As far as my records show, Handsome has 16 xp to spend.
I can't spend any yet, as we're in the middle of a dungeon.
That said, here are some things I'm considering purchaseing.
Combat Reflexes [15]. The +1 to defenses would be helpful, as would the bonuses against and recovering from surprise. A surprised scout is a dead one.
Luck [15]. One re-roll per hour would save Handsome when things go bad.
Weapon Master [20]. On the reasonable assumption that we'll get 4 xp before I can spend any, I could just save up for this for my paper man. +2 damage with the bow is nice. He'll need that damage if/when he gets to tougher foes. And it would cut his penalty for a quick shot to -1 from -3.
Perception +3 [15]. Right now, Handsome has a reasonable Per 14. +3 would make that a much more awesome 17. Handsome doesn't need to worry about darkness penalties within a light source radius, even the fringes, so he's able to see pretty well. A 17 would be a very nice . . . edge . . . as a scout.
I'm debating which one . . . but I'm open to opinions and suggestions.
While Luck is always nice it is most valuable on swashbuckler types with high defenses but not enough armor and HP to soak a hit. If Handsome can shoot from the second rank and attacks don't need a crit to hit then it's less so.
ReplyDeleteCR prevents surprise from hurting the scout, PER prevents the party from being surprised. The question is if 14 to 17 is a big difference given the GM's proclivities. If it's always either a loud mob or a Stealth 21 bugbear it may not be.
If the scout is the primary DPS guy in this party then WM is the answer. If he's third or fourth then one of the other options may add more value.
Yeah, but who cares about Swashbucklers? Handsome has DR 0. He can't survive a single hit, regardless of whether or not it took a crit to get it. And the ability to handwave failed resistance rolls is really important if the GM is really dumping GURPS Magic on you as written.
DeleteI still generally reject the concept of "DPS" for GURPS. DR is such a factor that you can't just multiply attacks x damage x rate of fire to determine how effective something is. Lots of low damage attacks rarely add up to anything like one high-damage attack.
Thanks for the advice!
You basically listed your purchases in the order I'd buy them, with only Luck and Weapon Master maybe being swapped. It would depend at that point on how GM Vic ran the game. Are you being swarmed with melee attacks and save or suck spells, or is your inability to deal consistently decent damage worse? But Combat Reflexes would be a primary purchase. It's just too good to pass by.
ReplyDeleteIf you are in real danger of ambush*, the PER. Otherwise Luck.
ReplyDelete*By real danger of ambush, I mean serious foes actually getting the drop on you. Good archers or mages with prep time vs no PC defenses can be devastating in a single GRUPS round. Due to this, IME, few GMs do serious ambushes, or have them do something stupid like pepper the full plate guy with arrows instead of the squishies.