GURPS Space

GURPS Space (2006) is the toolkit for building strange new worlds and alien civilizations as well as providing campaign-planning advice and space science.
==Chapter 1 - Space==
The scope and range of a space campaign.
==Chapter 2 - Space Travel==
Traveling through space involves a ship. Options on how it maneuvers and travels through space are detailed here.
==Chapter 3 - Technology==
There is more to traveling space then just one's ship. There is the Biotechnology; Computers and Communications, Nanotechnology, Transportation, as well as Weapons and Defenses to worry about.
==Chapter 4 - Basic Worldbuilding==
The steps on how to create an alien world for your travelers to encounter.
=== World Design Stuff ===
* Habitability and Affinity
=== World Types ===
This is what the simple world types translate to in the advanced system.Space p. 75
World Types 	Planet Types
Earthlike 	Standard (Garden), Standard (Ocean), Large (Garden), and Large (Ocean) worlds.
Gas Giants 	Gas Giant worlds.
Hostile Terrestrial	Standard (Ammonia), Standard (Greenhouse), Large (Ammonia), and Large (Greenhouse) worlds.
Ice Dwarfs 	Tiny (Ice) worlds.
Ice Worlds 	Small (Hadean), Small (Ice), Standard (Hadean), Standard (Ice), and Large (Ice) worlds.
Rock Worlds 	Asteroid Belt, Tiny (Rock), Tiny (Sulfur), Small (Rock), Standard (Chthonian), and Large (Chthonian) worlds
===Atmospheric Pressure===
Relationship between Atmospheric Pressure and world typeSpace p. 86-87
Atmospheric Pressure	World Type
None 	Asteroid Belt, Tiny (Ice), Tiny (Rock), Tiny (Sulfur), Small (Hadean), and Standard (Hadean) Worlds
Trace 	Small (Rock), Standard (Chthonian), and Large (Chthonian) Worlds: All of
All others 	Pressure Factors Table
==Chapter 5 - Advanced Worldbuilding==
How to create solar systems for your travelers to encounter.
===Generating Star Systems===
This stellar classification table will help GMs on color of the star, how viable life evolved on its own for planets around such stars. Each Class has its own subcategories with Sol being a G2V or a "yellow dwarf". When compared to the actual universe the star system is reasonably accurate. Classes L, T, and Y are technically not stars as no nuclear fusion occurs within them and the same is true of Class D (White Dwarfs). Classes C and M are special case classes of other stars.
Class	Effective temperature	Chromaticity 	Stellar Mass	Main Sequence in years	Fate 	Remnants 	% of all Main Sequence Stars
W 	≥ 30,000 K 	Blue 	≥ 16 M☉ 	 	Supernova 	neutron star or black hole 	included in Class O
O 	≥ 30,000 K 	Blue 	≥ 16 M☉ 	~10 million 	Supernova 	neutron star or black hole 	~0.00003%
B 	10,000–30,000 K 	blue white 	2.1–16 M☉ 	~100 million 	Supernova 	neutron star or black hole 	0.13%
A 	7,500–10,000 K 	White to Blue White 	1.4–2.1 M☉ 	~1 billion 	 	neutron star or black hole 	0.6%
F 	6,000–7,500 K 	Yellow White to white 	1.04–1.4 M☉ 	~5 billion 	 	White Dwarf 	3%
G 	5,200–6,000 K 	Yellow to Yellowish White 	0.8–1.04 M☉ 	~10 billion 	Red Giant then Starlar shedding	White Dwarf then Black Dwarf	7.6%
K 	3,700–5,200 K 	Light Orange to Pale Yellow Orange	0.45–0.8 M☉ 	~50 billion 	 	 	12.1%
M 	2,400–3,700 K 	Orange RedLight Orange Red 	0.08 to 0.6 	~100 billion 	 	 	76.45%
===Generating World Details===
World TypeGURPS Space came out in 2006, the same year the International Astronomical Union (IAU) reclassified minor planets and comets as dwarf planets and small Solar System bodies (SSSBs)	Definition 	Subtypes
Tiny Worlds 	cannot retain a significant atmosphere 	(Ice), (Rock), (Sulfur)
Small Worlds 	has atmosphere but cannot retain water vapor): 	(Hadean), (Ice), (Rock)
Standard Worlds 	large enough to retain water vapor in its atmosphere 	(Hadean), (Ammonia), (Ice), (Ocean), (Garden), (Greenhouse), (Chthonian)
Large Worlds 	large enough to retain helium gas (and possibly even some hydrogen) in its atmosphere	(Ammonia), (Ice), (Ocean), (Garden), (Greenhouse), (Chthonian)
Special 	Does not fit into any above catagory 	Asteroid Belt, Gas Giant
====The Sol System====
Summery of the box on page 124 of GURPS Space
Orbit	Name 	Orbital radius	diameter 	Density	Mass 	Blackbodytemperature	world type 	Major moons
1 	Mercury 	0.39 AU 	3,900 miles 	0.98 	0.055	445 K 	Tiny (Rock) 	None
2 	Venus 	0.72 AU 	7,500 miles 	0.95 	0.82 	328 K 	Standard (Greenhouse)	None
3 	Earth 	1.0 AU 	7,900 miles 	1.00 	1.00 	278 K 	Standard (Garden) 	Luna – Tiny (Rock)
4 	Mars 	1.5 AU 	4,200 miles 	0.71 	0.11 	225 K 	Small (Rock) 	None; 2 moonlets
5 	Asteroid Belt	2.7 AU 	NA 	NA 	NA 	NA 	Asteroid Belt 	NA
6 	Jupiter 	5.2 AU 	89,000 miles	0.24 	320 	122 K 	Medium Gas Giant 	Io – Tiny (Sulfur)Europa – Tiny (Ice)Ganymede – Tiny (Ice)Callisto – Tiny (Ice)
7 	Saturn 	9.5 AU 	75,000 miles	0.13 	95 	90 K 	Small Gas Giant 	Titan – Small (Ice)
8 	Uranus 	19 AU 	32,000 miles	0.24 	14 	64 K 	Small Gas Giant 	None
9 	Neptune 	30 AU 	31,000 miles	0.32 	17 	51 K 	Small Gas Giant 	Triton – Tiny (Ice)
==Chapter 6 - Alien Life and Alien Minds==
Outlines creating alien life and cultures as well on how to design the aliens, their environment, and ecology so it makes some degree of sense.
Has a subsection called "Other Chemistries" where life based on something other then carbon are presented:
*Hydrogen replaces carbon
* Ammonia replaces Water; -108° Fahrenheit (-78° C) and -27° F (-33° C)
*Hydrocarbon life
*Silicon and Silicones
** Oxygen respiration is barely possible for silicate or silicone life and so it will tend to form in areas where other materials can replace oxygen: 300° F for sulfuric acid/silicon creatures, 500° F for silicon/liquid sulfur organisms, and 2500° F or higher for silicon/liquid rock beings.
*Sulfur-Based Life
*Non-Chemical Life
**Life that doesn't require chemical reactions. The examples given are plasma and magnetic life.Interestingly the concept of crystalline life (aka Andromeda Strain) is not touched on nor is the exotic form of life seen in Dragon's Egg.
== Chapter 7 - Future and Alien Civilizations==
The culture and governments of the setting.
==Chapter 8 - Adventures==
*The Hook, Goals, Obstacles
==Chapter 9 - Characters==
*Character Concepts: Astronauts, Space Knights, Tramp Freighters and Merchant Princes, Modified Human.
*Advantages, Disadvantages, and Skills.
*Character Templates: Astronaut, Bounty Hunter, Colonist, Con Man, Detective, Doctor, Explorer, Scientist, Secret Agent, Security Officer, Soldier, Space Knight, Space Worker, Technician, and Thief
==Notes==
*Sadly because it is based on energy used/population there is no relationship between the real world Kardashev Scale and GURPS TL. In fact, there are problems with the Kardashev Scale in that a civilization that runs itself off the energy of a real world AA battery could make a K3 civilization look like the work of a caveman.The Kardashev Scale (Music Included)
==Additional Material==
*Designer's Notes: GURPS Space, Fourth Edition (4/14/2006)
*GURPS Space: Planetary Record and Worksheet
=== Classic===
*Classic: Aliens
*Classic: Space Bestiary
*Classic: Space Atlas series: Atlas 1, 2, 3, and Classic: Space Atlas 4
*Classic: Space: Stardemon (planet)
*Classic: Terradyne: effectively replaced by Transhuman Space
*Classic: Space: Unnight (planet) - Origins Nominee for Best Adventure of 1988
*Classic: Space Adventures - Origins Nominee for Best Roleplaying Adventure of 1991
====Pyramid Articles====
*9 Plants From Outer Space: A GURPS Space Herbarium (2/23/2001)
*Use of Weapons: Arming characters for a GURPS Space campaign (1/17/2003)
*"... And I Feel Fine." (12/17/1999): Space Opera Campaign
*The Secrets of Gaard (1/14/2000): mini campaign
*Motive Force - Classic: Space Adventure from Pyramid 2 (1999)
*Planetary Record
*Star Witness: A GURPS Space Adventure (1/2/2004)
===GURPS 4e===
*GURPS Spaceships series
===Programs===
*Azgaar's Fantasy Map Gen (website), source code (GitHub): can be used to generate the continents of other worlds
*Stellar System Generator (itch.io): unity based 3d system generator
*StarGen (website), online version
*Star System Generator (donjon)
*Star System Generator (sfrpgtools)
*Solar System Generator (RanGen)
*Celestia (Wikipedia information)
*Gaia Sky
*Cosmonium
===Videos===
* Bizarre Journey to the Outer Solar System DOCUMENTARY BOXSET These Planets Continue to Mystify Us
* All Tomorrows: the future of humanity?
**The Qu Explained | True 'All Tomorrows' Ending Revealed? (All Tomorrows Lore)
====Isaac Arthur channel====
*The Fermi Paradox Compendium
**Alien Civilizations are rare
**We can't detect them
**We can't recognize them
**Miscellaneous
*Fermi Paradox Solutions
*Isaac Arthur Channel Playlists
**Alien Civilizations
**Habitable Planets
**Colonizing Space
**Generation Ships & Interstellar Colonization
**Megastructures — see also The Megastructure Compendium
**Non-Carbon Based Life
**The Stellar Compendium
====Miscellaneous==== 
*Bygone Visions of Cosmic Neighbors
*Alien Biospheres (playlist)
*Could planets from Star Wars really exist?
*DTTV - Quantum Universe (channel)
*10 Strangest Planets In Space
*Naked Science - Deadliest Planets
*The Largest Star in the Universe – Size Comparison
*Advanced Sci-fi Civilisations Too Stupid To Really Exist
*10 Ways Alien Life Could be Radically Different from Earth
*Spacedock - A series that looks at the specifications, history and lore of fictional spacecraft from science fiction. Any Spacecraft, any Sci-Fi.
*Alien Biospheres
===Webpages===
*Atomic Rockets
*Solar System Creator
*Stellar classification
*XenoSolutions: "Space troubleshooting" corporation that hires out experts (or at least generalists) to go investigate various and sundry weird things that crop up in space or on planets
==References==
Category:GURPS Books
Category:4th Edition
Category:Genre Books
Category:Jon F. Zeigler
Category:James L. Cambias
Category:Hubs