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Old 07-20-2018, 05:07 AM   #1
johndallman
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Default [Basic] Disadvantage of the Week: Dwarfism and Gigantism

Dwarfism [-15] and Gigantism [0] are mundane physical disadvantages. Their causes are closely linked, in abnormalities of growth, which mean that you have unusually short or long limbs, and buying them off as an adult requires ultra-tech medicine, or magic more specialised than Magic provides. Both disadvantages appeared in GURPS 1e, where Gigantism was [-10], but their mechanics changed considerably with the introduction of Size Modifier (SM) in 4e.

With Dwarfism, you have -1 to the usual SM for your species, -1 to your Basic Move, and -1 to your reach in combat, due to short arms and the consequent need to use smaller weapons. You are about 75% of the average height for your species.

With Gigantism, you have +1 to your species SM, +1 to Basic Move for long legs, and can buy ST and HP at a 10% discount. You are about 125% of the average height for your species, and often get a bonus to Intimidation skill.
With either disadvantage, you get -2 to Disguise, and -2 to Shadowing if you’re trying to follow someone through a crowd. In some societies, you may be required to take a Social Stigma. You also tend to have trouble buying ready-to-wear clothes and armour, and will have to pay more for custom-made items if you have Gigantism. There are additional rules for working out your precise height and weight if you’re humanoid.

The Discworld RPG rules out these disadvantages for gnomes and pictsies, and Gigantism for trolls, as being within the species normal size ranges. In more conventional worlds, Gigantism is a common marker of huge, violent goons, and Dwarfism of entertainers. Bio-Tech has more on the biology of these disadvantages, and ways of treating them in childhood. Gigantism is standard issue for DF Barbarians, and is a prerequisite for some of their power-ups, although their Denizens book offers an option to remove it. Fantasy has giant animals as monsters, and Horror forgotten races, stunted into dwarfs. Gigantism is quite useful for Martial Arts, especially for grapplers, unlike Dwarfism, but some of that disadvantage can be made up with the Huge Weapons perk, from Power-Ups 2.

The only character I’ve played with either of these disadvantages was an Arthurian jester with Dwarfism. He was created for a 3e play-by-post game, where combat would be slow to play, so I created a character with no combat capability at all. Having known someone with Gigantism who eventually died of its side-effects, I’d feel a bit reserved about using it.

How have these disadvantages been important in your games?
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Old 07-20-2018, 06:59 AM   #2
Bruno
 
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Default Re: [Basic] Disadvantage of the Week: Dwarfism and Gigantism

Quote:
Originally Posted by johndallman View Post
The only character I’ve played with either of these disadvantages was an Arthurian jester with Dwarfism. He was created for a 3e play-by-post game, where combat would be slow to play, so I created a character with no combat capability at all. Having known someone with Gigantism who eventually died of its side-effects, I’d feel a bit reserved about using it.

How have these disadvantages been important in your games?
Like most real medical conditions, real gigantism is a combination of multiple traits in GURPS, one of which is Gigantism (big G). Some combination of Bad Back, Lame, Chronic Pain, reduced HT, and Short Lifespan being almost inescapable for the real trait (among other disads), and they're often associated with Distinctive Features (above and beyond just size) or reduced appearance (facial features can become disproportionate if growth continues after the bones fuse). The other growth-related conditions have their own associated Disadvantages.

DF Barbarians on the other claw don't have real gigantism or another growth condition - they're very healthy. They're cartoonishly big because they're a cartoon-like exaggeration of a caricature of Roman enemies passed down over 2000 years, which turned into a sort of mythical creature in the 20th century.

I've played a lot of DF Barbarians and non-DF barbarian-like characters with Gigantism (the disad, not the condition), because given half a chance I will pick a cartoonishly big and strong character who thumps things and Gigantism covers the big part and facilitates the strong part.

I've thrown off a few GMs, I think, because I like having size-related problems dumped on my characters. It entertains me when I have a passage I have to crouch in or squeeze through, or I fall through the floor, because these problems mean the game world is acting like my character is big, and I like playing big characters.
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Old 07-20-2018, 08:25 AM   #3
Fred Brackin
 
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Default Re: [Basic] Disadvantage of the Week: Dwarfism and Gigantism

Back at the very dawn of gurps (Fantasy 1e probably) I fooled around with a character concept of a youngest age dragon with Dwarfism. Back then energy costs were by hex and such a dragon was normally a 2 hex figure which was quite a disadvantage. This would still work in the age of SM.

For a pregen of an IOU game I made a character who had both Dwarfism and Hunchback. He was a member of the Igorsky family and was working on his education before going into his family's traditional career of Mad Science!.
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Old 07-20-2018, 11:45 AM   #4
Pursuivant
 
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Default Re: [Basic] Disadvantage of the Week: Dwarfism and Gigantism

Both of these traits are ancient leftovers from GURPS 1E.

Arguably, they could have been left out of GURPS 4E and just folded into the Unnatural Features disadvantage or treated as Metatraits.

Additionally, unless I'm missing something, the point costs for both traits don't quite add up:

Dwarfism:

Size is a 0-point feature.
Move -1 is -5 points.
Short Arms is -10 points
Two levels of Unnatural Features (Unusually short for your species, Unnaturally short arms and legs) is -2.
"Requires custom clothing and armor which costs 10% more" is a Quirk, worth -1 point.

Total cost: -18 points

Gigantism:

Size is a 0-point feature (along with all its inherent benefits and drawbacks like reduced cost for ST and HP, +1 to be hit in combat, penalties to Camouflage, vs. benefits like bonuses to Intimidation).

Move +1 is 5 points

Two levels of Unnatural Features (Unusually tall for your species. Unusually long legs.) is -2.

"Requires custom clothing and armor which costs 20% more" is a Quirk, worth -1 point.

Total cost is +2

Last edited by Pursuivant; 07-20-2018 at 12:00 PM.
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Old 07-20-2018, 02:02 PM   #5
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Default Re: [Basic] Disadvantage of the Week: Dwarfism and Gigantism

I’ve played a human genetic dwarf mecha pilot (some adventures were sans mecha, and he was special-forces trained. The group skulker), and currently a genetic giant fairy (10 inches tall, proportioned like a professional wrestler. Throws acorns and drops rocks. Also the group skulker, but imagines himself a mighty warrior).
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Old 07-20-2018, 03:30 PM   #6
Anthony
 
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Default Re: [Basic] Disadvantage of the Week: Dwarfism and Gigantism

Dwarfism and Giantism should probably not exist; I would instead note:

Dwarfism and Giantism: [0]
It is possible for the SM of an individual to differ from the standard for their species. This has no inherent benefits or penalties other than changed SM (which is a 0 point feature), but may be a justification for other advantages and disadvantages, such as modified Move and Distinctive Features (side note: the short arms on Dwarfism should probably not be present; Dwarfism should just give the normal reach modifiers for SM -1. They're probably listed in Dwarfism because Basic doesn't talk about the effects of low SM on Reach).
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