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Old 09-17-2012, 04:37 PM   #11
dcarson
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Default Re: Player Desires (Cinematic vs Realism)

For real but maybe not realistic people. Story Musgrave, astronaut, doctor, pilot, Marine, high school dropout. Dropped out of high school to join the marines. Went back to college. He received a BS degree in mathematics and statistics from Syracuse University in 1958, an MBA degree in operations analysis and computer programming from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1959, a BA degree in chemistry from Marietta College in 1960, an M.D. degree from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1964, an MS in physiology and biophysics from the University of Kentucky in 1966 and a MA in literature from the University of Houston–Clear Lake in 1987.

Was a aircraft tech in the marines and then learned to fly. He has flown 17,700 hours in 160 different types of civilian and military aircraft, including 7,500 hours in jet aircraft. He has earned FAA ratings for instructor, instrument instructor, glider instructor, and airline transport pilot, and U.S. Air Force Wings. An accomplished parachutist, he has made more than 800 free falls — including over 100 experimental free-fall descents involved with the study of human aerodynamics.

Scuba dives as a hobby.
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Old 09-18-2012, 02:21 AM   #12
Pinke
 
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Default Re: Player Desires (Cinematic vs Realism)

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mailanka View Post
That's not quite the same approach we want here, but a similar one will work. Advantages like Charisma, Luck, Serendipity, Danger Sense, Intuition, Hard to Kill, Daredevil and Higher Purpose are all traits a John Doe might have while he's flipping burgers at McDonalds, completely unaware of his potential.
Actually didn't consider higher purpose at all but it's a shame it might not fit perfectly.

Quote:
If he starts with a DX of 13 (not unreasonable), then that first point of Guns will be pretty decently high.
The highest relevant skills are from characters dropping a point in a stat and it doesn't look too bad.

I'm feeling a bit more confident now we have a few more 'outs' early on. I'm trying avoid giving out skills that might be mega awesome later, but of course that doesn't matter if they don't make it!

Intuition / Danger Sense etc ... might not be too bad, and I think I could GM it easy enough.

Quote:
See, Action is about taking rules that already exist
Might see if I can have a flip through action: exploits, as it sounds like it might at least help me shake off my rust a bit and be just what I need. Thanks. :)

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Originally Posted by Jovus View Post
Ordinary people turning to mercenary lives either immediately get training or they die.
Absolutely!

I think that's part of the draw of the setting for the players. I'm thinking of perhaps giving out CPs to spend on skills on critical hits to help up the number of CPs hitting the table without making it too much of a decision on my part. My table seems to not like CPs etc given out seemingly randomly, but I think I can still sneak some in here and there beyond the usual reasons for CPs.

Kromm: been having a read of your play sessions. This is interesting reading since I'm in that situation of having to deal with at least one over the top player. There are two players that are on my 'most likely to get everyone killed in the first twenty minutes' list.

Can I ask if there has been any particular situations that stand out where the cinema shenannigans got in the way of the realism aspects for the other players and how you handled it?

Basically I'm hoping that my smart players will be able to even out the rambo aspects of the crazy one. :)

That said, it should be an interesting game, and everyone's ideas have really helped.
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Old 09-18-2012, 09:02 AM   #13
Peter Knutsen
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Default Re: Player Desires (Cinematic vs Realism)

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Originally Posted by Kromm View Post
I find that you can compromise on realism – whether the origin of differing expectations is player-player or player-GM – by enforcing realistic rules across the board, but giving the players lots of points and requiring Luck for everyone. That's pretty much how I run my current campaign, which is a nominally realistic modern-day one (see .sig). The players who want grit, gore, broken bones, procedural investigation, and technothriller attention to gear get it . . . while the players who want slightly glossy "Judo CHOP!" secret-agent action with martinis, car chases, and women in leather catsuits get that, too. It comes down to where they spend their points and when they invoke their luck.
How does that work?

Is it by the first group of players choosing to spend their points on intrinsic abilities, apart from the mandatory (e.g. 15 CP) amount of Luck or Luck-type traits, while the 2nd group spends a lot more than that on Luck-type traits, such as 100+ points?

If not, then please explain in more depth, because them I'm not seeing it at all.
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Old 09-18-2012, 10:01 AM   #14
Kromm
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Default Re: Player Desires (Cinematic vs Realism)

It's pretty simple, really:

Some players take skills that suit a seriously action-oriented style of play, stick to a relatively short skill list, and crank up the levels; e.g., a Parkour-martial artist type with Acrobatics, Climbing, Jumping, Karate, and Stealth at 18+, and relatively few realistic "secret agent" skills, mostly at 12-14. This lets them excel at close-to-unrealistic moves by virtue of having high enough skill to absorb penalties with skills that tend to allow flashy stuff. They also tend to pick big-ticket traits that aid showing off, from more Luck to the maximum Basic Move I allow for humans to borderline-realistic advantages like Perfect Balance. These players save Luck for their cool moves, and to attack and defend in combat.

Other players spread skill points over quite a few skills that suit a fairly realistic covert-ops style of play; e.g., lots of specific equipment-oriented and technical skills at 13-15, with perhaps one narrow specialty at 16-18. This lets them excel at their technical specialty only, but function usefully in just about any low-key situation. They also tend to pick lots of small edges like perks and techniques that aid technical tasks, and a bit of Less Sleep or Acute Vision. These players save Luck for mission-critical intelligence-gathering and deception, and to survive unlucky hits in combat.

Everybody is subject to the same rules. They have to live with the same decisions I've made regarding whether we use the bleeding rules, whether players can use extra effort in combat, whether players can spend points to influence outcomes, etc. They get the same skill modifiers. They face the same opponents. The difference is that players of the first type have PCs that are extremely good at high-pressure action, but little else, while the those of the second kind can deal with a broader range of stuff with slow, sure preparation. This matches the players' boredom thresholds, so everybody wins.
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Old 09-18-2012, 10:25 AM   #15
Ulzgoroth
 
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Default Re: Player Desires (Cinematic vs Realism)

Hum. Is there a DX-monkey vs. IQ-monkey split there? Because it seems like the example action-guy should be buying DX to the limit (unless there's a ninja talent on offer), whereas the covert operator's skill set is likely to skew heavily to IQ skills and beg for an IQ of 13-14.
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Old 09-18-2012, 10:29 AM   #16
Peter Knutsen
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Default Re: Player Desires (Cinematic vs Realism)

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Originally Posted by Kromm View Post
Everybody is subject to the same rules. They have to live with the same decisions I've made regarding whether we use the bleeding rules, whether players can use extra effort in combat, whether players can spend points to influence outcomes, etc. They get the same skill modifiers. They face the same opponents. The difference is that players of the first type have PCs that are extremely good at high-pressure action, but little else, while the those of the second kind can deal with a broader range of stuff with slow, sure preparation. This matches the players' boredom thresholds, so everybody wins.
Okay, that makes perfect sense then. It's an issue of choosing to be a specialist vs a generalist. Your specialist players go for action movie high-DX and what that brings types, and your other players go for generalist secret agents with an emphasis on skills (but presumably with decent DX and more decent IQ, or various Talents).
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Old 09-18-2012, 10:32 AM   #17
Peter Knutsen
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Default Re: Player Desires (Cinematic vs Realism)

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Originally Posted by Ulzgoroth View Post
Hum. Is there a DX-monkey vs. IQ-monkey split there? Because it seems like the example action-guy should be buying DX to the limit (unless there's a ninja talent on offer), whereas the covert operator's skill set is likely to skew heavily to IQ skills and beg for an IQ of 13-14.
As I understand it, some of his players are DX-monkey specialists, and others are skill-monkey generalists.

To be a skill-monkey in GURPS you need some DX or IQ or usually both, but not a lot, although depending on available Talents you can reduce needed DX or IQ by a bit.

I don't see any reason not to have IQ-monkey specialists too, but possibly there's not a large demographic who finds it to be as cool as being a DX-monkey.
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Old 09-18-2012, 12:16 PM   #18
Kromm
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Default Re: Player Desires (Cinematic vs Realism)

What I have is "specialists in just the cool stuff" vs. "generalists at lots of stuff." However, "cool" is subjective. For one player (Zhang's), it means things that benefit from high DX and HT, like running, climbing, and jumping. For another player (Anabel's), it means things that benefit from high IQ and Smooth Operator, like deception and seduction. Then there are the players who prefer to have a broad skill base; for instance, Wen's player has made Wen adept at sniping, hand-to-hand combat, explosives, forgery, threat detection, and impersonating little girls, which calls for a broad spectrum of unrelated attributes, advantages, perks, and skills . . .

This is because Zhang's player thinks of "secret agents" as being more like action heroes, Anabel's player idolizes classic 1960s femme fatale protagonists, and Wen's player likes semi-realistic spy movies better than either of the above. Then there's Vinnie's player, who appears to like low-key gangster movies from the 1940s through 1960s, and who finds that he has almost too many points, so he has deliberately spread himself thin to remain low-key.
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Old 09-18-2012, 03:17 PM   #19
johndallman
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Default Re: Player Desires (Cinematic vs Realism)

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... and Wen's player likes semi-realistic spy movies better than either of the above.
That's interesting. I like semi-realistic better than full-on cinematic - mt suspension of disbelief is fussy - and I've found reading your write-ups that Wen is a character who I can relate to much better than most of them.
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