10-13-2019, 04:42 PM | #1 |
Join Date: May 2012
Location: New Hampshire, USA
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Appearance and Jealousy
In Basic Set Characters it specifies that sometimes people will be jealous of your appearance and react at a penalty equal to your modifier instead of a bonus. This appears to reduce the cost of the advantage as the advantage is 4 cp per +1 (after standardizing the modifiers) which is 20% cheaper than charisma for the same benefit.
As a GM I've always been unsure how often I should make this come up. Accessibility (Only works a percentage of the time) indicates that for -20% it should fail about 50% of the time. But then appearance only applies to entities that might be attracted to your race at all right? Does that account for any portion of the 20% modifier? If it's even 5% then you'd end up with a 62.5% rate of success which... still to me feels like a lot of jealous people. So what do people think? How often should appearance cause reaction problems instead of benefits? |
10-13-2019, 04:46 PM | #2 |
Join Date: Mar 2016
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Re: Appearance and Jealousy
The book specifically lays out when: Members of the same sex with at least -2 in other reaction penalties.
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10-13-2019, 05:05 PM | #3 |
Join Date: Feb 2016
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Re: Appearance and Jealousy
-4 in negative reaction penalties.
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10-13-2019, 05:10 PM | #4 |
Join Date: Mar 2016
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Re: Appearance and Jealousy
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10-13-2019, 07:10 PM | #5 |
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Lawrence, KS
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Re: Appearance and Jealousy
My understanding was that the 4 points/+1 is not because of the threat of reaction penalties (some forms of Social Stigma have reaction bonuses with "others similar to you," but they still average -5/-1). Rather, it's because your physical beauty affects only your own and very similar species. Observe that Universal, which makes your looks affect everyone, is +25%, which increased 4 points to 5 points.
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Bill Stoddard I don't think we're in Oz any more. |
10-13-2019, 07:13 PM | #6 |
Banned
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: 100 hurricane swamp
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Re: Appearance and Jealousy
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10-13-2019, 07:50 PM | #7 | |
Join Date: Feb 2016
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Re: Appearance and Jealousy
Quote:
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10-13-2019, 08:24 PM | #8 |
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Lawrence, KS
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Re: Appearance and Jealousy
But it's clearly not only restricted in that way. Clearly some birds are attracted to visual signals such as plumage; consider the peafowl, the bird of paradise, or even the domesticated chicken. (Or the bower bird with its elaborately constructed stage.) Yet however visually inclined they are, they are not going to respond to a handsome or beautiful human.
I also note that Voice gives you +2 for 10 points. It's clearly Hearing-Based, but it doesn't get -20% for that. Your interpretation cannot be reconciled with the way other GURPS rules work.
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Bill Stoddard I don't think we're in Oz any more. |
10-13-2019, 08:35 PM | #9 |
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: Snoopy's basement
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Re: Appearance and Jealousy
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10-13-2019, 09:16 PM | #10 | |
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Lawrence, KS
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Re: Appearance and Jealousy
Quote:
I would also point out that during the playtest of the 4/e Basic Set, the cost of Appearance was intentionally set to 4 points per +1 after extended discussion among the playtesters. I was there and I took part. This was hardly a simple unconsidered retention of a legacy rule.
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Bill Stoddard I don't think we're in Oz any more. |
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