[Action] Other background Lenses?

[Peter Knutsen]

Apart from the five official ones in volume 1, and the six suggested ones under "No Lens", have any of you come up with additional Lenses? I think it's a fun concept, and one that may be expandable further without subverting the idea behind GURPS Action.

[Onkl]

Originally Posted by Peter Knutsen

Apart from the five official ones in volume 1, and the six suggested ones under "No Lens", have any of you come up with additional Lenses? I think it's a fun concept, and one that may be expandable further without subverting the idea behind GURPS Action.

Three more can be found in the ACTION issue of Pyramid.

http://forums.sjgames.com/showthread.php?t=106601

Cheers

[Peter Knutsen]

One vague idea I have is some kind of blue-collar dude, an Industry Lens or something. I'm just not sure if it's going to fly with GURPS Action, but it could work.

Architecture could make sense for a construction worker. Diving Suit is a bit odd, but if the Lens is meant to be broad, it should be included. Driving. Electrician, and Electronics Repair fit perfectly. Electronic Operation a bit less so. Engineer... Not really. I think that's a bit too white-collar. Explosives make sense for a miner or demolition worker (or fireman!), but it's a bit like Diving Suit. Maybe not so much a realistic inclusion, but a "sweetener" that helps make the Lens actually attractive to players.

First Aid is something that can be taught to a lot of factory workers and other industry employees. Forced Entry... It fits the fireman in particular, and more generally a sense of knowing how stuff works and therefore also how to break stuff.

Freight Handling, obviously. Gesture is debatable, but in some countries, a lot of factory workers may have a limited grasp of the local language (Hispanics in the USA, recent Moslem immigrants or refugees in Western Europe), so some experienced workers and particularly foremen may have learned a little Gestures to get messages across. Hazardous Material. No discussion. Lifting too (even at TL8). Liquid Projector again fits the fireman sub-concept, and more generally anyone who's been to a fire fighting course, which I imagine is fairly common. Machinist and Mechanic. Doh. NBC Suit... Why not? Scrounging is marginal, but does fit the Mythbuster type, more loosely many craftsmen type who may have learned to "recycle" stuff instead of spending money. If Diving Suit then also Scuba. Seamanship. I think Shiphandling fails at being sufficiently blue-collar. Submariner but not Submarine (again, if you're a mate or other kind of officer, your collar stopped being blue some time ago). Swimming doesn't make sense on its own, but it does in light of Scuba or Diving Suit. Or for that matter Seamanship.

Fit would also make sense for heavy-labour industries, although realistically, and especially in these modern times, most blue-collar workers probably live rather unhealthily, eating wrong and getting little exercise. 1-2 levels of Lifting ST would make more sense (even for some present-day industries), but isn't really going to be attractive to players.

Many Lenses seem to have a "primary skill" that is always taken, usually at 2 CP, sometimes 4, plus a list of "choose from these". Looking over the list I've compiled, I can't see anything obvious, especially in terms of making the Lens actually be attractive to players. Scrounging is the best bid for a 2 CP one, but I think in the end it'd be better to just say to "spend 20 CP on these as preferred". A lot of players would see 2 CP in Scrounging as wasted. Or in Driving.

[PK]

Actually, there are far more lenses than those in Action 1 available, though some were intended for specific settings:

GURPS Action 3: Furious Fists added Wise Master, suitable for any martial artist or tactician.

Pyramid #3/5: Horror and Spies added Church (former priest, monk, etc.) and Gifted (you have weak paranormal gifts). Both are aimed at horror crossovers, though the former is 100% realistic and thus can make sense if the church has a strong presence in your setting (e.g., an Irish Protestants vs. Catholics game).

Pyramid #3/8: Cliffhangers added Man of Science for professors and such; though aimed at pulp, it really fits any setting where scientific knowledge would be helpful (NCIS, etc.).

Pyramid #3/15: Transhuman Space added Diver, Martian Ranger, Martian Streetfighter, Spacer, and Xoxhunter, but these are unapologetically intended for a TS game.

Pyramid #3/53: Action added Backwoodsman (outdoor and survival skills), Kid (weaker but faster and luckier), and Masked Avenger (old school superhero). Each make sense in a wide variety of settings, depending on your game's assumptions (e.g., a masked avenger without the mask is your classic protagonist with a hero complex).

Pyramid #3/59: Conspiracies added Man In Black (subtlety and manipulation) and Conspiracy Theorist (you know hidden truths). Since even the most realistic Action game usually involves a conspiracy or two, these fit fine -- they don't have to be over-the-top.

[Peter Knutsen]

Thanks for the pointers.

[Gold & Appel Inc]

Originally Posted by Peter Knutsen

Gesture is debatable, but in some countries, a lot of factory workers may have a limited grasp of the local language (Hispanics in the USA, recent Moslem immigrants or refugees in Western Europe), so some experienced workers and particularly foremen may have learned a little Gestures to get messages across.

Also found in some work environments that are very loud.

[Peter Knutsen]

Originally Posted by Gold & Appel Inc

Also found in some work environments that are very loud.

That's a good point. Makes it more plausible.

[Peter Knutsen]

Am I the only one who finds this subject interesting?

[insert sad smiley here]

[johndallman]

Originally Posted by Peter Knutsen

Am I the only one who finds this subject interesting?

The idea of fitting characters out with plausible and useful background skills is interesting to me, but I'm not so much into templates and lenses. I tend to both run and play long-term campaigns, where investing several hours of work per character at the start to fill out background and work through the skills list seems perfectly normal.

Originally Posted by Peter Knutsen

A lot of players would see 2 CP in Scrounging as wasted. Or in Driving.

High levels of Scrounging are great fun. In a recent session we'd gone ashore in Algiers on the evening of the first day of Operation Torch and rapidly discovered that we needed to pursue someone who had fled the city eastward by road. So we needed a truck, I paraphrase:

GM: Scrounging?
PC1: Ah ... critical success, rolled 5 against 17.
PC2: I like the leather upholstery. And the radios. And the wine rack.
PC1: If a French general just leaves his command vehicle parked and unguarded...

Edit: And, I now realise, the reason we caught the person we were after was that he tried to get away by driving fast over unlit desert roads at night with default Driving skill.

[Peter Knutsen]

Scrounging it is, then, mandatory at 2 CP.

Have I missed any firefighting skills? Should I include Expert Skill (Fire Fighting)?