View Single Post
Old 09-12-2017, 06:10 PM   #2
hal
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Buffalo, New York
Default Re: Cybernetic costs and modifiers both 3e & 34e

So, let's look at the first thing I really dislike in the 4e toolbox of advantages/disadvantages where it comes to cybernetics:

Maintenance.

Page 143 of the GURPS CHARACTERS book we have a description of what Maintenance is. The GM decides what the care being provided is, how often it is required, and what skills are required to perform the maintenance. Then we get a schedule of "how many people are required to perform this maintenance, which in turn derives some of its cost value. Note too, that the "installment" of the maintenance disadvantage costs the individual 1 hour's worth of maintenance work.

But look at what we're offered for our choices as a GM...

Monthly (the longest interval possible) at 1/5 normal cost.

down to

Constant (how you do constant maintenance at 1 hour per is perplexing) at x5 cost.

So, what if we want Cybernetic Maintenance to simply be a function of removing the old battery, replacing the new battery, and running a simple diagnostic - once per 6 months? What if the unit doesn't require maintenance except once per year? The fact that the cut off is 1 month, with a value of only 20% of the original disadvantage cost just seems a bit - useless in my mind.
hal is offline   Reply With Quote