Explorer!

[Gef]

Got a player who wants to make an Indiana Jones type. The game is cinematic, and the character is so skill-heavy that this seems like a perfect application for a bang skill. What would you say Explorer! covers, and what would it not? I'm asking the list because my first blush seems to cover a lot more than any of the example bang skills, specifically:

Scientific skills like Archaeology, Geography, Cartography, Naturalist, Research, and maybe Architecture and Mining Engineer

Skills for getting around like Hiking, Climbing, Swimming, and Boating
Animal skills for Beasts of Burden

Search, Forced Entry, and maybe Traps and Demolition

Have I gone overboard?

PS: Kromm, thanks for all the great answers to my recent questions. You, personally, help set GURPS apart from other games and their closest approximations of system support.

[Kromm]

I might split it into two wildcard skills that could float to several attributes:

Explorer! would cover Boating, Cartography, Hiking, Geography, Navigation, Packing, Riding, Seamanship, Survival, and Swimming. It's about getting there, and would suit would-be Magellans as much as would-be Indies.

Tomb Raider! would cover Archaeology, Architecture, Climbing, Connoisseur (Ancient Artifacts), Expert Skill (Egyptology), Filch, Forced Entry, Prospecting, Search, and Traps. It's about knowing enough about ancient cultures to find and steal their buried cultural treasures.

[Adina]

Originally Posted by Kromm

Explorer! would cover Boating, Cartography, Hiking, Geography, Navigation, Packing, Riding, Seamanship, Survival, and Swimming. It's about getting there, and would suit would-be Magellans as much as would-be Indies.

Tomb Raider! would cover Archaeology, Architecture, Climbing, Connoisseur (Ancient Artifacts), Expert Skill (Egyptology), Filch, Forced Entry, Prospecting, Search, and Traps. It's about knowing enough about ancient cultures to find and steal their buried cultural treasures.

Could these used as Talents instead of wildcard skills?

Explorer! in particular looks like a reasonable talent. It does overlap outdoorsman somewhat.[Not as much as I thought - just 2 skills; Navigation and Survival.] The distinction to me is that Explorer is about getting from point A to point B while Outdoorsman is about living in 'the wild'.

JeffM

[Gef]

Thanks, Kromm.

Jeff, I like wildcard skills better than talents. These are things you learn, and having the talent doesn't mean you necessarily learn any of them. At starting level, my proto-Indie couldn't afford both the talents and the necessary skills.

GEF

[Kromm]

Anything that can be a Talent could be a wildcard skill, and vice versa -- but as a rule, you don't have to be as balance-cautious with wildcard skills because they aren't intended for believable characters to begin with. Which way you choose to go is mostly up to the GM.

[Adina]

Originally Posted by Gef

Jeff, I like wildcard skills better than talents. These are things you learn, and having the talent doesn't mean you necessarily learn any of them. At starting level, my proto-Indie couldn't afford both the talents and the necessary skills.

GEF

And I prefer Talents to Wildcard skills for just that reason. My campaigns in the past have started at higher point totals (150 - 200 points in 3E) with larger-than-life but not fullblown cinematic characters. Personal preference, as Kromm says.

JeffM