50-point Abilities

[Gurps Fan]

What Basic Set says is "Nonsentient creatures cannot learn skills or have any purely mental traits" (p.B15), nothing more. Though it's obvious that they can't have anything like Bad Temper, Lecherousness, Squeamish, Vow, etc., I suppose that there's no rule that forbids zero-IQ entities from taking social traits.

Actually, the rules even recommend that they should take certain social traits. For example, Social Stigma (Valuable Property) is clearly listed as one of the traits "common among machines" (p.B263). The point is that the mecha is not (and not regarded by society as) a person, and in GURPS terms the Social Stigma disadvantage represents such a state.

Wealth (Dead Broke) will also fit the mecha's social state: it has no money or other property. This and the fact that the mecha is nonsentient are two, different matters. Since it has no money, it should be represented by the trait Wealth (Dead Broke).

And yes, every car, refrigerator, television and similar thing should take Social Stigma (Valuable Property) and Wealth (Dead Broke), I suppose.

[Almafeta]

Originally Posted by Gurps Fan

Below is a worked example of the summonable 1000-point mecha:

Well, because mecha are not characters, your 1000-point 'ally' should be a 1000-point piece of Signature Gear... but anyhow. ^^;

[Gurps Fan]

Originally Posted by Almafeta

Well, because mecha are not characters, your 1000-point 'ally' should be a 1000-point piece of Signature Gear... but anyhow. ^^;

Yes, Signature Gear is more suitable for the concept, but I had to go with Ally for two reasons:

1. The Vehicle Design book is a future product; we currently have no rule that allows designing vehicles with dollar price to base the Signature Gear cost upon. On the other hand, vehicles can be built on a point-cost basis as IQ 0 characters -- actually Basic Set: Characters provides the method! See the traits like nonsentience, Compartmentalized Mind (Controls), Payload, No Legs (Wheeled), etc. . .
   
   
2. Signature Gear is based on "the average campaign starting wealth", which varies with the setting's TL. So, via Signature Gear, I would have to design totally different mechas for, say, TL9, TL10, fantastic TL3 plus TL12 anachronistic tech, etc . . . that'd be a bit too hard.

Oh, and the third reason has just occurred to me:

3. Signature Gear can't be hidden in another dimension, nor can it be summoned and dismissed by the summoner at will, at least officially. Possibly I'd rule that the Summonable (+100%) enhancement can apply also to Signature Gear, but that wouldn't "follow 'standard' GURPS rules", which is prohibited in this thread.

[vitruvian]

Per Basic Set, mecha and other vehicles CAN in fact be done as characters and taken as Allies. Even if they are IQ 0, nonsentient, and have no will of their own.

Support for this can be found on p. B37 (leftmost column, bottom) where it explains that the point cost progression for Allies keeps going for IQ 0, nonsentient Allies - a point that need hardly be made if such Allies weren't allowed. B38 explains that the Minion enhancement is +0% if an Ally is IQ 0 and/or has Slave Mentality. B85 mentions that it's up to GMs whether things like horses and custom vehicles are Signature Gear or Allies.

All of GURPS Fan's comments about there not yet being a system allowing us to determine monetary cost from vehicle features are also well taken.

[Almafeta]

Did some point juggling to do these, but finally fit them into the 47-to-53 range. All have thematic abilities -- Fire burns, Ice freezes, and Lightning shocks. :)

Someone with access to Powers should write up a 50-point 'CRPG Mana Pool' power or two to fuel these alternate abilities...

Final Fantasy Fire [47]
Fire 1: 2d Burning attack (base 10), Costs 1 Fatigue (-5%) [alternate ability, 2]

Fire 2: 4d Burning attack (base 20), Costs 2 Fatigue (-10%) [alternate ability, 4]

Fire 3: 6d Burning attack (base 30), Costs 3 Fatigue (-15%), Area Effect (+50%) [41]

The price becomes 15 if all three abilities above are 'alternate abilities' -- such as, you buy another Final Fantasy-esque spell package with a more expensive main spell.

Final Fantasy Ice [52]
Ice 1: 1d Crushing attack (base 5), Costs 1 Fatigue (-5%), No Knockback (-10%) [alternate ability, 1]

Ice 2: 2d Crushing attack (base 10), Costs 2 Fatigue (-10%), No Knockback (-10%) [alternate ability, 2]

Ice 3: 2d+2 Crushing attack (base 16), Area Effect (+50%) Costs 3 Fatigue (-15%), No Knockback (-10%), Side Effect: Incapacitation (Freezing) (+250%) [49]

Note: 'Freezing' is treated as a very nasty form of Incapactiation, worth +200% as an Affliction, for the purposes of Side Effect.

Final Fantasy Ice's innate attacks are worth 13 points if purchased as alternate attacks to a better spell group.

Final Fantasy Lightning [53]

Lightning 1: 1d Burning attack (base 5), Costs 1 Fatigue (-5%), Shock (+20%) [alternate ability, 2]

Lightning 2: 3d Burning attack (base 15), Costs 2 Fatigue (-10%), Shock (+20%) [alternate ability, 4]

Lightning 3: 6d Burning attack (base 30), Costs 3 Fatigue (-15%), Area Effect (+50%), Shock (+20%) [47]

The price becomes 16 if all three abilities above are alternate abilities.

[Almafeta]

High-Tech Scanners [50]
Hyperspectral Vision (base 25) with Extended Low-Band (+30%) and Extended High-Band (+30%) [40]

Acute Hyperspectral Vision 5 [10]

You have super electronic senses, like many character in high tech fiction. Not only do they let you see all over the electromagnetic spectrum (short of cosmic rays), they are top-of-the-line, and make these things obvious and easy to understand.

A low-tech version could be a fantasy monk's 'absolute vision': they don't know that infrared, radio, and ambient microwaves/x-rays are what is letting them see through illusions and some walls; they just do it.

[Almafeta]

Hyperspeed [50]
Enhanced Dodge [15]
Enhanced Move (Ground) [20]
Enhanced Time Sense [45]
Increased Consumption 2 [-20]
Stuttering [-10]

You are fast. Very fast. You run and react much faster than a 'normal' person of your HT and DX. You eat like a horse, and burn 10'000 calories a day. You also talk too fast. Of course, you could try to slow down your speech to match normal people... but then, it sounds like a slowed-down tape of someone talking too fast.

This advantage is complimented by Fit or Very Fit, generic increased Speed, and the Running and Jumping skills.

[Almafeta]

Life Draining Beam [50]
Black Beam: 2d Toxic attack (Base 8) with Affects Insubstantial (+20%), Link (+10%), and Armor Divisor 2 (+50%) [15]

Energy Conversion: Healing (base 30), with Cannot Spend Fatigue On Power (-5%), Healing Limited To Damage Actually Done (-5%), Link (+10%), Reduced Fatigue 1 (+20%), and Self Only (-5%) [35]

You fire a beam (which radiates darkness the way light radiates from a flourescent tube) that drains energy from the target. You can use a certain amount of that energy to heal yourself, for free, automatically when you attack: up to 2 points healed per attack.

Modifying: To increase the maximum possible healing, buy additional levels of Reduced Fatigue. Each additional level of Reduced Fatigue is 1.5 points (round cost up). Each die of the Beam is worth 7.2 points (again, round the final cost up).

Fatigue Fog [48]
1d+2 Fatigue damage (base cost 16) with Area Effect (+50%), Hazard (missed sleep, +50%), Respiratory Agent (+50%), Persistent (+40%), Mobile 1 (+40%), Reduced Range (10) (-30%) [48]

You can create a 2m-wide fog within 10 yards. This unnaturally dense fog cloud saps the strength of anyone who inhales it, exactly as if they had missed sleep. People who don't understand what is happening (that is, fail their Per roll) will soon lose enough Fatigue to fall into a deep, dreamless sleep.

[Atreyu_Hibiki]

Whoa, binge posting! What is that, seven at once? Cool!

Dani's currently running through Final Fantasy X again... now I can stat Lulu for her! Thankee!

[KlausPrinceOfTheUndeads]

You do not need alternate abilities for the Final Fantasy stuff: just use Selectivity and Cost Fatigue (the scaled version from Powers). It is even cheaper!
Life-Draining Beam is just Leech with Ranged (+40%). You don't need all that complications.