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Old 10-24-2021, 02:40 PM   #11
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Default Re: [Setting Concept] Teenagers from Other Dimensions.

Have you read IOU? Its for college but should be some useful material.
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Old 10-24-2021, 03:28 PM   #12
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Default Re: [Setting Concept] Teenagers from Other Dimensions.

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Have you read IOU? Its for college but should be some useful material.
Thank you for the recommendation, but I really don't want to buy any more GURPS books right now.
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Old 10-24-2021, 05:31 PM   #13
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Default Re: [Setting Concept] Teenagers from Other Dimensions.

Therians

A syndrome where an Earthican's body starts to change to resemble some Earth-native beast, but usually halts at the "anthropomorphic animal" stage. Internal organs and brain are unchanged (though maybe squished and rearranged a little); teeth may or may not still be compatible with human diet. The vast majority of subjects can will the transformation to continue into full beast form (while retaining human mentality) for a limited time. Unfortunately this does not grant the ability to do magic without a bond.

It is unknown what causes the transformation. It is also unclear if it can be passed on to offspring: while some therians have had kids born with the condition, it's hard to prove this is the result of genetics or coincidental "infection".

There is also a related strain known as "catullus", which only affects young females. It is characterized by only transforming the ears and causing the growth of a tail, though the ability to full transform still occurs.
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Old 10-24-2021, 07:03 PM   #14
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Default Re: [Setting Concept] Teenagers from Other Dimensions.

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There's also a small difference if you are a pan (humanoid) or ghwer (non-human-animal-like being): pan require a bond with some other kind of entity. Essentially, to use Sorcery they also need to have "Ally (Almost Always, x3 OR Constantly, x4)". I'm not sure how much of a Limitation this would be, as once you have the bond you need to kill the other being to deprive the mage.
A few questions, here. For those pan who have an Almost Always Available Ally, do they have access to their magic the few times the Ally isn't present? If not, that's how Granted by Familiar normally works, so you should be fine (although note there are more ways to deprive the pan of their magic than killing the familiar - simply stunning it, rendering it unconscious, stealing it away, or using something that blocks the link will work - check B38, under "Familiars"). If you want their magic to work regardless of if the familiar is present, just so long as the Familiar isn't dead (or link blocked, etc), you'll want to reduce the discount Granted by Familiar gives - I'd be tempted to eyeball it at -10% if only death and GM-fiat-link-blocking work, perhaps -30% if the other methods work. Don't forget to apply the same Limitation to Sorcery and all the character's spells.

Next up, how are you envisioning these familiars? Are they like the (generally useless) cute mascot characters who tend to follow Magical Girls around, granting their powers and giving them advice? Or are they more like powerful angelic - or demonic - servitors, capable of fighting beside the pan (possibly even better at fighting, serving as a bodyguard)? Or is it extremely variable, running the gamut from one extreme (net-negative-point mascot characters*) to the other (semi-divine entities built on 125% of the pan's budget), possibly with a few more bizarre options (like IQ 0 "allies" that are basically gear, although I think Familiars are required to be IQ 6+), depending on the character?

Finally, for ghwer (which I assume are basically sapient, non-humanoid animals), are they just able to cast spells on their own, or do they have some other restriction on their Sorcery?

*If you do allow for pan to have extremely-low-point allies (built on 20% or less of the character's budget), you may want to consider using the "Hordes of Minions" rule from GURPS Dungeon Fantasy 9: Summoners. For example, a cute mascot character built on 5% or less (and being built with net negative points would certainly fall under that) has a base cost of [0.2], and thus even with Constant Availability (x4) the Ally is basically just a Perk ([0.8] rounds up to [1]).
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Old 10-25-2021, 05:08 AM   #15
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Default Re: [Setting Concept] Teenagers from Other Dimensions.

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A few questions, here.
Good questions.
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If you want their magic to work regardless of if the familiar is present, just so long as the Familiar isn't dead (or link blocked, etc), you'll want to reduce the discount Granted by Familiar gives - I'd be tempted to eyeball it at -10% if only death and GM-fiat-link-blocking work, perhaps -30% if the other methods work. Don't forget to apply the same Limitation to Sorcery and all the character's spells.
I'll take this method. While "magic you can only use when your ally is nearby" is a cool idea, it's not how I envision this working.
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Next up, how are you envisioning these familiars? Are they like the (generally useless) cute mascot characters who tend to follow Magical Girls around, granting their powers and giving them advice? Or are they more like powerful angelic - or demonic - servitors, capable of fighting beside the pan (possibly even better at fighting, serving as a bodyguard)? Or is it extremely variable, running the gamut from one extreme (net-negative-point mascot characters*) to the other (semi-divine entities built on 125% of the pan's budget), possibly with a few more bizarre options (like IQ 0 "allies" that are basically gear, although I think Familiars are required to be IQ 6+), depending on the character?
I think it's mostly the "small, cute animal" level, though they're not always useless: I envision it ranging from "mostly 'normal' animal that talks" -- e.g. a fantastic cat -- to "small to mid-sized Pokémon", with "powerful servitor" being one of those rare things that immediately elevates you to the superhero club.
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Finally, for ghwer (which I assume are basically sapient, non-humanoid animals), are they just able to cast spells on their own, or do they have some other restriction on their Sorcery?
I might limit them to themes like "one kind of element" or "illusions"; along those lines. I'm kind of viewing them like, again, Pokémon: they don't have all-encompassing power, with the exception of the really important ones.
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Old 10-25-2021, 04:46 PM   #16
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Default Re: [Setting Concept] Teenagers from Other Dimensions.

How about organizations? Everyone likes those.

Multiple Advanced Disciplines Labs

Sensing the untapped potential of a whole new multiverse of science, several international research institutions started coordinating their efforts under one name: MAD Labs. Labbies are known for showing up at the site of a new weird thingy repelling from helecopters, hopping out of heavy-armored vans, surfacing from the nearest body of water, and just generally acting like special forces wearing lab-coats. Unfortunately, as good as they are at science, they're usually lousy at people skills, and have several times been the reason for a situation "escalating". Nevertheless, if you need to call someone about a strange new pet or a wedding custom you should have read the fine print on, MAD Labs is the place.
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Old 10-26-2021, 01:35 PM   #17
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Default Re: [Setting Concept] Teenagers from Other Dimensions.

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I'll take this method. While "magic you can only use when your ally is nearby" is a cool idea, it's not how I envision this working.
I felt that might be the case, given the required high frequency of appearance (I assumed that was meant to be something of a balancing feature - if the Ally doesn't have to be nearby but killing it would depower the character, the player's best bet is to make the Ally available as little as possible, so it's rarely in danger; requiring a high frequency of appearance avoids that "exploit").

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I think it's mostly the "small, cute animal" level, though they're not always useless: I envision it ranging from "mostly 'normal' animal that talks" -- e.g. a fantastic cat -- to "small to mid-sized Pokémon", with "powerful servitor" being one of those rare things that immediately elevates you to the superhero club.
That certainly works. Note that a mid-sized Pokémon-like animal can probably still serve as an effective combatant/bodyguard for the mage, depending on specifics. Heck, a large dog can be pretty effective in that roll - even more so if it has sapient-level intelligence!

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I might limit them to themes like "one kind of element" or "illusions"; along those lines. I'm kind of viewing them like, again, Pokémon: they don't have all-encompassing power, with the exception of the really important ones.
A word of warning here, Sorcery interacts somewhat non-intuitively with Limitations along those lines. Say you want a spell that has a base cost of [40] (and thus costs [8] as a Known Spell). Normally, you'd need to spend at least [40] on Sorcery to qualify for that, so (if memory serves) you need Sorcery 3. Easy enough. But if your Sorcery has been limited by a -40% Limitation, restricting what spells you have access to (but said limited list including the one you want), you no longer qualify for that spell at Sorcery 3 (Restricted Spells -40%) [24] - rather, you need to have at least Sorcery 7 (Restricted Spells -40%) [42] to qualify. Of course, if you did have Sorcery 3 (Restricted Spells -40%) [24] you could have improvised that [40] spell just as easily as someone with Sorcery 3 [40]. It's... kind of strange.

One way around it that adheres to the RAW is to buy the spell at full cost and have your Sorcery as an alternate ability to it. So, instead of Sorcery 3 [40] + Head Asplodey Spell (Alternate Ability x 1/5) [8] or Sorcery 7 (Restricted Spells -40%) [42] + Head Asplodey Spell (Alternate Ability x1/5) [8], you could have Head Asplodey Spell [40] + Sorcery 3 (Restricted Spells -40%; Alternate Ability x1/5) [5]. Essentially, so long as the character has high enough Sorcery they could have known the spell if their Sorcery were full price (so Sorcery 3 for [31-40] spells, Sorcery 4 for [41-50] spells, etc), they can know the spell - but if it costs more than their Sorcery, the Alternate Ability relationship is reversed, with their most powerful spell becoming the base.

Another option that doesn't adhere to RAW is to let the character grab any spell at the normal 1/5th price if they have enough levels of Sorcery to normally qualify, regardless of how much they actually paid for said Sorcery. Above, that means the character could just have Sorcery 3 (Restricted Spells -40%) [24] and Head Asplodey Spell [8]. Note this is a bit of a point crock, allowing characters to gain powers for a potentially-sizable discount, but probably not to a game-breaking extent (outside of someone who decides to get something cheesy like Sorcery 9 (One Spell Only -80%) [20] + Super Duper Head Asplodey Spell (Alternate Ability x1/5) [20], essentially getting a 60% discount on the ability with functionally no drawback).
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Old 10-26-2021, 02:30 PM   #18
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Default Re: [Setting Concept] Teenagers from Other Dimensions.

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I felt that might be the case, given the required high frequency of appearance (I assumed that was meant to be something of a balancing feature - if the Ally doesn't have to be nearby but killing it would depower the character, the player's best bet is to make the Ally available as little as possible, so it's rarely in danger; requiring a high frequency of appearance avoids that "exploit").
I may still not understand how some of these GURPS modifiers are supposed to work: I assumed that if you wanted the familiar to be able to follow you around you had to take one of the higher levels.
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That certainly works. Note that a mid-sized Pokémon-like animal can probably still serve as an effective combatant/bodyguard for the mage, depending on specifics. Heck, a large dog can be pretty effective in that roll - even more so if it has sapient-level intelligence!
They certainly don't need to be push-overs.

Note: I am adjusting how this works from a series of short stories I wrote a couple decades back. In those stories familiars were normal -- albeit, sapient -- non-human animals. So I may still be adjusting.
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A word of warning here, Sorcery interacts somewhat non-intuitively with Limitations along those lines.
Trust me, I've run into this: made a Dungeon Fantasy character using Sorcery who's power is limited to cold and ice. I quickly realized the limitation wasn't going to change how much I was paying if I wanted certain spells.
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Old 10-26-2021, 04:45 PM   #19
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Default Re: [Setting Concept] Teenagers from Other Dimensions.

Time for an NPC entry.

NPCs: Hogs on Hogs

A porcine quartet -- Viking, Goth, Vandal, and Hun* -- from a steampunk world, they gravitated to motorcycles via a misunderstanding over the name. In awe of the loud noises and lack of safety, the four quickly adopted every aspect of biker gangs they could glean from pop culture. Now they roam [campaign location], using their bulky pig physiques to bully citizens and commit misdemeanors.

(If the GM wants to turn HoH into PC allies, they can have it be discovered that the steampunk world they come from is stratified based on family animal resemblence, with pigs being one of the "lessers". In this case the HoH are just acting out the frustrations of their upbringing, and if they can be shown that they don't need bullying to be respected they will turn over their leaves.)

* New names to reflect their new life.


Author's Note: While the HoH are mostly physical bullies, they can occasionally pull out/create a steampunk gadget. They'd like to upgrade these to dieselpunk, but they don't quite understand the intricacies yet.

Last edited by SilvercatMoonpaw; 10-28-2021 at 03:59 PM.
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Old 10-27-2021, 06:55 AM   #20
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Default Re: [Setting Concept] Teenagers from Other Dimensions.

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I may still not understand how some of these GURPS modifiers are supposed to work: I assumed that if you wanted the familiar to be able to follow you around you had to take one of the higher levels.
If you want the Ally to frequently show up, you need a high Frequency of Appearance. If you take a flight to the other side of the planet when the Ally isn't available (failed FoA check at the start of that session), and then the next session the dice show them as available (successful FoA check), the GM comes up with some reason for the Ally to show up, and they do. Low FoA typically means the Ally tends to do their own thing a lot, but is occasionally available to help the character - above, this might mean the Ally just so happened to be in the area already, or may have even traveled with the party but not been available beyond that until now. Or maybe the Ally left to follow the party as soon as whatever they were dealing with last session got wrapped up. The point is, the Ally only needs high FoA to show up frequently - they're still available anytime the dice say they are, regardless of FoA.

Granted, the GM can always disallow an FoA roll if it doesn't make sense for the Ally to be able to show up (like if the party gets teleported to Mars, or whatever), or even if it just... doesn't work for the plot this session. It's probably fair in those cases, of course, for the GM to temporarily increase FoA to make up for the Ally not even having a chance of appearing for a session or more. Alternatively, you could still roll on sessions where the Ally isn't available Because Plot; any successes get "banked," and the next time the Ally could be available but you fail the roll, you use up one banked success and the Ally shows up anyway.

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Hogs on Hogs
I like these guys. Out of curiosity, are those their original names from their home universe (in an amazing show of coincidence), or did they adopt those names when they decided to become what amounts to a gang of modern barbarians?
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