I use GURPS almost exclusively. I own several books and I'm not that kind of guy who wants to just buy a ton of books to have some fun. If I don't know of a rule I make one up, the group votes on it's fairness and the dice fly.

My first introduction to RPGs was (let's get in the wayback machine) in the 70's when DnD showed up around my Junior High School. The whole concept just hijacked my imagination and consumed so many hours I can't bear to think about it. We eventually got into other games like Gamma World, Boot Hill, Top Secret, just to name a few before I discovered GURPS. We used to take turns being the DM back in the day but being kids it was pretty much player against the dungeon with the GM trying to kill you off. It sure taught you to think outside the box because if you just went along blithely you were sure to get crunched. Over the years I was the one who became the GM almost exclusively. We had a guy who used to run Star Wars for a couple years but he moved away. Now, it's just me and we only get to play about once a year which sucks. It could be more but I'm usually just too busy with life to get it all together.

There have been a lot of great times with our group and they still talk about them today, which goes to show the enjoyment that folks get out of being a part of a good story. Our core group consists of myself as GM, my wife, two of my oldest friends, one of their sons, and my sister. My world is basically a collapsed future mankind where technology sort of destroyed the world. Now basically a mid evil society with various groups and secret societies complete with castles and all. Technology takes place of magic and mutations can be found almost anywhere. (Some from fallout and others from mankind's genetic experiments.) There is a lot of other stuff but that would take a story in itself. The caveat with technology is that it has been blamed for the loss of a Utopia so anyone using it has to keep it on the down low or risk possible mob action depending on where they are. So, the technologist has his normal looking staff which isn't normal and/or gadgets that look like ordinary everyday things.

Some of the best times from my perspective as the GM:

1) The adventurers got into a pile of unguarded treasure including a fancy looking staff. The noob technologist recognized it as a Tech Staff and quickly grabbed hold of it. This created a connection that overloaded her system and she fell unconscious on the ground. Well, everyone just made sure she was breathing and then went back to loading up their bags of loot. Until the guardian showed up that is. Well, facing an irked Dragon and being trapped in the trove of goodies, the Dwarf says, "Let's toss the unconscious player to the beast and skedaddle while he's busy". You should have heard my sister start yelling about how much they all sucked!

2) Same adventure they were split up trying to get off the spire while that Dragon hunted them - one of the players found a relic from one of the races who used to fly using a sort of hang glider and they decide to try it. They assemble this thing as best they can while an angry Dragon is tearing down the walls trying to get to them and finally they leap out into space to begin flying. Well, it went pretty good for a couple of seconds, LOL.

3) Locked in a life and death battle the fighters hold off a force while the brains of the team are trying to figure out the runes and get this transportation portal activated. Eventually they get it more or less figured out and placing their hand on the device the players begin to *Poof* wink out off the room. Meanwhile one of the archers is hit and falls to the ground. The Dwarf, one of the main combatants in any fight grabs his unmoving comrade and drags him to the portal. He then holds the archers hand against it. The other two players fighting in the room yell, "Noooo!!" as I say, *POOF*, and both the archer and dwarf touching him are transported far away. The dwarf just looks at the two left behind and says, "Opps, sorry."

One more thing - It always seems our Dwarf player tries to climb a wall or cliff and he almost always falls. He's broken both his legs before and it's to the point now if he falls he has to make a phobia check. For some reason, even though he has climbing as a skill, he flubs the roll and everyone including him starts grinning the moment he starts to climb.

Right now I have to create a map of a lost civilization underneath a mountain before we can play again but that's been on hold while I do commissions. (which reminds me, I need to get back to them).