[RULES] Affliction / Innate Attack skills

[nick012000]

Originally Posted by The Benj

Because that quote specifically concerns using other combat skills?

Well, it's not like your other skills are going to be any easier to learn than Easy skills, now are they? ;)

[nerdvana]

Originally Posted by nick012000

Well, it's not like your other skills are going to be any easier to learn than Easy skills, now are they? ;)

His concern may be due to the fact that you are allowing a player to increase the utility of a skill at no cost. I'm not sure I agree (or disagree) with this concern personally, but I can see that as a possible concern.

[Kromm]

Originally Posted by nerdvana

His concern may be due to the fact that you are allowing a player to increase the utility of a skill at no cost.

The key realization, though, is that the utility of nearly all skills is open-ended, so adding one to "undefined" still leaves you at "undefined." The limit of (n+x)/x as x tends to infinity is 1 for any finite n. Generally, GURPS finds itself starting at some small n and quickly adding x >> n in a few short years.

This is by design. We encourage writers to use existing skills for new tasks that seem to fit, because that's easier and less cluttery than inventing a new skill. For combat skills in particular, we endorse new weapons, combat options, techniques, etc. all the time.

For instance, prior to Martial Arts, you couldn't use Knife skill with short batons, deer antlers, or straight razors – or broken bottles, credit cards, nail clippers, or scissors – because there were no rules for those weapons. You couldn't use Knife skill for a Tip Slash to give an impaling-only weapon a cutting attack, either. And you couldn't grapple using a knife via your Armed Grapple (Knife) default. With the introduction of those rules, you could suddenly use Knife for entirely new attacks with things that look little like knives.

And noncombat skills for powers aren't especially different in this regard. Skills Enhancing Abilities (Powers, p. 161) is all about encouraging players to come up with new skills that could be used to wield their abilities. The only criterion is that the skill would provide knowledge that could believably be used to wield the ability to better effect. Influence skills pretty obviously fit Mind Control, while Mind Probe actually suggests using Interrogation. Importantly, no combat vs. noncombat distinction is made.

Generally, GURPS doesn't give rules in a prescriptive, closed form. It gives suggestions with lots of "such as," "for example," and "etc." The idea is that gamers are smart enough to dream up their own additions. What additions pass in a given gaming group is a matter of negotiation for that group. GURPS doesn't attempt to take that control out of their hands and make everything canonical and graven in stone. It isn't as if there are official GURPS tournaments somewhere that require everybody to play the same way "or else."

[nerdvana]

Originally Posted by Kromm

The key realization, though, is that the utility of nearly all skills is open-ended

That matches the thoughts I had, just wasn't sure I was thinking on it correctly, thanks for the clarification. :)