[WWII Historians] Why did Hitler have WILL 18?

[Johnny1A.2]

Originally Posted by ajardoor

I thought Unfazeable and Indomitable were unrealistic traits?

Only in the sense of being rare in their pure form. Almost all of the so-called 'cinemetic' traits in GURPS (other than those that are physically impossible) do exist in real life, though some of them are very, very rare.

[Johnny1A.2]

Originally Posted by NineDaysDead

Probably not. Given the way GURPS defines Charisma, Hitler probably didn't have any. What he would have had would be an absurd Propaganda score, probably in the 21-24 range.

He had something. I don't know that I would call it Charisma precisely, in the GURPS sense, but it isn't Propaganda (though he had that skill too). You have to be able to understand a piece of agitprop for it work on you as propaganda, but people who didn't speak a word of German used to find themselves cheering Hitler's speeches, even though they didn't even know what he was saying. Women apparently found him hard to resist, even before he was in power, too.

I don't thing that something was necessarily unique to him, though he seems to either have had more of it than others, or a better grasp of how to make use of it.

[trans]

I think Hitler had Charisma 4, if anyone ever did.

[Peter Knutsen]

Originally Posted by Figleaf23

Will 18 is ridiculous.

Unless I'm mistaken, Who's Who was written at a time when the game system lacked certain refinements like Unfazeable. That said, I wouldn't give Unfazeable to Hitler. Indomitable, maybe, with Will about 15 (until his mental illness undermined that).

Incorrect. Who's Who 1 and 2 were published well after Compendium I.

[Peter Knutsen]

Originally Posted by Anaraxes

Who's Who normally leans to the cinematic, does it not?

It's all over the place, very much depending on whoever wrote up the person in question. In some cases, such as Boudica's writeup, the stats are conservative, but there's a prose "lens" for how to cinematicize her.

Something similar would have been done with Hitler's writeup, e.g. starting with a more conservative Will of 14 or 15, then beefing that up with +3 in the Lens, and a few other traits to increase cost.

[Peter Knutsen]

Originally Posted by vicky_molokh

Hmmm. Maybe he's a candidate for Attribute Substitution (Public Speaking based on Will). Because his Public Speaking is definitely epic, judging both by people's accounts and by the short video clips of him making performances.

How about a Hitler Rant Perk, that lets you burn FP for a temporary boost to Public Speaking? I mean, on top of Attribute Substitution.

[Peter Knutsen]

Originally Posted by Asta Kask

Maybe Smooth Operator is a better fit?

Smooth Operator gives a boost to a huge - a vastly huge - range of skills. I'd be extremely wary of anything that tends to insinuate that maybe Hitler was some kind of generalist badass.

[Flyndaran]

Originally Posted by Johnny1A.2

Only in the sense of being rare in their pure form. Almost all of the so-called 'cinemetic' traits in GURPS (other than those that are physically impossible) do exist in real life, though some of them are very, very rare.

Not everyone agrees with that.

[D10]

Originally Posted by Flyndaran

Not everyone agrees with that.

Well after practicing martial arts and watching professional martial artistis duke it out, im sure at least roll with blow exists

[Mailanka]

Originally Posted by trans

I think Hitler had Charisma 4, if anyone ever did.

When I think Charisma 4, I think Alexander of Macedon.