Lens-Men II
Yet More Mini-Character Lenses for GURPS Fourth Edition
by Stephen Dedman
Here are some more 10-point mini-character lenses to help flesh out a character by giving him knowledge in an area of expertise that might not be expected in his current career. Some are based on upbringing, some on college courses, some on hobbies, some on casual jobs, and some may be available as program chips in ultra-tech worlds (Modular Abilities, page 71 of the Basic Set). They can be combined with character templates from the various GURPS books, allowing characters to fill niches outside of the primary one the template is designed for, such as an investigator with an interest in the occult, or a soldier who can fix radios.
Alternatively, these and other mini-lenses can also be used for quickly generating NPCs for a particular role, and combined to make multi-faceted characters, such as a farmer turned guerilla, or a dockside union boss. You could also create a smaller version of most of these templates for just 5 points simply by cutting the points in the listed skills in half.
Arming Squire
You have gone through an apprenticeship to a medieval (or fantasy) knight as a page and squire, tending to his weapons, his horse, and his other property. This is primarily useful as a lens for a knight (p. 445), but while many knights went through this process, not all squires became knights (even if they survived); a mercenary warrior, merchant, . . .
This article originally appeared in the second volume of Pyramid. See the current Pyramid website for more information.
Article publication date: September 8, 2006
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