Driving & Defaults, again

[Langy]

Originally Posted by Figleaf23

Golly, so they are. I agree with the earlier characterization of 'ridiculous'.

-2 for a difference in caliber??? With no guidance about what is 'similar enough' to avoid it??? With the plethora of ammo out there??

Time for Rule B492.

Different caliber makes lots of sense - try going from a .22 to a .40 S&W. Those two calibers handle very differently, and if you're only used to one and switch to the other you won't likely be hitting too well.

That all said, I do agree that it makes sense for the unfamiliarity penalty to be capped at the default penalty and think this should be a proper rule in GURPS.

[kirbwarrior]

Originally Posted by PK

No to the former, yes to the latter.

If you apply familiarity penalties to trained skills but not to defaulted ones, you're punishing someone for learning the skill. Either use familiarity penalties or don't, for everyone.

At the same time, it's a good guideline to assume that familiarity penalties for Skill A should never exceed the default penalty from Skill A to its closest Skill B, because the transition to another skill should logically be no easier than the transition between equipment in the same skill.

Originally Posted by Langy

Different caliber makes lots of sense - try going from a .22 to a .40 S&W. Those two calibers handle very differently, and if you're only used to one and switch to the other you won't likely be hitting too well.

That all said, I do agree that it makes sense for the unfamiliarity penalty to be capped at the default penalty and think this should be a proper rule in GURPS.

I think this makes plenty of sense, and I like it. I'm still iffy on familiarity penalties racking higher than -4 (or even -2), but a -2 is huge on a default vs skill (DX10 guy is either Guns 10 at -2 for 8, or no skill at -5 and then -2 for a 3).