GURPS: Power Ups 5: Impulse Buys Review ★★★★★

As a GM, I love it when my players want something to happen. It shows engagement and drives story. When the dice disallow these actions, sometimes the disappointment makes for a worse game. If only there was a balanced way to allow the players to bend the rules just a little bit...

... Enter Impulse Buys. Essentially a budget for bending the rules, this book provides the GM (and players) with interesting ways to spend points to influence outcomes and the game world around them. On a personal note, I really enjoy the possibilities discussed in Impulse Buys, but it's not for every campaign.

The premise is simple: spend points for good stuff to happen right now. Such a simple premise doesn't need a 20 page book explaining how to do it, but the insight and ideas on how to balance it make it good value for the $5.99 it costs.

The first real chapter 'Parting You From Your Points' details individual ways players might spend points to improve (or gain points to worsen) their situation including:

• Buying success from failure
• Gaining short term perks
• Bending time
• Enhancing survival
• Influencing GM decisions

and much more. I wouldn't call any ideas here groundbreaking, but the real value is in the explanation of the consequences of each kind of rule-bending and how to cost it for balance.

The second chapter 'Impulsive Campaigns' is about setting up impulse point buy in a campaign. It has suggestions for limiting power, making sure style of point buy fits the tone of the game and how to make spending points fun, not just as a way out of trouble. Just look at the contents for a flavour of the styles it provides.

The book ends with an excellent summary page for quick reference. I don't find myself referring to these when live GMing at the gaming table (it's easy enough to remember), but it is great for players to browse and start to imagine the possibilities.

All in all, I think Impulse Buys makes an excellent addition to a GURPS GM's toolkit. It won't be for every campaign but for those it fits, this book takes out a lot of the hard work of adding impulse buys. In essence, this book does for GMs exactly what it does for players: gives you what you need to just start playing!



Further Reading

• Pseudoboo's review of Impulse Buys - Still not sure if this book is for you? Check out Pseudoboo's views from 2016
• Warehouse23 product listing - if you want to buy it!

🦆🦆🦆