New way to build Contacts

[Anders]

How about buying Contacts as skills with an Accessibility limitation? Has anyone tried this? It's not entirely RAW to limit skills, but...

[Donny Brook]

As written, Contacts seem way over-priced compared to an ally, but your proposal would seem to strip them of a role-playing element, so I would not use that approach to replace them.

[malloyd]

Originally Posted by Anders

How about buying Contacts as skills with an Accessibility limitation? Has anyone tried this? It's not entirely RAW to limit skills, but...

Sure, works fine. It's Unreliable (for the frequency of appearance, though you can't match the actual numbers), and Preparation Required (because consulting a contact is always at least a little slower than using the skill yourself). Add an extra -5, 10 or 15% for Usually, Somewhat and Unreliable.

Use a Wildcard skill though. Contacts are more versatile than a single skill, but the theme of a wildcard often catches them quite well.

Originally Posted by Donny Brook

As written, Contacts seem way over-priced compared to an ally, but your proposal would seem to strip them of a role-playing element, so I would not use that approach to replace them.

Not any more than the existing mechanics do. You can roleplay the Preparation Required part just as much as you can roleplay a frequency of appearance and reliability roll.

[Peter Knutsen]

Originally Posted by Donny Brook

As written, Contacts seem way over-priced compared to an ally, but your proposal would seem to strip them of a role-playing element, so I would not use that approach to replace them.

I don't think there's much roleplay element to RAW Contacts anyway. Also, pricing them as discounted/limited skills is at least somewhat similar to how Hero System does it, and it's my hunch that that's how the whole Contact concept started - as a way for player characters to get skills somewhat cheaper in exchange for them being "external" to the character (and with Hero System's implementation - as often - inspiring GURPS'). Therefore the OP's idea is basically sound.

I go the other way, though, and ditch the "Contacts are discounted skills" approach, and instead individualize Contacts further by giving them more stats and traits.

Finally, I agree that Contacts should be cheap. Game balance aside (and initially, in early publications, GURPS' Contacts were crazy expensive!), it's a good thing when players decide, during character creation, that their characters knows useful guys, because by doing that they tie their characters more closely to the world in which the campaign takes place.

[Donny Brook]

Originally Posted by malloyd

Use a Wildcard skill though. Contacts are more versatile than a single skill, but the theme of a wildcard often catches them quite well.

Since the Contact provides only information, I have found it sufficient but necessary to use a custom Expert Skill.

You can roleplay the Preparation Required part just as much as you can roleplay a frequency of appearance and reliability roll.

It does solve that problem if you add such elements back into the mix.

[Anders]

Yeah, it's easy to add a roleplaying element. I would still list this under Advantages - just determine point value this way.

Peter, I definitely think a Contact should have a personality and a background story, but they don't need a character sheet.

[LemmingLord]

This is brilliant. Marvelous. Amazing.

[Edges]

I like the idea too. Granted, it seems that GURPS has a tradition of not applying modifiers to skills. But this sounds like a good exception to me.

I wonder if a version of Fickle could be used to simulate reliability. Fickle is usually worth -20%. So maybe you could say -15% since the reaction roll may be modified by bribes, etc. Then, to make them more reliable, you could give maybe a +2 or +4 to the reaction roll for -10% or -5% respectively. Just spitballing.

You could also add a +50% Cosmic if the Contact was someone who could do work for you while you were doing other things. Maybe you have an inventor Contact with the Inventor! wildcard skill. She could build you a cool device while you adventured keeping you from having to take time off.

[LemmingLord]

I do confess that the glaring Gurps point cost fail of having skill level based on one's attributes becomes acute at this point.

Why should it cost a smart person less to have an iq-based skilled contact?

[Anders]

Originally Posted by LemmingLord

This is brilliant. Marvelous. Amazing.

*blush*

Originally Posted by LemmingLord

I do confess that the glaring Gurps point cost fail of having skill level based on one's attributes becomes acute at this point.

Why should it cost a smart person less to have an iq-based skilled contact?

Because it would cost him less to get same benefit by reading a book. I'm putting Contacts on the same cost basis as skills. If you don't like it, price it based on what it would cost if you had an attribute of... 12?