Absurdly high skill levels

[Tai]

Originally Posted by Mgellis

If, for example, I want to make a skull shot (-7) at someone 1,000 yards away from me (-14) in poor light (-5), then even if I've got a really good rifle and stop to aim, etc. (about +8, depending on the rifle), I would need a skill of 28- simply to have a 50% chance of hitting.

Actually, let's assume you have a halfway decent sniper build. Let's say you're using a Fine Izhmash 7.62 rifle with the best scope you can buy (6+3Acc), you Aim for two additional seconds beyond what's necessary (+2 Acc), and you're Braced (+1), aiming in that situation (skull shot, 1000 yards away, in poor light, for -7-14-5 total -26). A skill of 24 would be needed to make the shot 50% of the time. If it were important, then further factors may come into play - a sniper with TA (Rifle/Skull) at max (effective +4), taking extra time to perfect the shot (+1 after 6 seconds on a successful roll, and another +1 every doubling after, to the full +5 available), and you only need a 15, for 50% chance.

For every insane quantity of negative modifiers you pile onto a problem, it's likely there's just as many positive modifiers you can add if you approach it right. And if a situation is reasonable common, then many people will buy it as a technique - even if the technique only halves penalties, that goes a long way to making even an 'impossible' task doable.

Of course, if they're practicing 'impossible' tasks to the point where they become routine, then it's not impossible anymore, is it?

[Maz]

Originally Posted by Tai

For every insane quantity of negative modifiers you pile onto a problem, it's likely there's just as many positive modifiers you can add if you approach it right. And if a situation is reasonable common, then many people will buy it as a technique - even if the technique only halves penalties, that goes a long way to making even an 'impossible' task doable.

Of course, if they're practicing 'impossible' tasks to the point where they become routine, then it's not impossible anymore, is it?

Indeed. And for the sniper example you would also have a low-light scope and you would use the "Precision aiming" rules on page 84 of High-Tech (allowing for up to +5 more, depending on the lower of scope or Acc bonus).

[sjmdw45]

Originally Posted by Tai

Actually, let's assume you have a halfway decent sniper build. Let's say you're using a Fine Izhmash 7.62 rifle with the best scope you can buy (6+3Acc), you Aim for two additional seconds beyond what's necessary (+2 Acc), and you're Braced (+1), aiming in that situation (skull shot, 1000 yards away, in poor light, for -7-14-5 total -26). A skill of 24 would be needed to make the shot 50% of the time. If it were important, then further factors may come into play - a sniper with TA (Rifle/Skull) at max (effective +4), taking extra time to perfect the shot (+1 after 6 seconds on a successful roll, and another +1 every doubling after, to the full +5 available), and you only need a 15, for 50% chance.

Rifle accuracy is odd anyway. My understanding is that, in real life, it's almost impossible to hit someone from 3 miles away, but in GURPS that is only an extra -4 relative to the 1000-yard shot. I.e. if you can hit someone 50% of the time at 1000 yards, you can hit them 10% of the time at 3 miles. As I understand it, that's very unlikely in real life because more factors come into play at extreme range: the bullet tumbles differently, you have to factor in gravity, you have to account for different wind for all the points between you and your target. (That is, in real life, difficulty is not log-linear with distance as it is in GURPS. It's log-quadratic or something.)

If you really wanted to simulate this correctly, you'd probably have Accuracy vary as a complex formula depending on bullet weight, distance to target, and environment. Failing that, set the "max" range for a rifle lower than its "real" max range and just say that it maxes out at 1000 yards for man-sized targets, and exceeding that requires special rules and circumstances.

-Max

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by Zed

At what skill level does the effect from such a skill use become 'cosmic-like'; an absurd effect; the realm where you start pulling off deeds that border on 'powers' (Social skills working on mindless undead for example)?

Skills start to have improbable effects at skill levels in the upper teens; most real-world examples which are seen as amazing skill have a pretty big component of luck in them as well (i.e. Einstein had a high Physics skill, but he also rolled a 6). Character don't start to be able to routinely do ludicrous stunts until skill climbs into the upper 20s, however; at lower levels, the things you can do are individually plausible, it's just that you can do those stunts with unrealistic frequency and reliability.