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MakDemonik · 07-07-2020, 04:54 PM

I have been playing GURPS in the Infinite Worlds setting for a while now and while I'm enjoying it quite a bit, I did find some things under explained. I know many things could probably be answered with. "How do you want it to work in your version of homeline" but I'm still interested in peoples opinions.
Of course if anyone wants to join the questions, please do so!

1) First up is the matter of cross timeline communications. From what I gather it is implied that there exists no conventional way to contact one timeline from another. There is the experimental Para-chronic Field generator that lets you see things and communicate one way. There is also the mention of Intraworld conveyors having a 'emergency compartment' that sends out a message. Which for me heavily implies that it is quite a bother to send a message. But there is no clear ruling on that.
How accessible do you make such messages in your campaign. Is sending a small pod something common, or a pricey ordeal (looking at how costly the conveyors are)

2) Staying on the topic of conveyor price. How much do you think a single jump costs? The book mentions that the conveyors themselves are ULTRA expensive. Multi million dollar machines but even then it's hinted that this is a purposefully high cost for non-Infinity people. But how much would a single jump cost. hundreds of thousands? Tens of thousands? Or is it mostly the cost of the energy itself which is not that much frankly.

3) Eraser - Ho boi. When my players saw the Eraser drug entry they went wild with it. Standard Loadout assumes 30 ampules of this drug. No side effects in even extreme overdoses. Exists in many forms. And an unforgiving HT-3 roll or immediate incapacitation.
The problematic part is. It doesn't mention any delay, what type of penetrative agent it is (contact, blood, respiratory, etc), how long the target stays out. Just that he looses over 45 minutes of memories.
This quickly became not only the go to 'save state' mechanic. Where they get do overs if they mess something up. It also became a literal room clearer. Players pointed out that Basic Set mentions under HT-Drug creation that gasses take effect almost immediately (and most example gas poisons also heavily emphasize No Delay) and also that 10 doses are usually enough to clear a room. With 4-5 players they start missions with 120-150
Basically. For a few games everything became just 'spraying every single person with Eraser, to immediately take him out' - nothing besides a gas mask helps). Or just take out 12 to 15 entire rooms out immediately.
When I tried to control this making them roll for Liquid Projector (Aerosol) with a -5 to the face. They considered buying Targeted attacks (Eraser to the face) just to overcome it.

... In the end I just declared that It has a full minute delay and that the gas form is highly regulated for special cases only (and 10 times cost, as per Bio-Tech) and they have to put up with the standard skin-contact injectors. All that to end what was quickly escalating into a true Squirt-Gun War. (I wonder who will get the reference)

Maybe It's just my players being munchkins, but please tell me whether Eraser abuse was a problem in your group too or how you home-rule the stats.

4) the ISP or Infinity Service Pistol. Another contender for Single-Best-Strategy. I get that the ISP is a prototype 'futuristic TL9 super weapon' but really.
It deals more damage than a Desert Eagle at 4d+1 Pi+ shooting smaller ammunition at a Rate of Fire that rivals a machine pistol, while having a 15! bullet magazine. Built in smart-gun electronics and aiming aids on-top of an amazing accuracy of 3 (better than any HT pistol). And all the while being as compact as a Glock. And while being twice as heavy than most handguns still requiring only ST 8... but the recoil is higher I guess?

I get this is a TL9 weapon ahead of its time but... even Ultra-Tech weapons give 10mm Heavy Handguns only 3d pi+, and that at minST10 and a lower Accuracy too!

It's just a mess... and the moment the players saw this weapon in the Standard Loadout the entirety of High Tech might me literally wiped out to non existence as no other gun will ever even come close to being considered in any way again. Which is unfortunate.

This is I think my worst problem so far. As this is basically The Iconic Weapon of infinity so I feel like I cant just disallow it anymore. It's too good to make any sense and destroys the whole gear selection process while also being too iconic to be removed. (I just know that if I touch it at least one player will scream bloody murder and choke to compliance)

I don't know whether these stats are a mistake, and should be 3d Pi+ at best or it's me who just can't handle his players but I don't know what else to do besides... lowering the damage to 3d Pi+ claiming that "it probably was a mistake and should always have been 3d as the Ultra-tech book says."

07-07-2020, 04:54 PM	#1
MakDemonik Join Date: Dec 2014	Infinity Unlimited Questions - Gear and Whatnot I have been playing GURPS in the Infinite Worlds setting for a while now and while I'm enjoying it quite a bit, I did find some things under explained. I know many things could probably be answered with. "How do you want it to work in your version of homeline" but I'm still interested in peoples opinions. Of course if anyone wants to join the questions, please do so! 1) First up is the matter of cross timeline communications. From what I gather it is implied that there exists no conventional way to contact one timeline from another. There is the experimental Para-chronic Field generator that lets you see things and communicate one way. There is also the mention of Intraworld conveyors having a 'emergency compartment' that sends out a message. Which for me heavily implies that it is quite a bother to send a message. But there is no clear ruling on that. How accessible do you make such messages in your campaign. Is sending a small pod something common, or a pricey ordeal (looking at how costly the conveyors are) 2) Staying on the topic of conveyor price. How much do you think a single jump costs? The book mentions that the conveyors themselves are ULTRA expensive. Multi million dollar machines but even then it's hinted that this is a purposefully high cost for non-Infinity people. But how much would a single jump cost. hundreds of thousands? Tens of thousands? Or is it mostly the cost of the energy itself which is not that much frankly. 3) Eraser - Ho boi. When my players saw the Eraser drug entry they went wild with it. Standard Loadout assumes 30 ampules of this drug. No side effects in even extreme overdoses. Exists in many forms. And an unforgiving HT-3 roll or immediate incapacitation. The problematic part is. It doesn't mention any delay, what type of penetrative agent it is (contact, blood, respiratory, etc), how long the target stays out. Just that he looses over 45 minutes of memories. This quickly became not only the go to 'save state' mechanic. Where they get do overs if they mess something up. It also became a literal room clearer. Players pointed out that Basic Set mentions under HT-Drug creation that gasses take effect almost immediately (and most example gas poisons also heavily emphasize No Delay) and also that 10 doses are usually enough to clear a room. With 4-5 players they start missions with 120-150 Basically. For a few games everything became just 'spraying every single person with Eraser, to immediately take him out' - nothing besides a gas mask helps). Or just take out 12 to 15 entire rooms out immediately. When I tried to control this making them roll for Liquid Projector (Aerosol) with a -5 to the face. They considered buying Targeted attacks (Eraser to the face) just to overcome it. ... In the end I just declared that It has a full minute delay and that the gas form is highly regulated for special cases only (and 10 times cost, as per Bio-Tech) and they have to put up with the standard skin-contact injectors. All that to end what was quickly escalating into a true Squirt-Gun War. (I wonder who will get the reference) Maybe It's just my players being munchkins, but please tell me whether Eraser abuse was a problem in your group too or how you home-rule the stats. 4) the ISP or Infinity Service Pistol. Another contender for Single-Best-Strategy. I get that the ISP is a prototype 'futuristic TL9 super weapon' but really. It deals more damage than a Desert Eagle at 4d+1 Pi+ shooting smaller ammunition at a Rate of Fire that rivals a machine pistol, while having a 15! bullet magazine. Built in smart-gun electronics and aiming aids on-top of an amazing accuracy of 3 (better than any HT pistol). And all the while being as compact as a Glock. And while being twice as heavy than most handguns still requiring only ST 8... but the recoil is higher I guess? I get this is a TL9 weapon ahead of its time but... even Ultra-Tech weapons give 10mm Heavy Handguns only 3d pi+, and that at minST10 and a lower Accuracy too! It's just a mess... and the moment the players saw this weapon in the Standard Loadout the entirety of *High Tech* might me literally wiped out to non existence as no other gun will ever even come close to being considered in any way again. Which is unfortunate. This is I think my worst problem so far. As this is basically *The Iconic Weapon* of infinity so I feel like I cant just disallow it anymore. It's too good to make any sense and destroys the whole gear selection process while also being too iconic to be removed. (I just know that if I touch it at least one player will scream bloody murder and choke to compliance) I don't know whether these stats are a mistake, and should be 3d Pi+ at best or it's me who just can't handle his players but I don't know what else to do besides... lowering the damage to 3d Pi+ claiming that "it probably was a mistake and should always have been 3d as the Ultra-tech book says."