Steve Jackson Games - Site Navigation
Home General Info Follow Us Search Illuminator Store Forums What's New Other Games Ogre GURPS Munchkin Our Games: Home

Go Back   Steve Jackson Games Forums > Roleplaying > GURPS

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 03-18-2019, 01:12 PM   #1
Decadence
 
Join Date: Oct 2018
Default Cosmic/Reality altering abilities

So I bring another topic to the SJ family. This one is about handling cosmic powers. So I am aware that we get something called modular abilities, which is a pool point system that allows someone to reallocate their points, a very flexible system of abilities. The varying definition leading all the way up to cosmic modular which you essentially wish another ability into existence. Now in my campaign world, cosmic abilities are rare and saved for the god Tier. A good example is Angel's, in my campaign I planned on them being powerful, all the old testament ways of the word. They could essentially do anything, but not everything at once, and also they basically perform miracles for the word. Putting aside the technicalities for a moment, I would give Angel's god-like abilities since they are in fact godly. Divine as well. They are in a sense lester deities serving the omnipotent God. I an a little confused on the cosmic modular ability. So I thought about it. Would Control and Create (reality) be a plausible way of going about this? They are not active in the campaign often, but I do allow my players to potentially play an angel for instance, given them a strict guideline of what I would allow. And it's a pact that they won't attempt something game-breaking. What do you think?


Side note. I offer an additional character point for holding back and allowing the more common characters have their chance to shine.
Decadence is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-18-2019, 04:07 PM   #2
Kelly Pedersen
 
Kelly Pedersen's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Saskatoon, SK, Canada
Default Re: Cosmic/Reality altering abilities

The thing to remember about most supernatural powersets in GURPS is that they are rarely doing to be encompassed by just a single advantage. This is what the whole structure of Powers is really for: modelling the fact that a character has some ability that encompasses multiple advantages in GURPS terms.

So, "reality altering" is almost certainly not going to be just a single advantage. Instead, you'll have to decide what exactly "reality alerting" can do, and pick appropriate advantages to model that. Reality altering is quite a broad power, so you can probably justify putting more advantages into it than most. Control Reality would fit, for sure, yes. Cosmic Modular Abilities would fit if you think the "control reality" power would include the ability to modify the user's own mind, body, or personal history.
Kelly Pedersen is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-18-2019, 07:05 PM   #3
Kax
 
Kax's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: God's Own Country
Default Re: Cosmic/Reality altering abilities

If you want to go overboard, there's a published Space NPC with Great Wish as a Knack (3e) and a touch over 2,000 Fatigue....
__________________
Paul May | MIB 1138 (on hiatus)
Kax is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-18-2019, 07:39 PM   #4
Fnordianslip
 
Fnordianslip's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2005
Default Re: Cosmic/Reality altering abilities

I'm a huge fan of using Wildcard powers for truly amazing powers. In GURPS Supers, but basically multiply the power cost by 4 and you can effectively allocate the base point cost to do anything you could reasonably argue as within the scope of your power. If you base it on an already broad power like create or control (or the two linked if you get really saucy) it opens the doors to limitless possibilities that fit cosmic powers quite well.
Fnordianslip is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-18-2019, 10:13 PM   #5
AlexanderHowl
 
Join Date: Feb 2016
Default Re: Cosmic/Reality altering abilities

It is honestly just cheaper and easier to do Alternate Abilities rather than Wild Abilities, as the 4× price tag pays for 15 Alternate Abilities. If you want to talk about Cosmic powers though, you should use the combination of Godlike Extra Effort, Temporary Enhancements, and Using Abilities at a Default, and have a suitable base ability with the Cosmic power modifier (as you can literally use it to default any other ability). I would also include a few dozen points of ER (Cosmic) to allow you to go absolutely wild.
AlexanderHowl is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-19-2019, 10:13 AM   #6
Decadence
 
Join Date: Oct 2018
Default Re: Cosmic/Reality altering abilities

Quote:
Originally Posted by Kelly Pedersen View Post
The thing to remember about most supernatural powersets in GURPS is that they are rarely doing to be encompassed by just a single advantage. This is what the whole structure of Powers is really for: modelling the fact that a character has some ability that encompasses multiple advantages in GURPS terms.

So, "reality altering" is almost certainly not going to be just a single advantage. Instead, you'll have to decide what exactly "reality alerting" can do, and pick appropriate advantages to model that. Reality altering is quite a broad power, so you can probably justify putting more advantages into it than most. Control Reality would fit, for sure, yes. Cosmic Modular Abilities would fit if you think the "control reality" power would include the ability to modify the user's own mind, body, or personal history.
Hmm. How exactly do Cosmic modular abilities work?? Would someone simply tell their GM what they want to add on?
Decadence is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-19-2019, 10:14 AM   #7
Decadence
 
Join Date: Oct 2018
Default Re: Cosmic/Reality altering abilities

Quote:
Originally Posted by Fnordianslip View Post
I'm a huge fan of using Wildcard powers for truly amazing powers. In GURPS Supers, but basically multiply the power cost by 4 and you can effectively allocate the base point cost to do anything you could reasonably argue as within the scope of your power. If you base it on an already broad power like create or control (or the two linked if you get really saucy) it opens the doors to limitless possibilities that fit cosmic powers quite well.
Wildcard skills, no?
Decadence is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-19-2019, 10:17 AM   #8
whswhs
 
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Lawrence, KS
Default Re: Cosmic/Reality altering abilities

For a quite different approach, see the Demiurgy ability in GURPS Powers: The Weird. This only lets you make small changes in reality, but you can make more or less any kind of changes you can envision.
__________________
Bill Stoddard

I don't think we're in Oz any more.
whswhs is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-19-2019, 10:25 AM   #9
WingedKagouti
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Default Re: Cosmic/Reality altering abilities

Quote:
Originally Posted by Decadence View Post
Hmm. How exactly do Cosmic modular abilities work?? Would someone simply tell their GM what they want to add on?
With Cosmic Modular Abilities you need to know the cost of whatever you're trying to do. If you have enough total points in your Cosmic Modular pool to do it (and you aren't picking advantages or skills prohibited by limitations or lack of enhancements), you can present the package to the GM and spend 1 second of ingame time per advantage or skill and you'll have it.

If your total pool of points is large enough, but you've already allocated so many points there's not enough left for whatever you're trying to do, you will have to "forget" something first.

It would be prudent to make a list of common abilities/skills a given character would want to access and their point values ahead of time to speed up gameplay.
WingedKagouti is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-19-2019, 10:40 AM   #10
Donny Brook
 
Donny Brook's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: Snoopy's basement
Default Re: Cosmic/Reality altering abilities

Quote:
Originally Posted by Decadence View Post
I an a little confused on the cosmic modular ability. So I thought about it. Would Control and Create (reality) be a plausible way of going about this? ... How exactly do Cosmic modular abilities work?? Would someone simply tell their GM what they want to add on?
Cosmic Modular Ability allows the character to use their pool of points to have whatever GURPS ability (Advantage, Attribute, Skill) you could make with that many Character Points. So if you spend 100 CP on having Cosmic Modular Abilities you would have a pool of 10 points that you could use like Character Points to have whatever abilities you could afford with 10 points, for example:

-Infravision [10], or
-Ambidexterity [5] and Absolute Direction [5], or
-Damage Resistance 2 (Flexible -10%) [8] and Hard to Kill [2].

Basically, the ability you are buying with your pool has to be something that could be bought on its own with Character Points.

I don't think Create (Reality) or Control (Reality) are available to buy with Character Points, so on that basis I don't think they could be bought with a Modular Abilities pool.

As Kelly Pedersen noted, you have to decide what is actually going to be happpening and choose a GURPS ability that creates that effect. Then you build it as if you were buying it with Character Points, and if you have enough Modular points in your pool you use that to get that effect for as long as you want the effect. Then when you want to do something different, you do the same thing for that.
Donny Brook is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Fnords are Off
[IMG] code is Off
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 01:45 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.9
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.