Steve Jackson Games - Site Navigation
Home General Info Follow Us Search Illuminator Store Forums What's New Other Games Ogre GURPS Munchkin Our Games: Home

Go Back   Steve Jackson Games Forums > Roleplaying > GURPS

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 02-07-2020, 02:59 AM   #1
awesomenessofme1
 
Join Date: Mar 2016
Default What's the highest skill level you've ever had for a PC or NPC?

I was filling out some character sheets and on one of them, Avatar of Aphrodite, I saw that I'd given her a ludicrous Sex Appeal-36 (14 from her HT 15, 8 from RSL, 4 from Smooth Operator talent, 2 from Voice, and 8 from Transcendent Appearance). It's not unfitting (though I may trim it down a bit), but it's the highest skill level I've ever seen on a character sheet I've made.

So, what's the highest skill level you've given to a PC or NPC? Could produce some fun stories.
awesomenessofme1 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-07-2020, 03:25 AM   #2
Icelander
 
Icelander's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Iceland*
Default Re: What's the highest skill level you've ever had for a PC or NPC?

Probably Sex Appeal and probably without spending a lot of points on it, too, as you describe.

Now that I think about it, I don't recall the exact skill score, but I think that an NPC, Sherilyn 'Cherry' Bell, had Sex Appeal -27 or something. She was a Super with all kinds of manipulation powers, but had spent the past couple of decades in an asylum and was really poorly socialized, so she had at most a single point in Sex Appeal.

On the other hand, I've also established that another NPC has sword skill of DX+10, about four levels of a Talent that affects it and high DX, so that might be higher. But that's an NPC that hasn't actually appeared on 'camera' and was specifically the answer to a PC's query about who the greatest swordsman in the campaign world was.

Edit: Actually, Harmel Artru, the NPC who is the greatest swordsman in the Forgotten Realms, has five levels of Talent that affects combat skills (which is my approximation of higher 'levels', i.e. Base Attack Bonus or THAC0 in (A)D&D), DX 14 and DX+15 in the Saber skill. So he has skill level 34, by far the highest I've ever given any character, PC or NPC. But, again, he hasn't appeared in a scene in my campaign and I noted down these stats only as a mental benchmark for how good 'best in the world' was.
__________________
Za uspiekh nashevo beznadiozhnovo diela!

Last edited by Icelander; 02-07-2020 at 05:30 AM.
Icelander is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-07-2020, 05:53 AM   #3
RogerBW
 
RogerBW's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: near London, UK
Default Re: What's the highest skill level you've ever had for a PC or NPC?

The highest skill in my character archive is John Dallman's medic in one of the Reign of Steel games, with Physician 23. (Action rules and quite a few character points spent.)

Of my own characters, my Cabalist mage has Thaumatology 22, but with IQ 20 and Magery 5 that's not really surprising.
RogerBW is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 02-07-2020, 05:55 AM   #4
AlexanderHowl
 
Join Date: Feb 2016
Default Re: What's the highest skill level you've ever had for a PC or NPC?

Sex Appeal is probably the highest. I had a supernormal with HT 20, Allure 4, Appearance (Very Handsome), and Voice, so he had a '32' (not the it really mattered at that point). Just out of curiosity, what does RSL refer to?
AlexanderHowl is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-07-2020, 06:04 AM   #5
Icelander
 
Icelander's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Iceland*
Default Re: What's the highest skill level you've ever had for a PC or NPC?

Quote:
Originally Posted by AlexanderHowl View Post
Sex Appeal is probably the highest. I had a supernormal with HT 20, Allure 4, Appearance (Very Handsome), and Voice, so he had a '32' (not the it really mattered at that point).
Many vital social skill rules, including 'Influencing the PCs', use Margin of Success, so Influence skills can get quite high without reaching levels where they don't matter.

Quote:
Originally Posted by AlexanderHowl View Post
Just out of curiosity, what does RSL refer to?
From context, almost certainly Racial Skill Level.
__________________
Za uspiekh nashevo beznadiozhnovo diela!

Last edited by Icelander; 02-07-2020 at 06:12 AM.
Icelander is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-07-2020, 06:11 AM   #6
vicky_molokh
GURPS FAQ Keeper
 
vicky_molokh's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Kyïv, Ukraine
Default Re: What's the highest skill level you've ever had for a PC or NPC?

98. It was Hypnotic Hands in 3e, built for a high-point total duel between a martial artist and a psionicist. The skill level was necessary to deal with the range at which the duel was fought (50 yards, so skill/2 yards of range plus a step). The hypnotist lost despite winning the initiative due to critically failing the only roll, and us agreeing that in now way can that lead to winning a contest at the time.
__________________
Vicky 'Molokh', GURPS FAQ and uFAQ Keeper
vicky_molokh is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-07-2020, 07:26 AM   #7
Rupert
 
Rupert's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Wellington, NZ
Default Re: What's the highest skill level you've ever had for a PC or NPC?

Beam Weapons/TL10 (Pistol)-36, by the group's longest running gun bunny. His other Gun and Beam Weapon skills range from 27 to 35. Several other party members have Gun or Beam skills in the 25-29 range. Otherwise skills tend to cap out in the low 20s.
__________________
Rupert Boleyn

"A pessimist is an optimist with a sense of history."
Rupert is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-07-2020, 08:25 AM   #8
ericthered
Hero of Democracy
 
ericthered's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: far from the ocean
Default Re: What's the highest skill level you've ever had for a PC or NPC?

I couldn't say which one, but its probably a monster hunters warrior who is buying up his sword skill without using a wildcard. I think we hit skill-26.

Skill 26 with a sword is terrifying.
__________________
Be helpful, not pedantic

Worlds Beyond Earth -- my blog

Check out the PbP forum! If you don't see a game you'd like, ask me about making one!
ericthered is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 02-07-2020, 09:02 AM   #9
Gnome
 
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Cambridge, MA
Default Re: What's the highest skill level you've ever had for a PC or NPC?

In my current DF game, which is now past 1000 CP for most of the PCs, skill levels are generally sky high. I believe the Swashbuckler has a sword skill near 40 at this point, but it frequently goes above 40 with various bonuses (Weapon Bond, Balanced weapon, Agility potion, Blessed (Heroic Feats), etc.).
The casters have skill levels around 30. It's very scary to have a wizard with a long list of spells at skill 30...
Gnome is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-07-2020, 09:24 AM   #10
DangerousThing
 
Join Date: Mar 2013
Default Re: What's the highest skill level you've ever had for a PC or NPC?

I was running a high-powered sf game. One character had Karate-27 and Power Blow-25. She was only rarely hit and could do a hellacious deceptive attack.
__________________
A little learning is a dangerous thing.
Warning: Invertebrate Punnster - Spinelessly Unable to Resist a Pun
Dangerous Thoughts, my blog about GURPS and life.
DangerousThing is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
skill, skills

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Fnords are Off
[IMG] code is Off
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 11:12 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.9
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.