Game in the Brain

Nothing is as humbling as learning your GURPS stats. I did a run and finished at the 17% of men and 12% of men my age. And you know what: a GURPS average character would have finished in the 9-5% percentile without any skill in running (because running has no default penalty) or any points invested at 33 mins running 5km any time of the week. 

Since this is an event run, mr. GURPS average would probably be finished at 20% better or 25 minutes, well with in the passing requirement for entering military service. Its been long admitted that GURPS averages are already heroic, at about 1% the population by cries and wails of the Cult of Stat Normalization. 

A soldier would have finished at 1% at 25mins. The average soldier would do that run and finish well below that time anyway of the week and not just a one time big time run. If it was an event to train for in a month, they would probably hit 20mins. 

Running is one of the most well documented and studied practices and it should be the most easy for any game system to model. Although you may have to tweak gurps a bit. As the GM I would allow characters buying the following: 

The costing of Movement is modeled after Keen Senses and some Game Mechanics, I don’t think its worth while to purchase if any more expensive and I don’t like fractions in CP. 

Straight Stat Defaults

Too bad Running is defaulting to Straight HT and as an Average Skill. It seems like a useless skill in RAW IMO and I use houserules to make it more relevant. I think it should have been an Easy Skill, simply cause the alternate Default is Straight HT. They should really fix those skills that have a straight ability default. Skills that not well designed can clutter up character sheets, and ideally clutter is reduced (the reason they removed the “half point” option).   

When I used to browse the threads where people would convert themselves the 25cp average character in gurps is pretty generous to many. I think when people are young they have “average physical stats” but when they are older and with a career their time and effort is placed elsewhere. They sacrifice physical capabilities for education and professional skills. Its only when your career hits a certain point can you finally pursue hobbies/education or sports/hobbies that will allow you to improve. 

If you find the “average” gurps character heroic at even 50-75cp, what more are characters who go beyond that? I’ve trying to populate my games with “realistic” people and that means a 90% of the setting population with 9s in many of their stats. If you look at that ability and consider that their ability to make a living is 12, that benchmark earns a lot of respect.

Still you can get away with a lot with just 12 in Real Life, simply because we tend to have time to do stuff. Heroes and PCs dont, so what happens is that they face things normal people would very much try to avoid and if they ever faced would be an interesting story to tell if they survived it and an unbelievable one if they did succeed it.

Characters in the Game I’m running have competency levels of 15-20 in their chief abilities. They need it because the feats they are supposed to do are those no ordinary people can do. 15 is Industry expert, you can say top 1% of the industry and 20 is something of an International level of ability.

Note that in perspective, cultural and environmental barriers add up to -3* to -6* so these people can be very formidable around the world, even if they are removed from where their status, power, and familiarity would aid them.

*from traveller