RPG Encyclopedia: G
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Gamma World
1st ed by James M. Ward, Gary Jaquet (1978) TSR
2nd ed by James M. Ward, James Ritchie, Gary Jaquet (1983)
3rd ed (1986)
4th ed by Bruce Nesmith, James M. Ward (1992)
A strange post-nuclear-apocalypse sci-fi game where mutants (both human and animal) and ultra-tech gadgets abound. It uses a system similar to AD&D, with 1d20 roll under a chart result for combat, and percentile rolls against attribute*factor. Character creation is random-roll attributes and mutations (there are no skills). The 3rd edition used an unrelated set of mechanics, similar to Marvel Superheroes, but this was abandoned for 4th edition. A Gamma World supplement was later published for the Alternity system.
Ganakagok: A Mythopoetic Roleplaying Game
1st ed by Bill White (2009) Consensus Games
A fantasy RPG inspired by Inuit mythology, where the player characters are members of a tribe that lives on an island of ice in an eternally dark world. Play centers on how the tribe deals with the coming of the first Dawn and the changes it brings. Play involves the use of a special deck of tarot-like cards to generate situation, prompt narration, and inspire characters.
Gangbusters
1st ed by Mark Acres, Rick Krebs, Tom Moldvay (1982) TSR
3rd ed by Scott Haring (1990)
A police/gangster RPG set in the "Roaring '20s", with characters as private eyes, city cops, prohibition agents, reporters, or gangsters. The game encouraged players to pursue their individual goals rather than operate as a unified party. For example, a gangster character's goal might be to hold up a bank, while a policeman character would try to stop him -- and a journalist might tag along with the cop to cover the story, but wouldn't want to interfere either way. There were five 32-page adventure modules published from 1982-1984: "Trouble Brewing" (fictional 'Lakefront City' setting), "Murder in Harmony" by Mark Acres (a murder whodunnit set at a high-class party), "Death on the Docks" by Mark Acres (gang war over control of the Lakefront CIty dockworker's union) "The Vanishing Investigator" (protecting a witness in a trial involving organized crime), and "Death in Spades" by Tracy Raye Hickman (a murder mystery with a random plot and ending based on draws from a deck of cards).
Gangster!
1st ed by Nick Marinacci, Pete Petrone (1979) FGU
An organized crime RPG covering from 1900 to the present, which allows both criminal and police PC's. It is co-designed by a former New York policeman, and includes details on criminals, forensics, legal issues, etc. The system is skill-based, with six attributes and lists of various police and criminal skills. The combat system uses multiple tables.
Gardasiyal
1st ed by M.A.R. Barker, Neil R. Cauley (1995) TOME
A non-traditional fantasy game set on a unique alien world called "Tekumel", with strong Hindu and Aztec flavor rather than European. The setting was previously published in two games, Empire of the Petal Throne (1975) and the imcomplete Swords & Glory (1983). In this game, the rules were wholly rewritten by Neil Cauley. It uses a percentile system where the base chance of success is 70% and the die roll is modified by (+difficulty) and (-skill). There is also another game set in the same world published by Guardians of Order in 2005, Tekumel.
Gatecrasher
1st ed by Michael W. Lucas, N. Taylor Blanchard (1993) Grey Ghost Press
2nd ed (1996)
A light-hearted science fantasy RPG, in a world where a 22nd-century prospector discovered an ancient transdimensional gate on one of Jupiter's moons, and let Magic back into the world, including dragons, angels, demons, elves, dwarves, etc. The 1st edition has its own rules, while the 2nd edition uses FUDGE rules as a base, with considerable world-specific character creation rules.
GateWar: Believable Fantasy Role-Playing in the World of Vinya
1st ed by Kenneth Burridge, Robert Finkbeiner, Kevin Nelson, Brian Pettitt (1994) Escape Ventures, Inc.
A fantasy-genre RPG set in the world of Vinya, first introduced in Element Masters. The genre is traditional fantasy with a myriad of strange monsters, more light-hearted than "dark". It uses a percentile skill system: roll under skill times difficulty multiplier on percentile dice. Results are often table-driven, including specific hitpoint tables included for each creature type. Character creation is random-roll attributes and point-bought skills.
Gear Krieg RPG
1st ed by James Maliszewski, Gene Marcil, Stéphane I. Matis, Marc-Alexandre Vézina (2001) Dream Pod 9
A two-fisted pulp action RPG, set in an alternate history's 1941 where weird Nazi science has produced walking tanks and other oddities. It uses a more pulp-oriented variant of the "Silhouette" system: a simple dice pool system: roll dice (d6's) equal to skill and take the best, and add attribute (-3 to +3).
Gemini RPG
1st ed by Johan Sjoberg (1999) Cell Entertainment
A dark fantasy-genre RPG, originally Swedish-language but also published in English. It is set in a medieval fantasy world where an ancient darkness threatens the land. The world features elven, dwarven, and human kingdoms along with an alternate Church, complete with Knights Templar. cf. the Gemini intro page.
Genesis RPG
1st ed by Kevin D. Clarke, Noel W. Clarke (1986) Inkeptum Ultra Visio
2nd ed (1990)
A space-faring science fiction RPG, from a small Canadian press. It is set in 2139, and the Earth has discovered and been discovered by ten alien races, including some with psionic powers. The history includes megacorps who ruled the Earth, first contact of Earth by an alien race, and the struggles for establishing a Polysolar Foundation. The PCs may be any of the ten races, and select an occupation in addition: including Pirates, Explorers, Investigators, Traders, etc. The game was published in two books, called the "Caudex Regulum" (Book of Rules) and "Caudex Centia" (Book of Data). The rules for most of the systems allow the players to select from three levels of complexity - ranging from a single die role to damage system tables calculated logarithmically.
Ghostbusters
1st ed by Sandy Petersen, Lynn Willis, Greg Stafford (1986) West End Games
Ghostbusters, International ed by Aaron Allston, Douglas Kaufman (1989)
A simple RPG based on the movies, designed to be extremely easy for beginners. The mechanic is a simple D6 dice pool (the "D6" system later used in Star Wars), based on one of four attributes: Muscle, Brains, Moves, and Cool. Each character can have at most four skills: one per attribute. Action resolution is to roll a number of dice equal to attribute (2 to 6), with one die being a special "ghost die" whose "1" face indicates a fumble. If the number is greater than difficulty, you succeed. Results can modified by spending "Brownie Points" to reduce damage or improve rolls. In the original game, characters get three pieces of equipment which are detailed on cards. The International edition has no cards but has a longer list of equipment rated for size in "hands" (i.e. number of hands to hold). The original basic set included advice on straightforward ghostbusting adventures, including a two-page sample adventure about a taxi cab possessed by the ghost of a gigantic dog.
Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai
1st ed by David L. Pulver, John R. Phythyon, Jr. (2000) Guardians of Order
A modern-day action RPG based on the film by Jim Jarmusch about a mafia hit man who lives by the ancient samurai code. The RPG focuses on one-player campaigns. It uses the Tri-Stat system from Big Eyes, Small Mouth.
Ghostories: Supernatural Mystery Roleplaying
1st ed by Brett Bernstein (2008) Precis Intermedia Games
A modern-day investigative game, using a variant of genreDiversion system also used by Coyote Trail.
Giallo in Casa Vernaschi
1st ed by Maurizio Mancini, Mauro Teragnoli (1997) Qualitygame
An Italian-language murder mystery party game, part of the "I Giochi del 2000" collection of RPGs. The title translates as "Murder at Vernaschi's Home". It is an investigation one-shot RPG with no GM, only an organizer who can also play.
The Gifted
1st ed by David Wood, David Wilson, Michael Fahey (1993) Dark Arts Games
A sci-fi RPG of psychic powers in a dark version of the modern world. The player characters are outcasts in a world that is paranoid of their psychic gifts. There is no organization for them, and they are constantly on the run to survive.
Il Gioco Di Ruolo Di Dylan Dog
1st ed by Fabrizio Biasiolo, Roberto Chiavini, Jacopo Garuglieri, Michele Gianni, Alessandro Ivanoff (1991) DaS Productions
An Italian-language modern-day horror RPG, based on the popular Italian comics character (published by Dark Horse in the U.S.). Dylan Dog is a demon/ghost hunter. Similar to Call of Cthulhu. It also has a sourcebook introducing the world of Martin Mystere -- another popular Italian comics character.
Il Gioco Di Ruolo Di Ken Il Guerriero
1st ed by Marcello Missiroli, Marcello Manicardi, Beppe Reina, Paolo Poli, Simone Gatti, Simone Peruzzi, Roberto Di Meglio (1995) Nexus Editrice
An Italian-language post-nuclear-apocalypse RPG, licensed from the popular anime series, Hokuto no Ken (Fist of the North Star). The rule system is based on the French system Simulacres.
Il Gioco di Ruolo Ufficiale dei Manga
1st ed (2000) Kappa Edizioni
An Italian-language universal manga/anime RPG created to simulate the world and the action of anime and manga characters.
Gioco Libero
1st ed by P. Maraziti (1991) Fuori dal Tempo magazine #1
An Italian-language universal diceless RPG system, or a sort. It has no dice, no rules, and possibly no GM.
Gli Ultimi Templari
1st ed by Maurizio Mancini, Mauro Teragnoli (1995) Qualitygame
An Italian-language historical mystery party game, part of the "I Giochi del 2000" collection. The title translates as "The Last Templars". It has an emphasis on intrigue and politics. It is a one-shot RPG with no GM, only an organizer who can also play.
Gloire: Swashbuckling Adventure in the Age of Kings
1st ed by Pete Murray (2006) Rattrap Productions
A swashbuckling tabletop miniatures game with some role-playing aspects, based on the .45 Adventure system.
Godlike: Superhero Roleplaying in a World on Fire, 1936-1946
1st ed by Dennis Detwiller, Greg Stolze (2002) Hobgoblynn Press
A superhero RPG set in the era of World War II. The PC's are Allied paranormal "Talents" with superhuman abilities who aid in the war effort. While Talents are definitely superhuman, it is more gritty than four-color superheroic. The PC's can still die, and they have little effect on the war as a whole. It uses a dice-pool system, known as the "One-Roll Engine". Actions are resolved by rolling d10's equal to stat plus skill. The number of matches (i.e. d10's with the same value) indicate speed of success, while the number matched indicates quality of success. Development and supplements to the system were taken over by Arc Dream Publishing in late 2002.
Godsend Agenda
1st ed by Jerry D. Grayson, Brian Vinson, Kimara Bernard, Matt Drake (2001) Khepera
D6 Edition ed by Jerry D. Grayson, Paul Tomes, Brian Vinson, Mike Fiegel, Matt B. Carter, Darren Miguez (2005) Khepera
A superhero RPG set in an alternate history where superheroes from another dimension walk among us after accidentally crash-landing on Earth. Some are government agents, some are costumed vigilantes, and others were considered gods in bygone days. They fight for and against many different factions but all have one goal; to stop the coming apocalypse foretold of many centuries ago. It uses a simple system, with action resolution based on 2d6 + attribute + skill vs difficulty. A later edition was published using West End Games' D6 System.
Golden Heroes
1st ed by Simon Burley, Peter Hains (1984) Games Workshop
A superhero RPG. It uses a fairly simple system. Character creation is fast, and either custom-design or random-roll (including random-roll powers). Combat uses a simple action-point system, where PC's and villians have 4 "frames" (as in comic-book frames) per round.
Gondica
1st ed by Anders Blixt (1998) Rävspel
A Swedish-language renaissance-inspired fantasy RPG. 192 pages long in hardcover and softcover.
GORE - Generic Old-school Role-playing Engine
1st ed by Daniel Proctor (2007) Goblinoid Games
A generic RPG system book with a horror theme, using rules adapted from Basic Role-playing and the Call of Cthulhu game. These are published based on the related RuneQuest rules released under the Wizards of the Coast Open Gaming License.
Götterdämmerung
1st ed by Anders Jacobsson, Magnus Malmberg, Theodore Berqquist (2005) Riotminds
A mystery game set in the 18th century, inspired by "The Brotherhood of Wolves", "Vidoqc" and "Sleepy Hollow". There are many secret societies, and dark forces never spoken about. The core game consists of two books: Lex Libris and Codex Persona. It uses a percentile skill-based system based on Chaosium's Basic Role-playing.
The Great War of Magellan RPG
1st ed by Richard Hatch, Jonathan Bjork (2007) DGA Games
A space-faring science fiction RPG based on the comic book series of the same name. It is set in the Magellan Nebula, where a human civilization originating in the planet Kyron had established an interstellar confederation with nine governorships. Humanity was devastated by civil war and the post-war chaos, and evil alien spirit guides called the Nephilim that have turned species into war-mongering horrors including the Kitaan and the Dru-ack. It uses an original system where you roll 1d20, trying to get under attribute + skill but over difficulty. A second 1d20 determines special results.
Grey Ranks
1st ed by Jason Morningstar (2007) Bully Pulpit Games
A historical RPG set in Poland in 1944, where the PCs are teenager soldiers who join the Warsaw Uprising. The game has a pre-determined scene structure where each scene has a specific date.
Grimm: Adventures in a world of twisted fairy tales
1st ed by Robert J. Shwalb (2008) Fantasy Flight Games
A fantasy RPG system in the genre of fairy tales, specifically the Grimm brothers tales but also others. It is set in a fantasy world called the Grimm Lands, where a mysterious entity called Melusine has made their stories real. This was first published as a setting for use with Dungeons & Dragons (the D20 system) in 2003, but was released with its own rules system in 2008.
GruntBuggler!
1st ed by Mark Kibbe (1995) Basement Games
A fantasy-genre RPG system, a predecessor to Forge: Out of Chaos.
Guardians
1st ed by James Perham, Gideon (1991) StarChilde
A generic superhero RPG, available as the core rulebook or in a boxed set with one supplement ("Freedom Union") and a few character sheets. The core rulebook has no background setting but includes a sample adventure. Resolution is by percentile skill rolls. Character creation has a random number of points for attributes (with a set minimum), and randomly determining the number and category of powers.
Guardians of Sol
1st ed by Joseph Hillmer, George Rahm (1992) Better Games
A sci-fi police investigator mini-RPG, published in Space Gamer magazine, issue #5. It is based on the RPG Era Ten.
Guardian Universe Core Fuzion
1st ed by J. Parker, Jason Libby (2005) Dilly Green Bean Games
A dark superhero RPG, set in 1999 of the modern world where superheroes (known as "guardians") have been around for twenty eight years, only to encounter angels come to Earth to purge the superhuman phenomenon. It uses a variant of the Fuzion system originally from R. Talsorian Games. It includes new superpowers and psionics, character templates, gadgets, and other expansions.
Guildes
1st ed by [Multisim staff] (1996) Multisim
A French-language Renaissance-era fantasy RPG, set in a world where a mysterious continent has newly appeared a few hundred miles out to sea, ripe for exploration.
Gunslingers & Gamblers
1st ed by Jonathan Clarke (2006) FJ Gaming
A game set around 1876 in the American wild west. It uses a dice pool system based on rolling six-sided "poker dice" (marked 9 through ace). Traits are rated 1 to 5 and 5/1 to 5/5. Resolution is by rolling five poker dice and attempting to make the best poker hand. You may then re-roll a number of dice equal to your first trait number. If you have 5/1 to 5/5, you may then re-roll again a number equal to your second trait number. There are 15 traits (i.e. stats), plus quirks. Quirks are each combined advantages and disadvantages that balance, with 72 defined in the base game.
Gun Thief: a messy game about desperate people and violent situations
1st ed by Joe McDonald (2010) Buried Without Ceremony
A diceless storytelling game for 3-4 players of modern criminal violence, intended for one hour of play. There are three defined roles: the Gun Thief, the Law, and the Jagged Women.
GURPS
1st ed by Steve Jackson (1986) Steve Jackson Games
2nd ed (1987)
3rd ed (1988)
4th ed (2004)
"Generic Universal Role-Playing System" A universal system that focuses on realism, notable especially for its continuing line worldbooks and sourcebooks, which now number in the hundreds. It uses a skill-based system: roll 3d6 under 1 of 4 attributes, or under skill. Character creation is open point-bought with many options. The "Basic Set" includes a default magic system and psionic system.
John H. Kim <jhkim@darkshire.net>
Last modified: Mon Jul 12 12:47:57 2010