03-25-2014, 09:42 PM | #1 |
Join Date: Dec 2004
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Talents & Martial Arts
I got Power Ups 3: Talents a little while ago and found the take on combat skills in Talents interesting but a bit odd.
First, the idea that a small Talent with combat skills was ok but a large Talent with combat skills was unbalancing. That strikes me as a little odd - a big Talent isn't a whole lot cheaper than DX so a 15 point Talent with all melee combat skills doesn't seem too unbalancing in practice. Second, the argument against any Talent for a martial arts Talent followed by the Job Training advantage, which in practice sounds awfully similar to a Talent for a martial art - you get a bonus to a bunch of skills for a specific occupation. So it occurred to me you could create a quasi-Talent for a martial art. The idea is to make it more practical to create characters who are skilled at a style of fighting without having a high DX and consequent talent at all physical skills. Otherwise under the rules as written if you want a character who is skilled at more than a couple of physical skills you're best off buying up DX and just putting a few points into skills. Here's how it would work. The Martial Artist Advantage costs one point for each skill included per level, with a minimum cost of 5 points per level. It adds to the skills just like a regular Talent but can be learned after character creation. It has the following restrictions: 1. The character must be trained in the martial arts style including style familiarity and all skills. As with Job Training, he must put at least one point in every skill in the Advantage before buying the Advantage. 2. The character must buy a Special Training (Martial Artist) perk for every level of the Advantage. 3. The Talent only applies to Techniques and sub-skills used in the relevant martial art. For example, if the style includes Karate but does not generally teach the Jump Kick technique, the skill bonus from Martial Artist does not apply to that Technique. 4. The fighting style is more easily identified – observers have a bonus equal to the level of the advantage to recognize the style used. The rationalization is that you're learning these skills as part of a single system so there is some synergy. The point cost and limitations came from playing with the idea of Enhancements and Limitations on a Talent: Cosmic (can be learned) (+50%) Limitation: Character must be trained in the martial arts style. (-10%) Limitation: Signature - fighting style is more easily identified (-10%) Limitation: Only applies to Techniques and subskills used in the relevant martial art (-10%) Net Modifier would be +20%. For a 5 point Talent that would be a net cost of 6 points - which matches paying for a Perk to have access to the Talent. Just playing around with ideas here. In practice this could create a reverse problem where it's too cheap to buy up skills but I'm trying to get away from the model where character sink points in only one or two skills. |
03-26-2014, 08:38 AM | #2 | |||
Fightin' Round the World
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: New Jersey
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Re: Talents & Martial Arts
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I'm not sure you need Cosmic. A learnable talent doesn't have to cost more IMO. I'd probably just straight-up make it a talent, without sticking the limitations you listed on it. Make it 5/level for any one martial art, maybe 10/level for 2-3 martial arts styles, 15/level for all martial arts. Applies only if you have the right Style Familiarity. Applies to all primary and optional skills, and therefore to any techniques built off of them. At first glance, that doesn't seem unbalanced. Reaction bonus is to fellow stylists, no alternate benefit. It would make styles more attractive, too.
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Peter V. Dell'Orto aka Toadkiller_Dog or TKD My Author Page My S&C Blog My Dungeon Fantasy Game Blog "You fall onto five death checks." - Andy Dokachev |
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03-26-2014, 09:20 AM | #3 | ||
Join Date: Jun 2006
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Re: Talents & Martial Arts
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And yes, I do have reservations about Job Training. It's *purpose* is to be unbalancing in a particular way - effectively a method of creating a character class niche. Quote:
Limitations have to be actual drawbacks. So what's the disadvantage of somebody identifying your fighting style? Applying only to subskills in the martial art, maybe, but it's going to be hard to draw the line. For example this means the talent doesn't apply to a *standard attack* with the skills covered, since that's not improvable and hence not going to be listed. And if you do allow that, well, all other techniques are just a standard attack at a penalty, and the bonus adds to that.... On the other hand, I don't see why you need Cosmic for a talent to be learnable. Which advantages can be learned is a setting decision.
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03-26-2014, 09:30 PM | #4 | ||||
Join Date: Dec 2004
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Re: Talents & Martial Arts
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It adds complication but I like the idea of limiting the bonus to techniques appropriate for the style. Might be too much of a pain to keep track of. Quote:
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My goal here in part was to allow the creation of characters like Selmy Barristan from A Game of Thrones. He's very good at knightly skills because he's been practicing for a very long time, not because of superb reflexes and coordination. Given his age, raw speed is probably limited anyway It doesn't follow (to me) that he should also be talented at climbing or stealth. A version where he has DX of 12 or 13 but knightly combat skills around 16-18 feels right to me but isn't very practical in GURPS. Allowing a 10 point (or perhaps 15) Talent to represent his focused training and experience seems a better way of simulating the character. Also I admit it helps make sure fighter types outlcass high DX thieves in combat skill. |
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03-26-2014, 10:30 PM | #5 | |
Join Date: Jun 2006
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Re: Talents & Martial Arts
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But a Talent that includes a bunch of skills that occur in a lot of arts seems pretty reasonable to me. It has a clear theme, lots of fictional martial artists seem to be pretty good at lots of them or at related physical stuff not specifically included in their supposed art, and there might even be some realistic logic to it as a subset of DX. Certainly that's as good a justification as a lot of Talents. Call it Acrobatics, Boxing, Brawling, Dancing, Escape, Feats of Strength, Judo, Jumping, Karate, Sumo and Wrestling, 10 points/level, and throw in their Sport forms for free.
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-- MA Lloyd |
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03-27-2014, 12:53 AM | #6 |
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Berkeley, CA
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Re: Talents & Martial Arts
Eh, being good at all martial arts is not substantially better than being good at only one -- mostly, it gets you the ability to do both grappling and striking. I don't see a real balance problem with allowing 5 point talents with 'all melee weapons' or 'all unarmed combat' or 'all ranged weapons', or a 10 point talent that covers all three categories.
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03-27-2014, 05:00 AM | #7 |
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Platform Zero, Sydney, Australia
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Re: Talents & Martial Arts
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03-27-2014, 05:17 AM | #8 | ||
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Iceland*
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Re: Talents & Martial Arts
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Since having higher levels of Experienced in my game allows the buying of supernatural warrior-esque gifts like Injury Tolerance: Damage Reduction, warriors will aim to have whatever DX suits their characterisation and otherwise rely on Experienced. Rogues will often try for the highest DX they can.* *But I add an Unusual Background cost for buying Attributes at 16+, so finding a Talent that suits their particular roguish archetype can be beneficial for them too.
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03-27-2014, 05:21 AM | #9 | ||
Join Date: Jun 2006
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Re: Talents & Martial Arts
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-- MA Lloyd |
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03-27-2014, 08:13 AM | #10 | |
Fightin' Round the World
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: New Jersey
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Re: Talents & Martial Arts
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You can also limit it to the physical skills in a style, to avoid Artist (Cartooning) getting covered. Heh.
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Peter V. Dell'Orto aka Toadkiller_Dog or TKD My Author Page My S&C Blog My Dungeon Fantasy Game Blog "You fall onto five death checks." - Andy Dokachev |
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martial arts, skills, talents |
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