Gurps Blood Types: Dark Predators and Deadly Prey: Vampires and Vampire Hunters

Rating:
Summary: Probably better than Vampire the Masquerade
Review: I am a fan of Vampire the Masquerade and the GURPS books. The background info in this single book is far more interesting and the Vampires more versatile than in V:tM. If you haven't read it, I'd suggest you at least pick it up and give it a try. Highly valuable for GURPS GM's.

Rating:
Summary: Probably better than Vampire the Masquerade
Review: I am a fan of Vampire the Masquerade and the GURPS books. The background info in this single book is far more interesting and the Vampires more versatile than in V:tM. If you haven't read it, I'd suggest you at least pick it up and give it a try. Highly valuable for GURPS GM's.

Rating:
Summary: Steve Jackson Games comes through with another good one.
Review: It's something of an open secret that many who buy supplements for the Generic Universal Roleplaying System (GURPS), don't actually play the game. GURPS is certainly a sprawling nightmare of overlapping, and even contradictory, rules, but it's products like BLOOD TYPES that demonstrate why gamers keep buying GURPS products: they're very, very useful.

Taking a step away from the roleplaying game that swallowed the vampiric subgenre whole (VAMPIRE: THE MASQUERADE), BLOOD TYPES aims to be the definitive resource concerning the bloodsucking creatures. As with the best of the GURPS sourcebooks, BLOOD TYPES answers every question one could think to ask about the given subject, presenting exhaustive research in one easy-to-digest package. Also as per usual, the rules included are a turgid mess, but that doesn't make BLOOD TYPES any less of an engaging read.

Author Lane Grate seems to realize what a drag the GURPS rules can be, and delays their inclusion until nearly fifty pages into the book. He begins instead with an overview of the symbolic meaning of the literary/folkloric/filmic vampire, and the segues directly into an examination of the development of the vampiric legend in various world cultures, not overlooking "human vampires" like Elizabeth Bathory. His treatment of the Victorian literary vampire is quite interesting, and will likely spur readers of BLOOD TYPES to break out their old copies of Bram Stoker's DRACULA.

Grate does his best to keep the rules portion of BLOOD TYPES as painless as possible. The remainder of the book is occupied with vampiric character types and how to build them. One method presented is to select one of the more than a dozen archetypical vampire types from around the world and use the package of advantages and disadvantages given for them. Another is the DIY approach, where Grate provides a toolkit of "typical" vampiric traits, thereby encouraging GMs to create unique vampire types for their games.

The only real disappointment in BLOOD TYPES comes from the Game Master section of the book. Whereas in many GURPS titles this is a beefy chunk of the text, in BLOOD TYPES it's somewhat slender. After the in-depth discussion of the topic that precedes it - scarcely a topic is left unaddressed in the character-type and historical sections, for example - the GMs' advice seems weak by comparison. In contrast to some of the better GURPS books, Grate doesn't provide extensive suggestions for building and/or maintaining a vampire-centric campaign, but simply hits the high points, addresses crossovers with other GURPS titles in sidebars, and leaves it at that.

Taken as whole, BLOOD TYPES is a worthwhile purchase and a surprisingly entertaining read. As usual, the rules sections aren't useful for anyone but GURPS gamers, but the wealth of background and detailed research on vampires cannot help but inspire and inform GMs looking to create a vampiric campaign, or to incorporate these classic horrors into their existing game. From the stunning Timothy Bradstreet cover to the last page, BLOOD TYPES is good stuff.

Rating:
Summary: Steve Jackson Games comes through with another good one.
Review: It's something of an open secret that many who buy supplements for the Generic Universal Roleplaying System (GURPS), don't actually play the game. GURPS is certainly a sprawling nightmare of overlapping, and even contradictory, rules, but it's products like BLOOD TYPES that demonstrate why gamers keep buying GURPS products: they're very, very useful.

Taking a step away from the roleplaying game that swallowed the vampiric subgenre whole (VAMPIRE: THE MASQUERADE), BLOOD TYPES aims to be the definitive resource concerning the bloodsucking creatures. As with the best of the GURPS sourcebooks, BLOOD TYPES answers every question one could think to ask about the given subject, presenting exhaustive research in one easy-to-digest package. Also as per usual, the rules included are a turgid mess, but that doesn't make BLOOD TYPES any less of an engaging read.

Author Lane Grate seems to realize what a drag the GURPS rules can be, and delays their inclusion until nearly fifty pages into the book. He begins instead with an overview of the symbolic meaning of the literary/folkloric/filmic vampire, and the segues directly into an examination of the development of the vampiric legend in various world cultures, not overlooking "human vampires" like Elizabeth Bathory. His treatment of the Victorian literary vampire is quite interesting, and will likely spur readers of BLOOD TYPES to break out their old copies of Bram Stoker's DRACULA.

Grate does his best to keep the rules portion of BLOOD TYPES as painless as possible. The remainder of the book is occupied with vampiric character types and how to build them. One method presented is to select one of the more than a dozen archetypical vampire types from around the world and use the package of advantages and disadvantages given for them. Another is the DIY approach, where Grate provides a toolkit of "typical" vampiric traits, thereby encouraging GMs to create unique vampire types for their games.

The only real disappointment in BLOOD TYPES comes from the Game Master section of the book. Whereas in many GURPS titles this is a beefy chunk of the text, in BLOOD TYPES it's somewhat slender. After the in-depth discussion of the topic that precedes it - scarcely a topic is left unaddressed in the character-type and historical sections, for example - the GMs' advice seems weak by comparison. In contrast to some of the better GURPS books, Grate doesn't provide extensive suggestions for building and/or maintaining a vampire-centric campaign, but simply hits the high points, addresses crossovers with other GURPS titles in sidebars, and leaves it at that.

Taken as whole, BLOOD TYPES is a worthwhile purchase and a surprisingly entertaining read. As usual, the rules sections aren't useful for anyone but GURPS gamers, but the wealth of background and detailed research on vampires cannot help but inspire and inform GMs looking to create a vampiric campaign, or to incorporate these classic horrors into their existing game. From the stunning Timothy Bradstreet cover to the last page, BLOOD TYPES is good stuff.