[Basic] Advantage of the Week: 3D Spatial Sense/Absolute Direction

[Otaku]

Last Week: 360° Vision
Next Week: Absolute Timing; Chronolocation

For our second week, we look at two Advantages so closely related that they fall under the same heading in the Basic Set, with one being a more potent version of the other: 3D Spatial Sense and Absolute Direction.

The icons by the general heading indicates they can be either mental or physical Advantages, and apparently both can be enjoyed as "mundane" unless one wants to make them into Exotic or Supernatural. The less expensive of the two is Absolute Direction, handy for players everywhere that hate mapping or keeping track of where their character has gone in the recent past. For just 5 CP, you always know which direction is north and as long as it wasn't more than a month ago, can retrace a path you have previously followed. There is also a handy +3 bonus to Body Sense and the Navigation skill, but only for the Air, Land, or Sea specializations; there is no benefit for interstellar space or the limbo between realities or in specific spheres of reality like the astral plane.

3D Spatial Sense costs 10 CP, but includes all the benefits of Absolute Direction, while functioning in three dimensions and thus granting a +2 to Aerobatics, Free Fall, and Navigation (Hyperspace or Space) and a +1 to Piloting. Both abilities don't work across "realities" (if the setting contains multiple realities); its not "5D Spatial Sense". You can modified either of them with a -20% Limitation "Requires Signal", which makes them function much like a GPS, dependent upon a navigational signal from an outside source, which means it won't work if that source is missing for some reason, or is being jammed. A quick search turned up nothing for Powers to add to the discussion; if there is something in another source book feel free to bring it up!

Absolute Direction is something I've taken for a character before, but not too often, my past "main" RPG group (where most of my experience comes from) never really bothered with mapping, perhaps because we were bad at it; we almost always took an Advantage or Spell to avoid having to do it ourselves, and even our GMs would often just assign an NPC to do it for us because it was too much of a time sink. 3D Spatial Sense would have made sense, but was often overlooked. In both cases, this would have been under 3e.

Does anyone here think these Advantages are under-priced? Overpriced? How have you seen them used in your own adventures? Any interesting tweaks with Enhancements/Limitations? The Requires Signal Limitation strikes me as a bit undervalued, though perhaps that is because I wonder if Absolute Direction is just a bit inflated to make it worth 5 points instead of 2, 3 or 4. Even I know its clearly too good to be a mere Perk. 3D Spacial Sense is similar; it seems just a bit weak for 10 whole points, but not by much... and in both cases it may be because I haven't run any Pilots (and few if any flyers) before!

[Mailanka]

Absolute Direction, along with Lightning Calculator, should probably be perks (Accessory: Computer is superior to Lightning Calculator, and cheaper).

But 3D Spatial Sense is surprisingly nice, on par with Versatile: A 5 points per +1 to all kinds of nice tricks. In Spaceships 5 (I think), it also gives a bonus to Tactics in space. Navigation can also give a bonus to piloting, so 3d Spatial Sense quickly turns into the "+2 to everything a space-pilot could possibly want." It's also decently handy for space captains and space navigators.

[Not]

Any chance we can adopt a 4-day week here? I'm going to grow old before we get through the catalog of Basic features.

[Refplace]

I have used and seen others use both. I think there priced fairly.
Absolute Direction is better then just a GPS, though in a High Tech game I can see it mostly being replaced with a dedicated computer.
Spatiel Sense is especially good for pilots, speedtsers and we house ruled it covered Aquabatics as well as Areobatics so good for underwater as well.

[Otaku]

Originally Posted by Not

Any chance we can adopt a 4-day week here? I'm going to grow old before we get through the catalog of Basic features.

Maybe when I'm sure I've got the hang of it. ;)

I had actually planned to also cover a Disadvantage each week, but wouldn't you know there is a decent sized Absent-Mindedness thread that started up only a few weeks ago and is still going, so it seemed a bit too soon to start with that... and I really wanted to discuss it. XD

[Ji ji]

The absolute knowledge of north direction can be very useful in dungeons.
The bonus of +3 to every specialization of a skill is good, too: it would be 12 cp on its own.

The Navigation skill is very situational (apart from naval or spaceship adventures).

So, we have an advantage that can give be very convenient, point-for-point. Only the characters that can get benefits from it will take this, and his is fairly priced to them. So I think the advantage is good.

On the other hand, I would allow the single absolute knowlegde of north direction (without any skill bonus) as a perk. A built-in compass is a gadget as useful as a climbing line.

[Dalillama]

Originally Posted by Otaku

The icons by the general heading indicates they can be either mental or physical Advantages, and apparently both can be enjoyed as "mundane" unless one wants to make them into Exotic or Supernatural.

I've actually known someone with it. He always knew where North was and had never been lost. Indeed, he didn't really understand the idea of 'being lost' until he was in his teens, and then strictly as a thing that happens to other people.

[johndallman]

Originally Posted by Otaku

The Requires Signal Limitation strikes me as a bit undervalued, though perhaps that is because I wonder if Absolute Direction is just a bit inflated to make it worth 5 points instead of 2, 3 or 4. Even I know its clearly too good to be a mere Perk.

Requires Signal is -20%, which is the canonical limitation for "Usable about half the time, in a fairly predictable manner" with the expectation that you'll plan your activities to work around this.

It's really useful in our GURPS Torg campaign. The character who has it was a naval diver, who took it to avoid getting lost underwater, so Requires Signal was never an option. Both our scenarios so far have had important scenes underwater, and in a region filled with eternal mists where getting lost is almost automatic without Absolute Direction.

[Fred Brackin]

Originally Posted by Refplace

I have used and seen others use both. I think there priced fairly.
Absolute Direction is better then just a GPS, though in a High Tech game I can see it mostly being replaced with a dedicated computer.
.

Absolute Direction is not just better than a GPS not just in results but in practical usage. It's better than a compass or a handheld GPS receiver because you don't have to pull it out then put your head down and look at it.

Even if you put the GPS display into a combat helmet's HUD the user still has to use his eyes to look at that part of the display instead of using them to search for Bad Guys with Guns. Many soldiers appear to trust their instincts in such situations over their gear and the ones who don't get shot while loking at the readouts may have a point.

Note that this applies to the companion Ad of Absolute Sense of Time over watches.

This is why these Advantages would appear on my Ideal Soldier Template even at UT levels where they might be the result of genetic engineering rather than Inherent Coolness.

The result might be more Dorsai than Genetically Engineered Killing Machine but that's a Good Thing.

[Not another shrubbery]

Originally Posted by Otaku

Both abilities don't work if you travel to other realities, and you can modified them with a -20% Limitation "Requires Signal", which makes them function much like a GPS, dependent upon a navigational signal from an outside source, which means it won't work if that source is missing for some reason, or is being jammed. A quick search turned up nothing for Powers to add to the discussion; if there is something in another source book feel free to bring it up!

Absolute Direction is something I've taken for a character before, but not too often, my past "main" RPG group (where most of my experience comes from) never really bothered with mapping, perhaps because we were bad at it; we almost always took an Advantage or Spell to avoid having to do it ourselves, and even our GMs would often just assign an NPC to do it for us because it was too much of a time sink. 3D Spatial Sense would have made sense, but was often overlooked. In both cases, this would have been under 3e.

Does anyone here think these Advantages are under-priced? Overpriced? How have you seen them used in your own adventures? Any interesting tweaks with Enhancements/Limitations? The Requires Signal Limitation strikes me as a bit undervalued, though perhaps that is because I wonder if Absolute Direction is just a bit inflated to make it worth 5 points instead of 2, 3 or 4. Even I know its clearly too good to be a mere Perk. 3D Spacial Sense is similar; it seems just a bit weak for 10 whole points, but not by much... and in both cases it may be because I haven't run any Pilots (and few if any flyers) before!

Regarding their working in other realities: Are you taking that from the line "although it does not help you if you travel across dimensions"? I believe that only means that you cannot use 3D Spatial Sense to help you retrace a route back across dimensions. Once you're in another dimension, either version of the trait will still give its normal benefits there, unless the physical laws somehow prevent it.

We see Absolute Direction used a lot, since many of our games involve significant travel. 3DSS is much less common, and usually taken as a complement for someone with Pilot.

The costs don't seem out of line to me. I could see maybe reducing AD to 4, but that amounts to just a quibbling difference.