Bang Skills vs raising IQ

dwightemarsh · 10-23-2017, 07:51 AM

Suppose you had a gadgeteer character in an IOU campaign, and you were going to advance him by 25 points. He has put 12 points into Science! and it will take him 12 more points to raise Science! by a level. It would take 20 points to raise IQ, but if you only raised IQ and not Will and Perception along with it, it would only be 10 points.

Now, it could be argued that by raising your IQ by 1 and not increasing your Perception and Will accordingly, that is not a 10 point advantage but a 20 point advantage and a -10 point disadvantage, and that disadvantage should count against your disadvantage limit. But a) I am not sure disadvantage limits apply after character creation, if you gain an enemy or secret or lose a limb after character creation, it just happens, it doesn't conflict with the disadvantage limit and b) I am not sure why increasing Intelligence independently from Perception and Will doesn't make sense.

ericthered · 10-23-2017, 08:16 AM

Ahh, the old IQ! is 10 points problem.

I have a few reasons why it won't work, but I should first say that buying IQ without PER and WILL is a big enough deal that I use a very common house rule that says Perception and Will start at 10, not at IQ, and IQ costs 20 points. This is most notably advocated on the myGurps site. I use this for all but the most combat oriented or template-centric games I run.

Now for reasons not to do the IQ without Per and Will (referred to as IQ!) for 10 points:

1) Wildcard skills are not mere bonus's to skills. They include wildcard points, which are almost as good as luck or destiny.

2) Gaining disadvantages in play is a little iffy. I wouldn't waive the disadvantage limit if I was using one.

3) Raising IQ and lowering Per and Will is a little munchkinish. The GM is within his rights to just say "No".

That said, its generally a valid build, a smart decision, and if you really want it fixed, use the rule I started off suggesting.

sir_pudding · 10-23-2017, 09:10 AM

Disadvantages gained in play just lower your point total without giving you extra points, so if you bought up IQ by one and then I guess suffered some brain damage to lower your Per and Will by one each it would still cost you 20 points, and just lower your total by 10.

~~evileeyore~~ · 10-23-2017, 09:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ericthered

I have a few reasons why it won't work, but I should first say that buying IQ without PER and WILL is a big enough deal that I use a very common house rule that says Perception and Will start at 10, not at 20, and IQ costs 20 points. This is most notably advocated on the myGurps site. I use this for all but the most combat oriented or template-centric games I run.

Ditto. Except I even do this in 'combat centric" games. The only one so far I've not is DF, because I didn't want to hassle with the templates.

sir_pudding · 10-23-2017, 09:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ericthered

Perception and Will start at 10, not at 20, and IQ costs 20 points.

And not at IQ? They normally don't start at 20...

ericthered · 10-23-2017, 09:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sir_pudding

And not at IQ? They normally don't start at 20...

Start at 10, not at IQ. Good Catch. Fixed.

Daigoro · 10-23-2017, 12:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ericthered

1) Wildcard skills are not mere bonus's to skills. They include wildcard points, which are almost as good as luck or destiny.

Note that this is introduced in the Power Ups: Wildcards book, not in the Basic Set, in case people were wondering.

sir_pudding · 10-23-2017, 01:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Daigoro

Note that this is introduced in the Power Ups: Wildcards book, not in the Basic Set, in case people were wondering.

Introduced first in Monster Hunters 1: Champions for ultimate GURPS pedantry.

Phil Masters · 10-23-2017, 03:48 PM

Wildcard skills (and Talents) are most interesting when they encompass both DX-based and IQ-based skills.

David Johnston2 · 10-23-2017, 05:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dwightemarsh

Suppose you had a gadgeteer character in an IOU campaign, and you were going to advance him by 25 points. He has put 12 points into Science! and it will take him 12 more points to raise Science! by a level. It would take 20 points to raise IQ, but if you only raised IQ and not Will and Perception along with it, it would only be 10 points.
.

And children that is why disadvantage limits are a thing.

10-23-2017, 07:51 AM	#1
dwightemarsh Join Date: Jul 2009	Bang Skills vs raising IQ Suppose you had a gadgeteer character in an IOU campaign, and you were going to advance him by 25 points. He has put 12 points into Science! and it will take him 12 more points to raise Science! by a level. It would take 20 points to raise IQ, but if you only raised IQ and not Will and Perception along with it, it would only be 10 points. Now, it could be argued that by raising your IQ by 1 and not increasing your Perception and Will accordingly, that is not a 10 point advantage but a 20 point advantage and a -10 point disadvantage, and that disadvantage should count against your disadvantage limit. But a) I am not sure disadvantage limits apply after character creation, if you gain an enemy or secret or lose a limb after character creation, it just happens, it doesn't conflict with the disadvantage limit and b) I am not sure why increasing Intelligence independently from Perception and Will doesn't make sense.

10-23-2017, 08:16 AM	#2
ericthered Hero of Democracy Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: far from the ocean	Re: Bang Skills vs raising IQ Ahh, the old IQ! is 10 points problem. I have a few reasons why it won't work, but I should first say that buying IQ without PER and WILL is a big enough deal that I use a very common house rule that says Perception and Will start at 10, not at IQ, and IQ costs 20 points. This is most notably advocated on the myGurps site. I use this for all but the most combat oriented or template-centric games I run. Now for reasons not to do the IQ without Per and Will (referred to as IQ!) for 10 points: 1) Wildcard skills are not mere bonus's to skills. They include wildcard points, which are almost as good as luck or destiny. 2) Gaining disadvantages in play is a little iffy. I wouldn't waive the disadvantage limit if I was using one. 3) Raising IQ and lowering Per and Will is a little munchkinish. The GM is within his rights to just say "No". That said, its generally a valid build, a smart decision, and if you really want it fixed, use the rule I started off suggesting. __________________ Be helpful, not pedantic Worlds Beyond Earth -- my blog Check out the PbP forum! If you don't see a game you'd like, ask me about making one! Last edited by ericthered; 10-23-2017 at 09:48 AM.

10-23-2017, 09:10 AM	#3
sir_pudding Wielder of Smart Pants Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Ventura CA	Re: Bang Skills vs raising IQ Disadvantages gained in play just lower your point total without giving you extra points, so if you bought up IQ by one and then I guess suffered some brain damage to lower your Per and Will by one each it would still cost you 20 points, and just lower your total by 10.

10-23-2017, 03:48 PM	#9
Phil Masters Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: U.K.	Re: Bang Skills vs raising IQ Wildcard skills (and Talents) are most interesting when they encompass both DX-based and IQ-based skills. __________________ -- Phil Masters My Home Page. My Self-Publications: On Warehouse 23 and On DriveThruRPG.