GURPS Martial Arts is a source book for the

GURPS The ''Generic Universal Role Playing System'', or ''GURPS'', is a tabletop role-playing game system published by Steve Jackson Games. The system is designed to run any genre using the same core mechanics. The core rules were first written by St ...

role-playing game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, or abbreviated as RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of player character, characters in a fictional Setting (narrative), setting. Players take responsibility for acting out ...

, published by

Steve Jackson Games Steve Jackson Games (SJGames) is a game company, founded in 1980 by Steve Jackson, that creates and publishes role-playing, board, and card games, and (until 2019) the gaming magazine ''Pyramid''. History Founded in 1980, six years after the cr ...

; the most recent edition, by Peter Dell'Orto and

Sean Punch Sean Punch (born July 27, 1967) is a Canadian writer and game designer. He is the author of the fourth edition of the ''GURPS'' role-playing game. Before he turned to writing he was a student of particle physics. History with GURPS After writing, ...

, was released in 2007. ''GURPS Martial Arts'' includes new perks, skills, techniques, styles, weapons, and combat rules for

, as well as history on the martial arts, pregenerated NPCs, and ideas for martial-arts campaigns. The book is an essential for any game that features large amounts of melee combat, in any genre or setting.

Fourth edition

This is a greatly expanded version of the third-edition ''GURPS Martial Arts'' source book, revised to work with the fourth-edition GURPS rules. It adds updated versions of combat rules from third-edition books like GURPS Compendium II, many of the weapons and weapon customization rules from GURPS Low Tech, and martial arts-related elements taken from third-edition historical worldbooks such as

GURPS Japan ''GURPS Japan'', full title ''GURPS Japan: Roleplaying in the World of the Shogunate'' (1st edition) or ''GURPS Japan: Beauty, Terror, and Adventure'' (2nd edition), is a sourcebook for ''GURPS'', a role-playing game by Steve Jackson Games. The ...

and GURPS Swashbucklers. Detailed rules for low-tech battlefield weapons and armor will be reserved for GURPS Low Tech, while rules for firearms and ''Gun Fu'' will be covered in the fourth-edition version of GURPS High-Tech.

Publication history

Third edition

Game designer C.J. Carella began working in the role-playing game industry with ''GURPS Martial Arts'', published in 1990.

Fourth edition

The authors are ''Peter Dell'Orto'' and ''Sean Punch'', who were inspired by but did not reuse the original text written by ''CJ Carella''.

Reception

S. John Ross reviewed ''GURPS Martial Arts'' in '' White Wolf'' #27 (June/July, 1991), rating it a 3 out of 5 and stated that "In general, ''GURPS Martial Arts'' is a fine and perhaps even definitive treatment of the Martial Arts as they pertain to gaming. It isn't for everybody, however. In particular, the weak points in the characters and campaigning chapters make it less of a 'must-have' for the casual ''GURPS'' customer, but it's strengths make it a fine addition to the library of any gamer who is interested in including more martial arts detail into his campaigns."

References

External links

Thread on SJGames Forum regarding forthcoming book
Includes comments by GURPS Line Editor Sean Punch.
Official website
The book's official page on the

website. GURPS 3rd edition GURPS 4th edition

Martial Arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defence; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; ...

Martial arts role-playing games Role-playing game supplements introduced in 1990 {{rpg-stub

Contents

Fourth edition

Publication history

Third edition

Fourth edition

Reception

See also

References

External links