Back in 2021, I mused on the value of Alternity Tangents and the splash it made in my consciousness back around 1999-2001. This past weekend, my mind has been drawn back to the idea of games inspired by Tangents but powered by GURPS 3e.

Tangents is about cross-reality adventures dealing with the what-ifs arising from the path not taken in history. The invention of technology allowing humans to cross the dimensional barrier and visit worlds with an alternate history is a storied tradition in science-fiction.

Cordell’s book treated this topic with a series of credible suggestions for situations in which adventurers could discover the disastrous consequences of technological advancement. As I came across GURPS Fourth Edition in 2004, I was shown the Infinite Worlds setting and became open to the cross-genre strength of that system.

As I return to GURPS Third Edition, I find myself drawn towards using all those setting and genre books on my shelves and the ideas from Tangents and Infinite Worlds are prescient in my mind. The heart of this in 3e is the Time Travel book, but there’s also the Alternate Worlds and Timeline books to support the concept.

Alternity showed me the possibilities that a good, solid set of game rules married to a range of strong, inventive worlds can offer the Gamemaster. GURPS revives those possibilities with a system that is certainly solid but also more directly designed to cross genres in a way that Alternity – as a science-fiction game – wasn’t as well equipped to do.

GURPS can take us with ease into early technological eras and even offer us magic if we want it. The idea of creating a character who can truly cross worlds and realities without needing conversion or alteration is liberating. It is this spirit of freedom in creativity that has sparked my imagination once again into tangential thought.

I wonder where the parachronic generator will take us next?

Game on!