View Single Post
Old 06-04-2021, 09:06 AM   #50
Varyon
 
Join Date: Jun 2013
Default Re: Skill Advancement

Quote:
Originally Posted by JulianLW View Post
So no Dragons with breath weapons?
An unsupported DF Swashbuckler isn't in very good shape there, anyway. I suppose one with more points in Acrobatics has a better chance of pulling off an Acrobatic Dodge and Drop to get out of the way.

Quote:
Originally Posted by JulianLW View Post
No insubstantial foes?
A DF Swashbuckler without a Ghost Weapon enchantment or similar is useless against those anyway. If he/she does have such, the one with Rapier-30 is in better shape than the one with Rapier-22 and slightly-higher secondary skills.

Quote:
Originally Posted by JulianLW View Post
No high DR opponents?
The high-Rapier DF Swashbuckler has a better chance of both getting past the target's defenses and pulling off a strike to armor chinks/gaps. If those aren't options, and he/she lacks some sort of armor piercing enchantment, the more-balanced DF Swashbuckler is likely similarly useless (although if the opponent has high DR but not great grappling skills, the more-balanced character might have slightly higher Wrestling to restrain the target).

Quote:
Originally Posted by JulianLW View Post
Nobody with ... a gun?
A balanced DF Swashbuckler might have slightly higher Dodge, which would be an advantage here, but will largely be reliant on support from the rest of the party to get past such an encounter.

Quote:
Originally Posted by JulianLW View Post
Nobody with a very high Stealth score and a knife?
I don't think the DF Swashbuckler is terribly perceptive to start with, and is again reliant on the rest of the party to avoid getting backstabbed.

Quote:
Originally Posted by JulianLW View Post
If you play a game where every enemy is something you can easily get right up close to and carve up with a sword, then of course, put all your points into a sword skill and you're golden.
If you're playing a game where "sword-guy" isn't a legitimate role in the party, you're SoL regardless. If it is a legitimate role, pumping all your points into a single skill can make you ridiculously competent in said role.

Quote:
Originally Posted by JulianLW View Post
EDIT: Put 80 CP into Telekinesis and rip the arms off of most things as soon as they get within 10 yards. Or put 80 CP into Great Haste and run circles around everything for free. 80 CP ought to be powerful, but I don't think 80 CP in Broadsword is particularly more powerful than anything else. And I don't think specialist templates beat more generalist templates. They only beat the other templates on what they are supposed to specialize in. That high Stealth thief is still going to kill your Swashbuckler with a knife in the back.
I think the issue is more that putting [80] into any one skill makes you so incredibly competent (Default+25) that any encounter within your niche that the rest of the party can participate at all is a cakewalk for you, while anything that challenges you will wipe the floor with the rest of the party. Sure, it's perfectly fine - desirable, even - that the Swashbuckler be better at melee combat than the Scout, but it's not so great if the rest of the party is functionally useless in melee combat so long as the Swashbuckler is around.

Personally, I wouldn't build such a character, and wouldn't allow one to be designed, without any sort of mechanical disincentives (just the classic GM veto). For those who would rather have mechanical disincentives, I'm certainly not going to tell them doing so is Hurting Wrong Fun.
__________________
GURPS Overhaul

Last edited by Varyon; 06-04-2021 at 12:25 PM.
Varyon is online now   Reply With Quote