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Old 05-07-2010, 09:02 AM   #1
TheManeuver
 
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Australia
Default Size Modifiers

Potentially an unnecessary question/comment (not really sure which), but something came up in a recent game that I was GMing causing me to take a closer look at the Size Modifier rules in GURPS Characters (4th Ed), and I'm curious to see what other people think of this.

From GURPS Characters p19:
Quote:
Most humans - and humanoids, robots, etc. that can pass for human - have SM 0...
This, of course, we all know. When creating a human or human-sized character, the Size Modifier is 0, so we don't even have to take it into account. But later on in that section we get:
Quote:
If a creatures longest dimension falls between two entries on the table, base its SM on the higher value.
This quote is in reference to the Size Modifier Table on page 19. If we refer to the table, we find that the value for SM 0 is 6', while SM +1 is 9'.

Going by this, a 6'1" human, who, while taller than average, isn't exceptionally tall for the species, would be SM +1.

Now, I haven't found a rule confirming this, but an assumed rule of thumb (or at least the one I've had going in) is that, excepting the case of Dwarfism or Gigantism, all adults of the same race (not counting exotic races and such which may incur different GM made rules ... let's just use humans as our example) share the same Size Modifier. So in our case, humans with Gigantism are over 7' with SM +1, as explained on page 20 of GURPS Characters.

I've considered the possibility that a character's SM could be intended to be the average for said character's race, but the idea of a 6'3" human being SM 0 and a 6'2" member of a race whose average height is 6'5" being SM +1 doesn't really gel with me.

Anyway, I guess my question is: do you think that a human with height falling between 6'1" and 6'11" be considered SM +1 but without the Gigantism trait? And why/why not? If anyone can point me in the direction of a ruling that would better clarify this that would be great.

If not, I guess at the very least this kind of thing would be GM's call whether a 6'1" human should be SM 0 or +1. I know I'd likely rule SM 0 in this case, being so close to the 6' cut off.

What does everyone else think? Am I reading into this too much? I surely think so!
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