05-28-2018, 08:09 AM | #11 | ||
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Binghamton, NY, USA. Near the river Styx in the 5th Circle.
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Re: Clarification: Talent Skill Choice
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I think what gets unbalanced, and why there's the recommendation against having a general "weapons" talent, is because at 5 points a talent with 5-6 weapon skills is kind of unbalanced, and at 10 points for 7-12 it's kind of questionable.
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Eric B. Smith GURPS Data File Coordinator GURPSLand I shall pull the pin from this healing grenade and... Kaboom-baya. |
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05-28-2018, 08:37 AM | #12 |
Hero of Democracy
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: far from the ocean
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Re: Clarification: Talent Skill Choice
I'd allow all combat skills for [15/level], and all of either ranged or melee for [10/level]. I don't think either of those are in any way broken, and they fit archetypes and general training very well.
Kromm mentioned the guidelines on such talents in PU3, and the points are very good. Particularly number 2.
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05-28-2018, 08:42 AM | #13 |
GURPS Line Editor
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Montréal, Québec
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Re: Clarification: Talent Skill Choice
An "all weapon skills" Talent at 15 points would probably be reasonably fair. One of the not-so-hidden truths of weapon skills is that most people don't actually take more than a handful. What I typically see is this: main Melee Weapon skill, Fast-Draw for that (if allowed), off-hand or backup skill (Cloak, Knife, Main-Gauche, Shield, etc.), main ranged combat skill, and Fast-Draw for the ammo (if allowed). Once those skills hit their stride, that's 20 points per +1 to all five . . . and a level of DX is just 20 points, and also gives +1 to unarmed combat tasks, +0.25 to Basic Speed, +1 to all DX-based noncombat skills, +1 to all DX-based defaults, and +1 to a wide range of generic DX rolls (including many that can't be raised as skills). All that other stuff arguably provides much of the value of DX.
At 15 points/level for just weapon skills, I think there would be relatively few takers unless there were a cool alternative benefit – players would favor DX +1 [20] and Basic Speed -0.25 [-5] if they could get away with it. What the cool alternative benefit ought to be is hard to say. Something like +1 damage per level would be a little too good. "Includes one Weapon Bond per level" could be attractive, as at level four you'd really have +5 to all the weapon skills likely to matter, making the real cost per +1 more like 12 points than 15 points. And it seems in-theme that "good with all weapons" includes "good at picking the perfect weapon for you."
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Sean "Dr. Kromm" Punch <kromm@sjgames.com> GURPS Line Editor, Steve Jackson Games My DreamWidth [Just GURPS News] |
05-28-2018, 10:39 AM | #14 | |
Join Date: Jun 2017
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Re: Clarification: Talent Skill Choice
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Unless you were playing a game where weapons routine got lost or destroyed and there was extreme variety in which new ones were around. |
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05-28-2018, 10:43 AM | #15 | |
Join Date: Jun 2017
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Re: Clarification: Talent Skill Choice
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05-28-2018, 11:04 AM | #16 |
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Canada
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Re: Clarification: Talent Skill Choice
Going with my policy of always having a mix of base attributes in the skills of a talent, I'd definitely throw in appropriate Armory specializations, Expert Skill (Hopology), Connoisseur (Weapons), and a bonus to Merchant but only when haggling over weapons.
If the talent was restricted to pre-gunpowder weapons, I'd still charge 15 points but I'd expand the secondary skills and Merchant bonus to "... and armor". If restricted to post-gunpowder weapons... hm. Interesting problem.
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05-28-2018, 11:27 AM | #17 | ||
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Binghamton, NY, USA. Near the river Styx in the 5th Circle.
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Re: Clarification: Talent Skill Choice
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"You seem a decent fellow. I hate to kill you." Quote:
Guns already default heavily to one-another anyways, so it really doesn't matter if you're talking one guns specialty or all of them. And once you get to gunpowder weapons the usefulness of archaic weapons goes down considerably. Yeah, there are times when a knife or a bow might come in handy, but they're fewer. There are even fewer times when a broadsword or a polearm are going to be of use to you.
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Eric B. Smith GURPS Data File Coordinator GURPSLand I shall pull the pin from this healing grenade and... Kaboom-baya. Last edited by ericbsmith; 05-28-2018 at 11:31 AM. |
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05-28-2018, 11:37 AM | #18 |
Join Date: Jun 2017
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Re: Clarification: Talent Skill Choice
Unless you're talking about a gonzo setting where sword-wielders can pull off ludicrous moves to get into range or block bullets. Though in that case "sword" probably means "Innate Attack (Limitation: Needs sword)".
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05-28-2018, 10:05 PM | #19 | |
Join Date: Apr 2005
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Re: Clarification: Talent Skill Choice
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Call it "Born Sniper", cost it at 10 or 15 points per level. It gives a bonus to any DX-based thrown or missile weapon skill from Bow to Beam Weapons, and a reaction bonus from shooting sports enthusiasts and fellow shooters. Arguably, existing traits might give bonuses to additional skills when the skill roll is based on a different attribute. For example, Artificer skill might apply to IQ-based rolls to Guns skill for Immediate Action. |
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05-31-2018, 09:16 AM | #20 |
Join Date: Jun 2006
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Re: Clarification: Talent Skill Choice
I think the actual unbalanced case is the 5 point talent in two or more weapons in *functionally different* categories. Five different close combat, or melee, or long reach, or short ranged, or long ranged missile weapons wouldn't be so bad even at 5 points. Warriors normally have a single preferred weapon for each of those roles anyway. It's one from two or more categories for 5 points , or 3 or more for 10 points, that starts to look a bit unfair to the guys buying theirs per skill.
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