Statting a teenager--skills needed and likely

[The Colonel]

Originally Posted by DanHoward

Glutton, Laziness, Selfishness, Delusion (everyone thinks about me all the time), Delusion (I know more than my parents), Overconfidence

Not sure about Glutton ... you might actually be looking at some kind of increased consumption given amount some teenagers seem to be able to eat without putting on weight.

How about small arms skills? Granted the OP was statting a girl, but even in the UK a country kid has a reasonable chance of being able to handle a low calibre rifle or shotgun. And if you have a cadet force in the US ... I'm not sure there was anyone in our corps who wasn't qualified with an L98 by the age of 14.

[Agramer]

If we assume High school kid goes to scool on average 250 days / year and has classes 5 hours / day that amounts to 1250 hours ... divide by 2(they arent paying attention whole time during classes) =625 hours . Add 30 minutes / day worth of homework or preparing for exam = 125 hours.

So during one High school year they have 625 hours with tutor = 6,25 CPs (B293 Education) and 125 hours /selftought = 0,625 CPs

So Average Highschool kid should gain 7 CPs / school year.

My point is that you guys look at kids as more incompetent than they actually are.They are resourceful and their heads are stuffed with knowledge.I could actually make a case that they gain additional ,minimum, 3+ CPs /calendar year during their "off school time".

Optional rule: Maintaining skills (B294) nicely sums it up...We all have forgotten much more than wed like to admit.

Test:(If you have teenager at home) I bet he knows more about each subject that he has learned in school than you do,unless youre professional in that field.Try starting withmath,chemistry,formulas,physics,Geography,
History...etc

[Peter Knutsen]

Originally Posted by Ed the Coastie

Oddly enough (from a GURPS standpoint), a 14-year old male active in the LDS church will usually possess Clerical Investment (LDS) [5] and Religious Rank 1 (LDS) [5]. Of course, this is generally off-set by Vow (assorted LDS obligations) [-5] and Honesty (15-)* [-5].

Remember to slap on a "-80% Largely irrelevant and fairly obscure nation-specific chuch" Limitation on most or all of those Advantages (but not the DisAdvantages).

[Peter Knutsen]

Originally Posted by Asta Kask

And of course a lot of teens have Shyness. How much would Shyness (only in romantic situations) be worth? I definitely had that, as I wasn't afraid to be on stage. But girls? Blush, stammer, quick retreat.

Limiations on DisAdvantages should usually be pretty stark.

On the other hand, the female half of the population is roughly 50%, although a bit less (maybe 35% to 45%) if one ascribes weight to authority figures, so All Females could be -70% (as high as -65% in a setting with an equal number of men and women in positions of authority, perhaps).

If your character is a teenager himself All Teenaged Females could also (generously) be -70%, but if he isn't a teenager, All Teenaged Females should be -80%.

[Kromm]

There's no Savoir-Faire (Teenager) skill . . . what you're seeing is Current Affairs (Popular Culture). Per p. B187, you're at -1 per day away from boning up on the topic, and -3 with only one source. Thus, parents tend to drop to -7300 or so relatively quickly, and when they go to the Internet to brush up and figure out what their kid is on about, they're still at -3 for having just one source. Whereas kids exposed to peers at school, TV, the net, big ads at malls, etc. are always at full skill, every day. That's why kids hate family vacations a lot of the time: they suffer bad penalties to their main social skill.

[Turhan's Bey Company]

Originally Posted by Mgellis

Delusion: My parents are evil, mean, and stupid

To be fair (speaking as a parent), that need not be a delusion. As Bill Cosby pointed out, "Parents are not interested in justice. Parents are interested in quiet."

[malloyd]

Originally Posted by Peter Knutsen

Limiations on DisAdvantages should usually be pretty stark.

On the other hand, the female half of the population is roughly 50%, although a bit less (maybe 35% to 45%) if one ascribes weight to authority figures, so All Females could be -70% (as high as -65% in a setting with an equal number of men and women in positions of authority, perhaps).

If your character is a teenager himself All Teenaged Females could also (generously) be -70%, but if he isn't a teenager, All Teenaged Females should be -80%.

Only if you are quite generous. To balance Disadvantage (only against class) with assuming the full disadvantage as the default and buying Not Disadvantaged (only against NOT class), you should add -60% to the accessiblity limitation value. So Only on teen girls is maybe a tenth of the population. Accessible (10%) is -35%, so as a limitation add 60 for -95%. Shyness (crippling -20, only vs teen girls -95%) [-1], or Shyness (crippling -20, only vs women -70%) [-6]

[malloyd]

Originally Posted by Peter Knutsen

Remember to slap on a "-80% Largely irrelevant and fairly obscure nation-specific chuch" Limitation on most or all of those Advantages (but not the DisAdvantages).

That isn't RAW as far as I know. Note the example Priest of Set has always gotten his full Clerical Investment with no indication the trivial size of his sect makes a difference.

And Peter, while the LDS isn't huge, it's got about as many adherents as say Judaism or Tibetan Buddhism, and probably as much international presence as either of them. I suppose you might class them as irrelevant and obscure nation-specific faiths too, but most people probably would not.

[IrishRover]

Thanks for all the feedback..much appreciated! I was simply looking for what skills would be needed and what would be appropriate, and got a FINE assortment of ideas on statting up any adventure worthy young teenager. (And some for stating up older teens, too.) Teens can be frightfully competent. Melinda Cooper was a dangerous pro boxer at 17!

The idea of some guns skill fits, too for a lot of teens, girl and boy. Not in this case, though--it doesn't fit the kid's upbringing. Her outdoor time was bicycling, playing games with the other kids in suburbia, going to school. Guns would be less common, IMVHO, than a rural family.

Now that I have Power-ups 2, dabbler is definately going on the list. the thoughts are much appreciated! This board is why I bought Power Ups 2.

[Ed the Coastie]

Originally Posted by Peter Knutsen

Remember to slap on a "-80% Largely irrelevant and fairly obscure nation-specific chuch" Limitation on most or all of those Advantages (but not the DisAdvantages).

I don't know about "largely irrelevant and fairly obscure nation-specific church". It has made favorable appearances in at least two GURPS publications (Y2K and Autoduel: The Mountain West).