Pricing Social Traits in GURPS
(With thanks to andi jones and Hal Carmer of GURPSnet)
The effects of social (dis)advantages such as Legal Immunity, Rank, Status, and Wealth depend heavily on the circumstances in which the PCs find themselves (this applies to non-social traits as well, but much less often). The GM should disallow traits which will have no bearing on the campaign, and may reduce the points cost when they will have less than full effect — this can be done for the campaign as a whole, or on a case-by-case basis. Some examples:
- No effect (-100%):
-
- Clerical Investment when nobody else has heard of the religion;
- Wealth in a Riverworld resurrection day campaign.
- Trivial or rare effect (-80%):
-
- Courtesy Rank;
- Wealth in a Cops campaign where the action happens on the job.
- Minor or occasional effect (-60%):
-
- Normal corporate/national Security Clearance (p.CI29);
- Planetary Status in a Traveller campaign;
- Traveller non-starship Administrative/Merchant Rank.
- Moderate or uncommon effect (-40%):
-
- Traveller single-world Administrative/Merchant Rank;
- Any advantage which is only effective half the (adventuring) time.
- Major or common effect (-20%):
-
- Traveller multi-world Administrative/Merchant Rank.
- Full effect, almost all the time (-0%):
-
- Megacorporate/world power Security Clearance (p.CI29);
- Status in a court intrigue campaign;
- Traveller megacorporate Administrative/Merchant Rank;
- Wealth when using the job rules.