From: jhk6@cunixb.cc.columbia.edu (John H Kim)
Subject: Re: Advantages
Reply-To: jhk6@cunixb.cc.columbia.edu (John H Kim)
Organization: Columbia University
Date: Thu, 19 Nov 1992 20:47:03 GMT

doug@abby.chem.ucla.edu writes:
>thornley@milli.cs.umn.edu (David H. Thornley) writes:
>>You can raise, but not lower, Perception.  Therefore, if you want a brilliant
>>scientist, he or she will be very perceptive, whether you like it or not.
>
>This is just a load of bull.  Absent-Mindedness modifies perception.

	Excuse me? I just checked this. Absent-mindedness does *not* modify 
perception. Absent-mindedness means you have -5 to any IQ based roll which 
you are not concentrating on at the moment. If you concentrate on looking 
for something, or just looking around, your perception is just fine. 
	A high IQ person with Absent-mindedness is considerably different 
than a high IQ person with average perception. 

>
>>You can have a magician with average IQ and some magical talent, but if you
>>want the magician to have great magical talent you need a high IQ.
>
>Yes, but since ANY magician worth his salt (in any genre where there are
>magicians) in the relevant literature ALWAYS has above average IQ, what's the
>problem?  IMHO, this is one of the few universal constants in fantasy
>literature. 

	Hmm. Exceptions of Garion in the Belgeriad, and Thomas Covenant, and 
just about any mage in the Conan books @-). 

>
>>Also, it is difficult to impossible to set up some characters:  a brilliant
>>scientist who is not very perceptive, a smooth-talking multi-talented con man
>>with no talent for math or science, or said con man with low perception.
>
>Bull.  To reduce the perception, you can take Absent-Mindedness.  For
>smooth-talking, add Voice and Charisma, and maybe some good looks as well. 
>That depends, of course, on what you mean by multi-talented... if you don't
>want him to have any talent for math or science, just don't spend any points 
>on those skill areas, and you have the character you want. 

	The argument here seems to be lack-of-talent is represented by 
fewer points in the skill. This is contradicted, however, by the rules 
which state that points in the skill are linear with the number of hours 
studied. 

>
>>Given that most people don't have many ads and disads, most perceptive GURPS
>>characters will be highly intelligent, socially skilled, and strong-willed,
>>and most socially inept characters will be unperceptive, non-intellectual,
>>and weak-willed.  Again, I don't think these features are so strongly
>>correlated.
>
>You are ASSUMING that people are not going to design their characters to 
>have different levels of perception, will, IQ, etc., and then you essentially 
>blame this on the system itself.  This is faulty logic at best...  if people 
>want to design a character where all of these things are different, they can.

	Yes, but the system discourages the taking of these 'sub-attributes' 
(like Will, Perception, etc.) because the basic attributes are so much more 
cost-effective (at least in the usual range of attributes: 7-15). Anyone 
who wants to be Strong-willed and Alert without being very smart will 
quickly discover that his character will probably cost *less* if he were 
smarter (assuming he has some reasonable number of mental skills) while 
keeping the same Will and Perception rolls. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------
John Kim                    | "Nostalgia ain't what it used to be."
jhk6@cunixb.cc.columbia.edu | "The future's not the same anymore."
Columbia University         | "What the hell's wrong with my langauge."