08-03-2010, 01:38 AM | #1 |
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Berkeley, CA
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Improving basic attributes cheaply: ST!, DX!, IQ!, HT!
Is it consistent with the RAW to improve basic attributes with character points earned during play while keeping constant the secondary attributes which are based on them? The rules for improving attributes on B290 don't seem to address this possibility directly.
As at least one thread has mentioned, it is very cheap to buy up HT (+10 pts.) if you simultaneously decrease Fatigue (-3 pts.) and/or Basic Speed (-5 pts.). IQ comes in for a nice discount, too, if you hold Will and Per constant. Are these options available only at character creation, or can players use them throughout a character's development? Last edited by prospero; 08-03-2010 at 01:42 AM. Reason: add link to thread |
08-03-2010, 01:46 AM | #2 |
Dog of Lysdexics
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Melbourne FL, Formerly Wellington NZ
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Re: Improving basic attributes cheaply: ST!, DX!, IQ!, HT!
No it is NOT consistent... BUT you can if you convince your GM that you acquired the Disadvantageous that go with those FULL stat levels... as DX! etc does not exist it is short hand for a 'meta trait'
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08-03-2010, 07:03 AM | #3 |
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: On the road again...
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Re: Improving basic attributes cheaply: ST!, DX!, IQ!, HT!
IMNSHO, the folks on this forum that use Stats! apparently don't have disadvantage limits in their campaigns.
Example: Someone wants IQ! 14, and thinks that it's 40 points, equal to what his buddy's paying for IQ 12. A good deal, right? But let's take a look at the two builds in a situation where the GM's decided on a 100 point game with -50 in disadvantages. IQ 12 is 40 points, but that also gives you Will 12 and Per 12 at no extra cost. Will and Per come in handy in play. This guy still has -50 to spend on disadvantages. IQ! 14 is IQ 14 [80], Will 10 [-20], Per 10 [-20]. This guy's shooting himself in the foot several ways. For one, he's not as strong-willed or as perceptive as the IQ 12 guy, despite being nominally smarter. Furthermore, he's already used -40 of his -50 disadvantage limit, leaving him only -10 to play with. Plus, he'll have to dump more points into skills such as Observation and Intimidation (based on Per and Will, respectively) to get them as high as the IQ 12 guy can get them. This is why GURPS doesn't use Stat! notation in the books. It's not a meta-trait, nor is it helping players in the long run. Stat! is just an invention of people on this forum, and not endorsed by Steve Jackson Games in general, nor (as far as I know) by Kromm, the GURPS line editor.
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"Life ... is an Oreo cookie." - J'onn J'onzz, 1991 "But mom, I don't wanna go back in the dungeon!" The GURPS Marvel Universe Reboot Project A-G, H-R, and S-Z, and its not-a-wiki-really web adaptation. Ranoc, a Muskets-and-Magery Renaissance Fantasy Setting Last edited by Phantasm; 03-18-2011 at 07:36 AM. |
08-03-2010, 07:14 AM | #4 | |
Join Date: Apr 2009
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Re: Improving basic attributes cheaply: ST!, DX!, IQ!, HT!
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For the same reason I would allow Stat! increases during play with earned CP: As long as the player can justify the reason behind it. Of course, "Because it's cheaper" is never a good reason from a roleplay perspective. |
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08-03-2010, 07:17 AM | #5 | |
Join Date: Jul 2007
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Re: Improving basic attributes cheaply: ST!, DX!, IQ!, HT!
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08-03-2010, 07:20 AM | #6 |
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Curitiba - PR (Brazil)
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Re: Improving basic attributes cheaply: ST!, DX!, IQ!, HT!
I use +- the inverse formula. For example one player want to improve his IQ in game. In game I ask him to first improve his will and per and only after that he can put more 10 pointss to buy the "real" IQ. I use the same thing for ST and for DX (fisrt put 5 points in Basic Speed).
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08-03-2010, 07:40 AM | #7 |
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Stockholm, Sweden
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Re: Improving basic attributes cheaply: ST!, DX!, IQ!, HT!
Sure you can lower your perception if you want to paint a target on your PC saying "I can't spot snipers please shoot me in the head.".
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08-03-2010, 08:19 AM | #8 | |
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Stuttgart, Germany
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Re: Improving basic attributes cheaply: ST!, DX!, IQ!, HT!
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After all, if they've increased 3 mental skills by +4 points then they might as well get the benefit of the +1 IQ! they've earned by putting those points into developing their mental skills. Same thing for those 4 DX skills at +4 points. In other words, no justification needed in play for increasing IQ! and DX!, just increasing skills. On the other hand, trying to increase Will or Per without the skill justification won't fly with me, and trying to increase your Basic Speed better come with a real good explanation too. I don't get much call for ST! or HT!, the Players usually want more in the way of HP and FP, not less. |
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08-03-2010, 08:27 AM | #9 | ||
Join Date: Apr 2009
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Re: Improving basic attributes cheaply: ST!, DX!, IQ!, HT!
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08-03-2010, 08:31 AM | #10 | |
Join Date: Apr 2009
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Re: Improving basic attributes cheaply: ST!, DX!, IQ!, HT!
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attributes, development, point cost, raw |
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