07-07-2017, 09:06 AM | #1 |
Join Date: Aug 2007
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The problem of metal arms
Actually it applies to metal legs too but in certain genres such as cyberpunk and Supers obvious cybernetic limbs with metal shells are popular.
The in-genre explanation may be that repairs are expensive so you need the DR or that good fake skin is expensive or maybe you were reassembled by aliens. Whether the real reason is that players think it looks cool is not relevant. The problem is that even though many attributes of bionic limbs are decent affordable useful DR for UT levels isn't very affordable when bought with pts. For example, say that you are a TL9 street samurai with one replacement arm and you want armor for it. The limbs from a TL9 Combat Hardsuit would be DR30 but that level of DR with the -40 for "One Arm Only" would be 90 pts. Even if you claim that you can't wear other armor over it for another -40% it's still 30pts. You probably didn't spend that much on Arm SS for it. Meanwhile the whole Hardsuit is LC2 and you might not even need a License Perk to own that in a low LC sprawl. There's also the issue that armoring just one limb isn't actually all that useful unless your torso is even more heavily armored. So my best idea so far is probably "Accessory Perk: Limb Armor" plus Signature Gear to cover the $ price of it. Does anybody think this is horribly munchkin-y or have some much better idea?
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Fred Brackin |
07-07-2017, 09:28 AM | #2 |
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Gothenburg, Sweden
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Re: The problem of metal arms
I'm thinking of a -80% limitation as long as you buy DR less than what you can normally get for money.
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“When you arise in the morning think of what a privilege it is to be alive, to think, to enjoy, to love ...” Marcus Aurelius |
07-07-2017, 09:37 AM | #3 | |
Hero of Democracy
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: far from the ocean
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Re: The problem of metal arms
Quote:
If you can replicate it with gear and it doesn't stack with gear, there is absolutely no reason to charge character points just because something is attatched to someone's body. The thing you might want to include is a license perk or enforcement powers. If he can walk around with his armored hand while other people can't walk about in armor because his counts as a "prosthetic", that's worth points.
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07-07-2017, 09:42 AM | #4 |
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Canada
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Re: The problem of metal arms
This is an intersection of three problematic parts of the DR advantage and/or the enhancement/limitation system:
Arguably the cyberarm's armor should have weight, but GURPS reeeally doesn't like getting into that for non-Equipment stuff. If going the Accessory/Signature-Gear route, I would also make sure to add enough Payload (Exposed) for the armor - unless you want the weight to count, which is fine too. This is similar to the Extra Arm (Weapon Mount) + buying a weapon approach, when you want an Innate Attack similar to a weapon casually available in a setting. Also paired with Payload and Signature Gear, if you want it really built in. The thing to worry about Signature Gear is that it can get pretty expensive. Payload too can get weird. So make sure to keep an eye on the cost of just buying it as the DR advantage compared to what you're spending on the built-in-gear version.
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07-07-2017, 09:49 AM | #5 |
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Lawrence, KS
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Re: The problem of metal arms
Can the arm be removed and reattached? If so, you could buy it with Gadget mods: -20% for SM -2, -5% for its being a complex machine, -5% for the requirement of forcible removal, and possibly -15% for its being inconvenient to replace if damaged. Even without the -15%, you have -30% on top of -40% for its protecting a single arm, which gets you down to 45 points.
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Bill Stoddard I don't think we're in Oz any more. |
07-07-2017, 10:18 AM | #6 |
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Boston, Hub of the Universe!
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Re: The problem of metal arms
These are all things i've been thinking about for a follow-up article on cyberware.
They're all good house rules and things to consider. A quick summary of ones mentioned so far:
Also,
I think, a combo of License/Accessory perks plus Gadget mods might be the way to go.
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Demi Benson |
07-07-2017, 10:55 AM | #7 |
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Berkeley, CA
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Re: The problem of metal arms
In general I'm in favor of allowing implants of standard technology by taking an appropriate level of Signature Gear and Payload (probably a net +0% on payload -- you can't swap it out but also you can use stuff without taking it out of payload).
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07-07-2017, 11:08 AM | #8 | |
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Saskatoon, SK, Canada
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Re: The problem of metal arms
Quote:
So someone with an armored cyberarm and hand would buy 2 levels of Payload (Exposed, -50%; Armor Mount, -50%) [1], and then spend the money to buy whatever armor they'd need for just an arm and hand. The "Ultra-Tech Armor Design" article in Pyramid #3/96 will probably be useful here to build the armor. |
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07-07-2017, 11:08 AM | #9 |
Join Date: Jun 2013
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Re: The problem of metal arms
My own intent is to have cybernetics - which I refer to as "augmentations," because Deus Ex: Human Revolution (and Mankind Divided to a lesser extent) is a huge influence on the way I think of cybernetics - simply be gear. Well, sort of - characters with augmentations are likely (but not required) to have an Augmentations Only version of Payload, for BL/5 per [1]. They can also get Payload ST (Augmentations Only) for [1] per +2 Lifting ST only for purposes of determining how much weight each level of Payload (Augmentations Only) supports. As the two traits represent exactly the same thing (the body getting used to carrying around the extra weight), it's basically a point-juggling act to get the most weight for the least cost.
Failing something like the above, I feel that for any ability that can be mimicked with gear, you should recreate the gear as an Advantage with Gadget Limitations (and similar). Change the point cost of this Advantage so that it's equal to what the gear would cost to have as Signature Gear, then buy off any inappropriate Limitation to find the fair cost of the Advantage itself. You can often approximate this by just increasing the price of the gear by 25% or so before determining how many levels of Signature Gear are needed (the boost accounts for it being internal rather than a stealable, breakable piece of gear).
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GURPS Overhaul |
07-07-2017, 11:59 AM | #10 |
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Lawrence, KS
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Re: The problem of metal arms
Having it actually be gear isn't inherently bad. You could, after all, buy a sniper rifle as an Innate Attack with Gadget modifiers; but in a world where sniper rifles are mass produced and purchasable, you could take it as Signature Gear, or just pay cash for it. And a prosthetic arm could be any of these, depending on how readily available prosthetics are.
In fact, yet another way to describe it would be to say that you have One Arm with Mitigator. The point cost would be the point difference between having the mitigator and not having it. After all, an enemy could subdue you and detach the arm, and then you'd be handicapped till you got another one.
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Bill Stoddard I don't think we're in Oz any more. |
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