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Old 09-04-2017, 03:33 AM   #535
Prince Charon
 
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Join Date: Dec 2012
Default Re: Five Earths, All in a Row

Notes

"Poker Face penalises everyone's attempts to read your emotions by 1." David Johnston2

The point cost of Signature Gear in this setting is one point for plot protection, and at least one more point for the monetary cost. This is loosely based on, but not the same as, the concept in Reverend Pee Kitty's Trading Points for Money and Signature Gear house rule. If you spend Starting Wealth on the item, or purchase it as a Gadget, the money point(s) can be left off, and Signature Gear becomes a Perk (see also Signature Assets, from GURPS Spaceships 2, p27).

Social Stigma (Mutant) covers any human born on Inp-Earth who looks visibly different from a normal human, in a manner that suggests biological changes, rather than cybernetics. It varies in value depending on where the campaigne is set. The generic city this group lives in is sufficiently cosmopolitan that her odd appearance is only enough of a problem to be worth -5. In other parts of the US, and in some other nations, the disadvantage would be worth -10 points or worse (there are some places where Social Stimga (Monster) is more correct), while in a few, like San Francisco, it would be no more than a quirk. In some cases, it varies depending on how different from human you look, as well. It can also cover any human with demonstrable psi powers, but this is less common, and should usually be treated as an Intolerance quirk or disadvantage on the part of the observing character(s), not the psychic(s), unless the majority of the people the characters will encounter feel that way (i.e., if the campaigne is intended to take place somewhere with a high amount of prejudice against psykers).

Per RevPeeKitty's houserule #14, 'When you learn a Combat skill, Combat Art skill, or Combat Sport skill (see p. B184 for details), you may buy up the other two versions as an Average technique defaulting to your skill-3.' Judo Art (Aikido) is the Art form of Judo (Aikijutsu), due to how closely related the two styles are - at least, for Suzuki-ryuu Aikido and Aikijutsu.

Teresa MacLain is a computer programmer who learned to work with hardware due to being the token geek at the firm where she got her first job (that did not involve the words 'Do you want fries with that?'). She's been a fan of Star Trek, and science fiction in general, for as long as she can remember, went to her first Star Trek convention at age three, and is not the only Vulcan in her immediate family. If the game is set after May 2, 2013, she works for the local branch office of Starship Enterprises; otherwise, she works for the same company as Newt, which is how she joined his gaming group - she is completely unaware that he was trying to ask her for a date, and flubbed it. For the past few years, she's been they're regular Storyteller for Classic World of Darkness (CWoD).

Has noticed that she's getting stronger, faster than she logically should.

All Treknology skills have Weird Science (Treknology)/TL8^ as a prerequisite, and default to Weird Science (Treknology)-6. Treknology skills that rituals are likely to be based on include Weird Science itself, Architecture, Chemistry, Bioengineering, Engineer, Metallurgy, and Pharmacy. Some specific rituals might be based on other skills, related to the above, such as Electronics Repair and Mechanic, related to Engineer, or Diagnosis, Physician, and Surgery, related to Bioengineering. Many of these rituals involve jury-rigging some device, and/or fiddling with the tricorder, and may or may not have additional penalties as a result.

'Subspace Countermeasures' is another name for 'Veil', Thaumatology p152; 'Subspace Disruptor' is 'Ghost Sword', Thaumatology pp161-162; and 'Subspace Inhibitor' is 'Thicken the Walls of the World', Thaumatology p165. Similar names might be applied to Curse Mirror, Curse Sanctum, Dispel Ritual, and Ward. The Vulcan Neck Pinch (based on Bioengineering or Physician in this style) is roughly equivalent to the Slumber ritual, save that it requires touching the target around where the neck and shoulder meet, and the caster's degree of success serves as a penalty to attempts to wake the target before 1d hours have passed. While T'Resa does not know it currently, there are other new 'Vulcans' she could learn it from, including her parents (she no-longer lives with them, but they aren't inconveniently far away).

At the GM's discretion, other forms of Weird Science, and other forms of, for example, Engineer defaulting from them, can also serve as defaults and/or prerequisites for Engineer (Treknology), and vice versa.

For critical failures, T'Resa rolls on the standard GURPS Critical Spell Failure Table, though the GM should slant the results to have a 'Trek-ish' flavor. Alternatively, you could roll on the Gadget Bugs Table in Basic p476, the Enigmatic Device Table, and/or Random Side Effects Table on Basic pp478-479, rerolling or modifying anything that doesn't work in the setting. Her style of Treknology is Energy Accumulating, though there are also Treknology-users with Effect Shaping styles.

Treat the tricorder as a TL8^ Small Ultrascanner (Ultra-Tech p66) with integral TL8^ Psi Scanner (Psi Tech p22), Psychospectral Imaging System, and Life-Field Motion Detector (both Psi Tech p24; the medical version, if she had it, would have good enough resolution on the PsIS for diagnostic purposes, but wouldn't be as good in general for functions not related to medicine or biology), weighing 3 lbs; resembles a smaller version of the TOS tricorder, with a larger screen. The power source is an enchanted battery, called a 'power pack'.

The Phaser functions as a TL9 Stun Pistol ('Phaser Two') with a Palm Stunner ('Phaser One') mounted on top; both also have some pure laser settings, equivalent to a TL10 Blue Medium Laser Pistol & Pistol Cutter for Phaser Two, and a Blue Palm Laser & Pocket Cutter for Phaser One. They are TL8^ for purposes of repair and analysis. The pistol malfunctions on 17+, and the holdout on a verified critical failure. Aiming is via the same reflex sight for both pistol and holdout. A photokinetic effect prevents eye damage to the user and any bystanders, but not to the target if directly hit in the eye. The pistol and the holdout use separate power packs, but the pistol will not fire without the holdout in place. The paired laser apatures for the electroshock settings are found only on the Phaser One, but when placed in the pistol module, the extra power and computational capacity extends range, and other effects.

Phaser Settings:

(Electroshock):
1: EMP
2: Prod
3: Normal Stun
4: Tetanizing

(Laser):
5: Weld
6: Cut/Drill
7: Normal Pulse Laser Weapon

The Weld setting is the least tightly focused, as it needs to heat up and soften targeted materials, not vaporize them. Beam energy is 0.03 kJ; energy used per shot is 0.06 kJ; ranges are 0.1/- for Phaser One, and 0.47/- for Phaser Two. Could be used as a torture setting, but T'Resa is not nearly sadistic or unethical enough to do that.

Power packs may be forced to explode, with a REF of 1. Phaser pistol packs weigh 0.6 lbs, tricorder and holdout phaser packs weigh 0.1 lbs.

Her tricorder and phaser were props that she built, which were spontaneously enchanted as she changed, though the 'tricorder' did contain a palmtop computer and a few TL8 sensory peripherals, and the 'phaser' had blue lasers in both sections. The reason the pistol couldn't and can't fire without the holdout in place, is that the holdout's laser pumps the pistol's laser - maybe she went too far in making it authentic, but it rather impressed her fellow tech-Trekkies. An enhanced polywell in her garage is used to recharge them, although she's working on a more portable version (complete by June 3, 2013, built into an old lunchbox). As seen above, the phaser uses Pizard's Beam Weapons rules, apart from the photokinetic effect. They are common enough in concept, and similar enough to things that are or will soon be available for sale (the standard Phaser from Starship Enterprises uses almost the same statistics, but has better ergonomics on the Phaser One (+1 to Acc), a trigger guard on Phaser Two, and both usually have slightly fewer shots, and slightly lower reliability, though that varies due to the impossibility of perfect quality control), that they are equipment/Signature Gear, rather than Gadgets.


Thoughts so far? You don't need to wait until they're all posted if you have a comment.
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Five Earths, All in a Row. Updated 12/17/2022: Apocrypha: Bridges out of Time, Part I has been posted.
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