Disclaimer:
The following material consists of rulings
on GURPS originally posted to electronic discussion forums, newsgroups,
and
mailing lists by Sean "Dr. Kromm" Punch.
Some
of these statements have been taken out of context, or have been
altered for
clarity or brevity; therefore, these are not "official" rulings, and
neither Sean Punch nor Steve Jackson Games is responsible for the
accuracy of
the modified content.
Comments: If you have comments or suggestions about this file, please
contact Travis
Foster.
Advantages
Advantages and
Disadvantages Combined
08-31-2004,
11:44 PM
<forums.sjgames.com>
Re: Can Advantages come with mandatory Disadvanatges?
A package
of
advantage(s) and disadvantage(s) is called a character template or a
meta-trait. Use those rules.
Afflictions and
Extended
Duration
09-02-2004,
12:50 PM
<forums.sjgames.com>
Re: Post your Afflictions here!
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Rev_Pee_Kitty
But Extended Duration specifically
mentions how it interacts with Affliction, in the note on "Permanent"
below the table.
|
Yes. Affliction is one of the specific exceptions.
Afflictions and
Inanimate
Objects
09-04-2004,
03:54 PM
<forums.sjgames.com>
Re: Making Affliction Work on Inanimate
Objects
Nothing
in
Affliction says "This only affects living things." Affliction affects
any target that's subject to its effects. Now since rocks and such will
have
Injury Tolerance, Immunity to Metabolic Hazards, etc., most Afflictions
will do
bugger-all to them. But they probably don't have "Immunity to
Invisibility,"
etc.
Yesterday, 12:14 AM
<forums.sjgames.com>
Re: Making Affliction Work on Inanimate
Objects
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by sir_pudding
This is something that I was wondering
about too.
If I have Affliction x (Advantage:Invisibility) is there someplace in the
rules where it prevents me from easily disappearing planets?
|
Not really. OTOH, the GM would be within his
rights to
demand you had a huge Area Effect for that.
Allies
09-04-2004,
03:42 PM
<forums.sjgames.com>
Re: Disadvantage limit for Allies.
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by hcobb
Does your ally have the same disadvantage
limit as your PC or do they have something completely different from
the "campaign disadvantage limit" referenced at B452 and B11?
|
They have whatever disads
the GM thinks suits them. They're NPCs,
and the GM's
to design and control.
Animal Empathy
and animal friend
sjgames.gurps.4e
On Thu, 15 Jul 2004
19:57:10 -0700, Xplo Eristotle
wrote:
> These skills are clearly
intended, if not restricted, to be used on sentient beings with some
sort of recognizably human-like psychology. By > making them affect animals, we
can create absurd results, like the ambassador who has Diplomacy-18 and
Animal Empathy, knows no more about >
animals than the next guy, but can
handle them (or at least back away from them) like a pro.
If he has Animal Empathy, he's an animal expert -- he has a
more-or-less supernatural rapport with beasts. That's sort of the
point. If he's just good at animal skills,
take Animal Friend.
And Influence
Skills
sjgames.gurps.4e
On Fri, 16 Jul 2004
00:06:36 +0000 (UTC), Cole
Jenkins wrote:
> I'm making characters with Lite and I've noticed something: > Animal Empathy lets you use
influence skills with animals. How does >
this work exactly?
>
> Diplomacy
Lets you get out of a dangerous situation without getting hurt; e.g.,
you back away from the vicious guard dog by using Diplomacy to get a
Good reaction.
> Fast-Talk
Lets you trick the animal into doing something stupid; e.g., you fool
the guard dog into thinking there's some food over there in the corner.
> Intimidation
Lets you scare the animal off; e.g., you snarl at the guard dog and he
cringes away with his tail between his legs.
> Savoir-Faire
Lets you fit into the animal's natural social structure; e.g., you make
a pack of dogs think you're an alpha male, or that guard dog think you rank equal to its owner.
> Sex Appeal
Best left vague on PG-rated boards, but let's just say most PCs won't
want to do it.
> Streetwise
Let's you deal with rogue animals that fall outside their species'
natural social structure.
***
Just as with humans, not all skills will apply in all situations!
Charisma
09-06-2004,
Today, 12:42
AM
<forums.sjgames.com>
Re: Is there alot
of
errata needed or is it just me?
Because
Charisma
helps Influence rolls, not Influence skills. You'll
sometimes
need to roll against Influence skills for things other than Influence
rolls,
and Charisma is of no use then. It specifically modifies the Quick
Contest to
influence someone.
If that's what you'd call errata, then I'm not too worried. ;)
ESP and detailed
information
sjgames.gurps.4e
> Not even relatively trivial
secrets like birthdays, when magical divination is cheap and moderately
reliable? That's a bit harsh.
A birthday is no more/less trivial a secret than the guy's bank codes,
or the winning lottery number next week, or the secret password for the
nuclear missiles in the Bad Guy's base. It's
a string o' numbers, really -- so many bits,
nothing more. For game balance, it's best
that finding out precise dates, numbers,
and codes is hard, whether they represent a joke or the fate of the
world. Vague things, like "He's a Leo," should be
easier.
Extra Attack
09-06-2004,
02:37 AM
<forums.sjgames.com>
Re: Multiple Attacks in 4/e [clarification]
Feel free
to let
normal people have one Extra Attack with their primary weapon
arm. That
lets Weapon Master types make three attacks
(two as a
Rapid Strike, plus a third at full skill). Powers has a
few
thoughts on allowing even more attacks with the same limb. :)
Gizmos
09-06-2004,
01:23 PM
<forums.sjgames.com>
Re: Three Gizmos Maximum
This is
just
game-design and GMing experience coming
together.
I've run lots of games with Gizmos, and I'm not a "pushover"
GM. Even so, I found one Gizmo made the game cinematic for sure, two
made it
into a 1950s comic book, and three just made it silly. I limit my
players to
two, usually. I think "any number" would ruin most games.
Healing
09-06-2004, 12:58
AM
<forums.sjgames.com>
Re: Healing?
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Lancewholelot
Wow. I'm surprised they allow healing
spells to do more for high HPs without
more cost but that is the way it reads.
|
It's all about scalability. It's pretty crap if a
race with
20 HP has to pay twice as much as a human with 10 HP to heal a Major
Wound. It
sort of makes high HP a disadvantage . . .
09-06-2004,
02:34 AM
<forums.sjgames.com>
Re: Healing?
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Ndreare
The way I read magic was that to affect a
creature of a larger SM than you you have
to pay a multiplier of 1+SM. So to heal a SM4 creature (or cast any
spell) is at 5 times the cost.
Do I have this rite Kromm?
|
Yes, you have to multiply the cost for Regular
spells.
Manual Dexterity
09-04-2004,
05:10 PM
<forums.sjgames.com>
Re: Possible Talent
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by the Devourer
of Worlds
And as long as we have High Manual
Dexterity on the chopping block, why was it put in advantages and not
in with the Attributes?
|
Because it really isn't very attribute-like. It
affects a
sight fewer things than Will or Per, and
while every
other character I've seen as a GM has had Alertness and Strong/Weak
Will, I've
seen one -- ever -- with the old Manual Dexterity trait. It just didn't
scream
out for special treatment.
Modular
Abilities and Wild
Talent
09-05-2004,
12:10 AM
<forums.sjgames.com>
Re: Modular or Wild?
For 20
points in
Cosmic Power, you could use 2 points of skills,
switch
them around, etc. indefinitely. This takes 1 second to prepare.
For 20 points in Wild Talent, you could use one skill at attribute
level, which
might be worth up to 8 points. This takes no time to prepare.
I'm not sure that Karate at DX-1 after 1 second, then Judo at DX-1
after 1
second, then Acrobatics at DX-1 after 1 second is better or worse
than
any of those at DX instantly, but only once. I'd suggest getting Wild
Talent if
you get into emergencies a lot, Modular Abilities if you always have
time to
prepare.
Precognition
08-31-2004,
11:40 AM
<forums.sjgames.com>
Re: Precognition penalty
Predicting
lottery
numbers is critical success territory. I'd go so far as to require a
natural
"3." As the advantage clearly and unambiguously
states: (1) you get brief flashes and visions that are open to
interpretation,
and (2) nothing about the future is certain.
09-01-2004,
10:53 AM
<forums.sjgames.com>
Re: Precognition penalty
Go ahead
and add a
variable penalty for time or whatever if you wish. But it's still at a
basic -8
for active use, because that balances the game . . . just as Rapid
Strike is at
-6, or working without tools gives -10 for a technological skill. A
variable
penalty would add on top.
Strikers, Cost of
09-03-2004,
12:44 PM
<forums.sjgames.com>
Re: Innate Attack (and general Ads)
questions
Strikers
are
supposed to be cheap, because for 0 points, every PC starts out
with Wealth
(Average), which is enough to buy weapons that are better than the best
Strikers in virtually any setting. And putting your head in harm's way
(in the
case of horns) is, um, not optimal, even if you somehow do manage to
crock Strikers
to be better than spears and axes.
The main benefit of Strikers -- and I agree that this is a Big Deal in
some
games -- is that they're always ready, undroppable,
and don't take up a hand. Horns, for instance, let you have a scary
weapon that
no one can knock aside, grab with TK, or steal, and let you carry
another kind
of weapon and a shield in your hands. That's why there is a point cost
at all.
Striking ST
09-04-2004, 04:15 PM <forums.sjgames.com>
Re: Strength Advantages and Readying
Weapons
Striking
ST lets
you hit hard. It's for things that can deliver momentary impulses far
in excess
of their sustained strength, like a cobra's strike or a
martial-artist's power
blow. Lifting ST lets you grab and pull in a sustained way using your
whole
body. Neither would help with reading weapons with the arms. For that,
try Arm ST.
Talents
08-25-2004,
09:13 PM
<forums.sjgames.com>
Re: The Whole Story on Talents?
I
wouldn't write
off the reaction bonus so quickly; the group affected should be a
fairly large
group for a PC who plans to focus on the affected skills and use them
on a
regular basis. And 20-30 game sessions down the road, the "free"
points from study will really rack up at 10-40% off the hours required
. . . if
you apply yourself to learning. In short, Talents are fairly priced for
highly
focused PCs. Generalists are indeed better off with IQ or DX.
08-25-2004,
09:22 PM
<forums.sjgames.com>
Re: Time Use Sheets and Talents
If people
aren't
using Time Use Sheets, then Talents will be a whole lot less cool
and
useful. :(
08-26-2004,
12:21 PM
<forums.sjgames.com>
Re: Time Use Sheets and Talents
Instead
of reducing
costs, I'd do something else, like let PCs with Talent shave 10% off
the time
needed for a task per level of Talent. That's far more potent than fast
learning, but in games where ACTION! is everything, it might be balanced.
08-26-2004,
12:08 PM
<forums.sjgames.com>
Re: The Whole Story on Talents?
Writers
are
encouraged to invent new racial Talents, for sure. However, I want to
point out
that Dwarves need not be low-tech fantasy beings, and GURPS
is
trying to be generic by not assuming that they are.
09-03-2004,
01:18 PM
<forums.sjgames.com>
Re: Possible Talent
My acid
test for
Talents isn't "Is this or is this not abusive?" but "Is this or is
this not something that a real-life human could be born with an
aptitude
for?" Plenty of people seem to have a knack for art, business,
leadership,
mathematics, music, sports, the written word, etc. The only thing these
categories have in common is that they're relatively narrow fields.
As to the question of professions, note that any natural knack will
lead those
who have it to pursue certain careers, so some Talents will correspond
to some
professions. I would only question a Talent when it benefits a
profession that
involves a group of diverse, unrelated skills. Many
"adventuring" professions -- assassin, commando, explorer, ninja,
spy, etc. -- are defined by their diversity and need to prepare
for a
huge variety of situations. What makes them risky and adventurous
professions
is the very fact that you must train extensively in many
unrelated areas
to be any good. Since the areas are unrelated, Talent in these
professions is
unjustifiable. Or more precisely, it's called "high DX and IQ."
09-03-2004,
04:58 PM
<forums.sjgames.com>
Re: Possible Talent
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by nanoboy
I'm curious. In the main book, there are
only a few talents listed. In the possible future book 4e revised,
would there be a longer list? Given that this is a somewhat new idea
for GURPS, it would stand to reason that it has not yet been explored
to find all of the commonly used and reasonable talents.
|
The Talents in the Basic Set are
just
examples. We expect future writers to invent dozens and dozens, and GMs
and
players to cook up dozens more. I'm not sure anyone will ever compile
them all,
but we could always start a thread here for them. ;)
09-04-2004,
02:36 AM
<forums.sjgames.com>
Re:
Possible Talent
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by RGTraynor
I don't know
... in saying that Talents like Business Acumen are alright and a
"Sticky Fingers" Talent isn't, it sounds like what you're basing your
decision on isn't anything conceptual at all as much as reflecting
traditional RPG character class roles. The notion that "businessman"
isn't a profession while "thief" is would be laughed at hard in the
real world, if quite the reverse around a D&D gaming table.
|
I don't think "profession vs. not a profession" is
all that relevant to Talents. It's a bit of a red herring. What's
really
relevant to Talents is "skills related by brain function vs. skills
related only by use in practice."
If someone convinced me -- in my role as GM -- that FRPG-style thievery
originated from a basic human capability, focused in one part of the
brain, and
that some people have that gift in greater degree than others, I would
allow a
Talent in that area. But my current thinking is that FRPG thievery is a
broad
set of rather unrelated skills. Slipping ropes and opening complex
mechanisms,
filching and picking pockets, and sneaking around seem like three
different
things. I could see being gifted at any of these, but I see no link
between the
three.
To me, "getting into and out of things that are off limits" Talent
(Climbing, Escape, Forced Entry, Lockpicking,
Traps,
etc.), "snatching and grabbing goodies" Talent (Filch, Holdout,
Pickpocket, Sleight of Hand, Smuggling, etc.), and "sneaking around"
Talent (Camouflage, Shadowing, Stealth, etc.) should be separate
entities.
09-04-2004,
04:04 PM
<forums.sjgames.com>
Re: Possible Talent
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by the Devourer
of Worlds
Even these can seem a bit disparate. What
does climbing actually have to do with Forced Entry or Lockpicking for that matter?
|
I was thinking
specifically of
the talent that many clever wild animals have for climbing into and
onto
anything built by humans, lifting latches, and (for big things, like
bears)
smashing doors and windows. Porting that to a
tool-using
species, like humanity, gives you Lockpicking
and
Traps to go with Climbing and Forced Entry. I think a gift for
circumventing obstacles is fairly cohesive. YMMV.
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by the Devourer
of Worlds
Representing a general nimbleness with
your hands with a bonus to Sleight of Hand, Pickpocket, etc. seems a
more plausible type of genius.
|
I see that as more of a physical gift than a
mental one, and
would use High Manual Dexterity for it.
But I agree with your final sentiment. Barring one of us being God,
we're
probably both wrong. :D
Talents and Reaction rolls
sjgames.gurps.4e
/me shrugs. In my
limited experience . . .
. . . professors are impressed by the
student -- even the newbie,
two-months-into-his-degree student -- who picks up quickly, not by the
10-
years-into-a-PhD guy who knows what he knows
by dint of hours and days of reading.
. . . patients speak fondly of the doctor
who has a "sixth sense" for healing others, not the clinically precise
medical machine who can quote 25 years of research papers.
. . . jocks admire other jocks who are
"naturals," not the old warhorses who sweat and toil to pull their
weight on the team.
Others' experiences might differ, and I have no problem with that. But
GURPS being a RPG, and RPGs being about
what's dramatic, I think it best that
starting heroes with natural gifts get a special place in the sun so
that even if they aren't as skilled as their mentor, patron, sensei,
etc., they are the ones who shine. In game terms, a reaction bonus that
makes NPCs warm to the heroes and say
things like "Wow, you really *get* this
stuff!" is a good way to do this.
sjgames.gurps.4e
On 31 May 2004 18:37:37 -0400, Charlton Wilbur
wrote:
> But there are different sorts of positive reactions. Someone with IQ 12, 2 levels of Mathematical Aptitude, Mathematics at 14 might have a
> "this
is a promising student" reaction, or "someone who makes it look easy"
reaction -- both entirely plausible.
In some cases -- Business Acumen, Mathematical Ability, Outdoorsman,
and Smooth Operator -- this is indeed what the reaction bonus
represents. It only applies to those in a position to grasp what you're
doing, and it's meant to reflect the admiration that people in field X
tend to have for "naturals" in their field.
In other cases -- Artificer, Gifted Artist, and Musical Ability -- the
bonus is meant to represent the *qualitative* difference between a work
by someone who is technically competent
(high skill) and a work by one who is truly "inspired" (Talent). Plenty
of 8-year-old prodigies have nothing like
the technical aptitude of veterans, yet inspire admiration nonetheless.
It's certainly in keeping with fiction.
And in yet other cases -- Animal Friend, Green Thumb, and Healer -- the
reaction bonus is due to "empathy," which is about as hard to nail down
as "inspiration." Basically, you're just
good with animals/plants/sick people, and everyone around you can tell.
Cinematic? Perhaps.
Suitable for gaming? Definitely!
This explanation is way too long to occupy space in BASIC SET, but for
those who were wondering, that's the reasoning.
Toughness
08-25-2004,
11:58 AM
<forums.sjgames.com>
Re: No more Toughness? Or is there?
Toughness
in 4e is
some combination of a few more HP, High Pain Threshold, and possibly
Hard to
Kill and/or Hard to Subdue. That's how tough guys work in real life.
Having
skin equal to boiled leather armor is . . . um . . . unlikely.
Visualization
08-26-2004,
12:15 PM
<forums.sjgames.com>
Re: Visualization trait - rushing it
Visualization
is
dirt-cheap because you can only use it for one task at a time, verrrry slowwwwly.
If you could
use it whenever you wanted, it would cost a lot more. I'm not sure
Reduced Time
is dramatically suitable, although I would never tell a GM not to use
it.
Wild Talent and
Modular
Abilities
09-05-2004,
12:10 AM
<forums.sjgames.com>
Re: Modular or Wild?
For 20
points in
Cosmic Power, you could use 2 points of skills,
switch
them around, etc. indefinitely. This takes 1 second to prepare.
For 20 points in Wild Talent, you could use one skill at attribute
level, which
might be worth up to 8 points. This takes no time to prepare.
I'm not sure that Karate at DX-1 after 1 second, then Judo at DX-1
after 1
second, then Acrobatics at DX-1 after 1 second is better or worse
than
any of those at DX instantly, but only once. I'd suggest getting Wild
Talent if
you get into emergencies a lot, Modular Abilities if you always have
time to
prepare.
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