Remember when GURPS first came out? Remember those little ads in Dragon showing a little Steve Jackson and a big barbarian guy saying "What kind of name is GURPS?" Remember that? I sure do. I remember picking up first edition GURPS and not being overly thrilled. I'm a sucker for easy systems, but this one was just skin and bones. No flavor at all. I passed it up and went back to reading my Call of Cthulhu books.

A couple of years passed and second and third edition came out. I was too busy trying to keep the 'Gaunt Man from becoming the Torg to take notice Then a friend of mine invited me to I in a fantasy game using the GURPS rules. I was intrigued because my friend was a fine GM and I had always wanted to play in one of his games. I showed up on Thursday night with a pizza and a twelve pack of Coke and we all started filling out characters.

As I was scratching down notes, I noticed the large stack of sourcebooks on my buddy's table. It was the titles that intrigued me: Imperial Rome, Greece, Celtic Myth, Arabian Nights, Religion, and, of course, Illuminati. My friend noticed my attentions and smiled. "You know, GURPS writes the best sourcebooks in gaming." I shrugged and picked up GURPS: Celtic Myth. I was - quite literally - taken aback.

I'm a relentless fanatic when it comes to representing my grandfather's culture with sincerity and respect (he was one damn proud Irishman), and I had never seen such a careful presentation of the Celtic people in a gaming product.

The authors both held Masters degrees in the subject and provided a four page bibliography at the end of the book. The very next day I went to my local gaming store and picked up five GURPS supplements.

You see, a lot of "reference" materials in the gaming industry have the attitude "if I don't know the answer, I can make it up. This is a fantasy game after all." I guess I have a rather "science fiction" author attitude toward the fantasy genre. In science fiction, authors don't make stuff up if they don't know how things really work; they do extensive research. That's the attitude GURPS supplements have as well. Here are some GURPS sourcebooks that reflect that attitude best.

Religion

My bookshelf is filled with books on religion. I've read the Qabalah and the Apocrypha, I'm currently trying to get through the Koran (for research on an upcoming Rifts article) and I've got an entire section dedicated to Joseph Campbell. I have to say that GURPS: Religion is the most useful book a GM can own. It presents the ideas of what Joyce called "the monomyth" with clarity and organization in a format that GMs can use in any campaign. It starts with creation myths, showing their common symbols and meanings and organizes them in a way that allows the GM to pick the myth he wants to fit the mood of the campaign.

Then it discusses mythic deities, showing the difference between Greek and Norse gods, why they were created the way they were and how a GM can design his own to (again) give his campaign the feel he wants. Then it talks about clerics, prayer, epiphany and tradition, discussing the meanings of their symbols. It may sound like a lot, but the authors present the information in a friendly and organized manner that makes the book a fun, educational read. A must for any GM who wants to start building their own world.

Greece

Being a Philosophy major, I was very interested in this one. The birth of the individual can be attributed to Greece. The birth of democracy, the concept of the author (playwright), and the father of modem thought (good ol' Socrates) all come from Greece, and it is a place I am very familiar with. Once again, the authors impressed me greatly. The beauty of the culture is presented with great care by an author who knows and loves Athens as deeply as anyone.

PLACES OF MYSTERY

Let me just list off the table of contents: Atlantis (Plato's Story, Modern Theories, Lost Lands of Legend The Bermuda Triangle) Stone Circles (Neolithic Europe, Ley Lines, (Geomancy), The Pyramids (Temples of Thebes, Pyramid Mysticism, The Surviving Pyramids), Desert Cities (The Silk Road, Samarkand, Petra, Timbuktu and the Sahara), The Far East (The Forbidden City, Shangri-La, Lamaseries, Angkor, The Taj Mahal), The Near East (Mohenjo-Daro, Jericho, Babylon, Baghdad, Alamut), Darkest Africa (Nubia, Great Zimbabwe, King Solomon's Mines), The Mediterranean (Troy, Mycenae, Knossos, Pompeii), The British Isles (Loch Ness, Hadrian's Wall, Camelot, The Tower of London), and the list goes on and on. It includes almost fifty pages of maps and endless amounts of trivia about everything you've ever wanted to know about these places - including an enlightening look at the Society of Assassins.

Voodoo The Shadow War

C.J. Carella's Voodoo is one of the most enjoyable reads I've had this year, even though the title is somewhat distracting. While Voodoo does play a major role in the dark world that Carella has created, there is so much more going on. Fans of White Wolf's World of Darkness are cheating themselves out of an incredible sourcebook of material if they pass on this one.

The world of Voodoo is rich with magic, conspiracy, terror and raw heroism. The world is dominated by magical groups called Lodges (Hermetic wizards) while the players take the roles of normal humans, Voodoun masters and shape-changing spirits who try to wrest control from the Lodge slavers. Once again, the research done on the religions of Haiti and Hermetic magic makes for a great read.

CELTIC MYTH

Here's the one that started it for me. I grew up with a grandpa who was proud to be Irish and he smart enough to instill that pride in me when I was young and impressionable. I grew up learning more about Celtic myth than any sane person should know.

While other RPGs read Sandman for their research into the Faerielands, Celtic Myth delves into The Mabinogian, The Red and Green Book of Faerie and three more pages of resource material to present the Celts and their kind in a colorful, entertaining light. Celtic Myth includes information on willful weapons (where Stormbringer comes from), the Tuatha de Darmon, the Shidh (yes, there's a difference) and Druidic magic.

GOBLINS

This is one that has to be seen to be believed. It's Edward's England and Goblins rule the streets. Most of the book is in full color and it reads like Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. A whole bunch of fun and a must for Castle Falkenstein players.

ILLUMINATI

Okay, let's get something straight. I don't watch the skies for UFOs and I don't believe in Area 51 and I don't believe in smoky chambers with twelve men who guide the destiny of mankind. But it's sure fun to pretend now isn't it? GURPS: Illuminati was written by the late Nigel Findley and is one damn fun read.

I take my conspiracy theory pretty seriously, and while the tone of Illuminati is a bit light for my tastes, its still the pre-eminent sourcebook for adding a little paranoia to just about any GM's favorite game. The bibliography is worth the price of admission alone.

BLOOD TYPES

This one's for all the Anne Rice fans out there. It's a complete vampire sourcebook, detailing the history of the beast from its folklore legacy through-to its first appearance in literature to its transformations by the Romantic poets all the way up to the tragically hip leather-clad bad boys they've become. Not always a pretty journey, but certainly one worth taking.

There are more, of course. There's Riverworld, Conan, Supers, and even more coming down the road. I'm particularly looking forward to seeing Alternate Earths. If you haven't seen GURPS lately, you're truly missing out on some of the most finely researched volumes in the gaming industry.