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Old 01-20-2019, 08:02 AM   #41
Daigoro
 
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Default Re: Make contact skill great again.

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Originally Posted by Mark Skarr View Post
However, at no point would a Contact be performing a task with a modifier of -8 to -9.

I doubt a Contact would ever suffer a TDM of -3 or worse.
I don't know- that's why you buy a Contact with skill in the 18-21 range in the first place, to cover big TDMs that might come up.
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Old 01-20-2019, 10:51 AM   #42
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Default Re: Make contact skill great again.

Ah, so your intent is to find a way to take the megacorporation (from another thread) and define it as a Contact for some undefined purpose in your campaign, and you don't feel that a cap of Skill-21 sufficiently defines the power level you are playing at.

(I could be wrong, but since you never explain exactly why you ask the questions you ask, I have to guess.)

If you are the GM, you can hand-wave it to whatever you want, honestly; once again, you don't need to debate it with us. If you are asking about this regarding players, you have already been given several lengthy responses relatiing to the Contact advantage. Either way, you have answers.

If you don't like the GURPS rules, then in future, I respectfully suggest that you either a) define specifically what it is you want, so we can answer, because the people here certainly will provide help when needed, b) decide on your own house rule that does what you want it to, and stop asking for advice you don't really want, or c) find a game system that does do what you want it to do.
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Old 01-20-2019, 11:15 AM   #43
David Johnston2
 
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Default Re: Make contact skill great again.

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Originally Posted by Alonsua View Post

My thread is based on finding terms with which to define organizations, not characters, for which I am trying to base myself on the book "Boardroom and Curia", finding in any case serious inconsistencies in the "Contacts" advantage.
You can certainly take an organization as a contact group or just get an Admin 21 contact within the organization and get a great deal of benefit from it. But if a gigantic corporation more powerful than governments is entirely at your disposal that's probably best represented as a Patron or as having a top Rank in the organization.
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Old 01-20-2019, 12:00 PM   #44
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Default Re: Make contact skill great again.

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But if a gigantic corporation more powerful than governments is entirely at your disposal that's probably best represented as a Patron or as having a top Rank in the organization.
Yes, I find some statements a bit "weird" though, so far it seems that a player who is the owner of a business should represent it as Patron and Wealth (for average assets of 200 × wealth). Then if you buy Rank you get to run that company... but what is the profit of having both Patron and Rank? Sure, you can set up a high appearance for Patron or a high Rank and call it a day... but what if you actually get both of them? Do you roll twice? Do you get double the support? Can you issue contradictory orders?

So far I am allowing to roll twice, once for Patron and another for Rank, without messing too much with the system, but from my perspective it is a bit weird that, if you own a company, you dont get to proclaim yourself the CEO, or if you get to, you need to pay extra CPs.

Last edited by Alonsua; 01-20-2019 at 12:08 PM.
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Old 01-20-2019, 12:59 PM   #45
Purple Snit
 
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Default Re: Make contact skill great again.

No, you buy Patron if you are a player character [or characters] and have a large company [or whatnot] that sponsors you. You don't buy it if you are the CEO of the company.

Once again - are you trying to build a character in someone else's game, or write up your own company?
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Old 01-20-2019, 01:08 PM   #46
David Johnston2
 
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Default Re: Make contact skill great again.

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Originally Posted by Alonsua View Post
Yes, I find some statements a bit "weird" though, so far it seems that a player who is the owner of a business should represent it as Patron and Wealth (for average assets of 200 × wealth). Then if you buy Rank you get to run that company... but what is the profit of having both Patron and Rank? .
I said "or" not "and". You should have either but not both. Wealth is something you get from owning a company but doesn't represent the control over the company. Investments may get you a place at the annual shareholders meeting but by themselves they don't give you any input into the company's operations and don't let you borrow company assets.
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Old 01-20-2019, 01:41 PM   #47
Alonsua
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Default Re: Make contact skill great again.

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Originally Posted by David Johnston2 View Post
I said "or" not "and". You should have either but not both.
Thats not what the pyramid about this subject says.

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The differences between owning an organization through Wealth (e.g., you possess a controlling interest in its stock or are a silent partner), heading it up via Rank, or owning it outright as a Patron can be tricky. People may have one, both, or all three in any combination. As a guideline, individual Wealth should be approximately 1/200th of the average assets of the organization.

Last edited by Alonsua; 01-20-2019 at 01:47 PM.
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Old 01-20-2019, 01:59 PM   #48
Purple Snit
 
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Default Re: Make contact skill great again.

GURPS Basic, Characters, Page 72: "A Patron" is an NPC - or even an entire organization - that serves as your advisor, employer, mentor, or protector. An employer must be exceptional to qualify as a Patron, though; a Patron is much more than an ordinary boss!"

That isn't complicated; you buy a Patron when you are building a PC, to represent having something/someone who provides information, equipment, assistance, and work for you [and perhaps other PCs]. The rules are pretty clear. They aren't meant to represent "How to build a Corporation". The GM can do that any way they want.

And what does this have to do with "Contacts"?
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Old 01-20-2019, 02:04 PM   #49
Alonsua
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Default Re: Make contact skill great again.

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Originally Posted by Purple Snit View Post
And what does this have to do with "Contacts"?
Contacts are mean to be used to represent organization capabilities. Rank can also provide information, equipment and assistance though, so how do both advantages interact with each other?
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Old 01-20-2019, 02:18 PM   #50
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Default Re: Make contact skill great again.

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Originally Posted by Alonsua View Post
Contacts are mean to be used to represent organization capabilities. Rank can also provide information, equipment and assistance though, so how do both advantages interact with each other?
That's easy. Organizational Contacts represent resources that the organization as an entity can draw on to accomplish its collective/corporate purpose. They're not available to individual characters, only to organizations. Individual characters who have positions within the organization can use their Rank to access some of its resources; individual characters who are outside the organization can use their personal Contacts to obtain favors from people who may be within the organization, and may be able to mobilize some of its resources for those favors. Personal and organizational Contacts use similar mechanics, but are not the same thing, nor interchangeable.
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