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Gef · 09-23-2017, 01:50 PM

Hi Awarnok.

First a tangential point: A cheetah with 8 legs wouldn't be faster; it might be slower. Extra legs help with broken or soft ground. Sounds like these critters have it for mud. Big feet would help just as much though, with lower metabolic cost. Are these critters genetically engineered?

Your best build uses Alternate Advantages.

One set, 8 Legs (Horizontal -10%, No Fine Manipulators -40%, 7½) and MV +2 (Horiz/NFM; 5), Terrain Adaptation: Mud (Horiz/NFM; 2½). These is the cheaper set, so at 1/5 normal cost, that's 3.

The other set gets expensive, but you can reduce it, something like this:

Quad Extra Arms [Short -50%, Missing Digits 4 Thumbs -20%; 24].

That's net 27. As a GM, you can choose to phase in the extra move and terrain adaptation depending on how many limbs are on the ground. Also, you can change the details; the point is that AA is the technique.

Now here's a quirk of the system: It's not canonical to use Alternate Metatraits, so any disads bundled into a conformation have to be treated as temporary disads. However, GURPS is a Rule Zero game, which means you can figure out what the different conformations are, estimate their utility, and spitball the price.

09-23-2017, 01:50 PM	#11
Gef Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Yucca Valley, CA	Re: Need some help with an alien race Hi Awarnok. First a tangential point: A cheetah with 8 legs wouldn't be faster; it might be slower. Extra legs help with broken or soft ground. Sounds like these critters have it for mud. Big feet would help just as much though, with lower metabolic cost. Are these critters genetically engineered? Your best build uses Alternate Advantages. One set, 8 Legs (Horizontal -10%, No Fine Manipulators -40%, 7½) and MV +2 (Horiz/NFM; 5), Terrain Adaptation: Mud (Horiz/NFM; 2½). These is the cheaper set, so at 1/5 normal cost, that's 3. The other set gets expensive, but you can reduce it, something like this: Quad Extra Arms [Short -50%, Missing Digits 4 Thumbs -20%; 24]. That's net 27. As a GM, you can choose to phase in the extra move and terrain adaptation depending on how many limbs are on the ground. Also, you can change the details; the point is that AA is the technique. Now here's a quirk of the system: It's not canonical to use Alternate Metatraits, so any disads bundled into a conformation have to be treated as temporary disads. However, GURPS is a Rule Zero game, which means you can figure out what the different conformations are, estimate their utility, and spitball the price.