Contacts as a Perk?

ULFGARD · 08-22-2019, 11:09 AM

I have used this in my space game (with different quantifiers for scope). Here's the version I've put forth for my DF/DFRPG campaign (which has had enough creep that it's not strictly a dungeon crawl game anymore).

Contacts are treated as a leveled Perk, with each level adding to scope (City → Kingdom → Continent → Most Everywhere[GM call]], effective skill (12 → 15 → 18 → 21), and reliability (Unreliable → Mostly Reliable → Usually Reliable → Always Reliable). Any “slot” can be traded for another. E.g., a 2 point Contact could have kingdom-wide scope with a skill of 15 and be mostly reliable, or the contact could instead be available almost everywhere, but have an effective skill of 12 and be unreliable.

Thoughts?

Black Leviathan · 08-22-2019, 01:33 PM

It's semantics but calling a multi-level advantage a Perk just seems wrong. You're a little cheaper than a contact, but not by much and it's much simpler but it does take some of the character away from your contact if you can't make them extremely knowledgeable but a pain-in the ass to track down, or not so useful but loyal to a fault.

AlexanderHowl · 08-22-2019, 01:45 PM

The problem is that the costs diverge greatly from RAW. A completely reliable contact with skill 21 that appears 15- costs 36 CP by RAW (45 is they possess supernatural abilities). The same contact would be 4 CP by the proposed perk system (presumably 5 CP if they possess supernatural abilities). GURPS generally considers a price reduction of 88% to be crock.

Mark Skarr · 08-22-2019, 01:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlexanderHowl

The problem is that the costs diverge greatly from RAW. A completely reliable contact with skill 21 that appears 15- costs 36 CP by RAW (45 is they possess supernatural abilities). The same contact would be 4 CP by the proposed perk system (presumably 5 CP if they possess supernatural abilities). GURPS generally considers a price reduction of 88% to be crock.

I think that's part of the point. This is obviously a deviation from RAW.

For my Fantasy game, Languages are just perks, because it's just not that terribly relevant for the game.

If you want everyone to take multiple contacts, than ULFGARD's method encourages that. If you want them to just have one or two contacts, then the RAW is the way to go. I wouldn't use ULFGARD's method, I think it's a bit too cheap, but I think that basic Contacts are too expensive.

Refplace · 08-22-2019, 01:54 PM

If only there was a book on Contacts coming out...
Your rules vary too much from RAW to see wide use.
However for some campaigns I want multiple Contacts so instead of Modular Abilities I use Wild Talent or alternative ability pricing.

Fnordianslip · 08-22-2019, 02:00 PM

As a GM, I love when my players make contacts. Each one is a freshly baked NPC for me to integrate into the world. I like the idea of making contacts low cost and encouraging PCs to pick up more of them since it's rare that I have a PC willing to drop the RAW points for contacts. Definitely not a bad idea!

Refplace · 08-22-2019, 02:29 PM

Speaking of.....
GURPS Social Engineering: Keeping in Contact was released today.

ULFGARD · 08-22-2019, 02:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Refplace

Speaking of.....
GURPS Social Engineering: Keeping in Contact was released today.

Wow. That's awfully timely. I'll be picking that up just about as soon as I finish this post.

My reason for doing it this way is to make Contacts cheap for the cinematic games I'm running, especially given the scope - they're sandbox games, so paying a ton for a Contact in City A, which won't be visited for most of the rest of the campaign, seems like a bad investment of points. Paying for a really good Contact costs 30+ points. Paying for a really good ally (150%) costs 30 points. It's a bit hard for me to swallow a Contact costing more than an Ally. Then again, there's overlap.

Still, Contacts can be useful, and shouldn't be free. I think I'll digest the new book and see how it works when expanded.

~~evileeyore~~ · 08-22-2019, 03:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ULFGARD

Thoughts?

Looks good. I may have to yoink a variant of this for my next DFesque campaign. I like having Contacts and Allies, but they are a bit expensive for delvers...

AlexanderHowl · 08-22-2019, 03:41 PM

In my mind, Skill 12-15 Contacts should really be considered equivalent to Allies in power while Skill 18-21 Contacts should really be considered equivalent to Patrons in power. A Skill 12 Contact would be an Ally up to 100% used only for information, a Skill 15 Contact an Ally up to 150%, a Skill 18 Contact a Patron above 200%, a Skill 21 Contact a Patron way above 200%. Basically, you are dividing the equivalent social trait by 5 because you use Contacts only for information and minor gifts.

Now, this means that Contacts have constant utility. A Skill 12 Contact will have different capabilities for a 150 CP mundane than they would for a 500 CP superhuman. A Skill 12 Political Contact for a 150 CP mundane might be a local councilperson. A Skill 12 Political Contact for a 500 CP super might be a senior member of the U.S. House of Representatives.

08-22-2019, 11:09 AM	#1
ULFGARD Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Seattle	Contacts as a Perk? I have used this in my space game (with different quantifiers for scope). Here's the version I've put forth for my DF/DFRPG campaign (which has had enough creep that it's not strictly a dungeon crawl game anymore). Contacts are treated as a leveled Perk, with each level adding to scope (City → Kingdom → Continent → Most Everywhere[GM call]], effective skill (12 → 15 → 18 → 21), and reliability (Unreliable → Mostly Reliable → Usually Reliable → Always Reliable). Any “slot” can be traded for another. E.g., a 2 point Contact could have kingdom-wide scope with a skill of 15 and be mostly reliable, or the contact could instead be available almost everywhere, but have an effective skill of 12 and be unreliable. Thoughts? __________________ Seven Kingdoms, MH (as yet unnamed), and my "pick-up" DF game war stories, characters, and other ruminations can be found here.

08-22-2019, 01:33 PM	#2
Black Leviathan Join Date: Sep 2018	Re: Contacts as a Perk? It's semantics but calling a multi-level advantage a Perk just seems wrong. You're a little cheaper than a contact, but not by much and it's much simpler but it does take some of the character away from your contact if you can't make them extremely knowledgeable but a pain-in the ass to track down, or not so useful but loyal to a fault.

08-22-2019, 01:45 PM	#3
AlexanderHowl Join Date: Feb 2016	Re: Contacts as a Perk? The problem is that the costs diverge greatly from RAW. A completely reliable contact with skill 21 that appears 15- costs 36 CP by RAW (45 is they possess supernatural abilities). The same contact would be 4 CP by the proposed perk system (presumably 5 CP if they possess supernatural abilities). GURPS generally considers a price reduction of 88% to be crock.

08-22-2019, 01:54 PM	#5
Refplace Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Yukon, OK	Re: Contacts as a Perk? If only there was a book on Contacts coming out... Your rules vary too much from RAW to see wide use. However for some campaigns I want multiple Contacts so instead of Modular Abilities I use Wild Talent or alternative ability pricing. __________________ My GURPS publications GURPS Powers: Totem and Nature Spirits; GURPS Template Toolkit 4: Spirits; Pyramid articles. Buying them lets us know you want more! My GURPS fan contribution and blog: REFPLace GURPS Landing Page My List of GURPS You Tube videos (plus a few other useful items) My GURPS Wiki entries

08-22-2019, 02:00 PM	#6
Fnordianslip Join Date: Dec 2005	Re: Contacts as a Perk? As a GM, I love when my players make contacts. Each one is a freshly baked NPC for me to integrate into the world. I like the idea of making contacts low cost and encouraging PCs to pick up more of them since it's rare that I have a PC willing to drop the RAW points for contacts. Definitely not a bad idea!

08-22-2019, 02:29 PM	#7
Refplace Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Yukon, OK	Re: Contacts as a Perk? Speaking of..... GURPS Social Engineering: Keeping in Contact was released today. __________________ My GURPS publications GURPS Powers: Totem and Nature Spirits; GURPS Template Toolkit 4: Spirits; Pyramid articles. Buying them lets us know you want more! My GURPS fan contribution and blog: REFPLace GURPS Landing Page My List of GURPS You Tube videos (plus a few other useful items) My GURPS Wiki entries

08-22-2019, 03:41 PM	#10
AlexanderHowl Join Date: Feb 2016	Re: Contacts as a Perk? In my mind, Skill 12-15 Contacts should really be considered equivalent to Allies in power while Skill 18-21 Contacts should really be considered equivalent to Patrons in power. A Skill 12 Contact would be an Ally up to 100% used only for information, a Skill 15 Contact an Ally up to 150%, a Skill 18 Contact a Patron above 200%, a Skill 21 Contact a Patron way above 200%. Basically, you are dividing the equivalent social trait by 5 because you use Contacts only for information and minor gifts. Now, this means that Contacts have constant utility. A Skill 12 Contact will have different capabilities for a 150 CP mundane than they would for a 500 CP superhuman. A Skill 12 Political Contact for a 150 CP mundane might be a local councilperson. A Skill 12 Political Contact for a 500 CP super might be a senior member of the U.S. House of Representatives.