A Game of Skills, part 2

We are still discussing the example of play in GURPS Dungeon Fantasy in the Exploits book on pages 103-104.

We are at the point where we are checking a lock for traps, and this part really deserves a closer look. Note how the thief is being asked to do a perception-based Traps skill roll to find traps and then a dexterity-based Traps skill roll to disarm them.

My scout character (created by GURPS Character Sheet) has this entry for his traps skill:

Skill        Level    RSL        Points    Page Number
Traps       9           IQ-2        4             DFA92

So he rolls 9-minus for his Traps skill, based on IQ (his IQ score is 11). This is the default skill level for identifying traps and figuring out how they work - NOT finding or disarming them. Since he has a DX of 15, his disarming roll is four higher (15 - 11 = 4), resulting in a 13-minus. For finding, his PER is 14, three higher (14 - 11 = 3), so a value of 12-minus.

I thought all rolls were 9 or less for this skill!

Huge mistake.

This is something that never really clicked inside my head about GURPS until I slowed down and read this carefully. This is HUGE for this character, especially when finding and disarming traps - he knows more about doing that than how they work, just from his attributes. A 12 and 13 minus for these skills also means, as a player, I will rely on this skill more than they were if I assumed ALL rolls were 9 or less.

And assuming a 9-minus for everything - like my character sheet shows - was grossly unfair to my character.

This rule is mentioned on page 71 of the Skills book (and not in the Exploits book), but it never really clicked in my head that this was how GURPS worked. This is a massive change in how I view the entire skill system in GURPS and it makes the system a lot more flexible and fair for some character types.

I get the feeling this is one of those things that 90% of the people that try GURPS and end up hating it miss. You can never do anything! A low score means, why even try? None of that is true. You are much more capable in most skills than you assume.

This is it for today for pouring over this example of play; this is a huge piece of how to understand GURPS.