02-08-2019, 03:04 PM | #1 |
Night Watchman
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Cambridge, UK
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[Basic] Disadvantage of the Week: Innumerate
Innumerate is a mundane mental disadvantage. You lack a firm grasp of arithmetic, and have no clue about more complex mathematics, due to lack of education and/or talent. This disadvantage appeared during the 3e period, although I’m not sure where.
You can count on your fingers, and do simple arithmetic that way, but you have Incompetence with Computer Programming, Economics, and all of the skills that are boosted by the Mathematical Ability talent. This means that although you can use calculating machines, you have no idea if the results from them are correct, and you’re easily cheated in any transactions that involve more than a few coins (-4 to rolls to notice). Game settings might include cultures where this disadvantage is normal for most people (such as most historical ones at TL4 or below). This disadvantage should not count against any campaign disadvantage limit in such settings. There could also be in-game cultures where this disadvantage attracts a [-5] Social Stigma, presumably “Ignorant,” giving -1 to reactions. Innumerate, like illiteracy, is irrelevant for creatures with IQ below 6. It mostly shows up on templates for species with limited cultural development, and Discworld has several examples. Bio-Tech applies it to most uplifted animals, and it’s an option for the DF Shaman. Fantasy makes it an option for barbarians, and Horror gives it to werewolves, in their beast-man form, which has a lot of other mental limitations. Madness Dossier has technology to impose this disadvantage, of course, and Lands Out of Time applies it to cavemen. Low-Tech points out that some languages used at TL0 lack words for numbers, and LTC1 has guidelines for doing arithmetic if you aren’t Innumerate. Power-Ups 6 has a quirk-level version, and Back to School describes the process of buying off Innumeracy that is part of education at TL5+. I’ve never put this disadvantage on a PC or NPC sheet. I have played caveman RPGs where counting was vague, at best, but that’s not the same as being Innumerate in a setting where most people aren’t. Has it multiplied problems in your games?
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The Path of Cunning. Indexes: DFRPG Characters, Advantage of the Week, Disadvantage of the Week, Skill of the Week, Techniques. |
02-08-2019, 04:27 PM | #2 |
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: near London, UK
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Re: [Basic] Disadvantage of the Week: Innumerate
I played GURPS Bunnies & Burrows once, but like John I've never seen the situation of one Innumerate PC in a party who mostly aren't. I guess it might work in a dungeon bash for barbarians from the frozen north, though Dungeon Fantasy leaves it out completely.
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02-08-2019, 05:00 PM | #3 |
Banned
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: 100 hurricane swamp
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Re: [Basic] Disadvantage of the Week: Innumerate
Hmmm. Yeah, that'd make a great "regular IQ but not smart" Disad for a Barbarian.
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02-08-2019, 10:18 PM | #4 |
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Lawrence, KS
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Re: [Basic] Disadvantage of the Week: Innumerate
I'm glad to see those called out, as I thought they helped make it clearer what Innumerate actually represents.
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Bill Stoddard I don't think we're in Oz any more. |
02-08-2019, 10:28 PM | #5 |
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Denver, CO
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Re: [Basic] Disadvantage of the Week: Innumerate
I've used it for this purpose at least twice. Once for a half-ogre raised among ogres and once for a really damaged fighter who was raised in a viking-style society and then regressed while being held as a gladiatorial slave.
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02-09-2019, 02:24 AM | #6 |
Night Watchman
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Cambridge, UK
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Re: [Basic] Disadvantage of the Week: Innumerate
So did I, which was why I mentioned them. Doing a keyword search over all my GURPS PDFs is often quite illuminating.
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The Path of Cunning. Indexes: DFRPG Characters, Advantage of the Week, Disadvantage of the Week, Skill of the Week, Techniques. |
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disadvantage of the week, innumerate |
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