(C) Copyright 1992, by John Aegard Title: Variant Senses statistic. Description: Senses is a new attribute derived from IQ and HT and modified by several advantages and disadvantages. To find a character's base Senses score, add his or her IQ and HT scores, then divide the total by two, rounding down. Senses is used in lieu of IQ for sense rolls. For more information see Sense Rolls, p. B92. The following advantages and disadvantages affect Senses exactly as described in the GURPS Basic Set. Acute Hearing (2 points/level) Acute Taste/Smell (2 points/level) Acute Vision (2 points/level) Alertness (5 points/level) Blindness (-50) Deafness (-20) No Sense of Taste or Smell (-5) New Disadvantages: Oblivious (-5 points per level) Each level of Oblivious gives the character a -1 to all Senses rolls. Characters with any level of this disadvantage cannot take any of the other advantages or disadvantages listed here except No Sense of Taste/Smell. The following two disadvantages replace Bad Sight: Nearsighted (-2 points per level @ TL5+, -4 per level @ TL4-) Each level of Nearsighted, up to -5, gives a character a -1 to see things further than 3 feet away. Half of the character's Nearsighted modifier (rounded up) is subtracted from hand-to-hand attacks and all defenses. Ranged attacks are at an apparent distance of +20% time the disadvantage level. The -2 points per level is for a character whose vision is perfect with TL5+ correction, only. Farsighted (-5 points/level @ TL 5+, -10/level @ TL4-) Each level of this disadvantage, up to -3, gives the character a -1 to perform tasks requiring short-range manual dexterity only. The character will also have some difficulty reading, especially small print. In situations where time is critical, the GM may say that for each level of this disadvantage the character posesses, the character takes 1/3 longer time to read something. The -5 points/level cost at TL5 and above is only charged if the farsighted character has perfect corrected vision. Hard of Hearing (-2 points/level @ TL 6+, -1 point/level @ TL5-) Each level of Hard of Hearing (up to -5) gives the character a -1 to hear sounds. Before TL6, this disadvantage is worth a flat -2 points per level. Characters at those tech levels may use ear-trumpets or the like to improve their hearing; details are up to the GM. At TL6+, however, discrete personal hearing aids come into use. If the character's hearing responds perfectly to TL6+ mechanical aids, the -1 point/level charge is used. Optional Rule: Corrected and Uncorrected Senses. Players may choose to define two levels of a variable Senses disadvantage for their characters. The first is the "uncorrected" level; the disadvantage suffered by the character while not using technological aids like glasses, contact lenses, or hearing aids. The second is the "corrected" level, for characters who still don't have perfect senses even when corrected to the best degree of which the local technology is capable. The points bonus is the average of the two costs figured at the lower-tech rate. New Skill: Observation (M/H) This is the skill of using one's senses to their absolute best. It comes in three variations; taste/smell, sight, and hearing. A character must select one of these specializations each time he/she buys the skill, although there's nothing that prohibits him/her from having all three. When a character is actively using his senses, he will receive a bonus to the appropriate senses role of 1/5 of his skill level. This bonus is only applicable to situations where the character is concentrating on his senses. For example, a character searching for traps, observing a supernova through a telescope, or listening at a door may use this skill's bonus. A character making a hearing roll to passively detect an ambush would not. Justification: Both physical and mental attributes needed to be taken into account for sense rolls. As a pure game justification; HT needed to be made somewhat more "important". Oblivious is included for characters who are just plain "dense." It makes nice companion disadvantage for Absent-Minded characters. I felt that Bad Sight had to be broken down into something a little more detailed. The rules for Nearsighted came from the GURPS Basic version of the Bad Sight disadvantage and were varied slightly to reflect a variable version of the disadvantage. The points cost for Farsighted is derived from"[uced Manual Dexterity (a bastardization of the Aliens advantage) -3 x 10 = 30 points. Hard of Hearing also needed to be broken down into a variable disadvantage, in my opinion. The suggested rules for uncorrected versus corrected senses came from several people on gurps-ext. They add an extra bit of realism to the game, but also extra detail. Obviously, not all people will respond perfectly to treatment. The Observation skill was also a product of the gurps-ext crowd. I haven't playtested the numbers yet, but they *look* okay. Examples: A warrior with IQ 9, HT 12 has a base senses of 10. A sickly wizard with IQ 15, HT 9 has a base senses of 12. The same fighter who has Oblivious -4 (-20 points) now has a senses roll of 6, and can have no further senses ads or disads save for Acute Taste/Smell. The same wizard with Nearsighted-3 has a senses roll of 9 to see things further than 3 feet away; has a -2 to hit in hand-to-hand combat and a -2 to defend against any kind of attack. He will cast his Fireballs at targets as if they were 1.6 times the distance further away, for example, an attack on a troublesome Dwarf 20 yards away will be treated as if the Dwarf was 32 yards away for range purposes. The fighter with Farsighted -3 will have a -3 to his DX when performing tasks which require manual co-ordination at a short range *only*. If he's literate, the GM will double the time necessary to read anything at close range (if the time is even a consideration). The wizard with Hard of Hearing -3 will have a roll of 9 to hear anything. Lefty Harrison, a gambler on the Missisippi river-boat "Lady Constance" has Uncorrected Nearsightedness of -5 and Corrected Nearsightedness of -1. His points bonus is [(-5x4)+(-1x4)]/2 or -12. Lefty's also a sharp eavesdropper. He has an Observation/Hearing skill at level 17. When listening to what's going on at the next table, he'll add a +3 to his hearing roll.