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Old 01-26-2011, 03:25 PM   #11
starslayer
 
Join Date: Dec 2006
Default Re: Reaction modifiers and reaction skill rolls.

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Originally Posted by vicky_molokh View Post
Please, let's not mix the two different aspects of appearances and reaction rolls.

Yes, appearance causes trouble with jealous people (at least by RAW, even though the pricing doesn't seem to account for that). No, it shouldn't result in people who didn't have a truly bad reaction to have a de facto bad reaction.
he was not suggesting that the reaction roll end up being de facto bad reaction- simply that someone who has a very positive reaction may actually become a liablity.

For example Samantha is handsome (but not beautiful) and the lorie driver goes for girls with impressive mannish features- Samantha is ALSO a supernatural creature, who casts no shadow. As well she has a sense of duty to all innocents. Samantha needs to get to an abandoned complex in the city where she expects to find a vampire who has been feeding on locals.

The driver is very taken with her (rolled 13 for reaction, then counted in the +4, very good reacton)- the driver is willing to drive Samantha to where she wants to go for free. The driver, now paying attention to Samantha may notice that she casts no shadow; but this is unlikely to alter his very good reaction. However upon arrival at the abandoned complex he refuses to let her go without him, since it could be dangerous, and with a very good reaction the driver is willing to put his own life ahead of hers. The driver is quite insistent, and Samantha cannot see a way to dispel him without tipping off the vampire she's here to hunt. Samantha will have to heavily weigh if putting the driver's life in danger is acceptable to save the victim that the vampire WILL feat on tonight, but she will have a lot of trouble forgiving herself if her actions directly lead this man to harm. Even if they do survive the encounter, the smitten man may say the wrong thing to the wrong people about 'the girl I met last night' (While he would not do anything to put her in danger willingly, with minimal knowledge about her he may do so accidentally.).


So the reaction roll itself, and bonuses thereof, may not be inconvenient; but the way that they interact with the world may be. Of course, having low empathy, but cosmic transcendent beauty, +10 charisma, and no qualms purposely sending people to there death will likely result in far fewer such incidences (Some vengeful lovers/parents/children might come to hunt you down, but you can convince them to die for you almost as easily).
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Old 01-26-2011, 03:29 PM   #12
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Default Re: Reaction modifiers and reaction skill rolls.

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Originally Posted by Skavra View Post

The reaction roll section has a table which rates how good your reaction was. Is there an easy way to map this to the reaction skills? How much better is it to succeed by 6 than by 2?

How do people resist social manipulation? I seem to recall Will came into this, but that would suggest that most people are much better at manipulating than resisting manipulation.

- /'skav.ɾa/
Mysteries has the rules for this. It ends up being something about equivalent to applying the results of an opposed skill vs will roll to the average reaction roll table (I.e. A margin of success of 6 gives equivalent result of 16 on the reaction roll chart)
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Old 01-26-2011, 03:35 PM   #13
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Default Re: Reaction modifiers and reaction skill rolls.

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Originally Posted by Skavra View Post
...The reaction roll section has a table which rates how good your reaction was. Is there an easy way to map this to the reaction skills?...
GURPS Mysteries has a section called Expanded Influence and Reaction Rules which offers one possible mapping (p. 54). It also suggests using The Rule of 16 (p. B349) to limit super-influencers.

GURPS Dungeon Fantasy 5: Allies has a different mapping for summonable allies (p. 5).
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Old 01-27-2011, 12:03 AM   #14
Darekun
 
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Default Re: Reaction modifiers and reaction skill rolls.

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Originally Posted by Skavra View Post
This would seem to make it very easy to be disturbingly good ad social interaction rolls.
If you're rolling every reaction, yes.

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Originally Posted by Skavra View Post
How is the GM supposed to deal with people who have interaction skills which end up modified over 20?
In practice, the most important reactions are likely to be predefined, and therefore less subject or not subject to manipulation. It's then still useful, maybe a meat shield generator, but not an "I win" button.
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Old 01-27-2011, 12:40 AM   #15
Peter Knutsen
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Default Re: Reaction modifiers and reaction skill rolls.

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Originally Posted by Darekun View Post
In practice, the most important reactions are likely to be predefined, and therefore less subject or not subject to manipulation. It's then still useful, maybe a meat shield generator, but not an "I win" button.
15 CPs buys you 3 levels of Charisma.
16 CPs buys you a pretty decent Karate skill.
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Old 01-27-2011, 01:36 PM   #16
starslayer
 
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Default Re: Reaction modifiers and reaction skill rolls.

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Originally Posted by Peter Knutsen View Post
15 CPs buys you 3 levels of Charisma.
16 CPs buys you a pretty decent Karate skill.
I would actually think more like:

100 points buys you charisma +20

15 points buys your foe indomitable.

-15 points buys the monster in the sewer Odious Personal Habit 'likes to keep friends close forever so that they can never be hurt by outside forces'.

-20 points buys the killer 'low empathy'.


There are LOTS of places where charisma +20 will work, and work well, justifying the cost- being able to call off basically any combat with a simple roll, no hard feelings 'i'll get you next time gadget!' with most foes is pretty snazzy for 100 points by itself. BUT if the GM is allowing a PC to have a supernatural level of persuasiveness and not charging a massive UB for it, then OTHER people have that ability, AND some people have countermeasures for it.
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Old 01-27-2011, 02:00 PM   #17
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Default Re: Reaction modifiers and reaction skill rolls.

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Originally Posted by starslayer View Post
he was not suggesting that the reaction roll end up being de facto bad reaction- simply that someone who has a very positive reaction may actually become a liablity.
Not only. He can fall in love too... Especially if she used the Sex appeal skill...

Which can be quite embarrassing.

Of course, the reaction is good. So, the lorry driver will first accept to take Samantha far from the town... Likewise, he wont try something nasty (a rape, for example). If he fell in love, he will be truly in love. A good reaction is a good reaction as Vicky Molokh said it! But he will perhaps try to help her more than she would like. And he will probably try to see her again... Which can be eventually become boring, especially if Samantha is a spy or something like that - and if she claims around that she has never been in the previous town...

A good reaction means that the non-player character wants to help the player character. Not necessarily that he instinctively knows how to do it... Especially when the player character doesn't tell him all the truth.

Last edited by Gollum; 01-27-2011 at 02:17 PM.
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