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Old 04-02-2010, 06:15 AM   #10
Landwalker
 
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Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Cumberland, ME
Default Re: GURPS Dragon Age

Zathrian is certainly an exceptional case, but he's been alive for something like five centuries—he seems to have Unaging, tied to his use of what more or less amounts to Blood Magic to curse the werewolves. I believe it is mentioned, or at least implied, that the Dalish have slightly longer lifespans than City Elves, although their longevity pales in comparison to the agelessness of their ancestors. Whether or not you feel it's noteworthy enough to warrant a subracial attribute is largely a matter of taste, as all of the age-related flavor-traits have a pretty minimal impact on most games.

"Longest Dimension" on B.19 doesn't mean "the upper limit of the size modifier," but rather "The greatest length of a creature, whatever its anatomical structure." For me, the "Longest Dimension" would be about 6'4", because that is how much distance I cover vertically when standing up. Sten's longest dimension is probably no more than 6'10" (which would make him pretty comparable to a run-of-the-mill professional basketball forward). Now, you certainly can say that Qunari are SM+1—First, because you're the GM, second, because being seven feet tall is something of a gray area in terms of SM, and third, because Reptilemen in Banestorm are considered SM+1 even though they aren't much taller than humans (I believe it's justified by they're being very heavily-build, broad and thick as well as slightly tall). Ultimately, just go with what feels right on this. Remember that a Qunari's increased racial strength will mean that he is going to be taller anyway (as per the table on B.18), and you can always say that they're even taller than their ST would otherwise indicate.

As far as the elven attributes, I would go so far as to say that the game's racial templates aren't that useful at all, given that one point of Strength (or whatever) in Dragon Age is far more insignificant than one point of ST in GURPS. The one-point Strength difference between elves and their fellow races is pretty insignificant in the long run. You're welcome to give them a ST penalty in GURPS (it would also fit with their shorter stature), and write it off as "well they're slightly weaker and this is the smallest increment difference I can have."

I still would be care with the DX bonus, though, mostly because it's an even more extreme (to the extent that such things can be extreme) case: The game actually supporting the opposite. Now, you can obviously say "The game doesn't know what it's talking about," but that isn't really the point. Like you said, elves are generally portrayed as a weaker race, and I think that, rather than any inherent dexterity, would explain why they tend to favor ranged and light-melee weapons. If you want to reflect their equipment preferences, just give them a small racial bonus to Bow.

I think a point of Will, and maybe a point of Per, if you weren't willing to go all the way with a full +1 IQ, would be perfectly fine, although neither of those attributes impact the use of magic (UNLESS you decide to key spellcasting to Will instead of IQ, eh?). I wouldn't go with the +FP, though, because FP is keyed to HT in GURPS (whereas it is basically keyed to Willpower in Dragon Age, with the HT analog of Constitution keying to HP), and HT is really the province of dwarves. Elves get a +2 Willpower bonus in Dragon Age because it's trying to push you towards a mage, and that's what Willpower is really for—it never suggests that non-spellcasting elves are really capable of impressive endurance or exertions of great effort. Ultimately, that's a judgment/flavor call, though, and +1 FP probably wouldn't break anything.

Last thing: The tranquil are not resistant to Lyrium. However, their... condition... means that they are practically immune to distraction, thus enabling them to work with processed Lyrium with much less vulnerability to accidents than a normal person. Exposure to raw lyrium affects them the same way as it does other humans and elves—resistance to that substance is a uniquely dwarven characteristic. I'd say that Tranquil have Single-Minded and other concentration/crafting enhancing characteristics.


Edit: Now that I've thought about it in the shower, I have some ideas about how to handle the races uses base templates and situational lenses, but I don't have time to write it all up since I'm heading out the door to work. I'll think about it some more and see what I can come up this evening, maybe.

Last edited by Landwalker; 04-02-2010 at 06:30 AM.
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