GURPS Power-Ups 9: Alternate Attributes

[Kromm]

Originally Posted by ericthered

The lists in "New Homes for Old Skills" are probably going to be very useful in discussions of skill types. There are 16 of them, and they might end up being default sub-attributes that we compose attributes out of.

The "Keeping What Matters List" is going to be dead useful as a reference and tinkerer's guide, and make a lot of attribute tweaks less error prone.

Those big lists of lists, and many smaller lists (like those on pp. 11 and 32) – along with all the funky math (like that on pp. 9, 17, 26, 28, and 44) – were why this supplement took me so long to write. Believe me when I say that while each GM still has a lot of work to do, this does a considerable amount of it in advance!

[Plane]

Originally Posted by DouglasCole

Alternate divisors like 2/3 for Easy skills and 1/3 for hard skills (or something like that) would be worth looking at.

Like staff/unarmed parries in 3e?

Originally Posted by Kromm

I like the idea that attributes are used directly in rolls rather than via the (attribute/x)+y rolls common in many systems.

Applying a divisor to an attribute presently how parries/blocks (/2) and dodges (/4) work... if no divisor were being used then would it still work like an independent roll or as a quick contest?

Do you think blocks-as-stops & parries-as-deflections might make it into PU10?

Or maybe even some kind of non-discrete continuum where you move from taking full damage to your arm to partial damage to no damage (normal parry)

Perhaps with only partial degrees of success (the parry doesn't stop the attack hitting but it reduces the damage to that location)

Also maybe synergy with followup defense, like when using All-Out Defense (Double) even if a parry doesn't throw an attack off enough to make it miss, it still influences the attack enough to make it easier to dodge.

Partial hits / partial defenses was covered in one of the earlier pyramids, I think where MoF 1s would work but halve the damage, which could be incorporated into a larger system.

[edk926]

Reading this thread makes me want to dig up my old attempts at trying to Homebrew a quick system. It was basically influenced by everything I've played plus other's attempts to Homebrew I found online.

[Alden Loveshade]

I remember the possibilities of different prices for attributes being discussed back in Third Edition days (yes, I'm that old; I started playing GURPS when I was age 2). I had a TL9 (TL10 in Fourth Edition) PC who took ST 9 just because strength didn't seem nearly as important at TL9 as it was at TL3.

A gaming friend told me this book had come out, so I'll check it out!

[nudj]

This is a great book. Bought it immediately. Been waiting for TL-based ST and official rules on diving up IQ (and charging more overall) based on genre for a long time. This is an essential purchase for those who see GURPS as a toolkit to build a game. Kromm is a genius.

nudj

[Onkl]

Thank you very much for this Power-Up. Armed with it I might give my Eclipse Phase Conversion another shot.

Cheers

Onkl

[ericthered]

Originally Posted by nudj

This is a great book. Bought it immediately. Been waiting for TL-based ST and official rules on diving up IQ (and charging more overall) based on genre for a long time. This is an essential purchase for those who see GURPS as a toolkit to build a game. Kromm is a genius.

nudj

I'm going to be taking a look at dividing up IQ sometime, but I want to digest the low-hanging fruit in this book first.

Another useful item in the book: a discussion of N/A attributes. I've been kind of applying that already, but its useful to have.

[dataweaver]

Originally Posted by ericthered

I'm going to be taking a look at dividing up IQ sometime, but I want to digest the low-hanging fruit in this book first.

Another useful item in the book: a discussion of N/A attributes. I've been kind of applying that already, but its useful to have.

Yep. And if you include a Magic Attribute, making it N/A for non-mages is another good way to keep it from becoming a dump stat.

And with the Dividing Up the Universe section, N/A can be applied to whole Realms of Attributes at once. Got a Physical Realm consisting of ST, DX, and HT? For Beings of Pure Thought (including digital entities), that whole Realm is potentially N/A. Conversely, a cyber-shell might be missing the whole Mental Realm of Attributes, while robots and AIs might be missing the whole Spiritual Realm of Attributes.

[scc]

This is great! I've been meaning to post asking about adding Wisdom to GURPS, particularly DF, because I've never really liked the one mental stat model and setting things up so that not all spellcasters use the one stat is a good idea, but using a dedicated, and unitary, magical stat doesn't sit well with me.

From reading the thread my choices would be:
Will, the stat for doing things;
IQ, the stat for knowing things;
Wisdom, the stat for thinking about things;
and Perception, the stat for seeing things.

This of course wants me to split the physical stats up so that there's 4 of them in total.

[dataweaver]

There kind of already are. Promote Basic Speed to full attribute status (possibly renaming it as Agility), and move some skills from DX to Speed. Strength and Health, Dexterity and Agility.