GURPS Swashbucklers

GURPS Swashbucklers is a sourcebook published by Steve Jackson Games in 1988 to provide a swashbuckling setting for GURPS (Generic Universal Role-Playing System).

GURPS Swashbucklers
Fist edition cover art by Jean Elizabeth Martin, 1988
Designer(s)Steffan O'Sullivan
Publisher(s)Steve Jackson Games
System(s)GURPS

Contents

GURPS Swashbucklers is a GURPS supplement of rules for musketeer and pirate campaigns. The book includes a historical overview of the era 1559-1815, rules for sailing ship design, travel, combat, and info on famous pirates and musketeers.[1] In his 1991 book Heroic Worlds, Lawrence Schick noted that the book includes "such helpful sections as 'How to be French.'".[1]

Publication history

GURPS Swashbucklers, a 96-page softcover book, was written by Steffan O'Sullivan, with a cover by Jean Elizabeth Martin and illustrations by Donna Barr, and was published by Steve Jackson Games in 1988.[1]

In his 2011 book Designers & Dragons, games historian Shannon Appelcline noted that GURPS Swashbucklers was one of the smaller subgenre books published after the first broad genre GURPS books.[2]:107

SJG published two more editions of GURPS Swashbuckler:

  • a 96-page second edition in 1989, again designed by Steffan O'Sullivan
  • and an expanded 128-page third edition in 1999, designed by Russell Godwin, Brian J. Maloney and Steffan O'Sullivan.

Swashbucklers was also part of the "Denizens" series for GURPS Dungeons Fantasy.[3]

Reception

In the December 1989 edition of Dragon (Issue #152, Jim Bambra said: "Extensive background notes define the historical setting, but they fall short of really bringing the fictional worlds of pirates and Musketeers to life. As a basis for establishing swashbuckling campaigns it does a good job, but more detailed development of the individual settings is really needed to bring out the true potential of the genre."[4]

In the April 1989 edition of Games International (Issue 4), James Wallis called the cover art and interior illustrations "amateurish", but lauded the "sheer density of background information." He noted that the "Adventures" section was only two pages long, containing "four lacklustre brief outlines, all requiring much work before being playable in any form." He also felt that both the "Swashbuckling" and "Pirate" chapters contained too much information about famous characters and not enough "actual day-to-day life." Wallis gave the book an average rating of 3.5 out of 5, saying, "In sticking too closely to the factual, Steffan O'Sullivan lets the romantic atmosphere of life in the French court or on the open seas escape [...] GURPS Swashbuckler is not swashbuckling enough."[5]

References
  1. Schick, Lawrence (1991). Heroic Worlds: A History and Guide to Role-Playing Games. Prometheus Books. p. 392. ISBN 0-87975-653-5.
  2. Shannon Appelcline (2011). Designers & Dragons. Mongoose Publishing. ISBN 978-1-907702-58-7.
  3. "GURPS Dungeon Fantasy Denizens: Swashbucklers". www.sjgames.com.
  4. Bambra, Jim (December 1989). "Role-playing Reviews". Dragon. Lake Geneva, Wisconsin: TSR (#152): 35.
  5. Wallis, James (April 1989). "Role-playing Games". Games International. No. 4. pp. 43–44.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.