[Basic] Skill double defaults questions.

[Zeta Blaze]

Hi I was taking with one of my friends who keeps insisting you can have an infinite number of defaults chaining together to end in one skill. (using the ridiculous example he claims to have read of using fencing for brain surgery)

He claimed that this was the current state of the RAW and even claims to have herd about it in a magazine published by Steve Jackson

I know he is incorrect for 4th ed but i have been looking through my core book and cant find the exact rule to sight. Also i suspect his claim may have been true at one point can anyone help me find what i am looking for or where he is getting this mistaken impression?

Thanks all!

[Litvyak]

B173 Double Defaults.

[Diomedes]

The ban on double defaults is in the middle of page 173 of the Basic Set. Perhaps your friend is thinking of the ability to double-default techniques, which is legal provided they're ultimately based on the same skill.

[Zeta Blaze]

Thanks everyone. At this point i am still curious was this ever different in earlier editions?

[MrTim]

Double-defaulting was explicitly disallowed in 3rd edition.

[johndallman]

Double defaulting is explicitly barred in 1st edition. Page 34 of the Characters pamphlet, bottom of the sidebar.

Edit: I don't have 2nd edition, although it was similar enough to 1st to share an ISBN, so I seriously doubt that this rule was different.

[Anaraxes]

Seems like the thing he might have picked up from someone complaining about GURPS on some RPG forum -- said complainer not even understanding the rules correctly, but nevertheless holding forth about what a ridiculous system it was, allowing fencing to be used for brain surgery...

it was similar enough to 1st to share an ISBN

Also similar enough that all the differences were contained in a short Update (much smaller than the 4e Update). I just kept that along with my 1e book, and never felt a need to buy 2nd. It was more like the modern scheme of updating the PDFs with errata than a true second edition.