(p:88 gold) It says that to open a skill at grey shade it cost 5 skill points and it pens at it’s root stat exponent.
So I have 7 lifepaths, im spending 5 skill points to open my Sword skill at grey shade. If my Agility stat is at 7 m Sword skill will be G7?
If so, will I inflict grey shade damage for my IMS?
I understand this is outrageously powerful but I just wanna know if I understand it right…I feel like grey shade at character creatin becomes a must since its kinda cheap to buy at first then super long and hard to develop afterward…
Skills always open at half root (rounded down). So your sword skill would be G3. Still nothing to sneeze at.
Damage is governed by your Power stat, not your skill. Even so, you cannot inflict Grey damage unless you have a Grey-shaded weapon. See Power and IMS on page 545.
It costs five points to open a skill at its root with a grey shade.
Emphasis mine. Grey Shade Skills open at their roots, not at their root stats (just like every other skill). A skill’s root is equal to half its base stat rounded down. If your Agility stat is 7, and you pay five skill points to greyshade Sword, when all is said and done, you end up with a G3 Sword skill.
I feel like grey shade at character creatin becomes a must since its kinda cheap to buy at first then super long and hard to develop afterward…
I’d also like to emphasize that 5 skill points is not what I would consider “cheap”.
It’s not easy to shade-shift, but it’s not easy to get five points in a skill either. In any case, my own preferences run to banning shade-shifting during character burning.
5 skill points is a lot. Most people also do not run with 7 life paths, most run with 3 or 4 life paths, where 5 skill points would be significantly less. Also it is important to not that anyone at your table can veto a character for minmaxing.
As Nerga suggested 7 Lifepaths is a little outside of the norm. Typically people run 3-5, occasionally 6 for higher levels of play. So, while 5 points may not be much within your pool of skill points, you’re also playing a character that starts play as a veteran.