The D&D World, Universe, and Everything Else in GURPS

==The World==
Converting the world itself can be in many respects the hardest part. As noted on B493 you only need to do the PC treatment of major NPCs; everybody else can pretty much be made on the spot so NPC conversion is not a problem. However world conversion can be especially difficult when modules are involved.
This is where GURPS Fantasy and GURPS Thaumatology become very useful as it will give the tools to better convert an existing fantasy world (as well as build one from scratch). There are race templates for many races and a few unique mythological characters such as Lilth and Tiamat. However before going head long into GURPS Thaumatology and GURPS Fantasy it is still best to start with the Basic Set. However, GURPS Fantasy also has an entire chapter devoted to a setting, Roma Arcana, which is a version of 3rd century century Rome where magic works and some dinosaurs exist. Here arcane and divine magic are at odds with one another.
Chapters 17-19Basic Set 462-522 are definitely a must and here again GURPS goes into far more detail than D&D does.
A GM should have a good handle on how common magic (especially spell magic) will be in the setting for unlike D&D GURPS Magic has a lot of "utility" spells - spells that are not that far down the "college tree" but are farther reaching then their D&D counterparts.
Note: the fanwork GURPS Historical Folks makes drafting up NPCs one might encounter much easier. The GURPS Repository's D&D Monster Conversions provides a reasonable list as a well based on description to convert.
*Grayhawk Fandom wiki - Geography
*Toril (Forgotten Realms) Fandom wiki - Map category
===Magic as Money===
In settings with common magic, energy in the form of Paut elixir, Paut Talismans, and Powerstones will be the standard as magic can render nearly anything else worthless. A Paut elixir represents 10 (5 in Very high mana and 20 in Low mana) days worth of labor while a Paut Talisman represents 100 (50 in Very high mana and 200 in Low mana) days of labor. Powerstones rapidly increase in value as the energy they contain increases. In terms of GURPS $ a Paut elixir, made by normal means, is 1/30 of average starting wealth and takes a larger amount of monthly income to get a dose as TL increases. Industrial Alchemy (TL7) causes the value of Paut Elixir to drop to a 2% of base monthly income for 1000 batches. Powerstones quickly become more valuable with more energy in them.
== Converting Modules==
Modules are a very special case as they are designed with the D&D system of the time in mind. Some GURPS mechanics can totally "break" a module. For example, there are many places in the original Tomb of Horrors where certain skills (Traps), abilities (Magery's innate magic item detection), and spells (Detect Magic and Dispel Illusion) can short circuit key parts of module.
==The Universe==
: See also When The Moral Compass Goes Haywire: The Trouble With D&D Alignments and D&D Mechanics - Is Alignment Dead
Ironically in GURPS the Outer Planes are Inner Spirit Worlds and their structure in D&D is tied directly to the alignment system and is likely the main reason the system survives in 5e.
With alignment gone the Outer Plane cosmology doesn't really have a reason to exist. Thankfully, all the tools and concepts for building a new cosmology are in Classic: Religion which even provides six examples: T'si'kami; Flatliners; the Kalm of Sequan; Disciplines of Change; Dhala, Destroyer of Worlds; and the Gods of Bethany.
==Dungeon Fantasy==
There are at least two blogs on the progress on converting D&D to Dungeon Fantasy which is strongly based on GURPS though it has setting specific alterations.
The suggestion by Dungeon Fantasy 1: Adventurers that "traditional" GMs should require players pay for "guild training" before they can “level up” and gain new abilities ($40+ per point) is a bad one as it is very similar to AD&D1e's 1500 gp/level/weekDMG1e pg 86 "Once a character has points which are equal to or greater than the minimum number necessary to move upward in experience level, no further experience points can be gained until the character actually gains the new level."
The Dragon #97 (May 1985) article "Only Train When You Gain" outlined how this one rule can ruin a campaign: "The DM, who sees that he is losing the players’ interest, realizes he must do something. It is at this point that he takes the first step toward a Monty Haul campaign. Whether from the players’ urgings to do something and stop being "unfair", or as the DM’s own idea, the next group of orcs the characters kill happened to be guarding a chest full of 8,000 gp, instead of the normal copper or silver, and a magic item that can be sold for additional gold. By some coincidence, this is just enough money to pay for everyone’s training."
"If gold is given away in large amounts, magic generally flows much more freely as well, allowing characters to grow ultra-powerful and creating a Monty-Haul campaign that quickly becomes tiresome for both DM and players". This can be seen in long term MMOs like World of Warcraft where the value of gold has effectively cratered and magic items abound.
Wise GMs should just ignore this idea as it was bad and dropped in AD&D2 (1989) for a reason. 
*Dungeon Fantastic
*GURPS / Dungeon Fantasy RPG campaign set in Castle Whiterock megadungeon
*D&D v GURPS, Skills
==Additional Material==
*Caverns and Creatures (IA) — 2003 attempt at D&D to Classic GURPS
*Creature Catalog (2006): Pythagoras' 18 creature Bestiary
*GURPS Simple Fantasy: a way to learn the basics. Includes entry level adventure In the Court of the River King
*Delving dungeons four ways with GURPS
*The Gaming Aids page also gives some free resources that will make converting a lot easier.
*The Hypertext d20 SRD site can serve a quick reference to how some abilities function in D&D to help make better conversions to the GURPS equivalents.
*D&D Monster Conversions GURPS Repository
*How many weapons could an adventurer really carry? Feat: Kyle Hill
*Dungeon Fantastic: a Dungeon Fantasy campaign diary
*Dungeons and GURPS (Youtube channel)
*5 Roleplaying Products That Shaped How I Play Dungeons & Dragons 1978-2000 by DM David
==Notes==
==References==
Category:D&D to GURPS