Spear vs Knights... am I missing something?

[RGTraynor]

Originally Posted by martinl

GURPS CP are not an accurate measure of character power

+1. Case in point in my current party. One of the characters is relatively weak, two are north of 300 pts, but the fourth ... is an experiment. Player was mulling over things at startup, and popped for Multi-Millionaire with some Independent Income tacked on, declaring that wealth would be his superpower. He's got the best of everything, magical stuff and alchemicals up the wazoo, and shorn of his toys is kinda pedestrian in battle.

Originally Posted by Donny Brook

Sure, if your concept of knight includes superannuated actors and popular musicians. I mean professional fighting men, expected to earn their keep by being ready to throw down against hard living outlaws or equally equipped peers.

A vision of some rich guy with a couple of points in Broadsword, Lance and RIding (i.e. skill level 10 unless you've neglected to mention high DX) is either a child still in training or a senior citizen.

My concept of knight is "someone who is a knight." GURPS not having character classes, the distinction is entirely social. Sure, people get knighted for brave deeds, but they also get knighted for service, for donating large sums to the crown (see Multi-Millionaire Guy above), for many reasons good or ill ... not to mention those cultures with the concept of hereditary knighthood. The rich guy might never have been within ten yards of a lance, never mind picking up Lance skill.

Obviously this flies in the face of Hollywood, Sir Walter Scott * and Malory, but that's the way it goes.


* - as it happens, Sir Walter (lamed from polio) wasn't a he-man either, trained as a lawyer, and got his title as a direct result of leading a successful search in Edinburgh Castle for the missing Scottish Crown Jewels.