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Old 10-15-2016, 11:24 AM   #21
David Johnston2
 
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Default Re: [Basic] Skill of the week: Sex Appeal

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Originally Posted by Frost View Post
I shudder to think what your worst choice would have been.

However it does illustrate quite how useful sex appeal can be. As long as your players are comfortable with it can see quite a lot of millage in many campaigns. It has certainly seen a lot of use in the groups I have spent the most time with.

This is partially a gamist thing a number of more rules focused players have made a big thing of the high default and the connection to a cheap physical attribute but there is also the sheer number of character types it fits from waitresses and bar flies to cinematic spies. I agree it probably helps that a lot of these have been mixed groups with a strong separation between player and character.
It might be a "cheap" physical attribute, but it's one that people don't want to buy up much either. It has only a few skills, and its utility declines steeply as you buy it up. Buying up Attractiveness is a much more appealing option for maximizing Sex Appeal.

Last edited by David Johnston2; 10-15-2016 at 11:42 AM.
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Old 10-15-2016, 11:55 AM   #22
vicky_molokh
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Default Re: [Basic] Skill of the week: Sex Appeal

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Originally Posted by David Johnston2 View Post
It might be a "cheap" physical attribute, but it's one that people don't want to buy up much either. It has only a few skills, and its utility declines steeply as you buy it up. Buying up Attractiveness is a much more appealing option for maximizing Sex Appeal.
IME its utility scales up until you hit a roll against 16 for basic HT rolls, which means HT14-16 depending on whether you have Fit/Very Fit. More is not as good, but still very good for an adventurer. So I don't think there's much of a diminishing return until one reaches point budgets multiple hundreds.
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Old 10-15-2016, 12:06 PM   #23
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Default Re: [Basic] Skill of the week: Sex Appeal

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Originally Posted by vicky_molokh View Post
IME its utility scales up until you hit a roll against 16 for basic HT rolls, which means HT14-16 depending on whether you have Fit/Very Fit. More is not as good, but still very good for an adventurer. So I don't think there's much of a diminishing return until one reaches point budgets multiple hundreds.
The expected number of rolls to die is 2 for HT 10, 2.67 for HT 11, 3.86 for HT 12, 6.17 for HT 13, and 10.80 for HT 14, which takes you well past the absolute limit of 6xHP; you have better than a 2/3 chance of surviving till you're torn to pieces. So I tend to feel that pushing "roll to survive" past 14 or less is not the optimal use of character points.
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Old 10-15-2016, 01:15 PM   #24
simply Nathan
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Default Re: [Basic] Skill of the week: Sex Appeal

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I shudder to think what your worst choice would have been.
IQ 8 "ninja" whose player took Impulsive and Overconfidence among other traits, then bought Common Sense only to ignore it every time it went off (the GM even waiving the IQ rolls just to give the guy more of a chance). This player's first proposal was to play El Kabong, GM said that talking horse wasn't an available race so he settled for this.
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Old 10-15-2016, 01:19 PM   #25
David Johnston2
 
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Default Re: [Basic] Skill of the week: Sex Appeal

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Originally Posted by whswhs View Post
The expected number of rolls to die is 2 for HT 10, 2.67 for HT 11, 3.86 for HT 12, 6.17 for HT 13, and 10.80 for HT 14, which takes you well past the absolute limit of 6xHP; you have better than a 2/3 chance of surviving till you're torn to pieces. So I tend to feel that pushing "roll to survive" past 14 or less is not the optimal use of character points.
Yup. Anything past 13 and you are basically buying fatigue points at full price...unless you've got a lot of wizards with health resisted spells or poisons with modifiers.
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Old 10-15-2016, 01:22 PM   #26
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Default Re: [Basic] Skill of the week: Sex Appeal

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Originally Posted by David Johnston2 View Post
It might be a "cheap" physical attribute, but it's one that people don't want to buy up much either. It has only a few skills, and its utility declines steeply as you buy it up. Buying up Attractiveness is a much more appealing option for maximizing Sex Appeal.
Baring in mind this is somebody elses opinion. It may be wrong but I have certain players who believe this who (possibly atypically) do tend to buy HT often up to the 13-14 range.

At this sort of level sex appeal appears to offer a lot for very little, HT 13 gets you a default level of 10 even before you drop any points in it. With my players this means it tends to be a social skill for non-social characters.
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Old 10-15-2016, 01:30 PM   #27
David Johnston2
 
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Default Re: [Basic] Skill of the week: Sex Appeal

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Originally Posted by Frost View Post
Baring in mind this is somebody elses opinion. It may be wrong but I have certain players who believe this who (possibly atypically) do tend to buy HT often up to the 13-14 range.

At this sort of level sex appeal appears to offer a lot for very little, HT 13 gets you a default level of 10 even before you drop any points in it. With my players this means it tends to be a social skill for non-social characters.
10 is needless to say a useless level of a social skill. You'd be better off with a straight reaction roll.
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Old 10-15-2016, 02:01 PM   #28
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Default Re: [Basic] Skill of the week: Sex Appeal

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Yup. Anything past 13 and you are basically buying fatigue points at full price...unless you've got a lot of wizards with health resisted spells or poisons with modifiers.
Fatigue takes up 3 points per level, BS takes up another 5, leaving 2 per level for HT!
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Old 10-15-2016, 02:52 PM   #29
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Default Re: [Basic] Skill of the week: Sex Appeal

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Fatigue takes up 3 points per level, BS takes up another 5, leaving 2 per level for HT!
So at a certain point you're better off buying whichever of those you expect to use.
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Old 10-15-2016, 02:59 PM   #30
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Default Re: [Basic] Skill of the week: Sex Appeal

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10 is needless to say a useless level of a social skill. You'd be better off with a straight reaction roll.
If you're going up against someone with Will 10 (the average value), you have a nearly 50% change of winning the Influence roll. That gives you a Very Good reaction in this case. You have less than a 5% chance of that on a straight reaction roll. Unless you have a very good reaction bonus, say +5 or above (since you have a chance of an Excellent reaction, which is even better than winning the Influence roll!), your chance of a really favorable reaction is a lot better with the Influence roll. (Of course losing the Influence roll will usually be worse.)
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