2001). "GURPS Steampunk - William H. Stoddard". Troynovant. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
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  15. ↑ Stoddard, William H. (August 16, 2018). GURPS Steampunk 1.3 edition. Steve Jackson Games. ISBN   978-1556348389.
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  19. ↑ Clark, Mark (1999). Transactions of the Royal Martian Geographical Society, Volume Two (Issue 5) (First ed.). Heliograph, Inc. ISBN   0-9668926-1-5.
  20. ↑ Rowland, Marcus L. (1997). "Odyssey 0: Vaguely Victorian". Forgotten Futures. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
  21. 1 2 Shannon Appelcline (2014). Designers & Dragons: The '80s. Evil Hat Productions. ISBN   978-1-61317-081-6.
  22. 1 2 "VAE Interviews Phil Masters". Victorian Adventure Enthusiast. December 16, 2011. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
  23. ↑ "GURPS Castle Falkenstein". LeGrog. March 11, 2010. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
  24. ↑ TheBronzeBook (August 25, 2002). "Review of GURPS Castle Falkenstein: The Ottoman Empire". RPGnet . Retrieved 1 April 2021.
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  26. ↑ Stoddard, William H. (2001). GURPS Steam-Tech. Steve Jackson Games. ISBN   1-55634-563-1.
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  30. ↑ Ramsay, Jo (March 1, 2002). GURPS Screampunk. Steve Jackson Games. ISBN   1-55634-547-X.
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  44. ↑ "GURPS Steampunk Setting: The Broken Clockwork World". Steve Jackson Games . Retrieved 31 March 2021.
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