I'm looking to get some sort of consensus on what GURPS and HERO products--other than the rulebooks--are worth having regardless of what one thinks of GURPS or HERO.

e.g.: Supplements that treat a specific property, in or out of print, that have not be done before or since, such as GURPS Lensman or GURPS New Sun.

e.g.: Supplements that are so solid about their treatment of the subject that they become the go-to resources for gaming adaptations of that subject.  (HERO's Champions for superheroes is the best-known example.)

The goal is to create a list that we can then throw up as a Sticky and refer to when later requests of this sort come up.  Therefore, I ask that those posting suggestions for consideration please explain why this is notable, especially if it already isn't well-known for being so notable.

GURPS: Mars

Everything you ever wanted to know related to Mars and gaming, from Zubrin hard science to Barsoomian planetary romance. One of the most complete and satisfying supplements I have ever owned.

Sadly this was something of a weak point for HERO, but  it has a few standouts.

Ninja HERO (4th edition) was an excellent product and while later editions covered much of the same material, they didn't ever match it's style.

Here There be Tigers was also useful and stylish for special ops type games (although not completely idea in it's treatment of firearms- a problem that would dog HERO System for its life).

They did a lost worlds style supplement whose name I've forgotten that was rather nice.


But in general most HERO supplements over the years left me cold.

For HERO, the rubric is simple: anything written by Aaron Allston is excellent, and can be used regardless of system.

GURPs Special Ops, Martial Arts, High Tech and Mythic Places - softback (3rd ed - I think) were some of my favorites.

GURPS Lensman

This falls into "adaptation that any fan of the property would like to have handy", and I am a fan of the Lensman series.  Made for GURPS 3rd Ed., this is the only TRPG adaptation ever made with official sanction from the Smith Estate, and considering that the series was long out of print at the time--and still remains a pain in the ass to find--don't count on another attempt anytime soon.

For most, the chief utility is actually as an adjunct to the books themselves, because GURPS Lensman puts into contemporary terms much of the old jargon used by Smith in the novels, as well as attempts to explain decisions he made regarding the fictional milieu of the two Galaxies and the conflict between Civilization and Boskone- and, fortunately, GURPS interfaces with real world statistics well enough that anyone wanting to make a private adaptation can get started with this book, converting to Real notation, and then to the other TRPG system.  (Imagine, for example, using TORG for this purpose.)

Note: You can say similar things about GURPS New Sun, GURPS Prisoner and other adaptations of this sort.

GURPS Religion, and GURPS Monsters off of the top of my head. Most of the historical sourcebooks.

Cliffhangers is pretty good.

I also like Infinite Worlds, GURPS:Space, Special Ops, Time Travel, and of course, both Compendiums.

My personal preferences led me to also use Alpha Centauri (Sci-Fi) and Witchworld.

GURPS Mysteries (4e)

A spectacular treatment on the subject of running mysteries, and has an incredible amount of advice for any GM, regardless of system. Seriously want to run a real mystery and make it actually fun? This is where you start.

GURPS {country or subject} (3e)

Any of the 3rd Edition supplements about a specific country or subject are beyond compare. They are like mini encyclopedias chock full of information. Some standouts; Celtic Myth, Fairies, Egypt, Arabian Nights, Vikings, Greece, Japan, VooDoo, Imperial Rome. Most are still on sale for $9.99 on the SJGames site (hard copy), and PDFs are being re-released every month or two (7.99-12.99 price range).

GURPS Bestiary, Fantasy Folk, Fantasy Bestiary (3e)

Want a non-D&D centric look at animals, fantasy creatures and species? A superb set of references from the 3rd Edition era. Mine are dog-eared and lovingly REFERENCED.

GURPS Fantasy, Space (4e)

These 4e books are really well done, and work as a great reference for creating your own setting, regardless of system. There are more "system bits" in here than other subject books, but it's not prohibitive.

Pulp Hero (5e)

One the most robust and catalog/encyclopedic treatments on the subject. Ever. GURPS cliffhangers is good, but Pulp Hero is Extraordinary.

Fantasy Hero (5e or 6e)

Another superb standout for creating setting.

GURPS Castle Falkenstein

I think both books (the main one and Ottoman Empire) are great references for the setting. You can take these books and run a CF game in any system.

GURPS Cabal

You will hear much love for this setting that transcends dimensions and time. It's a superb conspiracy horror setting and is a benchmark new ones are measured by.

GURPS Steampunk, Steam Tech

This pair of books is a must have for any Victorian gaming. Chock full of information and great ideas to Steampunk up your setting.

I would list Pulp HERO and the Fantasy HERO 5th Edition sourcebook The Turakian Age - in each, Steve Long's attention to detail actually creates an engrossing sense of environment in which one wants to set a campaign.

Not that familiar with GURPS, but from the stuff that's in my collection, I would arguably pick Gene Seabolt's GURPS WWII and definitely his Germany sourcebook for it, GURPS WWII Iron Cross, which firmly establishes that Nazi Germany was not a great place to live even if you were in "the master race."

JG

My personal favorites are oddballs.  

For Hero, it's "Normals Unbound" (a great book of NPCs) and "Lands of Mystery" (a sourcebook on lost world romance).  

For GURPS, my favorites are GURPS Goblins (a fascinating fantasy parody of Edwardian London), GURPS Voodoo (a refreshingly different take on urban fantasy), and GURPS Madlands / Fantasy II (a great fantasy world far distant from Tolkien).

"Villany Amok" for Champions is a pretty remarkable massive brain dump of all things relating supers plots.

Hudson City (Hero 5e): Outstanding city book. Not an excessive amount of supers stuff in it, so it's good for just about any modern game.

Star Hero: Outstanding overview of space and gaming.

Champions (5e or 6e): Nice overview of supers gaming.

Gurps Vikings, Celtic Myth, Rome, and Middle Ages I: All great books. I suspect the other historicals are also as good, but these are the ones I own.

The only two GURPS books I don't have are China and Russia.  I could really use them now for ideas I have.  But as I'm looking at my stuff here... I am enjoying GURPS Horror and Federation (Powered by GURPS) right now.  Both 4e editions.