High Skill Vs Talent

[Rupert]

Originally Posted by corwyn

I would say that is the key part of disads that most gms ignore. IME, every player/gm I've ever met personally has used a limit. It's only on the forum I encounter some people that don't. The 50% however ends up being ridiculously high in most games over 100 points. I think it's significant that no published setting/line uses 50% when they suggest/enforce a limit.

I use 50 points plus 5 quirks as a cap for disads in my games, so far regardless of starting point values. If someone needed more points in disads and had a good case for it I'd consider it, but the only time it ever came up the player themselves suggested that they only get points for the first 50-worth (I think in the end they went for a different, concept with fewer disads).

[martinl]

Originally Posted by AlexanderHowl

I generally prefer GURPS for supers because of its flexibility. It is necessary to keep an eye on character builds because you do not want someone with Crushing Attack 100d (Double Knockback, +20%; Melee Attack, C, -30%; No Blunt Trauma, -20%; No Wounding, -50%) as an alternate power. Dealing with 700 points of knockback is not fun.

I agree vigorously with everything but the last line - it might not be even vaguely balanced, but it sounds like loads of fun.

[johndallman]

Originally Posted by AlexanderHowl

If we take two characters, one with DX 20 and one with IQ 20, the majority of PCs will probably prefer the former to the latter because they can do more with DX 20 than with IQ 20. Yes, it is fun to play the supergenius on occasion, but the majority of games tend to focus around combat and DX is much more important than IQ when it comes to combat. In the majority of games, a Guns (Pistol) skill of 25 (from DX 20) is much more important than an Anthropology skill of 25 (from IQ 20).

The majority of your games may focus on combat, but this is not universally true.

It's often very worthwhile pumping a few DX-based combat skills very high, to offset range penalties, Deceptive Attacks and so on. But in pretty well all the GURPS I've played or run, you need a wider range of IQ-based skills that you do of DX-based ones. That tends to make something like DX 14 IQ 16 a better choice than DX 20 or IQ 20.

[AlexanderHowl]

Really? I find it to be much the opposite. Players in my games often distribute the necessary IQ skills among the PCs, so they only have one primary and one secondary for every skill. In the majority of my games, every PC might have only one high and one medium IQ skill while they might have four high and four medium DX or HT skills (Athletic Skills, Combat Skills, Stealth, etc). Of course, my players also tend to use Attribute Substitution to shift skills away from IQ, so a high DX thief will use Attribute Substitution to shift Lockpicking to DX. High IQ is good, but so is high DX, and high DX allows you to survive combat.

[sir_pudding]

High DX doesn't do much if the main challenges are intellectual or social. YMMV, but I wouldn't generally allow Attribute Substitution to move science, investigative, or social skills to DX in most cases.

[AlexanderHowl]

Most social challenges are easily overcome by advantages. A character with Allure 4, Appearance (Beautiful or Handsome), Charisma 5, and Voice will have spend 67 points to gain a +9/+15 Reaction bonus, and will modify a number of skills. With +7 to Public Speaking, even an IQ 12 individual can easily get level 20. With +6 to Sex Appeal and Singing, even a HT 12 individual can easily get level 20. High IQ is almost never needed for social characters.

[sir_pudding]

Originally Posted by AlexanderHowl

Most social challenges are easily overcome by advantages. A character with Allure 4, Appearance (Beautiful or Handsome), Charisma 5, and Voice will have spend 67 points to gain a +9/+15 Reaction bonus, and will modify a number of skills. With +7 to Public Speaking, even an IQ 12 individual can easily get level 20. With +6 to Sex Appeal and Singing, even a HT 12 individual can easily get level 20. High IQ is almost never needed for social characters.

Unless you are rolling Politics in order to identify where you need to campaign, or Administration to find out who is responsible for the paperwork you need or lots of other things that could happen that don't involve direct manipulation. At any rate, Appearance, Charisma, and Voice are also not DX (and 67 points of it is specifically not DX+3).