06-11-2021, 09:19 AM | #41 | ||
GURPS Line Editor
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Montréal, Québec
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Re: To be, or not to be… poor
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But that isn't the case in GURPS. As many of us have now concluded, for that you want Allies, Patrons, Signature Gear, Status, Unusual Background (Invention), things built with gadget limitation, and a whole raft of skills: Accounting, Administration, Finance, Leadership, Market Analysis, Merchant, Propaganda, Research, et valde cetera, and all the skills needed to invent, use, and maintain any gadgets. Oh, and some Wealth to pay for the Status. In a lot of ways, Wealth is just a "color trait" to go with the stuff that does what you actually want to do.
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Sean "Dr. Kromm" Punch <kromm@sjgames.com> GURPS Line Editor, Steve Jackson Games My DreamWidth [Just GURPS News] |
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06-11-2021, 10:46 AM | #42 | |
Join Date: Aug 2004
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Re: To be, or not to be… poor
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06-11-2021, 11:07 AM | #43 |
Join Date: Mar 2016
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Re: To be, or not to be… poor
Well... yes? I mean, you seem to be framing it as something shocking or bad, and it's really not. It's not really something I'd agree with, but it's hardly an out-there take.
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06-11-2021, 11:16 AM | #44 |
GURPS Line Editor
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Montréal, Québec
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Re: To be, or not to be… poor
Sorry, it wasn't meant to come off that way! I was unironically and unsarcastically pointing out that there are at least two different stances – privileging realism vs. privileging meta-game balance – on how to treat just about anything (in this case Wealth) in GURPS or in any RPG, and that you can't do much to resolve the two when they clash. Yes, I'm publicly and unapologetically someone who prefers story to simulation, "gamism" to realism, and Rule Zero games to GM-light or GM-less ones . . . that's a product of my psychology, early gaming experiences, and lots of other things. But I wasn't trying to suggest that people who disagree with me are having Hurting Wrong Fun.
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Sean "Dr. Kromm" Punch <kromm@sjgames.com> GURPS Line Editor, Steve Jackson Games My DreamWidth [Just GURPS News] |
06-11-2021, 12:31 PM | #45 |
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Berkeley, CA
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Re: To be, or not to be… poor
I suspect it was done by a third party. IME the common use of "You get what you pay for" is in reaction to someone picking a cheap option and discovering that it's crappy.
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06-11-2021, 01:07 PM | #46 | ||
Join Date: Jul 2008
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Re: To be, or not to be… poor
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Personally, I consider Signature Gear a weird option for somebody who is bent on having, well, a signature bit of gear. If you've just got to use your ancestral sword, or a particular rifle that you've given a name, or your favorite motorcycle, and losing those will ruin your PC, then absolutely go for it. If you don't care about the specific item, just about having suitable tools for your skills, Signature Gear is a bad fit. And those non-obsessive PCs don't deserve to be hosed by their suitable tools constantly being taken away because they didn't invest them with narrative specialness. Also, by the book, Allies are protected against disloyalty but they're as easy to get killed as anyone else. Not nearly as reliable as signature gear! Quote:
Your story can't really be fit into the discussion much, though, since reality doesn't let you buy the router as an Advantage on your character sheet.
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I don't know any 3e, so there is no chance that I am talking about 3e rules by accident. |
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06-11-2021, 01:27 PM | #47 |
Join Date: Jun 2013
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Re: To be, or not to be… poor
I interpret Signature Gear as being largely immune to the whims of the GM (when the GM railroads the party into a "Jail-break" plot, the character with Signature Gear is guaranteed to be able to recover said gear, while everything else is gone - tossed in the incinerator, sold off, split amongst the captors, etc), but if you Parry a heavy weapon with your Signature Gear sword, it's just as likely to end up broken as any other sword of the same quality. Allies should be treated similarly - while the GM can certainly assassinate one of the (small-a) allies you've made during your adventures to start a "Whodunnit?" plot, or kill some off to establish the new enemy is Serious Business, your Allies aren't at risk there... but they can still be killed during combat just as readily as your own character.
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GURPS Overhaul |
06-11-2021, 01:27 PM | #48 |
Join Date: May 2021
Location: I'd rather be alone than be with people who make me feel alone.
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Re: To be, or not to be… poor
Something I've noticed which may already be plain as day, is that the Wealth rules and Wealth adjacent traits and rules are simplified and abstracted to the extent necessary to make gaming them enjoyable. I would not want to have any campaign of mine to be "Economy Simulation: The Game" as that's a mind-bogglingly endeavor I'd take no joy in pursuing or even gaming out if I could even do so realistically. Since I'm in college now, I'd probably want to take business and economics classes in order to really ingrain that level of realism into my head. When GURPS begins to require its base of GMs and players to have advanced higher education to even play the game is when the game itself is no longer accessible to play for many... and GURPS is already quite niche within a niche hobby.
Now, I might not mind a GURPS: Business and Economics supplement. Sure would save me precious student money on classes that I might take, as GURPS books are often so well researched and written to not only educate but also to entertain (which facilitates the former better!). It irked the teachers in my public education that some RPG supplements were educating me on topics better than they could. |
06-11-2021, 01:42 PM | #49 |
Join Date: May 2007
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Re: To be, or not to be… poor
My take is that gear sometimes breaks down, and hireling sometimes prove unreliable, not merely because it's realistic but because it's dramatically appropriate. On the other hand, properly-maintained gear only breaks down rarely, and well-treated hirelings are reliable in the majority of cases, not merely because that's realistic but because the alternative is frustrating rather than entertaining. Ultimately, once you've gotten your other skills to an appropriate level, 50 points in Wealth generally provides more benefit than 50 points in other "power ups".
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06-11-2021, 01:54 PM | #50 | |
Join Date: Jul 2008
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Re: To be, or not to be… poor
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Characters doesn't speak to this clearly - it talks about having the gear taken away, but not about having it damaged or destroyed. GURPS DF's description ("This makes it part of his abilities, buying the GM’s word that he won’t often be without it.") doesn't talk about destruction specifically but I think it suggests my interpretation...
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I don't know any 3e, so there is no chance that I am talking about 3e rules by accident. |
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