Best products from r/gurps

TLDR: GURPS isn't overwhelming, but it may be a lot of work for the GM; GURPS Combat is (usually) faster, but that doesn't necessarily make it more fun; unsolicited recommendation that the system Savage Worlds might be right for you. Good luck!

Overwhelming? - GURPS shouldn't be overwhelming to a new player, but it might be to a new GM. GURPS is basically a giant toolkit, so it's up to you to do a lot of upfront work.

Primarily, you need to decide which rules are appropriate for your setting (how gritty/pulpy do you want it to be), and you need to decide what skills and items will be available. If you make the lists concise, then players likely won't notice that it's really more or less complex. Thankfully, there are some character templates that will give you an idea about what skills might be appropriate. But still, that's a lot more work than having everything laid out (relatively) neatly for you in D&D.

I will note though that, in my experience, when playing a game that makes many, specific skills available, players new to roleplaying will often forget about skills that they have and never use them. D&D is in this sense friendly to new players because the skill categories are so broad. The GURPS solution is probably to just limit how many points they get to "buy" skills--they won't be very powerful heroes, but it will teach them to pay attention.

Combat - First, combat is always slow with new players. That's just how it is because it takes time for them to learn and get comfortable with a bunch of rules. Depending on how set up your game can be (and typically is) really gritty, so getting shot/hit by a sword even once will effectively put you out of the game. But it doesn't have to be this way. The thing that can slow combat down in GURPS is that there can often be a lot of maneuvering (feinting, defending, etc.).

Note on D&D Combat - Combat in D&D can be a slog, but it doesn't have to be. In my experience, fights become a slog (1) when players have no other goal in the fight encounter than "kill the baddies," and (2) when players and DMs stop fighting heroically--players and DMs should use skills in fights creatively, take risks, and narrate dramatically. As Matt Colville might put it, the magic of D&D is in the drama. But really the same principles apply to GURPS. Fighting may be faster, but that doesn't necessarily mean more fun.

Unrequested Recommendation - If you're looking for a low-cost buy-in, I would definitely check out GURPS Lite, which someone else has already recommended. The actual books are fairly pricey, so I'd definitely check out Lite first. But I might also recommend that you look into Savage Worlds.

Savage Worlds uses a point/buy skill system, so you can do a lot of tailoring to character needs/desires, much like a (much) lighter version of GURPS. Character creation is FAST and relatively easy, which is a big bonus for new players. Combat is also fast paced and can have some really dramatic, unexpected results (there are many stories about players one-shotting a boss--or vice versa). Overall, Savage worlds is a nice balance of being flexible without being overwhelming and being simple but still crunchy. But maybe the best part is that the core rulebook costs $8.69 on Amazon.

I hope that helps. I'm glad to hear that you'll be playing with your family! GURPS, D&D, and Savage Worlds are all really great, fun systems (and so are a lot of others!). I hope you find the one that works best for you.

There's been some good advice and links to good resources posted here already. I don't want to make it seem like I'm pushing for you to spend more money, but there are some really good books/pdfs on the subject which should not be overlooked.

I highly recommend Robin's Laws of Good Game Mastering to any new GM who's looking for some well thought out advice on GMing and adventure planning. You can get it in PDF, print (or from Amazon). Another book to consider for GURPS is How to be a GURPS GM.

I just checked my Amazon wish list, GURPS Martial Arts starts at $60. GURPS Ultra Tech starts just shy of $100 right now.

However, while I've bought these books while their Amazon prices were high, I didn't buy them at Amazon. Noble Knight has done well for me so far in offering a chance to collect the books at more modest prices. And now I need to clean up my wish list since I have some of these already.

The collection I usually recommend is The Wine-Dark Sea, which has "The Trains", "The Inner-Room", and "Into the Woods", three of my favorites. But, if you would like more with slightly closer to the rhythm/style of "The Hospice", you can do Cold Hand in Mine, which has "The Swords", "Meeting Mr. Millar", and "The Same Dog". Besides those six stories, I'd probably next recommend "Ringing the Changes", probably his most famous, and "My Poor Friend" which I think was the first I ever read and the one that got me into his style.

Calling /u/Mookus!

Sir Mook has some of the best new player/GM info out there and he literally wrote the book on How to be a GURPS GM.

Amazon Print-On-Demand link - How To Be A GURPS GM

Mook also runs a GURPS Discord channel that is my favorite source for GURPS assistance above and beyond that of the SJGames forums and Reddit.

Good luck!

Print books:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1556348541/

https://www.amazon.com/dp/155634855X/

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1556348568/

PDFs:

http://www.warehouse23.com/products/SJG30-6083

http://www.warehouse23.com/products/SJG30-6075

http://www.warehouse23.com/products/SJG30-6048

These books are great just for background information. If you plan on actually using GURPS, then you will also need the Basic Set. These books are all for 3rd edition, so you can get that, or you can get the 4th edition and do a bit of converting.

Get How to be a GURPS GM

Then check out the mook's website