Which skills are worh raising really high?

[Eric Funk]

Originally Posted by awesomenessofme1

I would say spells under normal Magic would also definitely qualify. There are a lot of spells that cost 3+ energy that would be incredibly powerful to have indefinitely.

Also most Regular and Area spells are at -1 to skill per yard distance from the caster. (-5 if not visible)... (p.M11) Re-reading the fine print I was reminded a caster can also name a target or declare a semi-random target and then have to accept the distance penalty not knowing the actual number until the DM sees the die roll... so having Regular spells 20+ can really help!

[khorboth]

Originally Posted by Eric Funk

Well...

I wouldn't count the bonuses from aim or evaluate as skill. Those are situational bonuses much like elevation or deceptive attack. That's really just a quibble, though.

I can't help but notice that you're assuming DX20. That's another 200ish points. When I was making genetically engineered super soldiers, ONE of them had DX18. Outside of that, I can't think of a character with DX above 14. That's where I land for the extremely dexterous DF thieves or DX-high warriors.

You're not the only one to play with many stats and skills in the stratosphere, though. I hope you enjoy.

[Varyon]

Originally Posted by Fred Brackin

Youi've left out Skills which get roled in active contests v. npcs. Observation v. Stealth is just one example.

Provided there's no real limit on what sort of Advantages one can pick up (and in a campaign where buying skill 40 or whatever is A-OK, I'd expect that to be the case), I suspect at some point just grabbing something like Detect (Living Things) is better for countering Stealth than just having Observation sky-high. Of course, if there's relatively free reign to grab Advantages (with some GM oversight, of course, so you don't just have That One Guy making broken Advantages like M.U.N.C.H.K.I.N. or whatever), eventually a stealthy character is better off grabbing a few instances of Obscure 10 (Defensive, Stealthy, Extended), rendering said character literally impossible to see/hear/smell/detect/whatever (although personally, I feel Obscure 10 being a hard stop is inappropriate, but that is a huge digression here).

Originally Posted by RGTraynor

The concept of Skill-40 being "not enough" for just about anything short of "Let's see if I can hit that mountaintop there on the horizon with an arrow" boggles my mind.

To be fair, that would also require a rather sizable ST and a bow capable of making use of it (or a magic bow with markedly improved range, or an Imbuement with similar effect, or whatever).


For my own $0.02, I'd echo others that have said combat skill. However, I personally feel ridiculous skill would be kind of boring. For melee, I'd be inclined to cap skill somewhere in the low 20's, or perhaps just something like DX+10 (but allow purchase of Tech! if you need to go higher). For ranged, I'm rather inclined to make use of (at least some variation of) Tactical Shooting's "Minute of Arc" rules, which cap what one's effective skill can be anyway, depending on your weapon.

[Eric Funk]

Originally Posted by khorboth

I wouldn't count the bonuses from aim or evaluate as skill. Those are situational bonuses much like elevation or deceptive attack. That's really just a quibble, though.

I can't help but notice that you're assuming DX20. That's another 200ish points. When I was making genetically engineered super soldiers, ONE of them had DX18. Outside of that, I can't think of a character with DX above 14. That's where I land for the extremely dexterous DF thieves or DX-high warriors.

You're not the only one to play with many stats and skills in the stratosphere, though. I hope you enjoy.

Hi khorboth
Perhaps you are right regarding Aim/Evaluate but I feel higher effective skill rolls are not completely cinematic.

Ah, the [] were the number of character points to achieve the boost on that line, so the examples I provided were on DX10 to show that rolls around 30 were achievable with very few cp invested..

As an aside my party is currently around the GURPS Dungeon Fantasy starting which is ~250cp and the Swashbuckler template has only DX15... the standard recommended maximum attribute level for Humans is all 20s (GDF11 Powerups p.5).

[khorboth]

Originally Posted by Eric Funk

Hi khorboth
Perhaps you are right regarding Aim/Evaluate but I feel higher effective skill rolls are not completely cinematic.

Ah, the [] were the number of character points to achieve the boost on that line, so the examples I provided were on DX10 to show that rolls around 30 were achievable with very few cp invested..

As an aside my party is currently around the GURPS Dungeon Fantasy starting which is ~250cp and the Swashbuckler template has only DX15... the standard recommended maximum attribute level for Humans is all 20s (GDF11 Powerups p.5).

Ya see, this is what happens. Ya get a math degree and somewhere around calc II you lose the ability to do basic arithmetic.

You are clearly correct about DX10.

[Farmer]

Originally Posted by Eric Funk

Hi khorboth
Perhaps you are right regarding Aim/Evaluate but I feel higher effective skill rolls are not completely cinematic.

Effective skills rolls are fine. You get bonuses for taking time, aiming, using additional equipment, getting help, using better quality items, and so on. I think most of us who are suggesting 20-25 as the very top end of the skill are talking about the basic skill, not effective skill. Effective skill is how you counter things like range, size, etc. where you can't just snap shot something, for example.

I currently have an 1,100(ish) pt character who has a highest skill of 23 (including benefits of the very fine, balanced and weapon bonded blade). 3 others at 20. And many in the more "normal" range. He has a lot of advantages but stats are also within a reasonable range (highest is 14 (they're 13, 14, 12, 12), although things like striking ST and Perception and Very Fit etc. all add to that).

There's no "wrong" answer, people should play the way that works for them and is fun (like this behemoth 1,100 pt character - it's so far outside of what we normally play but it works and is fun but I wouldn't want to do this in other games as a personal preference). But I think there are "general" answers that show the "normal" or "average" ranges and levels.

[lugaid]

One thing that I've decided to start doing about higher skill levels is require an appropriate Reputation, or else an explanation (with appropriate Advantages or Disadvantages, such as Unusual Backgrounds or Secrets or whatever) as to why such remarkable skill levels aren't widely known. Sure, a Reputation can be worked to end up with a 0-point value, but that does mean that there will be negative Reaction modifiers, not even counting the simple recognition the character will get from appropriate audiences. If a character comes into the game with Spear-27 (beyond the level of "mythic masters, bordering on the cinematic", so beyond some plausible interpretations of Miyamoto Musashi), I want to know how that fits into the setting and what it means for the character and those the character meets. Plus, of course, all of that Skill Maintenance will be enforced on the Weekly Time Sheet, as others have noted.

[maximara]

Originally Posted by johndallman

If you can have DX and/or IQ of 16+, or suitable Talents, it becomes worthwhile taking many skills to 16 because it doesn't cost huge amounts, your rate of critical failures decreases significantly, and your rate of critical successes increases. That applies to any skill where failures can be dangerous, such as Explosives.

Stealth is often rolled as a contest, so getting that quite high has major returns in safety for an infiltrator. Camouflage is similar, as are all the Influence skills (and their Techniques).

Under Action's cinematic rules, Physician can be used at -10 for instant First Aid, which makes skill in the 20s the key ability for medics.

I guess I am missing something because under standard rules First Aid has the defaults: IQ-4, Esoteric Medicine, Physician, or Veterinary-4 and -10 is way worst.

[naloth]

Originally Posted by maximara

I guess I am missing something because under standard rules First Aid has the defaults: IQ-4, Esoteric Medicine, Physician, or Veterinary-4 and -10 is way worst.

First Aid defaults to Physician. The -10 was for time reduction that can be done with either skill.

[maximara]

Originally Posted by naloth

First Aid defaults to Physician. The -10 was for time reduction that can be done with either skill.

Why not use Cinematic Rule Flesh Wounds instead?

* ignore all but 1 HP (or FP) of damage... at the cost of one unspent character point fits the tone of of an Action setting.