Quoting from last thread:



I strongly prefer treating languages as skills (per 3e and previous) over treating them as a learnable advantage.  Actual fluency requires a lot more hours of study and practice than three character points (six, if you also take literacy) represent.  Then again, a 3e character with very high IQ could get pretty high fluency in a bunch of languages for 1 point each, with literacy included for all with the single Literacy advantage (+10 points, as I recall, for a non-literate society, +0 if literacy is the norm).

Languages were broken, so SJ Games broke them further.  The simple fix would have been to have languages learned as a teen or adult work as if IQ were 10, or possibly less.  I'll probably look at running them that way (skill based on 10 instead of either IQ skill or advantage) if I ever run another GURPS game.

Under 3e I also had the option of starting skills at 0.5 points in GCS .... I really liked that... but Rich won't put it in the 4e versions because it's not regulation.

Since we're talking about talking...

I never liked 3e's take on Languages.  Is it more "realistic"?  Ish.  Is it more "gameable"?  No...

I vastly prefer 4e's take.  But I still decry them as being too bloody expensive.  It's a participation tax, which I go back and forth on whether I like that or not.

Of course being someone who likes to play characters who are either linguists (Jareth) or linguistically challenged (every other character I've made here so far) this particular corner of GURPS is one I paint myself into all the time.




[EDIT]
On 'half point skills':

You still have it, it's a Perk called Dabbler.  Though being a Perk your GM has to either not impose limits on Perks or make that one not impact the limit.
[/EDIT]
This message was last edited by the player at 19:33, Sun 16 July 2017.

In reply to Jareth Mooncalled (msg # 12):

I treat dabbler as a reflection of minimally remembered  half point skills.

Missed that ... I'll let Rich know and see if he'll put them back in ...

In reply to Brodak (msg # 14):

It is found in Power Ups: Perks

They aren't "half point" skills though... not really.

They are improved defaults, which is a whole nother kettle of fish.  But they can generally fill the same role.

In reply to Jareth Mooncalled (msg # 16):

Last call before initiating the Hadereun run cult hunt; Goran the Marked, Hograth, and Urrun will be the core, possibly with a dwarf construction  expert (character still being built).
There are a ranger, a cleric and a holy warrior, plus a dwarf who is bearly a knight. Anyone looking to play something arcane? The dwarf will probably  have traps and lockpicking.

The only character idea I've got is a swashbuckler/cleric or swashbuckler/holy warrior... that I keep pushing around on and not making firm decisions about.

In reply to Jareth Mooncalled (msg # 18):

We have a holy warrior and a cleric already...

Yeah... I know which is why I was hesitating to mention my only "good" idea.



I've already got one mage, an a sage/weirdo... so I'm kinda wantin to avoid the "brainy" types.  Which is where Jednesa came from...  and Stenet was a pick up that is kinda refreshing (it's sometimes interesting playing someone that you didn't create) and isn't too brainy, buit also isn't completely stupid (which I keep forgetting I get frustrated with).

In reply to Jareth Mooncalled (msg # 20):

Actually the Holy warrior is a dwarf as well. I would suggest the mage/psyco from the pit city, but his necromantic side may see that being a short partnership...

I'm already playing one about as arcane as we're likely to get, and one of those is plenty for me.  With a martial artist/mage, a one trick pony archer, and a mage whose father was from another dimension, I think my plate is full...

i like the idea of an arcane/swashbuckling type, with some necromancy... or maybe i'll restructure my witch idea, losing the earth, and healing spells, and replacing it with alchemy perhaps...

Alchemy is a lot less expensive that going halfsies on Druidism!

In reply to Jareth Mooncalled (msg # 24):

Yeah, but necromancy working for a church who considers undead an affront may not work so well, unless it is clearly for removing them, but that would be priestly...and we have one.

Better fire (for Flaming weapon, etc) or earth magic, perhaps with a touch of acid...the Churchs domains are Death, Earth and Law, though you may need Water for Acid. That would work well with Alchemy, perhaps.

the haderum? they seem comfortable with undead. they certainly like to use them to make an example of folks...

In reply to Chye Isuel (msg # 26):

Really? Not what I have heard...GM, what is their stance on undead?

they parade them around to the public, and make them bear signs stating their crimes. punishments include not only an execution, but undead servitude is part of sentencing. the haderum is grim, indeed.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:34, Tue 18 July 2017.

That grimness comes from their religious philosophy concerning the soul and it's state after death:  The body and soul have a continual link after death, as the body suffers so does the soul (or at any rate they preach this and many believe it so it makes a really good stick to beat the masses with).

To this end it is HIGHLY ILLEGAL to create undead or muck about calling up dead souls for chats, regardless of whether or not certain Guilds or Nobles get up to these very sort of shenanigans (said Guilds probably have a charter allowing them certain flexibility, but your standard Joe McStreetdude does not).

However, as with most things, what the rich, powerful, or incharge get up to is often quite different than what we, the lowlies, can get away with.

I'm quite sure that any open Necromancers are highly regulated and licensed and don't ever do anything even remotely untoward.  Ever.  Not even a bit.





At least that's how I see it.  My take could be wrong.

Didn't Razakeel say he could and would raise a corpse as a zombie, if only the cultists didn't have something preventing it?  There must be some leeway, perhaps in that an ordinary necromancer's zombie only persists for a short time?

Yeah... but I suspect that Raz being a Guildie might have an exception clause... or maybe it's not as illegal as I think... or maybe Raz likes to flirt with danger.

In reply to Jareth Mooncalled (msg # 31):

The "tenure" perk allows it, and Selan and Dagon have it. The Hadereum does do "Death plus Hard Labor" but are very against free willed undead and encourage sending them on to their reward. They would certainly frown on half dead, like those created by crit successes on zombie or by way of the limited resurrection spell, and would support vampire and lich hunters. Razakeel would try to pass off a zed as either alive or tell it to play dead; he has skills but not license.

aha

Ah, so Raz just has a set of big brass ones.  I knew I liked him for some reason.