GURPS Monster Hunters 1: Champions

[Langy]

Bought it. Awesome stuff so far.

I love the idea of the 'Hearing Shots' box (so much more useful than the stuff in High Tech), but I have a little problem with it. Going by it, if you're unskilled with Guns, on average someone not skilled with guns won't be able to recognize a rifle shot in a dead-silent room from more than four yards away. That seems a bit odd, and is even worse for a pistol shot (they won't recognize it if they're more than two yards away!). Even if they're actively listening for a gunshot, the average person won't recognize one in a dead-silent room from more than 16 yards away (or 8 yards away, if it's a pistol). That doesn't seem right to me, though I honestly have no experience with recognizing gunshots except via TV. Did you modify those things to make it more cinematic, like the silent rounds/silencers are more cinematic than reality?

[PK]

Originally Posted by Langy

I love the idea of the 'Hearing Shots' box (so much more useful than the stuff in High Tech), but I have a little problem with it. Going by it, if you're unskilled with Guns, on average someone not skilled with guns won't be able to recognize a rifle shot in a dead-silent room from more than four yards away. That seems a bit odd, and is even worse for a pistol shot (they won't recognize it if they're more than two yards away!). Even if they're actively listening for a gunshot, the average person won't recognize one in a dead-silent room from more than 16 yards away (or 8 yards away, if it's a pistol). That doesn't seem right to me, though I honestly have no experience with recognizing gunshots except via TV. Did you modify those things to make it more cinematic, like the silent rounds/silencers are more cinematic than reality?

Nope. The only thing that's cinematic is that silencers give -8 to hearing. Everything else is 100% from the RAW in GURPS High-Tech. All I did was reverse the rules there and assume that (1) there will be a certain amount of background noise (what GURPS High-Tech would give +5 for) and (2) the average listener has Hearing 10 but is distracted, so has an effective Hearing 8.

Take the rules from GURPS High-Tech and run them through the same scenario -- a person with Hearing 10, -2 due to distraction, no penalty for background noise, -4 for being unskilled with guns, from 4 yards away, has a 50% chance of hearing and identifying the same shot. I agree that this can produce unrealistic results, but I didn't have a mandate to change the GURPS High-Tech rules or the standard GURPS hearing rules (as, to be honest, it's the exponential nature of said rules that's at the heart of the odd scaling).

Anyway, this can produce odd results at the low end, but that's where the GM needs to step in and make a ruling. And it's crucial to read the final sentence -- this table isn't what you roll against to see if any one specific person hears it. It's what you roll against to get a general range of the sound, to see if random bystanders decide to poke their heads into the situation or call the cops. So the roll above actually does make sense -- it means that if there are no skilled bystanders nearby, your heroes are safe as long as there's no one in the next room.

[mlangsdorf]

When I was 16, a gang member fired 4 shots from a pistol into the asphalt on the other side of the wall I was sitting against. I got up, asked my friend if he thought those sounds were gunshots or a really loud door bolt being opened, and checked the school courtyard for pandemonium. Since no one else was carrying on, I returned to my lunch. I didn't learn that the noises I'd heard were gunshots until an hour later, when I got out of my next class and saw the cops examining the scene. No silencer involved.

So the idea that the average, untrained person wouldn't recognize a gunshot at close range (in addition to my friend and I, there were some 200 of our classmates in the courtyard, less than 20 yards away) sounds pretty reasonable to me.

[Phoenix_Dragon]

Heck, I had someone shooting at me (More accurately, everyone in my general vicinity), in plain sight of me. I thought it was an airgun or paintball gun or something along those lines, for at least a dozen shots, maybe double that. Before I spotted him, I thought it was fireworks. Wasn't until someone got hit that it connected that it really was a real gun, and those were real gunshots. I can't even plead ignorance with weapons, as I'd fired many hundreds of rounds through the exact same model of rifle as he was using (My issue was likely more being very much "Condition White." Not exactly the kind of place I had ever thought I'd be shot at).

When he fired a single round from a handgun, my friend (Outside and about 100 feet away) thought something had exploded. It didn't sound like a gunshot despite knowing that someone was shooting up the place.

It gets even more fun with suppressed weapons. Not only are they quiet-ish ("About as loud as a hammer hitting a nail" isn't terribly quiet, except compared to un-suppressed gunshots), but they really don't sound right.

[Crakkerjakk]

A rough draft:

Inhuman/Operative, Know Your Enemy skills aren't chosen. Wasn't sure where BPRD falls as a Patron.

Hellboy
401 points
Attributes: ST 18 [80]; DX 14 [80]; IQ 12 [40]; HT 14 [40].
Secondary Characteristics: Damage 2d+1/4d+2; BL 64.8 lbs.; HP 18 [0];Will 13 [5]; Per 13 [5]; FP 14 [0]; Basic Speed 7.00 [0]; Basic Move 7 [0].
Advantages: Claws (Hooves) [3]; Combat Reflexes [15]; Darkvision [25]; DR 4 (Tough Skin, -40%) [12]; High Pain Threshold [10]; Immunity to Metabolic Hazards [30]; Language (Demontongue; Native) [6]; Luck [15]; Magery 0 [5]; Magic Resistance 4 (Improved, +150%) [20]; Patron (BPRD, Large Budget, Heavy Influence) [30]; Unfazeable [15], Prophetic Dreams [5]; Rapid Healing [5]; Signature Gear (Samaritan) [1]; Striking ST 6 (Left Hand only, -20%) [24]; Weapon Bond (Samaritan) [1].
Disadvantages: Appearance (Monstrous) [-20]; Chummy [-5*]; Duty (12 or less; Extremely Hazardous) [-15]; Destiny [-15]; Frightens Animals [-10]; Impulsiveness [-10*]; Low Self-Image [-10]; Overconfidence [-5*]; Reputation -4 (Traitor; Your race; 10 or less) [-5]; Sense of Duty (Teammates) [-5]; Social Stigma (Monster) [-15]*; Vow (Always hold to the letter of a signed contract) [-1]; Weakness (Contact with holy water and artifacts; 1d per minute) [-10].
Primary Skills: Occultism(A) IQ+1 [4]-13. • Choose two skills listed for your race in Know Thy Enemy (p. 16), each at the 4-point level. (If only one skill is listed, take it at the 8-point level.) • Spend 6 more points on skills for other races in Know Thy Enemy. • Thaumatology (VH) IQ-1 [4]-11. • Path of Crossroads (VH) IQ-2 [2]-10; Path of Magic (VH) IQ-2 [2]-10; Path of Spirit (VH) IQ-2 [2]-10; Path of Undead (VH) IQ-2 [2]-10.
Secondary Skills: Brawling (E) DX+2 [4]-14; Wrestling (A) DX [2]-12. • Two-Handed Axe/Mace (A) DX+1 [4]-13; Two-Handed Sword (A) DX+1 [4]-13. Guns (Pistol ) (E) DX+1 [2]-14; Guns (Shotgun) (E) DX+1 [2]-14. • Climbing (A) DX [2]-12.
Background Skills: Current Affairs (Pop Culture) (E) IQ [1]-12; Gambling (A) IQ-1 [1]-11; Carousing (E) HT [1]-12; Lifting (A) HT-1 [1]-11; or Exorcism (H) Will-2 [1]-10§.
* Multiplied for self-control number; see p. B120.
† Includes +1 from Combat Reflexes.
Customization Notes
Features: Affected by True Faith and Path of Spirit (instead of Body/Mind) magic; Cannot use holy items; Vestigial (if not functional) tail, horns, and wings.
* In addition to the -3 reaction penalty, an obvious demon has no legal rights if arrested or captured; he can be detained indefinitely, experimented upon, etc., unless his friends can negotiate his release or arrange a jailbreak.

Gear:
Samaritan, .50 Beowulf 5d-1 pi+ 3 280/3,000 4.9/0.43 1 5(2i) 12 -3 4 $900 3 [1]
Coat, Long Leather arms, legs, torso 1* $250 10 [2]
Pants, Leather legs, groin 1* $40 4

[zoncxs]

I love the conditional rituals part. I keep thinking to myself "with my tham at 17 and magery at 7 i can "hang" 24 spells... so thats 20 lightning bolts and 4 warp spells" ^,^

I already wrote up a witch for fun. so who is going to start up a monster hunter game so I can join? =3

[Kalzazz]

You may get the option if starslayer or I get the book. Especially if I can make a were-pikachu who looks like Jessica Nigri

[Danukian]

Originally Posted by Crakkerjakk

A rough draft:

Inhuman/Operative, Know Your Enemy skills aren't chosen. Wasn't sure where BPRD falls as a Patron.

Hellboy
401 points
Attributes: ST 18 [80]; DX 14 [80]; IQ 12 [40]; HT 14 [40].
Secondary Characteristics: Damage 2d+1/4d+2; BL 64.8 lbs.; HP 18 [0];Will 13 [5]; Per 13 [5]; FP 14 [0]; Basic Speed 7.00 [0]; Basic Move 7 [0].
Advantages: Claws (Hooves) [3]; Combat Reflexes [15]; Darkvision [25]; DR 4 (Tough Skin, -40%) [12]; High Pain Threshold [10]; Immunity to Metabolic Hazards [30]; Language (Demontongue; Native) [6]; Luck [15]; Magery 0 [5]; Magic Resistance 4 (Improved, +150%) [20]; Patron (BPRD, Large Budget, Heavy Influence) [30]; Unfazeable [15], Prophetic Dreams [5]; Rapid Healing [5]; Signature Gear (Samaritan) [1]; Striking ST 6 (Left Hand only, -20%) [24]; Weapon Bond (Samaritan) [1].
Disadvantages: Appearance (Monstrous) [-20]; Chummy [-5*]; Duty (12 or less; Extremely Hazardous) [-15]; Destiny [-15]; Frightens Animals [-10]; Impulsiveness [-10*]; Low Self-Image [-10]; Overconfidence [-5*]; Reputation -4 (Traitor; Your race; 10 or less) [-5]; Sense of Duty (Teammates) [-5]; Social Stigma (Monster) [-15]*; Vow (Always hold to the letter of a signed contract) [-1]; Weakness (Contact with holy water and artifacts; 1d per minute) [-10].
Primary Skills: Occultism(A) IQ+1 [4]-13. • Choose two skills listed for your race in Know Thy Enemy (p. 16), each at the 4-point level. (If only one skill is listed, take it at the 8-point level.) • Spend 6 more points on skills for other races in Know Thy Enemy. • Thaumatology (VH) IQ-1 [4]-11. • Path of Crossroads (VH) IQ-2 [2]-10; Path of Magic (VH) IQ-2 [2]-10; Path of Spirit (VH) IQ-2 [2]-10; Path of Undead (VH) IQ-2 [2]-10.
Secondary Skills: Brawling (E) DX+2 [4]-14; Wrestling (A) DX [2]-12. • Two-Handed Axe/Mace (A) DX+1 [4]-13; Two-Handed Sword (A) DX+1 [4]-13. Guns (Pistol ) (E) DX+1 [2]-14; Guns (Shotgun) (E) DX+1 [2]-14. • Climbing (A) DX [2]-12.
Background Skills: Current Affairs (Pop Culture) (E) IQ [1]-12; Gambling (A) IQ-1 [1]-11; Carousing (E) HT [1]-12; Lifting (A) HT-1 [1]-11; or Exorcism (H) Will-2 [1]-10§.
* Multiplied for self-control number; see p. B120.
† Includes +1 from Combat Reflexes.
Customization Notes
Features: Affected by True Faith and Path of Spirit (instead of Body/Mind) magic; Cannot use holy items; Vestigial (if not functional) tail, horns, and wings.
* In addition to the -3 reaction penalty, an obvious demon has no legal rights if arrested or captured; he can be detained indefinitely, experimented upon, etc., unless his friends can negotiate his release or arrange a jailbreak.

Gear:
Samaritan, .50 Beowulf 5d-1 pi+ 3 280/3,000 4.9/0.43 1 5(2i) 12 -3 4 $900 3 [1]
Coat, Long Leather arms, legs, torso 1* $250 10 [2]
Pants, Leather legs, groin 1* $40 4

looks good other than the 18 ST: HB chucks monoliths and knocks down walls! ST is mid 20s minimum (I believe it was 30 in 3e), but ofcourse thats out of the Budget!

[Crakkerjakk]

Originally Posted by Danukian

looks good other than the 18 ST: HB chucks monoliths and knocks down walls! ST is mid 20s minimum (I believe it was 30 in 3e), but ofcourse thats out of the Budget!

Right. This is junior hellboy. Real hellboy is a super with Superstrength and his hand should probably have a buncha extra DR.

[PK]

Originally Posted by Crakkerjakk

A rough draft:

Neat!

Wasn't sure where BPRD falls as a Patron.

Hrm. Off the top of my head, I'd say Light Influence, Moderate Budget. They don't seem to have a ton of "pull" in society, relying instead on their operative's ingenuity and (theoretical) ability to avoid attracting attention.

Originally Posted by Kalzazz

You may get the option if starslayer or I get the book. Especially if I can make a were-pikachu who looks like Jessica Nigri

Uh . . . well, you probably could, but I'm afraid that particular option isn't one of the premade inhuman racial templates, sorry. :)