Question about contacts...

[Pagan]

I'd like opinions on what other players (and GMs) do about the cost of contacts with multiple skills. Say a merchant who is also a fence so he has skill in the merchant skill as well as streetwise.

Does the player buy the contact twice (once for each skill)?

That's the way I've been running it but the mechanic seems somehow inelegant.

Anyway, if anyone has any suggestions or comments I'd like to hear them.

Thanks in advance

[Kyoya]

Originally Posted by Pagan

I'd like opinions on what other players (and GMs) do about the cost of contacts with multiple skills. Say a merchant who is also a fence so he has skill in the merchant skill as well as streetwise.

Does the player buy the contact twice (once for each skill)?

That's the way I've been running it but the mechanic seems somehow inelegant.

Anyway, if anyone has any suggestions or comments I'd like to hear them.

Thanks in advance

My understanding was that you paid for his highest skill, or his most useful one.

[Pagan]

Originally Posted by Kyoya

My understanding was that you paid for his highest skill, or his most useful one.

If that is the case, does the player get the benefit of the other skills if he needs them. In my example say the merchant skill is 18 and the streetwise skill is 15. It states in the rulebook that you pay for the skill they use.

Now the pc goes to the contact and asks questions which lead to a streetwise roll instead of a merchant roll.

It's definately a less complicated mechanic but it doesn't feel quite right giving them access to the other skills for free.

[Brandy]

The text that describes the Contact's "effective skill" reads as follows:

Originally Posted by Characters, p.44

After that, select the contact's effective skill. This reflects the contact's connections, other skills, status, etc.

So a contact with multiple useful skills should probably be priced with an effective skill higher than his or her actual skill level with the primary skill.

[Ed the Coastie]

Originally Posted by Pagan

I'd like opinions on what other players (and GMs) do about the cost of contacts with multiple skills. Say a merchant who is also a fence so he has skill in the merchant skill as well as streetwise.

Does the player buy the contact twice (once for each skill)?

I would think that by their very nature, all fences are merchants (although not necessarily vice-versa). It's not as if you can look up "Fence" in the Yellow Pages and expect to find a listing for someone to take that stolen stereo off of your hands.

I would suggest that you purchase the Contact only once, based upon the level of his highest skill that you are likely to need...be it getting rid of the afore mentioned stereo (Merchant) or letting you know the word on the street (Streetwise). Of course, if you have a fence for a Contact, you probably already have Streetwise skill at a level equal to or greater than his...

[Kromm]

By definition, a Contact has one useful "effective skill" that covers all of her actual skills and connections. The skill in question might not even show up on her character sheet . . . it's just a way of approximating what she can do. A Contact who's wealthy, knows lots of merchants, and works for the local chamber of commerce might have an effective Merchant skill of 21 while having only default level herself. The scumbag brother of a Mafia don might be good for effective Streetwise at 15 without being the least bit streetwise -- just scummy. So it's not quite kosher to talk about Contacts having multiple skills this way. They already have multiple skills, but the cumulative effects of those skills are labeled with just one skill name.

Generally, if you want a Contact who actually knows several useful skills, buy him as an Ally instead. If the GM permits, perhaps he could pass as a Contact Group . . . not because he has a split personality, but because he knows a large number of people. The group he represents is "Everybody Bubba knows in Smallville" or whatever.

[Pagan]

Originally Posted by Bookman

The text that describes the Contact's "effective skill" reads as follows:



So a contact with multiple useful skills should probably be priced with an effective skill higher than his or her actual skill level with the primary skill.

This works if the skills are somehow related. But once again using my example, the merchant skill has nothing to do with the streetwise skill (assuming the business community he deals in is not ALL corrupt). He is just a decent merchant but from time to time deals with stolen merchandise. A pure merchant question shouldn't be affected by his streetwise knowledge.

That's the problem I'm having, pricing the cost of the multiple skills if they have unrelated use.

[Pagan]

Originally Posted by Kromm

By definition, a Contact has one useful "effective skill" that covers all of her actual skills and connections. The skill in question might not even show up on her character sheet . . . it's just a way of approximating what she can do. A Contact who's wealthy, knows lots of merchants, and works for the local chamber of commerce might have an effective Merchant skill of 21 while having only default level herself. The scumbag brother of a Mafia don might be good for effective Streetwise at 15 without being the least bit streetwise -- just scummy. So it's not quite kosher to talk about Contacts having multiple skills this way. They already have multiple skills, but the cumulative effects of those skills are labeled with just one skill name.

Generally, if you want a Contact who actually knows several useful skills, buy him as an Ally instead. If the GM permits, perhaps he could pass as a Contact Group . . . not because he has a split personality, but because he knows a large number of people. The group he represents is "Everybody Bubba knows in Smallville" or whatever.

Ahhh, so if I listed the effective skill as "criminal financial information" I could just use the effective skill as a range to cover that as opposed to finding a single specific skill in the character book list.

If I am understanding you correctly, that would solve my problem.

[Kromm]

Originally Posted by Pagan

Ahhh, so if I listed the effective skill as "criminal financial information" I could just use the effective skill as a range to cover that as opposed to finding a single specific skill in the character book list.

If I am understanding you correctly, that would solve my problem.

It passes muster in my campaign, anyhow. If it's one narrow area that overlaps several GURPS skills -- and might, in an alternate universe, get its own skill while Merchant and Streetwise are covered by multiple other skills -- then it's valid for a Contact. If it's a broad area that completely encompasses all aspects of several GURPS skills, then the player needs to pay for a Contact Group instead. And I'm not a stickler for Contact Groups truly being groups . . . they might just as easily be "all the friends and favors of one really connected person," as I implied earlier.

[Kyoya]

Originally Posted by Kromm

It passes muster in my campaign, anyhow. If it's one narrow area that overlaps several GURPS skills -- and might, in an alternate universe, get its own skill while Merchant and Streetwise are covered by multiple other skills -- then it's valid for a Contact. If it's a broad area that completely encompasses all aspects of several GURPS skills, then the player needs to pay for a Contact Group instead.

So basically Contacts get the equivelent of profession bang skills?

Ahhh, I thought I had read it was the highest of their skills. Time to go reread that section apparently.

I like the idea of letting a Contact Group basically being a friend of a friend network. I'll have to remember to suggest that to some of my players sometime.