increasing attributes after character creation

[Alden Loveshade]

Originally Posted by Kromm

"Increased resistance to Influence skills" is a vastly powerful ability, overlooked by GURPS players because they're accustomed to being the ones acting, not the ones being acted upon – i.e., because Influence skills are things their PCs use on NPCs.

I think it's overlooked largely due to the GM. Our games tend to have a fair amount of that. I have had GURPS players new to one of my campaigns say things like, "What do you mean I have to roll to resist their Fast Talk?"

EDIT: I just realized my above comment could be misleading, so I should clarify the above as a player's misinterpretation. I don't use NPC's successful influence roll to tell players how they have to react--except for modifiers to their appropriate rolls. If the NPC rolls 4 under Sex Appeal, and your PC has Lecherousness that would apply to that NPC, you're rolling at -4.

I do encourage my players to roleplay the NPC's influence when there isn't a required roll: I do this by description. "You've heard this business owner has connections that might be just what you're looking for--and you've heard a rumor that he's sympathetic to your cause."

Originally Posted by Kromm

In real life, you rarely get to try an Influence skill except to make some minor personal gain (e.g., to eat lunch with the cool kids, or successfully lie about why you didn't show up to a party), and most people do even that at default.

For most people and professions, I agree. As a journalist who worked to get information from politicians and police officers that they didn't necessarily plan to tell me, I did a fair amount of that on the job. (Although with the police lieutenant who had worked undercover and infiltrated a major drug ring in Los Angeles, I continually failed).

[Otaku]

I suspect a good deal of us are using whatever accrued CP we earn in our lives to buy down or buy off Disadvantages. Oh, and the optional (home brewed?) rule where you can spend CP to re-roll, or to "buy down" a failure? I think that might be in effect as well. ;)