GURPS — Universal simulationist RPG on 3d6

"Any genre, any era, any reality — one ruleset."

Free

Dice3d6

Players3–6

Prep~20 min

Foundry VTTCommunity

Complexity

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What is this system

GURPS (Generic Universal RolePlaying System) is a universal tabletop RPG from Steve Jackson Games (4th Edition, 2004). 3d6 system: roll under your skill/attribute value. Modular: core is learnable, but optional rules (combat maneuvering, hit locations, detailed magic/psionics) push it firmly into crunchy simulationist territory. 250+ sourcebooks spanning dozens of genres. GURPS Lite is a free 32-page quickstart.

Setting

Genre-agnostic by design. GURPS doesn't tie to a world — it builds worlds from modules. Fantasy, sci-fi, horror, espionage, superheroes, historical, post-apocalyptic — all in one ruleset. Infinite Worlds is the built-in setting for timeline-hopping.

What it looks like at the table

Three dice. 4+5+3 = 12. Against 13 (Difficulty 12). Success by 1. One level of success — bare minimum. The barbarian squeezes through the window but breaks his arm. 'You could have bought at 14,' the GM reminds. 'I didn't have the points,' the player sighs. Welcome to GURPS.

Playstyle

Tactical Exploration Combat

Key mechanics

3d6 System

Roll 3d6 against your skill or attribute value. The lower the result, the better. Crits on triples (18 = fumble, 3 = crit). Simple but elegant math.

Modularity

Core is ~200 pages. Optional rules add depth: combat positioning, hit locations, crafting, social encounters. You choose the complexity.

Points-based Creation

Character creation uses Character Points. 100+ Advantages, 200+ Skills, 50+ Disadvantages. Every character is unique.

250+ Books

A massive world of books: from GURPS Space and GURPS Horror to GURPS Vikings and GURPS WWII. Each book is its own world or genre.

What people say

An ambitious design by Steve Jackson that attempts to cover every imaginable genre, setting and character type in the same game. That it achieves this goal at all is impressive; that it does so with imagination, elegance, and innovation is stunning.— Rick Swan, The Complete Guide to Role-Playing Games

GURPS is a promising game in many ways. There are some problems and omissions, but the rules are mostly simple and logical.— Dave Nalle, Abyss magazine

Art & materials