3rd to 4th: What do you do about half points?

[Guest]

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What would you suggest I do with the characters in my old campaign who
have large numbers of skills with just half a point in them? (Often
things they picked up by using the skills under stress.)

--
Michael Cule

 

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I'm thinking about converting to 4th edition, but I haven't worked out
exactly how yet. I wouldn't be against just leaving them at half
points though, I don't think it would be that big of a deal.

 

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>>>>> "MC" == Michael Cule <mikec@room3b.demon.co.uk> writes:

MC> What would you suggest I do with the characters in my old
MC> campaign who have large numbers of skills with just half a
MC> point in them? (Often things they picked up by using the
MC> skills under stress.)

Well, the way I see it, you have a couple options.

One is to grandfather characters that have been translated, so they
can use half-point skills while nobody else can. Perhaps some
percentage of earned character points need to go into raising all
those skills by a level.

Another option, since things like languages and attributes cost
substantially more, is to give players 120% to 150% of the original
character's point value with the understanding that the redesign will
be completely GURPS 4-legal -- i.e., no half-point skills, but you can
take 50% of the point total in disadvantages rather than a flat 40
points.

A third option is to eliminate half of the half-point skills and bump
the rest up to 1 point. Often half-point skills are for color, and so
losing some doesn't really hurt the character in play.

Charlton


--
cwilbur at chromatico dot net
cwilbur at mac dot com

 

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In message <87pszyk3sg.fsf@mithril.chromatico.net>, Charlton Wilbur
<cwilbur@mithril.chromatico.net> writes
>A third option is to eliminate half of the half-point skills and bump
>the rest up to 1 point. Often half-point skills are for color, and so
>losing some doesn't really hurt the character in play.

I can hear the screams of my players even as we speak.... They love
every single one of those skills, they are telling me.

The 'grandfather' idea is a possible one, though. Thanks.
--
Michael Cule

 

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Michael Cule wrote:
> What would you suggest I do with the characters in my old campaign
who
> have large numbers of skills with just half a point in them? (Often
> things they picked up by using the skills under stress.)

Keep the half point and adjust the 4e skill tables to include them.
Brandon

 

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> What would you suggest I do with the characters in my old campaign who
> have large numbers of skills with just half a point in them? (Often things
> they picked up by using the skills under stress.)

In the conversion I mentioned in the thread below all such skills got moved
up to a full point. As I said, it didn't impact the game feel at all.

 

[Dave]

Archived from groups: rec.games.frp.gurps (More info?)

"Michael Cule" wrote:
> What would you suggest I do with the characters in my old campaign who
> have large numbers of skills with just half a point in them? (Often things
> they picked up by using the skills under stress.)
>
If in the writeup of the PC the skill is important, then pay the full point.
On the other hand, if it's just a background skill, then drop it down to its
default level - unless there is no default for it.

But the only PCs that'll be feeling the pinch are the ones built with the
'Eidetic Memory tweek'. This is particulary true of those PCs that large
sums of points had to be spent on a small group of skills - like supers,
martial artists and mages (and to a lesser extent, or rather a subset,
linguists). However, now that there is no more flat 40 point disad limit
and I have yet to find an age restriction on skills (since in both Martial
Arts and Magic it is strongly suggested that any skills bought that were not
required for either martial arts or magery count towards a point limit of 1x
character age) that is not that much of a problem.

I don't like the idea of reintroducing the 1/2 point back into the chart
because those 1/2 points made it so darn hard to balance out a character
after awhile that I found I was taking stuff just to be able to spend half a
point.

Quite frankly, I for one will be glad to see more qell-balanced and
well-rounded characters that need to be thought out more.

Dave

 

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"copeab@yahoo.com" <copeab@yahoo.com> writes:

> Keep the half point and adjust the 4e skill tables to include them.

Keep the half points but don't allow any new half point skills
in the futurel. Eventually the problem will go away.

At the end of a gaming session you could grant an extra
half-point or more, and require that they can only be
spent to upgrade half point skills.

--
Darin Johnson
Laziness is the father of invention

 

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On Fri, 21 Jan 2005 18:28:07 +0000, Michael Cule
<mikec@room3b.demon.co.uk> wrote:

>What would you suggest I do with the characters in my old campaign who
>have large numbers of skills with just half a point in them? (Often
>things they picked up by using the skills under stress.)

Let them drop any 1/2 point skills they want to and ear mark any
points freed up and any experience points they earn to buying up all
the remaining 1/2 point skills to a full point.

 

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On Fri, 21 Jan 2005 18:28:07 +0000, Michael Cule
<mikec@room3b.demon.co.uk> wrote:

>What would you suggest I do with the characters in my old campaign who
>have large numbers of skills with just half a point in them? (Often
>things they picked up by using the skills under stress.)

Let THE PLAYER choose.
He rebuilds his PC under the new rules, with a new points total (a bit
higher), and he chooses what to keep and what not.

If they are NPCs, no problem: the GM chooses, and to the hell the
point total.

Korin Duval

--

"Truth requires a great amount of courage;
Fiction requires a great amount of maturity."