The Generic Universal RolePlaying System, or GURPS, is a tabletop role-playing game system designed to allow for play in any game setting. It was created by Steve Jackson Games and first published in 1986 at a time when most such systems were story- or genre-specific.
Steve Jackson designed GURPS.
GURPS first edition box set
Tabletop role-playing game
A tabletop role-playing game, also known as a pen-and-paper role-playing game, is a classification for a role-playing game (RPG) in which the participants describe their characters' actions through speech, and sometimes movements. Participants determine the actions of their characters based on their characterization, and the actions succeed or fail according to a set formal system of rules and guidelines, usually containing Dice-Rolling. Within the rules, players have the freedom to improvise; their choices shape the direction and outcome of the game.
Role players at the Convention Burg-Con in Berlin 2009. The gamemaster (left) sits behind the GM's screen.
Role-playing games often use polyhedral dice to resolve game actions.
Statistics recorded on a character sheet