Planets, gravity, G-experience, G-tolerance, and Free Fall skill

[Agemegos]

Originally Posted by NineDaysDead

Where does it say that?

It is implied on B.294, which gives a list of learnable advantages that does not include Improved G-Tolerance, though it does include G-Experience.

The description says "Normal humans are limited to 10 points in this trait."

I wonder what that is supposed to represent.

[lexington]

Originally Posted by Brett

That is plainly not what they meant. If that had been what they meant, the gravity field of the Moon would have been a vector field pervading all of space at various values, not "0.16G".

That vector field happens to feel like 0.16G when you stand on the surface. The real problem is that there is no noticable "gravity field" on ringworld or an orbital but there is still gravity.

[Agemegos]

Originally Posted by lexington

That vector field happens to feel like 0.16G when you stand on the surface.

It is if you consult B.57. If you consult B.350 it is 0.17. ;)

The real problem is that there is no noticeable "gravity field" on ringworld or an orbital but there is still gravity.

The real problem in my opinion is that the rules give no information about the effect of G-Experience on "gravity" (whether gravitational, inertial or artificial) that differs by a small value from the "gravity field with which you have experience".

Well, that and that B.350 contradicts B.57. And, for that matter, that the first paragraph of the passage on B.57 doesn't seem to mesh up properly with the second.


Suppose that in one of my games a PC grew up on a world with surface gravity of 1.0 gee and has point of G-Experience in 0.5 gee from experience in typical spaceships and small orbital habitats. In the course of adventures he or she visits worlds with surface gravities of 0.45 gee, 0.6 gee, 0.72 gee, and 1.25 gee. What is the appropriate modifier to DX-based skills for that character on those worlds?

The rules ought to be under "Different Gravities", i.e. on B.350. Going by that, the character does have the G-Experience advantage, and it doesn't matter what "gravity field" it applies to. Going by B.350 the modifiers are -1, -1, 0, 0, and 0.

But going by B.57 the character's G-Experience applies only in 0.5 gee. That makes the modifiers -3, -2, -1, and -1.

[Agemegos]

Okay, so it seems as though no-one knows how wide a range of gravity values is encompassed by the "gravity field" that you learn familiarity with by buying the Advantage "G-experience" (B.57). Nor where its limits are.

I would be tempted to [house] rule that it's width is 0.2 gee, and that it corresponds with one of the G-increments established by your home gravity. That is, a character with a home gravity of 1.25 gee, with G-Experience on a space station with 0.25 gee would have a

• -6 modifier in any gravity above microgravity and up to 0.05 gee,
• -2.5 from 0.06 gee to 0.25 gee
• -4 from 0.26 gee to 0.45 gee
• -3 from 0.46 gee to 0.65 gee
• -2 from 0.66 gee to 0.85 gee
• -1 from 0.86 gee to 1.05 gee.

I am also tempted to rule that -x.5 die-roll modifiers round to -x, because that minimises the discrepancy between doubling increments and halving modifiers.


Can I get a demi-official ruling on this? Kromm?

[Gef]

Originally Posted by Brett

A player will be disadvantaging his character in a way that is hard to mend if he or she makes him come from a planet with a surface gravity much below 0.8 gee or much above 0.9 gee, because there are going to be plenty of inhabited worlds with gravities only a little above 0.5 gee or only a little below 1.2 gee.

This point of your post hasn't been addressed much, but I do agree, and I'll add that the penalties for being a low-G native in a high-G field are much worse than for being a high-G native in a low-G field. I don't care native G being a feature. In a hypothetical campaign where all gravities from zero to two are equally likely, then I'd rule that every increment below 1 is a quirk and every increment above 1 is a perk...except, as you noted, these fields are not equally likely, so a high-G native should rate 1 level of a leveled quirk and a low-G native should have multiple levels.

GEF

[Cptn Flint]

Need a little help here. Im starting a space campaign and Im getting a little confused by this thread.
We're using 4th ed. rules

I have a character, 1 G native, that is going to take 10 pts (Adv)Improved G-Tolerance, 5pt (Adv)G-Experience, and 2lvls (SKL)Free Fall.

How Im understanding this is if Im in a zero G situation I roll against Free Fall or HT which ever is better not to end up puking. If I succeed I dont suffer from "Space Sickness".
10 points into Improved G-Tolerance means I do not suffer any penalties until I am at .04 or 1.6 gravity?
Then with the the G-Experience the penalties I suffer are halved?

Meaning in a zero G situation, if I succeed my Free Fall role, I will only suffer -5 to my gun skill to shoot, while someone without any of those advantages would suffer a-14?
Or that I can fire a gun without penalty from 0.5-1.5 gravity, correct?

[vicky_molokh]

Originally Posted by Cptn Flint

Need a little help here. Im starting a space campaign and Im getting a little confused by this thread.
We're using 4th ed. rules

I have a character, 1 G native, that is going to take 10 pts (Adv)Improved G-Tolerance, 5pt (Adv)G-Experience, and 2lvls (SKL)Free Fall.

When you say 2 levels, do you mean that Free Fall is at DX+2, or that you have [2] points spent on the skill, or that your Free Fall level is actually 2 (which is suspiciously low even for a default if you have reasonable DX)?

Originally Posted by Cptn Flint

How Im understanding this is if Im in a zero G situation I roll against Free Fall or HT which ever is better not to end up puking. If I succeed I dont suffer from "Space Sickness".
10 points into Improved G-Tolerance means I do not suffer any penalties until I am at .04 or 1.6 gravity?
Then with the the G-Experience the penalties I suffer are halved?

Meaning in a zero G situation, if I succeed my Free Fall role, I will only suffer -5 to my gun skill to shoot, while someone without any of those advantages would suffer a-14?
Or that I can fire a gun without penalty from 0.5-1.5 gravity, correct?

Low-G and zero-G situations are handled differently.
In 0G, your Guns skill is capped at your Free Fall skill. E.g. if your Free Fall is 12 and Guns is 13, you now shoot as if your Guns is 12. If your Free Fall is 13 and your Guns is 21, you shoot as if your Guns skill is 13.

In low-G, there is no such cap, but you do suffer a subtractive penalty.

[Humabout]

I'd also like to point out that article Free Falling from GURPS Pyramid #3/85 - Cutting Edge consolidates all rules for microgravity and free fall, updates rules from 3e to 4e, and expands on them.

This includes a full treatment of Space Adaptation Syndrome, including fluid shifts, spinal extention, and yes, puking.