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Old 05-13-2012, 04:06 AM   #1
jacobmuller
 
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Default Racial Template

Statting a race and want to check some parameters with you experts.

Hard to Read: is there an "antonym" for the Easy to Read Disadvantage? ie an Advantage that makes it harder to guess your intent... (I guess there is but my brain ain't connecting) It's for a race with blunt beaks/ limited facial expression.

Another racial feature would give them strikers on each wrist - I assume this is bought twice? eg Strikers (wrists: Blunt 5cp; Weak, Thr dam, -50%) [5] (or [6]?).

And if they have Peripheral Vision but lose it when using their Telescopic Vision, should there be a discount to both Peripheral and Telescopic, eg Periph (not when zoomed in, -10%) or is Telescopic Vision (Temp Disadv: Tunnel Vision, -30%) generous enough?

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Old 05-13-2012, 04:10 AM   #2
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Default Re: Racial Template

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Originally Posted by jacobmuller View Post
Hard to Read: is there an "antonym" for the Easy to Read Disadvantage? ie an Advantage that makes it harder to guess your intent... (I guess there is but my brain ain't connecting) It's for a race with blunt beaks/ limited facial expression.
I created one for the Peshang in Desolation Road.
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Old 05-13-2012, 04:46 AM   #3
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Default Re: Racial Template

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Originally Posted by jacobmuller View Post
(...)

And if they have Peripheral Vision but lose it when using their Telescopic Vision, should there be a discount to both Peripheral and Telescopic, eg Periph (not when zoomed in, -10%) or is Telescopic Vision (Temp Disadv: Tunnel Vision, -30%) generous enough?

(...)
I'd say Peripheral Vision and Telescopic Vision (Temporary Disadvantage: No Peripheral Vision, -15%).
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Old 05-13-2012, 05:04 AM   #4
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Default Re: Racial Template

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Originally Posted by jacobmuller View Post
Hard to Read: is there an "antonym" for the Easy to Read Disadvantage? ie an Advantage that makes it harder to guess your intent... (I guess there is but my brain ain't connecting) It's for a race with blunt beaks/ limited facial expression.
Haven't seen an official one that works the way I wanted it to, but here's a thread discussing it.

In short, for my campaign, I settled on 10 points that penalize Body Language/Empathy/etc. uses by the same number in Easy To Read (i.e. reversed the effect), but the Hard To Read character may instead opt to drop the penalties, but use Acting (or another appropriate skill) to make use of Empathy a Resisted roll.
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Old 05-13-2012, 08:19 AM   #5
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Default Re: Racial Template

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Originally Posted by jacobmuller View Post
Another racial feature would give them strikers on each wrist - I assume this is bought twice? eg Strikers (wrists: Blunt 5cp; Weak, Thr dam, -50%) [5] (or [6]?).
Would Blunt Claws [3] not do it for you? That adds +1 per die to punches.
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Old 05-13-2012, 08:19 AM   #6
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Would Blunt Claws [3] not do it for you? That adds +1 per die to punches.
But doesn't count as Armed for purposes of Parries.
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Old 05-13-2012, 08:23 AM   #7
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Default Re: Racial Template

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Originally Posted by jacobmuller View Post
Another racial feature would give them strikers on each wrist - I assume this is bought twice? eg Strikers (wrists: Blunt 5cp; Weak, Thr dam, -50%) [5] (or [6]?).
You'll want the Limb limitation (from Martial Arts) as well. Depending on what you have in mind.
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Old 05-13-2012, 10:16 AM   #8
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Originally Posted by jacobmuller View Post
Statting a race and want to check some parameters with you experts.

Hard to Read: is there an "antonym" for the Easy to Read Disadvantage? ie an Advantage that makes it harder to guess your intent... (I guess there is but my brain ain't connecting) It's for a race with blunt beaks/ limited facial expression.
That's not a good enough reason to give people "hard to read". Most animals are facially comparatively expressionless compared to human beings but that doesn't make them hard to read because they have the whole rest of their body to signal with.


Quote:
Another racial feature would give them strikers on each wrist - I assume this is bought twice? eg Strikers (wrists: Blunt 5cp; Weak, Thr dam, -50%) [5] (or [6]?).
No, there's no particular advantage to having more than one Striker"

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And if they have Peripheral Vision but lose it when using their Telescopic Vision,
Alternate abilities.

Last edited by David Johnston2; 05-13-2012 at 11:27 AM.
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Old 05-13-2012, 11:25 AM   #9
Peter Knutsen
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Default Re: Racial Template

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Originally Posted by jacobmuller View Post
Hard to Read: is there an "antonym" for the Easy to Read Disadvantage? ie an Advantage that makes it harder to guess your intent... (I guess there is but my brain ain't connecting) It's for a race with blunt beaks/ limited facial expression.
A modified form of Obscure, perhaps?

I don't really think it's realistic for any species to be Hard To Read, in objective terms, though. Any social species needs subtle non-verbal means of communication. Even if individuals live solitary lives, they will encounter other specimens from time to time, and need to "negotiate" non-violence.

So, basically, any species has some kind of signals that its individuals sends out, and which can be percieved by other members of the same species. It doesn't have to be anything that can be perceived with human senses, or even setting-conventional senses, as long as it is a sense that is common among the species ni question (to the point where not having it is a disad - at least a Quirk).

Think pheromones, colour change (like some squid/octopi), hyper-subtle body language, ultrasound or infrasound.

AFAIK there's some infrared in the sunlight that reaches the Earth's surface. A somewhat science fictional communications method would be to change the amount of infrared reflected or absorbed by one's skin.

A species could have a number of inflatable bladders or erectable surface tissues, and normally keep all of them inflated or erect, or not, i.e. in synch, but doing so out of synch conveys subtle information about the inner state of the individual, and it requires serious familiarity with the species (i.e. an alien would not have this, without either CF or a relevant Psychology or Anthropology skill - or perhaps both) to understand what each of the many combinations possible means.

But... I don't believe that Hard To Read is possible, in evolutionary terms. One reason we communicate is because the only alternative very often is murder. And that's not specific to our species.

The only sensible place for it seems to be designed species, as in GURPS Bio-Tech, and robotic "species".
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