Youthful Appearance

[whswhs]

Originally Posted by DanHoward

I used to regularly get asked for ID up to my late-twenties. It only stopped when I grew a full beard. IMO it is a 0 point perk. In some situations can be a benefit and in others it can be a hindrance.

A zero point trait is called a Feature, not a Perk.

[Flyndaran]

Originally Posted by DanHoward

I used to regularly get asked for ID up to my late-twenties. It only stopped when I grew a full beard. IMO it is a 0 point perk. In some situations can be a benefit and in others it can be a hindrance.

That purely depends on what ages you are and appear to be.
Looking under 21 but being over is quite different to looking 40 but being 60, for example.

Another thing is how easy is it is to show proper age.

My mom was seriously carded up to the age of 36. But her attitude and presence made it easy to prove her proper age even before they saw her I.D.

[Black Leviathan]

It would be a strange game world where a younger appearance didn't translate into a higher level of Appearance Advantage, unless you remain looking child-like all of your life.

[talonthehand]

Originally Posted by Black Leviathan

It would be a strange game world where a younger appearance didn't translate into a higher level of Appearance Advantage, unless you remain looking child-like all of your life.

Not necessarily - some people get hit hard in a bad way by puberty, so looking like a teen for another decade would be a nightmare.

[Hide]

Originally Posted by AlexanderHowl

So, I stumbled across a website that was talking about a family of Taiwanese women who looked half their age and wondered how you would represent that in GURPS? Would it be a perk, basically Extended Lifespan 1 (Cosmetic Only, -80%), would it be a real life version of Extended Lifespan 1, or would it just be Longevity? What do you think?

In B21 we find the feature "impressive". It's for "above average" appareance; however, I would say it fits the situation of that small group of people. I think looking younger could make these women more attractive, if compared to others in the same group of age.

From B21: "If you are Attractive or better, you can specify that you have exceptional physical presence that doesn’t manifest as sexual magnetism."

[Rupert]

Originally Posted by Black Leviathan

It would be a strange game world where a younger appearance didn't translate into a higher level of Appearance Advantage, unless you remain looking child-like all of your life.

Not all cultures value(d) youthful appearance as much as modern western culture does, especially for men.

[whswhs]

In any case, regardless of how many points it's worth (probably 1, 0, or -1), I think it's a form of Passing Appearance.

[RyanW]

Originally Posted by Black Leviathan

It would be a strange game world where a younger appearance didn't translate into a higher level of Appearance Advantage, unless you remain looking child-like all of your life.

Some people age especially well. There are plenty of women who only really started to find Sean Connery attractive after he qualified for a bus pass.

[NineDaysDead]

Originally Posted by mr beer

Zero points by Basic since Appearance reduction is not part of aging. If the GM uses house rules, cosmetic Extended Lifespan sounds good.

Yes it is:

Originally Posted by Basic page 444; Aging section

At the GM’s option, you may lose advantages or gain disadvantages of equivalent point value instead of losing an attribute point. For example, your Appearance could decline, or you could gain Hard of Hearing.

[Rupert]

And so, following that, is Hard of Hearing. Yet we don't consider it necessary to have a perk "Youthful Hearing" for those with good hearing at age 40+. We just don't apply disads that reduce their hearing.

Likewise, with appearance if someone losses it with age, we reduce it, and if they don't, we don't. There's no need for special perks, etc.

Now, looking youthful without looking more or less attractive, might in some situations be worth something. However, in my opinion, any minor advantages will be balanced by minor disadvantages. Today youthful people are often considered more attractive, but at the same time they are also taken less seriously. The small appearance bump is balanced by the small stigma, and it's a +0 feature.