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Old 05-30-2006, 12:28 PM   #2
Kromm
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Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Montréal, Québec
Default Re: What is a good challenge?

There's no way to gauge it. D20 levels ultimately measure combat capability. I'm not ragging on that game for being "less of a RPG" than GURPS, but it's pretty hard to refute the claim that a D20 level measures little beyond pre-combat buffing, combat, and post-combat healing. GURPS points rate academic knowledge, artistic skill, long-term strategic thinking, social capability, social rank, technical expertise, etc. If your four 150-point PCs are The World's Best Accountant, The World's Best Philosopher, The World's Best Sculptor, and The World's Best Wagon Repairman, with maybe 10 points of combat skills between them, then a single, rabid skunk is going to be a threat.

The best thing to do is to make sure that damage, combat skills, modified active defenses, and DR are roughly comparable. If not, then the side with higher ratings in an area should either have lower numbers or lower ratings in another area if the encounter is meant to be fair. Don't overlook specialization, either. If your four 150-point PCs are all battle mages, then a single tough warrior with Magic Resistance 20 might be able to defeat the lot of them. If they're four 150-point karate masters, then an intangible, life-draining spirit they can't hit will kill them all. Points don't mean much; you have to check every single special ability against every single other one.
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