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Re: Rules Nugget (GURPS): A Better Cost for ST
It is a nifty progression, isn't it. Aesthetically, it's too bad that it can't also hold for ST under 10 – but that leads right into your point about ST not fitting well into the "10-based attribute" mold to begin with. No matter how you try to wedge it into that hole, something pops out.
I don't know about GURPS, but for some games, ST as a base-0 log stat would be very nice. Infinitely scalable to any huge or puny creature, with each +/-1 representing a meaningful jump at every point along the way. It'd also become properly useable in Contests. In fact, this may work nicely in GURPS too, as long as the damage-to-ST relationship is squared away with things. After all, we already have SM as a 0-based log stat.
Re the broader set of PC stats: The 3x3 setup you describe sounds good; I think it figures into a lot of homemade designs (and maybe some shipping games too? Did DC Heroes have something like that?)
For my own homemade efforts, I (with some reservation) decided to use whatever's needed and not worry about any sort of matrix. Useful traits include the pretty typical Strength, Agility (which is simply coordination, not some mixture of that plus speed), Intelligence, and Health, plus Command (influence and will) and Instinct (non-intellectual perception, reaction speed, etc.) Then again, I'm not drawing any hard lines between attribute and non-attribute, so on top of that, add in Size, Weight, specific Skills, etc. - they're all "traits" and all define the character!