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Old 06-30-2007, 11:10 AM   #5
vicky_molokh
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Default (u)FAQ: Chargen, part 1

***CHARGEN***

My archer is too slow! How do I make him as effective as mêlée fighters?
Historically, archers never engaged enemies the same way swordfighters did. This was exactly because, realistically, archers can't shoot as frequently as one can swing a sword. GURPS tries to handle things realistically, most of the time. If you want a Legolas-style archer, build it the way you build other non-realistic characters: take either Innate Attack with modifiers, or the Heroic Archer advantage from the upcoming MA. As a last resort, load up on Fast-Draw (Arrow) and don't aim in combat (which doesn't net good results unless you have very high skill though).

Also, check this too.

GURPS offers so many possibilities! How do I choose what skills are essential for my character?
Aside from the skills descibed for your Character Type (B12-13), here is a list of skills that come in handy for a mixed campaign. For more specialized campaigns, it is recommended that the GM modifies the list as appropriate.

How do I measure the difficulty of enemies/bosses/monsters by point totals (compared to PCs' totals)?
You don't. Balance and combat difficulty depend on combat skills, damage output, defenses etc. Point totals have little to do with that, unless you compare two 'pure' warriors (all points go to attributes and combat skills/advantages). For instance, you can have a 300-point king (Wealth, Rank etc.) and a 75-point assassin. Naturally, face-to-face, the assassin has a pretty good shot at taking the king down.
See also:
What does ST 0, exactly, mean in game terms?
ST 0 means you have Basic Lift 0 and can pick up nothing. If you have any encumbrance at all, even a gum wrapper, you collapse under its weight. You also have 0 damage, and can't even shove a door open or push aside a cobweb. However, you can walk and act, as long as your walking and acting doesn't involve doing anything other than moving your own body weight from A to B. Thus, air and fire elementals (p. B262) can have ST 0 without being immobilized, but can also be kept out by any barrier they can't penetrate by seeping around or burning. Note that overcoming air resistance, under normal circumstances, is considered negligible for game balance purposes.

What does DX 0, exactly, mean in game terms?
DX 0 mostly means that you have no useful ability to do anything DX-based at which you're not a dyed-in-the-wool, committed-to-muscle-memory master. At DX 0, even the most routine tasks that require DX rolls at +10 are a coin toss -- 10 or less -- so things that the GM normally waives rolls for now require rolls and fail half the time. Thus, the implied shove attack vs. a door or grapple attack vs. a doorknob, at +10 for utter simplicity and normally ignored, is now a 10 or less roll. You have a 50/50 chance of missing the door and fumbling around for a turn! Hurling yourself at the broad side of a barn has a 50% chance of failure, too, with a miss meaning you probably fell down trying to do it.
Default skill use is doomed. Your default level -- not penalty, but level! -- is -4 (E), -5 (A), or -6 (H) with DX-based skills. Under stress, you fail. Even in perfect circumstances with a +10, you have 6, 5, or 4, fail most of the time, and critically fail on 16+, 15+, or 14+. (Remember, you only get to try to roll a 3 or 4 on a defense!) This has important implications for people using, say, Driving by default, or recreationally shooting at their Guns default.

What does IQ 0, exactly, mean in game terms?
IQ 0 means you're a rutabaga. Per p. B15, at IQ 0, you're mindless and unable to act without somebody possessing you and operating you via remote control. You need at least IQ 1 to have a self and be able to perceive and act at all, which includes grunting and making gestures. You need at least IQ 6 to use tools and language -- that is, to talk, wield weapons, etc. A human afflicted with -5 to IQ (making him IQ 5) is essentially a gorilla. A human hit with -10 to IQ (making him IQ 0) is essentially a mindless clone body waiting to be possessed.

What does HT 0, exactly, mean in game terms?
What HT 0 means is that your HT roll is against 0. Almost all crippling injuries will be "lasting," and about half will be "permanent"; any major wound in combat is likely to knock you out (failing "0 or less" by five or more is about 98% likely); almost any lethal wound in combat will kill you (unless you roll 3-6, see the (o)FAQ); and afflictions, diseases, poisons, etc., will have their way with you. If you're at HT 0 for a long time, failed HT rolls to recover HP and resist the ravages of aging will kill you eventually. However, HT 0 doesn't mean instant death or even an instant coma . . . it just means inevitable infirmity, illness, decrepitude, and death unless you live in a bubble.
Also, mostly on machines: Numerous rules say, "Roll vs. HT or bust!" If a machine suffers enough damage to break down (p. B483) or fall apart (p. B484), is exposed to harsh conditions that could foul it (p. B485), is cinematically redlined (the "extra effort" option on p. 160 of Powers), is Fragile (esp. combustible, explosive, or flammable, p. B136) and exposed to damage that can trigger special injury effects, is Electrical and receives a dose of radiation (p. B436) or an electrical surge (p. 102 of Powers), is a vehicle that suffers a severe body hit that can cause power failure (p. B554), or needs to make a "structural integrity check" for any reason (to see if a rope snaps, a seal holds, etc.), then HT 0 means that, except by blind luck (a roll of 3-4), it is doomed to fail and come apart like a cheap toy.

What should I do if I want an Ally who can conjure/summon/create minions of some sort? NPCs don't pay points for Allies...
At this point, it becomes an important supernatural ability (esp. due to being summonable). So yeah, this is the exception when NPCs pay for their Allies.
(Duplicated in Powers and Advantages.)

When I want realistic, non-heroic characters, how do I benchmark their stats/traits/skills/etc.?
Link to a long post.

I want an ability that costs FP or HP to use, but the ability consists of several Advantages; how do I allocate the FP/HP cost limitation?
For those familiar with the problem, here's a solution from Kromm:
First, do not buy a Link unless the ability really needs it (see below).
Second, chose an Advantage that gets the best discount for FP/HP Cost Limitation. Now, add Accessibility (Only while that main Advantage is active) -10% to all other Advantages in the ability. Unlike switchability (of any sort), Accessibility doesn't require separate Ready manoeuvres to turn on the Advantage, so it just flips on once it is accessible.

Exceptions (Switchable): Static, Mana Damper, and other Advantages with a non-10% Switchable price still need to take the Switchable enhancement to benefit from this build; this makes them have a net cost of 190%. Otherwise, either the Accessibility or the FP/HP/ER cost have a free Switchability included.

Exceptions (Link): links are needed for transient abilities, like Shapeshifting, Attacks (incl. Binding and Afflictions) or other 'special' cases. In fact, Linking them at +10% level actually prevents you from using them unlinked (and thus negates the right to buy the -10% Accessibility).

Limbs with the Long enhancement vs. Stretching:
Why are long limbs, at some point, more expensive than Stretching?
What's the point of buying many long limbs instead of a single instance of Stretching and some Swing-only Striking ST?

For one, Stretching requires a turn of Ready per SM change per limb to activate. And no, you can't circumvent that by taking Always On: that makes as much sense as Always On Shrinking or Growth.
Second, Stretching doesn't provide one benefit of Long limbs:
Long limbs get their HP multiplied by their linear size, as appropriate for their relative SM. E.g. a SM+1 limb gets ×1.5, an SM+2 one gets HP×2, an SM+6 gets ×10. Do not forget that limbs have a ×½ multiplier relative to body HP by default (e.g. 5 HP for a 10-HP character).

I can't find the Reduced Duration limitation! What gives?
By RAP it doesn't exist. But!..
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kromm
Maybe -10% for 1/3 duration, -15% for 1/6 duration, -20% for 1/10 duration, -25% for 1/20 duration, -30% for 1/30 duration, -35% for 1/60 duration, -40% for 1/100 duration, etc. About 1/3 off for going from minutes to seconds seems quite fair.
Should animals (IQ<6) receive points for Dead Broke? After all, they don't for Low TL/Dyslexia . . .
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kromm
Animals being designed as characters do, for the purpose of point value, receive Wealth (Dead Broke) [-25].
Gunslinger is overpriced! I'm better off dumping points into skills! But why?
Gunslinger is worth the price, most of the time:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kromm
Being able to overlook up to -8 in Bulk when running about with sniper rifles and machine guns is also handy, and supports the "32 points of skills" interpretation; this is added functionality, to appear in High-Tech. As well, [...] Gunslinger reduces penalties with some techniques [...] reduces penalties to Fast-Draw. Finally, Gunslinger gives access to cinematic skills, including the new Zen Marksmanship.
Also, oFAQ variant.
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Last edited by vicky_molokh; 01-24-2015 at 01:35 PM.
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