I've been working on a new system for purchasing skills and it's time to see what the forum thinks. Please take fundamental objections to basic philosophies behind the system such as the idea of pricing skills by utility at all as read because there's been quite enough of that already.
To begin with skills are divided into four difficulties (the names of which ought to be familiar though a skill's difficulty in this system and in the standard GURPS skill system are frequently different). Difficulties appropriate for most campaigns follow, but the system allows for differing skill difficulties for unusual campaigns.
Very Hard: 4 CP/level. The skills that are strongest at keeping you alive in a lethal fight and skills that allow broad and powerful manipulation of the environment. Melee and ranged combat skills and magic in systems where it is divided among a small number of skills.
Hard: 1 CP/level. Skills whose absence puts an adventurer at a significant disadvantage. Unarmed combat, skills related to movement and social skills.
Average: 1/2 CP/level. Skills that are obviously useful to an adventurer but also quite skippable. Many knowledge skills fall here.
Easy: 1/12 CP/level. Skills that are basically only useful when the perfect situation comes up. Hobby skill (Origami) is a good example.
DX and IQ are replaced as the basis of most skills by a single Talent attribute which costs 25 CP. Characters still vary in things like manual dexterity but now it impacts skills differently than simply raising or lowering their level. Just like Perception can mean the difference between getting to use your guns skill or not, if your hands are shaking too much you simply can't succeed at personally performing a surgical operation.
Will and Perception can have skills based on them, when such skills are basically the equivalent of techniques of the stat such as mind block or observation. Such skills cost 1 CP/level
Skills are bought directly up from from the attribute default and don't have a jump with the first purchase.
Neither defaults from other skills nor skill bonuses from advantages exist. It is up to the character designer to purchase an appropriate skillset.
Where the normal system would use techniques (or optional specialties) this instead just uses less broad skills with x1/4 cost (in the case of a technique which can float between skills use the most expensive legal skill to determine cost). Also possible are x2/4 cost skills for core uses such as attacking or parrying and at least theoretically x3/4 cost skills for buying almost the entirety of the skill but with a significant caveat. Note that you don't need to have first purchased a full skill to buy any of these up. Instead of buying a single skill (like expert skills) to represent limited knowledge of multiple skills the character designer should purchase less broad versions of all the appropriate skills.
For skills with very high levels of overlap (like two melee combat specialties) the cost of all overlapping skills but the most expensive are x1/5. With lower levels of overlap (such as between melee combat and ranged combat specialties, melee combat and unarmed combat specialties or social influence skills) the cost for all but is most expensive is x3/5). You can buy up all the specialties of a skill for twice it's cost.
Skills that are obviously rendered far less useful in combination with other possessed traits such a skill in surgery combined with too low Dexterity to actually be able to personally operate practically ever or skill in bow without two arms is x1/5.
Nothing ever operates out of points invested in skills and there is complete freedom to sell back things and buy up more broad purchases when it becomes optimal to do so.
Skill System Houserules
To begin with skills are divided into four difficulties (the names of which ought to be familiar though a skill's difficulty in this system and in the standard GURPS skill system are frequently different). Difficulties appropriate for most campaigns follow, but the system allows for differing skill difficulties for unusual campaigns.
Very Hard: 4 CP/level. The skills that are strongest at keeping you alive in a lethal fight and skills that allow broad and powerful manipulation of the environment. Melee and ranged combat skills and magic in systems where it is divided among a small number of skills.
Hard: 1 CP/level. Skills whose absence puts an adventurer at a significant disadvantage. Unarmed combat, skills related to movement and social skills.
Average: 1/2 CP/level. Skills that are obviously useful to an adventurer but also quite skippable. Many knowledge skills fall here.
Easy: 1/12 CP/level. Skills that are basically only useful when the perfect situation comes up. Hobby skill (Origami) is a good example.
DX and IQ are replaced as the basis of most skills by a single Talent attribute which costs 25 CP. Characters still vary in things like manual dexterity but now it impacts skills differently than simply raising or lowering their level. Just like Perception can mean the difference between getting to use your guns skill or not, if your hands are shaking too much you simply can't succeed at personally performing a surgical operation.
Will and Perception can have skills based on them, when such skills are basically the equivalent of techniques of the stat such as mind block or observation. Such skills cost 1 CP/level
Skills are bought directly up from from the attribute default and don't have a jump with the first purchase.
Neither defaults from other skills nor skill bonuses from advantages exist. It is up to the character designer to purchase an appropriate skillset.
Where the normal system would use techniques (or optional specialties) this instead just uses less broad skills with x1/4 cost (in the case of a technique which can float between skills use the most expensive legal skill to determine cost). Also possible are x2/4 cost skills for core uses such as attacking or parrying and at least theoretically x3/4 cost skills for buying almost the entirety of the skill but with a significant caveat. Note that you don't need to have first purchased a full skill to buy any of these up. Instead of buying a single skill (like expert skills) to represent limited knowledge of multiple skills the character designer should purchase less broad versions of all the appropriate skills.
For skills with very high levels of overlap (like two melee combat specialties) the cost of all overlapping skills but the most expensive are x1/5. With lower levels of overlap (such as between melee combat and ranged combat specialties, melee combat and unarmed combat specialties or social influence skills) the cost for all but is most expensive is x3/5). You can buy up all the specialties of a skill for twice it's cost.
Skills that are obviously rendered far less useful in combination with other possessed traits such a skill in surgery combined with too low Dexterity to actually be able to personally operate practically ever or skill in bow without two arms is x1/5.
Nothing ever operates out of points invested in skills and there is complete freedom to sell back things and buy up more broad purchases when it becomes optimal to do so.
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