GURPS Update

There have been two works called "GURPS Update"

GURPS Update (3e to 4e)

GURPS Update (August 2004) is a free pdf for bringing 3.x edition characters into the 4th Edition.

It has "side-to-side charts with every single advantage, disadvantage, and skill in Third Edition, with its Fourth Edition counterpart listed alongside. Where there's not a good fit, a detailed note explains your other options for modeling the ability in the new rules. There are also conversion rules for magic, psionics, templates, attributes, secondary characteristics, and more."

Comment

GURPS Update plays down the tweaking needed to do a thorough conversion especially the use of Talents that exist in 4e which can be reduce the need for high attributes. Also there have been many additions to GURPS since the Update much of which would require an update to the update.

Physical Appearance

With the exception of Very Handsome one can get the same point totals for the various types of Classic Appearance using the Universal (+25%) modifier. Appearance (Transcendent) did not exist in Classic.

Advantages

Divination Talent

The GURPS Compendium I stated 'This advantage (Divination Talent) may be purchased more than once, allowing the character to be proficient with several methods of divination."

However, One-Spell Margery states "nobody can buy One-Spell Magery multiple times for different spells or sets of spells"

So a character with more then one Divination Talent will have an adjusted One-Spell Margery ie remove -5% per spell after the first. So someone with two Divination Talents would have One-Spell Margery (two spells, -75%).

The "(one spell only, -50%)" is more accurately (one spell only, -80%; No Spell Prerequisites +30%)

Inherent Magic (Knacks)

Contrary to what Update states it is still possbile to have Innate Magic done like Classic. To mirror what Classic did count the number of spells the race has and adjust Magery 2 (One-Spell Magery base -80%, No Magic Item Sensitivity, -20%, No Spell Prerequisites, +30%) accordingly. Note Magery 0 is included in this calculation.

Psionics

"Psionics has been completely changed in Fourth Edition. Psionic powers and skills no longer exist; they have been replaced by a new system involving psionic power modifier limitations on advantages and psionic talents (essentially new psionic advantages)." See Psionics Conversion Tables for more information.

Disadvantages

Self-Control Number

There are many mental Disadvantages where a decision between going with the Classic point total (Self-Control Number of 12) or going with the number closest to the will roll (which of course changes the point total)must be made.

Skills

Cost

4e streamlined the cost of skills with physical skills becoming cheaper past 8 points (4 points vs 8 points) and mental skills (except for Very Hard which remained the same) becoming more expensive past 4 points (4 points vs 2 points).

Errors

Immunity to Sickness

Immunity to Disease in Classic was "Your body naturally resists all disease organisms" which perfectly matches up with 10 point Disease under Resistant: "all bacteria, viruses, fungus infections, etc." Immunity to Sickness adds the highly fringe "environmental syndromes" to that.

Knacks

It was easier just to go with Racially Innate Spells than "find an advantage that mimics the required effect and take it with the Mana Sensitive (-10%) limitation."

To truely mimic a Classic knack in 4e (ie keeping as many of the mechanics as possible) use

Magery 2 (-75%: One-Spell Magery, -80%; No Spell Prerequisites, +30%; No Magic Item Sensitivity, -20%; Costs fatigue (1 FP, -5%)) [7] and (adjusting One-Spell Magery accordingly +5% for each spell above one) buy up each spell to 15 using IQ 10. Each (H) spell is [16] and each VH spell is [20]

If one of the spells requires Magery 3 or 4 just use that for all the spells adjusting the relevent spells to 15 accordingly.

So 1 (H), 1 (VH), 1 (H) Magery 3, and 1 (VH) Magery 3 (4 Knacks total) would be Magery 3 (-60%: One-Spell Magery, -80%; No Spell Prerequisites, +30%; No Magic Item Sensitivity, -20%; Costs fatigue (1 FP, -5%); 4 spells, +15%) [9] + [12] + [16] + [12] + [16] or [65]

Weakness

If the Classic Weakness is caused by being away from something treat as a Dependency.

Vulnerability; 4e version replacing Classic

Unlike its 4e counterpart which only caused "extra damage from a particular attack form", the Classic version also had "weakened and hurt every time you merely come within a certain distance of a substance." which in 4e is Weakness: "sensitivity, not to any kind of attack as such, but to the presence of a common substance or condition."

So depending on how it was used, Classic Vulnerability should be replaced by either 4e Vulnerability or 4e Weakness.

As a quick rule of thumb if the substance doesn't normally cause damage (such as normal sunlight) then it is a Weakness. So all vampires in Classic: Blood Types that have Vulnerability (sunlight) should be converted to Weakness (sunlight) for [-60].

Artist (Body Art) replacing Calligraphy

This makes no sense. What in the name of sanity does "Tattooing, piercing, and scarification." have to do with "Beautiful and decorative handwriting"? The proper replacement should be Artist (Calligraphy).

Blacksmith

Blacksmith/TL should be Smith/TL not Professional Skill (Blacksmith)

GURPS Update (2e to 3e)

GURPS Update (2e to 3e)

The GURPS Update for 2e to 3e GURPS was published in 1989 and was 80 pages.
ISBN-10: 1556341326
ISBN-13: 978-1556341328

There wasn't that much difference between 1e and 2e GURPS and so supplements for those could be used interchangeably.

Works that fall into this era are 1e Fantasy, 1e Horror, 1e Space, Horseclans, Humanx, Harkwood, Unnight, Old Stone Fort, Flight 13, Stardemon, and the Space Atlas series.

Ice Age, 1e Cliffhangers, Chaos in Kansas, Tredroy and perhaps the Supers adventures were likely written in parallel with the 3rd edition and so straddle the line - a sort of 2.75

List of Changes

Walter Milliken list of all the changes between the 2nd and 3rd editions of the Basic Set they found (11-30-88)

See Also

• Skills From Classic That Don't Exist in 4e
• List of Classic-based Meta-Traits