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Old 12-03-2010, 11:22 AM   #11
Anthony
 
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Default Re: SM and stealth

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Originally Posted by Kromm View Post
Not Being Heard: Win a Quick Contest of Stealth vs. your subject's Hearing. Your SM has no effect.
Why does SM not affect hearing? It's not like a smaller, lighter person isn't harder to hear. I've always assumed SM modified all perception rolls.
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Old 12-03-2010, 11:29 AM   #12
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Default Re: SM and stealth

Why would SM affect hearing? Ground pressure and wing loading are the main things that affect the noise made by ground creatures and avians. These aren't really proportional to SM in a useful way, and depend more on specific species morphology than on absolute size. I'd agree that SM may matter for vertols, but that's why you can take "Noisy" as a Temporary Disadvantage on Flight.
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Old 12-03-2010, 11:33 AM   #13
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Default Re: SM and stealth

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Originally Posted by Kromm View Post
Why would SM affect hearing? Ground pressure and wing loading are the main things that affect the noise made by ground creatures and avians.
Um. 10 psi over 1 square inches makes less noise than 10 psi over 10 square inches, and (ground pressure*area) most certainly scales with overall body mass. For flight, noise will tend to scale with motive system power, which also scales pretty strongly with body weight.
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Old 12-03-2010, 11:38 AM   #14
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Default Re: SM and stealth

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Originally Posted by Anthony View Post

Um. 10 psi over 1 square inches makes less noise than 10 psi over 10 square inches
That's what I'm disputing. I've seen nothing to support that claim. My understanding is that ground pressure alone matters. 10 psi is 10 psi is 10 psi . . . there's no difference in noise between a 0.1, 1, and 10 square inch sample. This is certainly how the U.S. Army handles the matter in their assessments, anyway.
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Old 12-03-2010, 11:52 AM   #15
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Default Re: SM and stealth

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Originally Posted by Kromm View Post
That's what I'm disputing. I've seen nothing to support that claim. My understanding is that ground pressure alone matters. 10 psi is 10 psi is 10 psi . . . there's no difference in noise between a 0.1, 1, and 10 square inch sample. This is certainly how the U.S. Army handles the matter in their assessments, anyway.
I suspect that has something to do with their assessments being of vehicles that don't actually vary in size by all that much, and possibly some extremely nonlinear functions with relate to pressure. I can't come up with a physical model for how ground noise would not vary with the size of contact, though it might not be linear in area (for example, one mechanism for wheel noise is the flattening of things the wheel rolls over. What gets flattened depends on ground pressure, how much gets flattened depends on wheel width, so you expect first order in width, and a complex (and likely empirical) function for pressure).
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Old 12-03-2010, 12:00 PM   #16
David Johnston2
 
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Default Re: SM and stealth

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Originally Posted by Anthony View Post
Why does SM not affect hearing? It's not like a smaller, lighter person isn't harder to hear.
That's only true under certain circumstances. Travelling through foliage a giant would make more noise because it has to force more stuff aside. Running, the impact of the footfalls of a heavier person is louder. Broader feet can break more branches and dry leaves. But on solid ground, or clear soil and moving slowly and with deliberation there's no reason why a big guy will make more noise than a little guy. Although the big guy is less likely to be trying to sneak in the first place, if his size modifier is such that he'll be toast on the vision modifier anyway.
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Old 12-03-2010, 12:09 PM   #17
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Default Re: SM and stealth

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Would it be appropriate to apply a penalty or bonus to stealth based on SM?

I'm just thinking of a giant trying to be stealthy in the woods compared to a gnome or halfling.
You know, GURPS Low-Tech Companion 2: Weapons and Kings will cover this with its great (and small) Scaling Rules.

. . .

Wait, not, not this time! For first time in months I've stated something that Low-Tech doesn't cover! My whole world is crumbling down.
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Old 12-03-2010, 09:11 PM   #18
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Default Re: SM and stealth

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Wait, not, not this time! For first time in months I've stated something that Low-Tech doesn't cover! My whole world is crumbling down.
If only we had a GURPS Gulliver for 4ed…

:P
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Old 12-04-2010, 11:32 AM   #19
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Default Re: SM and stealth

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Originally Posted by Kromm View Post
Basically, it works like this:
Not Being Seen: Win a Quick Contest of Stealth vs. your subject's Vision. Your SM modifies his Vision.

Not Being Heard: Win a Quick Contest of Stealth vs. your subject's Hearing. Your SM has no effect.
If you stand to be seen and heard, just roll once, but use the worst odds.
Plus, remember that SM is a pretty bad deal as it is. Making it work as Noisy is waaay too much. (Yes, I'm saying this even after looking at my own FAQ page - I still think large SM is generally a bad thing, even though convenient sometimes.)
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Old 12-04-2010, 11:50 AM   #20
roguebfl
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Default Re: SM and stealth

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Originally Posted by Anthony View Post
Why does SM not affect hearing? It's not like a smaller, lighter person isn't harder to hear. I've always assumed SM modified all perception rolls.
Because SM and weight are not connected, That huge Gassious form weighs almost nothing... (low weight big SM)
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