Steve Jackson Games Forums - View Single Post - [Enhanced Senses] What does Universal Smell ACTUALLY give, game-mechanically?

vicky_molokh · 01-05-2018, 05:08 AM

Greetings, all!

PES26 offers the Universal Smell perk, which allows using the sense of smell in both air and water. However, what is the actual tangible game-mechanical benefit of it? To elaborate: taste normally includes detection of chemicals in a liquid upon direct contact (e.g. lemony water in contact with the tongue allows detection of lemon juice in a liquid); smell is a (short-)ranged sense that largely allows doing the same things by vapours in the air. But what benefit is there to smelling a substance in water instead of tasting it in water?

Another way to look at it: dolphins have No Sense of Smell or Taste (Can Taste, -50%) [-2]. What do they actually lose compared to a hypothetical paradolphin template who has been granted a sense of smell (in water)?

Thanks in advance to all who answer!

01-05-2018, 05:08 AM	#1
vicky_molokh GURPS FAQ Keeper Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Kyïv, Ukraine	[Enhanced Senses] What does Universal Smell ACTUALLY give, game-mechanically? Greetings, all! PES26 offers the Universal Smell perk, which allows using the sense of smell in both air and water. However, what is the actual tangible game-mechanical benefit of it? To elaborate: taste normally includes detection of chemicals in a liquid upon direct contact (e.g. lemony water in contact with the tongue allows detection of lemon juice in a liquid); smell is a (short-)ranged sense that largely allows doing the same things by vapours in the air. But what benefit is there to smelling a substance in water instead of tasting it in water? Another way to look at it: dolphins have No Sense of Smell or Taste (Can Taste, -50%) [-2]. What do they actually lose compared to a hypothetical paradolphin template who has been granted a sense of smell (in water)? Thanks in advance to all who answer! __________________ Vicky 'Molokh', GURPS FAQ and uFAQ Keeper