All this and World War II
One of the roleplaying games I’ve been working on lately involves GURPS WWII. For those who aren’t among the initiated, GURPS stands for Generic Universal Roleplaying System, and debuted from Steve Jackson Games in 1986. I’ve been with it every step of the way, though I have played it less than I wanted to.
GURPS has a reputation for being overly complex and fiddly. To a certain extent, this is accurate because GURPS likes to simulate everything. But those who don’t feel as strongly about knowing how many ladder rungs a character can climb in one second can still enjoy gaming with the system. It’s a question of where your priorities lie.
My game uses GURPS World War II, a line of supplements devoted to that great conflagration. The campaign will take place in North Africa during the titanic struggle between the Axis and the Allies over the domination of the Suez Canal. It’s tense and dramatic, and I look forward to seeing what my players do with this setting.
Like GURPS, a World War II game isn’t for everyone. Some folks probably imagine it’ll consist of nothing but combat, but I suspect my game will unfold broadly in scenes of actual roleplaying as opposed to dice-rolling extravaganzas. It depends on what the players find interesting because what they actively pursue impacts what occurs in the game. It’s one of the things that makes roleplaying such a unique hobby.
I’ll tell you more later in the year when we get started.