09-30-2016, 12:22 PM | #1 |
Join Date: Sep 2016
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Powers as techniques
So I've been working on converting some other rpgs and video games to gurps, and I had a friend recommend this. Design a power as normal for gurps 4e, but ignore the normal power perks. Instead assign the power to a believable skill, divide the final cost by 5 this will be the default level of the new technique. The GM will obviously have to decide new techniques difficulty, but the player can now use the power as a technique based on the skill. Yes they must pay for the power as normal but the perks for the base skill will add to your success chance.
What do y'all think, I'm mostly concerned with balance? |
09-30-2016, 12:46 PM | #2 |
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Vermont
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Re: Powers as techniques
Sounds intriguing, but I'm not sure I follow. Can you give us a worked example or two?
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09-30-2016, 01:13 PM | #3 |
Wielder of Smart Pants
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Ventura CA
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Re: Powers as techniques
I'm not really sure what perks (1 point advantages) have to do with this and I think you may be confusing "power" with "ability" (which is pretty common but confusing), otherwise this really just sounds like a variation on Skills for Everyone, GURPS Powers p.162. Have you looked at GURPS Psionic Powers which uses Skills for Everyone pretty extensively?
Last edited by sir_pudding; 09-30-2016 at 01:31 PM. |
09-30-2016, 01:27 PM | #4 |
Join Date: Sep 2007
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Re: Powers as techniques
I think the proposal is
If that interpretation is correct: As usual with the Technique rules, there will be little point to spending CP on Techniques unless you only have one or two. You'd just buy up the base skill as far as possible, to attain universal mastery. This suggests that those skills should be as narrow as possible for power sources that have a lot of abilities. (It's probably better to go even further, and add a "Power" rating along with the skill, to soak up many more points than the 4/level of a single skill. That is, revert to the 3e method of doing psionics. Or you could look at it as a variant of Realm magic, with the ritual magic rules for determining individual spell difficulty.) Abilities acquired this way will be far cheaper than they will be via the normal method. Even a single 100-point ability will turn into a -20 penalty, which you can buy off for 80 points into the base skill (+20 levels). Two 100-point abilities cost that same 80 points total (look at it as 40 points each), and it just gets more cost-effective from there. Last edited by Anaraxes; 09-30-2016 at 01:31 PM. |
09-30-2016, 01:30 PM | #5 |
Wielder of Smart Pants
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Ventura CA
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Re: Powers as techniques
Probably not, "Yes they must pay for the power as normal", assuming "power" is being misused to mean "ability" here. Although I suppose the OP could just be referring to power talent here, not sure.
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09-30-2016, 01:35 PM | #6 | |
Join Date: Sep 2007
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Re: Powers as techniques
You're probably right.
Quote:
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09-30-2016, 01:41 PM | #7 |
Wielder of Smart Pants
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Ventura CA
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Re: Powers as techniques
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09-30-2016, 02:31 PM | #8 | |
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Yukon, OK
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Re: Powers as techniques
Quote:
Its not as crazy as it may sound. Though I prefer the way Psionic Powers does it.
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09-30-2016, 02:35 PM | #9 | |
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Oldenburg, Germany
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Re: Powers as techniques
Quote:
https://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php...il-I-get-bored) This approach should work very well for many video game powers.
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10-01-2016, 12:39 AM | #10 | |
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Eindhoven, the Netherlands
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Re: Powers as techniques
Quote:
First, buy a wildcard power (let's say Telekinesis!) and multiply its cost by 4. Telekinesis is 5 points per level, so if we bought 5 levels (25 points), we'd pay 100 points. Any advantage that could reasonably fall under the penumbra of TK (DR with force field, binding, innate attacks, afflictions, summonable allies created from TK-animated substances) that costs equal to or less than the base cost (the 25 points), you can use. So, you could have, for example, Flight. The second is to use alternative abilities: You buy your power (TK), and then buy additional powers that are less than or equal to the base cost, and divide their cost by 5. So, again, with 25 points of TK, I could buy flight for 4 points. But the one closest to what you're talking about is found in Powers (and used in detail in Psionic Powers). You can use any power whose cost is less than or equal to your base power (so I can use Flight with my TK of 5), but you're at a -2 per 25% of the cost of the base power. Since flight (20 points) is 80% of TK 5 (25), it's -8 (-7 if my GM is willing to split hairs). I must pay 3 fatigue to use my power this way. Psionic Powers uses "Skills for everyone," which means you use skills in place of your base control rolls. Thus, I would have a "Telekinesis" skill, usually Mental Hard. Given that the -8 for using TK as flight comes off my skill, I can buy it off as a technique. That's the "GURPS RAW" way of doing powers as techniques.
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Tags |
gurps 4e, powers, techniques |
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