[maximara]

Originally Posted by Black Leviathan

I feel like in all these responses someone had to bring it up but I see most folks talking about routine use skill modifier and pointing out that 11 is a pretty low skill.

Which is ironic as in several places GURPS expressly states that this is not a low skill.

Originally Posted by Black Leviathan

Skill checks aren't for every use, It's only when you're struggling or need to make it look easy and only when there's a real consequence to failure.

""Your unmodified skill level is called your base skill. It measures your odds of success at an “average” task under adventuring conditions – in other words, in a stressful situation where the consequences of failure are significant." B171

Thaumatology: Urban Magics pg 30 goes at this from the other end:

"The standard rules are designed for adventurers, not for ordinary working professionals. Professionals make one job roll a month. On a critical failure, something bad happens, with harmful consequences – but not usually as bad as a critical failure during an adventure. (...) With one roll a month, a mage with effective skill 15 or less goes 54 months between mishaps, on the average; one with effective skill 16 or better could go 216 months (or 18 years)."