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Old 09-06-2017, 05:30 PM   #11
sir_pudding
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Default Re: Statting a GURPS magical house

I wouldn't use Constant Appearance here. If the character is, for example, trapped in a confined space that the castle can't reach, it won't be available. Constantly usually works best for Allies that are able to physically ride on or in the character in some way, or have supernatural access to most locations; for example implanted AI assistants or spirit guides.
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Old 09-06-2017, 06:20 PM   #12
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Default Re: Statting a GURPS magical house

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Originally Posted by huffmuffin9 View Post
Oh my this is exactly what I was looking for!! Thanks so much.
No problem, happy to help!

One more thing you should consider - the Castle is pretty obviously magical. However, the movie doesn't really address the question of "what happens when it goes some place with no magic". Of course, it's quite possible that in the movie's setting, there is no such place. However, for your game, you should probably consider that question. If there's no places without magic, fine, it doesn't need anything else. If there are, however, you should decide if such a location would simply make the castle shut down, and have to be moved away before it started up again, or if such a lack would actively damage it, eventually destroying it if it stayed there long enough (this could represent something like the lack of magic meaning it's no longer strong enough to support itself, and its own weight starting to break it, for instance).

If it just shuts down, you'll want to add the disadvantage No Mana Shutdown, for -20 points. This appears in Thaumatology (p. 119), and it's basically what it says on the tin - the object loses any special properties and can't move or act in no-magic areas. If it's actually damaged by no-magic zones, that's the disadvantage Dependency (Magic, probably a Very Common substance, and pick whichever frequency produces the damage you think is reasonable). Note you can have both of these!

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This is only my second time every playing GURPS (first fime as a player, now as a GM) so I had no idea that players weren't supposed to make their own allies....
Well, it's not some hard-and-fast rule. The Gods of GURPS will not smite down on you in furious anger if you let the players build their own Allies. :) It is, in my opinion, a better idea to have the GM do it, though, as I mentioned above. First, there some broken builds an experienced player can do with Allies (search the forum for the phrase "Pet rock" for an example), and having the GM do it removes any temptations for that. Second, I think Allies are just more interesting, for both the players and GM, if the GM builds them and doesn't show the players their sheets. That way, you can include traits that can come as a surprise to the players, and there's some uncertainty about their abilities that keeps people guessing. I find that if the players know the exact skill levels and such of NPCs, it encourages them to think about them in more mechanical terms, whereas if you keep their traits to yourself, it's easier to put things in terms of "Sniper Alice thinks she can make this shot", and then the players have to think "Is this an accurate assessment? Or does Alice have Overconfidence, and she's overestimating her ability?".

Incidentally, your house rule you mentioned about allowing Allies built on 10% of a player's total is a good one - so good, in fact, that it's already appeared in an official book. GURPS Zombies gave base costs for Allies for 20% (0.8 points), 15% (0.6 points), 10% (0.4 points) and 5% (0.2 points) Allies.

Last edited by Kelly Pedersen; 09-06-2017 at 06:35 PM.
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Old 09-06-2017, 07:43 PM   #13
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Default Re: Statting a GURPS magical house

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Originally Posted by huffmuffin9 View Post
Yeah, the player is getting the x4 constantly there modifier, so it is going to be much more involved then I feel a patron might be which is why I was leaning towards ally. This is only my second time every playing GURPS (first fime as a player, now as a GM) so I had no idea that players weren't supposed to make their own allies.... we all did for the first campaign lol.
It's not quite stated explicitly, but p. B36 says, "An NPC Ally, on the other hand, is
wholly reliable" in defining the Allies advantage. NPCs are normally made by the GM.

Other than textual interpretation, I think there are reasons to follow such a policy. The player makes the decisions for the PC (unless they have given up that right by taking a disadvantage with a self-control roll). But NPCs are different people. If you let the player make their decisions, too, then in effect one person is getting to play two characters and is getting double the camera time. And this also lets the player negate the Ally's independence by always making decisions that favor the PC. So I think it's better to have the GM run the Ally, like any other NPC. But it's easier to do this if the GM is the only one who knows everything that's on the Ally's character sheet, and the one who rolls against it, and the one who decides if the PC has pushed the Ally too far. You will also get more actual roleplaying out of the Ally if you have it talk back to the PC from time to time, which is easier to do if the GM has the Ally's character sheet in front of them. All in all, I feel that GM design and control of Allies just makes for a better flow of the game narrative.
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Old 09-06-2017, 07:45 PM   #14
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Default Re: Statting a GURPS magical house

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Originally Posted by Kelly Pedersen View Post
Incidentally, your house rule you mentioned about allowing Allies built on 10% of a player's total is a good one - so good, in fact, that it's already appeared in an official book. GURPS Zombies gave base costs for Allies for 20% (0.8 points), 15% (0.6 points), 10% (0.4 points) and 5% (0.2 points) Allies.
I think it appeared before that in (my version of) GURPS Supers. Supers obviously need to be able to have Allies built on such low percentages, giving how high their point values can be. . . .
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Old 09-07-2017, 07:19 AM   #15
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Default Re: Statting a GURPS magical house

Doesn't the castle have doors that open to other cities? isn't that a form of warp? Or is that a function of a different character?
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Old 09-07-2017, 09:09 AM   #16
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Doesn't the castle have doors that open to other cities? isn't that a form of warp? Or is that a function of a different character?
Here's how I would build that.

Warp (Tunnel +100%; Extra Carrying Capacity, Heavy +30%; Anchored (Three Sites , Moveable) -12%*; No Roll Required +100%) [318]. We divide the cost by 5 as it is internal only to bring us to a total of [64].

*Anchored is normally only available for one site but since it goes to three sites I figured I would use the 33% of the time, per accessibility on Powers p. 99, is -25% so, using multiplicative multipliers, times -50% for a single moveable site that enemies can watch brings it to -12%).

Another thing I would add to the castle:
*SPOILERS*
Calcifer needs to be in the castle at all times, or the house starts to fall apart. I would build that as Dependency (Rare (Calcifer); Constantly x5) [-150] and add that to the disadvantage list.
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Old 09-07-2017, 10:20 AM   #17
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Default Re: Statting a GURPS magical house

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Warp (Tunnel +100%; Extra Carrying Capacity, Heavy +30%; Anchored (Three Sites , Moveable) -12%*; No Roll Required +100%) [318]. We divide the cost by 5 as it is internal only to bring us to a total of [64].
This is mostly good, but I definitely wouldn't allow the Internal modifier here. If the portal starts inside the Castle but doesn't end there, it's not internal, and the major cost reduction isn't appropriate. A much smaller limitation, like -10%, perhaps, would be appropriate, since Tunnel does normally create a portal big enough for the user to pass through, and this doesn't.
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Old 09-07-2017, 04:23 PM   #18
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Default Re: Statting a GURPS magical house

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Originally Posted by Kelly Pedersen View Post
This is mostly good, but I definitely wouldn't allow the Internal modifier here. If the portal starts inside the Castle but doesn't end there, it's not internal, and the major cost reduction isn't appropriate. A much smaller limitation, like -10%, perhaps, would be appropriate, since Tunnel does normally create a portal big enough for the user to pass through, and this doesn't.
And you just made Dr. Stranges Sanctum Santoruim and other places like that affordably cool!
I had not thought of using the internal limitation on Warp for this but its a great fit.
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Old 09-07-2017, 06:49 PM   #19
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Default Re: Statting a GURPS magical house

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And you just made Dr. Stranges Sanctum Santoruim and other places like that affordably cool!
I had not thought of using the internal limitation on Warp for this but its a great fit.
Glad it helps! Although you'd still need to buy the Sanctum Sanctorum as an Ally, and give it the Warp ability, since a bunch of portals within a building aren't internal to Dr. Strange!
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Old 09-07-2017, 07:29 PM   #20
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Default Re: Statting a GURPS magical house

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Glad it helps! Although you'd still need to buy the Sanctum Sanctorum as an Ally, and give it the Warp ability, since a bunch of portals within a building aren't internal to Dr. Strange!
Sure, though I would stat the Sanctum as a Patron. That seems to be more its role, as more a background/plot device than a companion.
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