[Basic] Advantage of the Week (#27): Common Sense, Intuition

[whswhs]

Originally Posted by Anders

Which makes it very odd that it's based on character IQ. Would you agree that this, at least, is an advantage where a target number would make more sense?

No, actually, I can see some rationale for that. What seems weird and unjustified to me is having, say, Warp be IQ-based. Or even Possession, though I would buy it as Will- or HT-based.

[evileeyore]

Originally Posted by whswhs

I don't really see how you get that.

Less "getting that" more "coming to that", as iin I was contemplating a way to give Common Sense some teeth. Poor communication on my part.

[johndallman]

Originally Posted by Otaku

I fear I am monopolizing the thread... does it seem that way to anyone else?

Not really. Threads like this can be very variable.

I've never taken Common Sense on a character. I'm a fairly cautious player, and also work hard during a game on keeping track of what the GM is describing in scenes where my character is present. Quite a few players I know don't pay so much attention, and miss things.

A lot of the "unwise behaviour" I've seen from other players seemed to result from confusion about what was going on. So as a GM, I tend to check that players are aware of whatever I suspect they've missed, and is making some action seem like a bad idea to me. If they are, and want to go ahead, so be it. Sometimes they make it work.

I have used Intuition, back in 3e days, but didn't find it all that helpful; the kinds of choices it deals with seem more appropriate to "guess the right door" dungeon deathtraps than the more nuanced decisions of investigative games.

[Otaku]

Originally Posted by johndallman

Not really. Threads like this can be very variable.

Thanks for the feedback. Both this and sharing your own experience with Common Sense and Intuition. It may help me to better qualify my own experiences as well.

[Otaku]

I've added a few more relevant links to the beginning post; they include some useful explanations for how Common Sense works plus some Kromm quotes. I was tempted to make the latter its own section, but many require the entire thread for context anyway.

For those participating in this discussion and hopefully future BaotW threads, would you prefer I had a separate area for Kromm quotes, or just (if I have them at the time of the initial write-up) reference them and allow you to look it up yourself? I am thinking the latter for the reasons I just gave.

[johndallman]

Reference them, most of the time. We have a hypertext system here, so we might as well use it. If a quote is key to an argument, quote it, so that the point isn't split over several posts.

[Otaku]

So upon further reflection, here are some things I have realized:

1) I missed the overall point of the back and forth between evileeyore and NineDaysDead. Please disregard my comments addressing such things.

2) I have hopefully begun to understand how Common Sense and Intuition are intended to function in GURPS; my thanks as it was a slow, tedious process.

I should make sure #2 actually happened, though, so here goes. To begin, let me reference a specific Kromm quote:

Originally Posted by Kromm

Sorry, sir_pudding, but I think you're being far too legalistic and/or literal-minded here. With few exceptions, voice and pronoun choice in GURPS rules have to do with house style, not rules intent. We often write traits as if addressing the player because that's more engaging and better suits a refereed roleplaying game (as opposed to a PvP war game, say).

The essence of Common Sense – and I think the Basic Set is amply clear on this – is to put a fair point cost on a conduit for GM advice to the players. This is also the goal of Intuition, Oracle, and anything else that serves mostly to ensure that players get good advice from the GM. Even skills regularly work this way; e.g., most GMs have a Physics roll reveal some science-y clue in the plot, using success as an excuse to hand the players exposition rather than real-life physics details researched in a textbook.

And yes, I meant "players," plural . . . One person with an ability such as this effectively brings a benefit to the table for everyone. If a PC with Common Sense is about to go along with a plan that isn't sensible but also isn't his, the GM certainly still owes it to the player to have Common Sense serve as a check. It would be a borderline-adversarial *** to say, "Since you didn't dream it up, it's immune to being filtered through your Common Sense."

By extension, this also applies to NPCs with Common Sense being dragged into dumb situations by PCs who lack it. Ignore the voice and the pronouns, which are nothing but style issues, and look at the realities. Common Sense always comes with an "enhancement" to the effect of "Applies to the bad ideas of others in your peer group or party where these would affect you." Thus, it's as valid for NPCs as for anybody else.

As this entire thread indicates, it was not clear to me how Common Sense was intended to function based on the write-up in [Basic]. Does that mean it could be written better? Maybe, but even I know I was being at least a little (if not quite a bit) thick.

In more my own words, buying Common Sense is so that the GM has to warn that player against especially blatant folly, whether directly through that player's character's actions or those of another but which said character is privy to witnessing. It does not represent ordinary failure but things such as epic brain farts, moments of sheer orneriness, or the kind of unexpected player apathy that results in a wholly inappropriate action with a significant in-game consequence. The catch is that it also requires an IQ roll, so it is meant for more intelligent characters, at least for the unmodified version to have a likely impact. Even if you intend for your PC to have real-world common sense, this is purely for those unable or unwilling to reliably engage in calm decision making, or possibly as an extra layer of protection to ensure you don't make a big mistake (especially if your character has a good IQ score or you enhance it with Reliable).

Do I finally have it?

[sir_pudding]

I once played in a megadungeon in which we had finally managed to make more-or-less peaceful contact with some of the denizens, a goblin settlement; which was much needed because at this point we had collected more loot than we were able to easily transport but were in desperate need of supplies. As my character began to negotiate with the goblin chief, a new player inexplicably opened fire on the goblin delegation, plunging us into conflict with them, ending all hope of trade and largely making the game unfun enough to sink the campaign.

Players of this kind certainly exist. Common Sense allows those kinds of players to play thoughtful characters if they desire.

[Ulzgoroth]

Originally Posted by sir_pudding

I once played in a megadungeon in which we had finally managed to make more-or-less peaceful contact with some of the denizens, a goblin settlement; which was much needed because at this point we had collected more loot than we were able to easily transport but were in desperate need of supplies. As my character began to negotiate with the goblin chief, a new player inexplicably opened fire on the goblin delegation, plunging us into conflict with them, ending all hope of trade and largely making the game unfun enough to sink the campaign.

Players of this kind certainly exist. Common Sense allows those kinds of players to play thoughtful characters if they desire.

It is fairly common to question whether that sort of behavior has anything to do with inability to forsee the consequences, as opposed to not caring about or even desiring the consequences.

[sir_pudding]

Originally Posted by Ulzgoroth

It is fairly common to question whether that sort of behavior has anything to do with inability to forsee the consequences, as opposed to not caring about or even desiring the consequences.

In my experience it depends on the player; some people are just impulsive, clueless or inexperienced. Others just want to watch the world burn. The latter are unlikely to take Common Sense in the first place...