From Mana to Magic Points: Converting MTG Cards to GURPS

Hey there, fellow gamers! Have you ever looked at your Magic: The Gathering collection and thought, "I wonder how these creatures would work in a tabletop RPG?" Well, I've been tinkering with a system to convert MTG cards to GURPS (Generic Universal Role Playing System), and I'm excited to share what I've come up with.

Why Convert MTG to GURPS?

Maybe you want to incorporate some of your favorite Magic creatures into your tabletop campaign. Perhaps you're looking to create a GURPS campaign set in one of Magic's planes like Ravnica or Innistrad. Or maybe, like me, you just enjoy the intellectual exercise of bridging different game systems together!

The Baseline Conversion

Let's start with the basics. In our system, we're using a 1/1 creature as our baseline for a standard human with GURPS attributes all at 10:

• ST (Strength): 10
• DX (Dexterity): 10
• IQ (Intelligence): 10
• HT (Health): 10

From there, we scale up using this formula:

• Power → ST: 10 + (Power - 1) × 2
• Toughness → HT: 10 + (Toughness - 1) × 2

DX and IQ are adjusted based on the creature's apparent agility and intelligence from card art and flavor text.

Converting Evergreen Abilities

MTG's keyword abilities translate wonderfully to GURPS advantages and disadvantages. Here are some of my favorites:

Flying

• GURPS: Flight advantage (40 points)
• Perfect for those aerial creatures that soar over ground blockers

Regeneration

• GURPS: Regeneration + Recovery advantages (20 points)
• Represents a creature's ability to come back from destruction
• Modified by "Requires Energy" to represent the mana cost

Deathtouch

• GURPS: Toxic Attack or a custom "Deathly Touch" advantage (25 points)
• One hit and you're out!

Indestructible

• GURPS: Injury Tolerance + Unkillable 1 (50-100 points)
• For those pesky creatures that just won't die

First Strike

• GURPS: Combat Reflexes + Enhanced Parry/Block(15-20 points)
• Strike First, Strike Hard, No Mercy

Haste

• GURPS: Combat Reflexes + Extra Attack(30 points)
• Come out swinging

Vigilance

• GURPS: Reduced Sleep + Extra Energy/Fit advantage(10-15 points)
• Always on guard

Example Conversions

Let me show you how this works with a few classic cards:

Sengir Vampire (3BB, 4/4 Flying)

• ST 16, DX 12, IQ 12, HT 16
• Flight, Vampiric Bite, Leech 2
• Special: Gains strength when creatures it damages die
• Total points: ~180

Hypnotic Specter (1BB, 2/2 Flying)

• ST 12, DX 12, IQ 13, HT 12
• Flight, Mind Control (limited to discard)
• Special: Mental attacks that force opponents to lose knowledge
• Total points: ~190

Drudge Skeletons (1B, 1/1 Regenerate)

• ST 10, DX 9, IQ 8, HT 12
• Regeneration (Slow), Recovery, Doesn't Breathe
• Special: Can recover from seemingly fatal damage
• Total points: ~45

Serra Angel (3WW, 4/4 Flying, Vigilance)

• ST 16, DX 12, IQ 11, HT 16
• Flight, Fit, Reduced Sleep, Blessed
• Special: Doesn't need to rest after attacking (Vigilance)
• Total points: ~120

Mana Colors and Character Traits

The five colors of Magic translate beautifully to personality traits and abilities in GURPS:

White: Order, protection, community → Code of Honor, Sense of Duty, Blessed 

Blue: Knowledge, control, perfection → High IQ, Magery (Illusion), Research skills 

Black: Ambition, power, amorality → Dark Gift, Unfazeable, Necromancy skills 

Red: Freedom, emotion, chaos → Berserk, Bad Temper, Pyrotechnics skills 

Green: Growth, instinct, interdependence → Animal Empathy, Plant Empathy, Survival skills

Questions For You!

I'd love to hear your thoughts and expand this system together:

1. What's your favorite MTG creature you'd like to see converted to GURPS stats?
2. Are there MTG mechanics that would be particularly challenging to represent in GURPS?
3. Would you use this system to bring individual creatures into an existing campaign, or to create an entire MTG-themed campaign world?
4. How would you handle planeswalker abilities in GURPS?

Drop your thoughts in the comments! I'm planning to expand this system to cover more abilities and card types, so your input would be incredibly valuable.

Until next time, may you never have to mulligan your character sheet!