Sounds reasonable, The GURPS rules are set up to
be generic and universal, and as such, must cover many topics with broad
generalizations. From time to time, special cases will arise where the general
rule, as written, seems too harsh, too lenient, or otherwise inappropriate.
In these cases, it is the job of the GM to provide reasonable interpretations
and extrapolations based on the existing rules. This certainly appears to
be one of those cases.
The variation you suggest -- that a human attempting to detect a lie told
by a thranx suffers only -1 to his skill roll -- seems reasonable. Of course,
it will become "official" only when or if it appears in either
a later edition, of GURPS Humanx or Roleplayer
Errata, but until
such time, you are certainly free to have it work that way in your
campaign.
Success rolls in GURPS are based on 3 dice.
This gives a bell curve of probability. An 18 -- or a 3 -- is only rolled
once in 200 times! Why use 3 six-sided dice instead of a linear system based
on a 20-sided die or percentile dice?
Also, HT (Hit Points) seem very low and are hard to raise. Powerful characters
often have the same HT as "naff" characters. Why is GURPS
designed like this?
The decision to use three dice for most rolls in GURPS
was based on several factors. First, six-sided dice are familiar to nearly
everyone, and are readily available. Second, 3 six-sided dice provide a
very useful range of numbers -- 3 to 18 -- which fit neatly onto a 1 to
20 scale, with the mean falling at the halfway mark of 10.5. Third, the
1 to 20 scale is the most commonly used range for attributes and abilities
of characters in roleplaying systems, and is therefore already familiar
to most roleplayers.
But the most important factor in the selection of the 3-die system was the
bell curve itself A bell curve resembles the human learning process far
more accurately than does a linear system. The difference in skill between,
a character with DX 10 and six months of training in a Physical/Average
skill (a skill roll of 9 or less, or a 37.5% chance of success) and an identical
character with two years' training (a roll of 11 or less, or 62.5%) is much
more pronounced than the difference between a character with six years'
training (12 or less, or 74.1 %) and a character with eight years' training
(13 or less, or 83.4%). Near-complete mastery of a skill (a skill roll of
17 or less, or a 99.5% chance of success) is attained only after 24 years
of training. In GURPS, as in real life, human beings are
able to develop basic levels of competence relatively quickly, but true
mastery of a skill comes only with great investment of time and effort.
A straight linear scale would not reflect these patterns; with such a scale
it would be just as easy to increase one's skill from a 90% chance of success
to a 95% chance as it is to increase it from a 15% chance of success to
a 20% chance. Such a scale simply would not reflect the way in which humans
actually learn and perfect their skills.
The observation that HT seems relatively low in GURPS may
well be valid when comparing the system to others on the market. In GURPS,
a single bullet from a respectable handgun stands an excellent chance of
putting a character on the ground. Once again, GURPS reflects
reality on this point. In reality, a person hit by a .45 slug will, in all
probability, fall down. With medical attention, he may well survive (a fact
also reflected in GURPS), but he is most likely out of
that fight. Many RPGs on the market allow characters to take several bullets
and keep walking, but a conscious decision was made in designing GURPS
to make this very unlikely.
It is certainly true that HT is difficult to increase in GURPS,
and that many "powerful" characters will have a HT equal to or
less than that of their less dangerous minions. Here again, GURPS
is designed to reflect reality. A person does not become more resistant
to physical damage simply because he has become more competent in his skills.
Falling from a twenty-story building is just as likely to kill Conan as
it is the Maytag Repairman. A fighter improves his survivability not by
increasing his ability to soak up damage but by increasing his ability to
avoid being hit. His combat experience hones his ability to parry, block
or dodge the attacks of his opponents; it does not make him harder to cut
with an axe.
[The following is excerpted from a longer letter discussing the material
presented in GURPS
Horror.]
I am an engineer at McDonnel-Douglas, and
$4,500 per month is much too high. Most engineers here make $2,500 to $3,500
per month. I haven't quite figured out all the repercussions of the change
in the pay rules yet, so this criticism may not be valid.
Furthermore, what about taxes? I know roleplaying is often about getting
away from depressing realities, but GURPS is supposed
to be realistic. It would be easy enough to just give monthly income in
net pay (in which case the engineer's salary is even more off), but some
mention should be made of taxes, and, given that the worldbook is about
horror, maybe the IRS.
That the listed salary for an engineer in the Modern campaign background
is $4,500 does not mean that all engineers make this amount,
or even that most do. It simply means that it is possible
to make that amount of money, or even more. It appears that you and your
co-workers are characters with an Average wealth level in a Comfortable
job, which means you earn about half the listed amount.
Concerning income taxes: in order to prevent a GURPS campaign
from turning into Paychecks and Paperwork, we recommend
that you don 't spend a lot of time worrying about income taxes and similar
mundane bookkeeping tasks. After all, when was the last time you watched
Indiana Jones fill out a 1040? Of course, if a game master really wants
to mess with income tax, he can do one of two things: either assume that
the listed salaries represent after tax income, or determine the amount
the characters would owe on their salaries if they were real people, by
actually doing the paperwork for them. Of course, you might as well figure
in, social security, property taxes, sales taxes, vehicle registration and
inspection fees, electric bills, school taxes. . . .