New Traits since Basic

[cybermancer2k1]

Well done! And thanks for the hard work. These lists not only point me quickly to items I need to look up, they give me ideas on what products to buy next.

That being said, while I see what SJG is trying to do by allowing these traits to be scattered among different pubs, I'd still like to see them gathered in one place, a la the old Compendium I and II.

[wellspring]

Originally Posted by cybermancer2k1

Well done! And thanks for the hard work. These lists not only point me quickly to items I need to look up, they give me ideas on what products to buy next.

That being said, while I see what SJG is trying to do by allowing these traits to be scattered among different pubs, I'd still like to see them gathered in one place, a la the old Compendium I and II.

I don't think this is what happened. The Basic Set is remarkably complete. Add in Powers, which gives some traits that are more flexible/abuseable but necessary for creating some very specialized applications, and you have most of the traits in the game.

In the years since those two books, we've seen supplements add clarifications, new applications of old powers, or entirely new traits intended to patch the game to fit particular situations. Some divergence over time is to be expected.

Look at PU:Perks. Fantastic supplement, and encyclopedic for perks when it came out. Of course, other perks have been invented since. Going back and somehow shoe-horning it into the already-published supplements is impractical. And if it's a good idea, why sit on it until some mythical 5th ed? So we have to live with a little cruft.

[Bruno]

Originally Posted by cybermancer2k1

That being said, while I see what SJG is trying to do by allowing these traits to be scattered among different pubs, I'd still like to see them gathered in one place, a la the old Compendium I and II.

"Allowing"?

The reason for Compendium I and Compendium II was that all those traits were scattered all over the place among different pubs in 3e - paper pubs that were often out of print and hard to find!

4e is being much more prompt in this edition about trying to collect things with the Power Ups line.

The new traits are created for a product when the author (or an editor or a playtester) has the idea and thinks it's relevant to that product.

[vicky_molokh]

Anyone else wonder if a google docs spreadsheet, with write permissions for the trusted forumites, is a better way to store this 'compendium of trait sources' than a [code] post?

(IMHO the spreadsheet would provide neat formatting, easy searchability, ease of access, and download-friendliness.)

[Peter Knutsen]

This looks like an excellent resource, but putting the material between CODE tags makes scrolling through the longer lists needlessly complicated.

[Peter Knutsen]

Originally Posted by Bruno

The new traits are created for a product when the author (or an editor or a playtester) has the idea and thinks it's relevant to that product.

And gets it past the Line Editor. Because I'd be somewhat surprised if SJ Games don't scrutinize new traits, especially of the major types (Skills, Advantages, Disadvantages), to make sure their addition is justified.

[DouglasCole]

Originally Posted by Peter Knutsen

And gets it past the Line Editor. Because I'd be somewhat surprised if SJ Games don't scrutinize new traits, especially of the major types (Skills, Advantages, Disadvantages), to make sure their addition is justified.

Yes. Is this really a new [whatever], or is this a technique or specialization of something that already exists is a prime question. It also helps the AUTHOR, since he can leverage a pool of existing material that has been tried in play before.

[cybermancer2k1]

Originally Posted by wellspring

I don't think this is what happened. The Basic Set is remarkably complete. Add in Powers, which gives some traits that are more flexible/abuseable but necessary for creating some very specialized applications, and you have most of the traits in the game.

In the years since those two books, we've seen supplements add clarifications, new applications of old powers, or entirely new traits intended to patch the game to fit particular situations. Some divergence over time is to be expected.

Look at PU:Perks. Fantastic supplement, and encyclopedic for perks when it came out. Of course, other perks have been invented since. Going back and somehow shoe-horning it into the already-published supplements is impractical. And if it's a good idea, why sit on it until some mythical 5th ed? So we have to live with a little cruft.

I have both of those supplements. And I understand that over time new items will be added. My point is that there are enough new traits/perks/what-have-you that they can be collected into one volume. I'm not proposing re-inventing the wheel; just collecting the new traits in one place. Buying one pub as opposed to ten, as it were.

Originally Posted by Bruno

"Allowing"?

The reason for Compendium I and Compendium II was that all those traits were scattered all over the place among different pubs in 3e - paper pubs that were often out of print and hard to find!

4e is being much more prompt in this edition about trying to collect things with the Power Ups line.

The new traits are created for a product when the author (or an editor or a playtester) has the idea and thinks it's relevant to that product.

And you missed my point completely. I get the reason for the Compendiums. The same situation is occurring here. While the e-books aren't in danger of going OOP, the fact remains that there is information scattered among many different products. Look at the lists Scar has been posting and you'll readily see what I'm talking about. Now I own a great many of these, but not all. And while I'm happy to throw as much of my (very) limited funds at SJG as I can, I'm not about to buy entire products that I may or may not use just to get hold of 1-3 paragraphs worth of information. I'm merely proposing that all the new traits from the various products be collected into one e-book, Power-Ups notwithstanding. And I used the word "allowing" because (as was pointed out in another thread I read; no, I'm not going hunting for it again) if information that has multiple applications (and most GURPS traits do) appears in a new pub, then it makes people want to buy that pub. Nothing wrong with that, but as I stated, my funds are limited.

[dataweaver]

There's a Style! Wildcard Skill (actually, an open-ended set of skills, one per Style) in GURPS Martial Arts, page 60.

[Figleaf23]

Originally Posted by cybermancer2k1

Well done! And thanks for the hard work. These lists not only point me quickly to items I need to look up, they give me ideas on what products to buy next.

Seconded (or thirded or whichever).

That being said, while I see what SJG is trying to do by allowing these traits to be scattered among different pubs, I'd still like to see them gathered in one place, a la the old Compendium I and II.

At the very least it would be nice if generically useful content found in genre books was released somehow. Would it be possible after a certain time has passed since publication to sell single-page .pdf to order from the books?