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Message no. 1
From: Luke Kendall <luke@********.CANON.OZ.AU>
Subject: High Charisma (Was: Re: Roll-Playing)
Date: Wed, 3 Aug 1994 14:01:41 +1000
Damion Milliken writes:

> > Correct me if I'm wrong, but a character with Charisma 9 should just be
> > worshipped, right?
>

> [...] A person with such a high charisma could also default to just about
> any social skill and trump anyone who had a natural skill under 6 as well.

Not really. Remember, SR probabilities decrease exponentially.

So; let's say Beauty has 18 Cha, and Norm has the appropriate Social
skill for some task, at skill 5. So let's say the TN is 4, but
the 18 Cha goddess is 2 dots away on the skill web - so TN 8.

We have expected successes of 1/6*5/6*18 = 2.5 for Beauty, and
3/6 * 5 = 2.5 for Norm. But 3 dots away or more, and Beauty loses
big time, every time, at least until the TN's for both start
getting real high (so that the difference in TN is negligible).


Many GMs would (quite reasonably) apply modifiers to increase the
TN when a stat is being used less than appropriately - like someone
with high Charisma trying to Intimidate, for example.

(I don't know, maybe some people let Charisma represent the full
spectrum of ways in which someone can be attractive or influential;
but doing that just seems a bit naive to me.)

luke
Message no. 2
From: Damion Milliken <u9467882@******.UOW.EDU.AU>
Subject: Re: High Charisma (Was: Re: Roll-Playing)
Date: Wed, 3 Aug 1994 15:08:36 +0000
luke writes:

> > [...] A person with such a high charisma could also default to just about
> > any social skill and trump anyone who had a natural skill under 6 as well.
>
> Not really. Remember, SR probabilities decrease exponentially.

I was being a bit over zealous, yeah. Its not quite true...but it comes close.

I've seen a character with quickness 10 use his quickness stat as a default
on athletics and stealth more successfully than he can use his actual skill.
He only has 2 or 3 though.

> Many GMs would (quite reasonably) apply modifiers to increase the
> TN when a stat is being used less than appropriately - like someone
> with high Charisma trying to Intimidate, for example.

I view the extra dot between interrogation/negotiation as the extra modifier.
All other social skills are 2 dots away from charisma, these two are three. As
you say, the target numbers increase exponentially.

> (I don't know, maybe some people let Charisma represent the full
> spectrum of ways in which someone can be attractive or influential;
> but doing that just seems a bit naive to me.)

I don't so much know. It seems to cover most of it in the rules. Like the extra
dots, they allow charisma to be used for some not quite usual purposes, at an
increased target number. I think charisma covers things like you mentioned
above, such things may not be based on charisma (more like skills), but it
would play a part, and those with little experience (ie low or no skills) could
always fall back on pure balls and guts and gall to bluff their way through.

--
Damion Milliken University of Wollongong E-Mail: u9467882@******.uow.edu.au

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