D&D and GURPS

This article isn't the usual fare, and some of you folks might find yourselves a little bored. Well hold on to your hats, because I'm going in headfirst. That's right, I'm going to write about one of the nerdiest topics avialble: tabletop role-playing games.

A lot of my friends know that I'm a huge fan of GURPS. I am also a pretty big fan of D&D third edition (and 3.5). For those who don't know, GURPS is the brainchild of Steve Jackson (produced by Steve Jackson Games) and stands for Generic Universal Role Playing System. D&D was originally created by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson and stands for Dungeons and Dragons (the "grandfather of all role-playing games"). Today it is produced by Wizards of the Coast.

What I want to do is compare the two systems. Both have had many editions and (especially in the case of D&D) are not entirely recognizable from their original incarnations, so I'm going to compare the best of what each has to offer (which just so happens to be the newest of each as well): GURPS Fourth Edition and D&D 3.5e.

Before the days of D&D Third Edition, I wouldn't have been able to understand why anyone (supposing they had tried both) would choose to play D&D over GURPS Third Edition (Fourth wasn't available yet). However, when Wizards of the Coast bought out the right to D&D from TSR (or they simply bought TSR, I can't remember), they turned the game upside-down and inside-out and gave it the mother of all beautiful revisions, turning D&D into a much more incredible, streamlined beast, with the creation of D&D 3rd edition. Now, 3rd edition still had some kinks, which they ironed out with the releast of 3.5e.

Personally, I still prefer GURPS over D&D. But with D&D 3.5e, I can see why someoen would choose D&D over my beloved GURPS.

It used to be that GURPS wasn't quite so streamlined, either. You would buy the Basic Set, and if you really wanted to enrich your campaign with cool abilities you'd have to buy a few books that might not even be relevant to the genre you wanted to play (namely, GURPS Supers). There were several additional rules, abilities, skills, and the like that should have been included in the Basic Set but were found throughout a lot of supplemental books. Not only that, but everything was black and white! The books had a boring format compared to D&D. But Fourth Edition changed all that. With Fourth Edition everything was streamlined into two core books. No more buying obscure supplements to have the extra rules you need for your campaign! It was reformatted, easier to understand, and prettier with full-color pages and graphics!

To be fair, D&D is still the prettier of the two. The layout of the D&D books is both practical and eye-catching. There are more images and the graphics really make the game feel more immersive. As far as its beauty goes, GURPS Fourth is comparable to AD&D 2nd.

D&D is easier than GURPS for new roleplayers to step into. Roll your stats, choose your Race, Class, Skills, and Equipment, and jump right into the game. GURPS tries to make it easier to jump into with Character Templates, but it would take a lot of work by a GM (Game Master) to make a GURPS campaign as easy to get into for players as a D&D campaign would be. Which brings up another point: GURPS is not as easy as D&D for GMs to set up a campaign with, either.

The reason D&D is easier for new players is twofold; 1, D&D is limited to a specific genre: fantasy, and; 2, D&D limits players on customizing their characters and limits GMs on customizing their campaigns.

Unlike D&D, GURPS is not restricted to only one genre in which to play. To be fair, the d20 system (the core rules system for D&D) isn't limited to any particular setting, but GURPS gives you all the tools to custom-create the exact setting you want. There are no "core d20" books to purchase with guidelines on creating your own campaign. You could get the core rules online or infer them from any d20-based book (such as D&D), but it would take a lot of work to create you own setting with it. GURPS hands you all of the tools to do so straight out of the core rulebooks. You could search for a d20-based book in the setting you want, but that isn't always very easy. With GURPS, you could just create the setting you want.

That's the primary difference between the two gaming systems. D&D gives you ease-of-use while GURPS provides ultimate customization. Each method has its advantages and drawbacks. In D&D your characters are limited to one of several classes. While you can customize your Class with Skills and Feats and such, and even the capability to multiclass, D&D still doesn't reach the level of customization GURPS offers. In GURPS, you really can create any character you can imagine (with GM's permission, of course).

The main drawback with GURPS is that everything isn't just ready-to-play. D&D has all of the important stuff set up: stats for Races and Classes, tons of pre-built Monsters, etc. With GURPS it takes a little it of work by the GM to set everything up. Some supplements are helpful, but not as much as they should be.

When it comes to combat both systems have their faults. In D&D combat is very unrealistic, with characters just hashing away at each other's hit points without ever suffering any real wounds. GURPS can be a little overly-detailed with its hex-based grid and one-second-long turns! I do like some of the details in D&D's system (such as attacks of opportunity), as well as the realism and more exciting feel of GURPS combat (hits are less common and can actually cause wounds, not just a loss of hit points).

All in all both systems are pretty good, and while I prefer GURPS Fourth, I can see why someone might choose D&D 3.5e instead. If you haven't played either and you're wondering which system to get into, it's easy to test-drive either one. GURPS has a free version called GURPS Lite which can be found at most gaming stores or on their website. Also, most nerds have D&D books, so just ask a friend to look at them, or play.

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