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Old 07-17-2018, 08:57 AM   #1
Bathawk
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Default Shrared Ability Question

Hey all

My group loves the alternative ability rules (Powers; pg.11) It's essentialy a simpler version of Champions "multipower" framework. I was worried it would unbalance things, but with our combat turns not usually going over 5-6 turns, most of my players have to weigh the choice of spending an action to change "settings"

My question is can you have "grouped" abilities? In other words more than on ability per "slot? For example can you have one slot that includes "Growth & damage reduction"...and another slot "innate attack(laser)/w flight"?

If this is not allowed, how would you simulate this?
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Old 07-17-2018, 09:10 AM   #2
whswhs
 
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Lawrence, KS
Default Re: Shrared Ability Question

There's nothing to stop you from defining an ability of a power as being Advantage A (Modifiers, ±n%) [X] + Advantage B (Modifiers, ±m%) [Y]. I did it for a lot of the abilities in my two GURPS Powers supplements and Kromm was fine with it. You just assume that those two traits are always used together.
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Old 07-17-2018, 09:24 AM   #3
Anaraxes
 
Join Date: Sep 2007
Default Re: Shrared Ability Question

It's also possible to have more than one AA group for a single character. (The alternative abiltiies are supposed to be somehow thematically related, so a character that has several different conceptual abilities probably has more than one AA group, if they have an AA group at all.)

There's also a rule for having N abilities active out of the total in the AA group. (See the expanded description in PU8, "Limitations".) Pay full cost for the N most expensive abilities in the group, and you can use N of them at once.
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Old 07-17-2018, 10:34 AM   #4
Bathawk
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Default Re: Shrared Ability Question

I'm not sure if I explained the setup correctly....here's an example

Primary "Slot": Growth/2(super -10%; 27pts.) + 1/2 Damage reduction (super -10%, only when grown -10% 40pts.) + ST +10 (super -10%, -10% for growth; 80pts.) total =147pts.
Secondary "Slot": shrinking/6 (super -10%; 27pts.) + super jumping/3 (only when shrunk -10%, super-10%; 24pts.) total =51pts./11pts.
Tertiary "slot": Insubstantiality (super -10%, can carry no encumbrance +10%; 80pts.) +dosen't breathe (super -10%, only when insubstantial -10%; 16pts.) + see invisible (super -10%; 14pts.) total =110pts./22pts.

so primary slot = 147pts,, secondary is +11, tertiary +22 for total of 180pts.
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Old 07-17-2018, 10:49 AM   #5
whswhs
 
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Lawrence, KS
Default Re: Shrared Ability Question

Yeah, that's the kind of thing I thought you meant. I don't see anything wrong with it. It's perfectly possible for one GURPS "ability" of a "power" to need to be represented by a combination of two or more "advantages" with "modifiers."
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Old 07-17-2018, 11:29 AM   #6
AlexanderHowl
 
Join Date: Feb 2016
Default Re: Shrared Ability Question

That occurs a lot with abilities. Look at Enhanced Muscles in Biotech, it is just Lifting ST + Striking ST, though it is up to the individual GM how the advantages are interrelated (are they one advantage that is modified singularly or are they two advantages modified individually?). There are examples of both in GURPS.
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Old 07-17-2018, 12:04 PM   #7
Bathawk
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Default Re: Shrared Ability Question

cool, thanks all...I was thinking of making a character like Iron Man, who swaps out various modules (power lift mode; ghost-fighter mode, supersonic mode ect;) Or a character like Erza Scarlet from Fairy Tail who has various costumes she can transform into with different power sets

Someone recommended Shapeshift: alternate form to me, it's not cost effective being that alternate form relies on disadvantages to balance out the positive gains, and taking reduced time ends up making the abilities cost more than simply buying them outright
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Old 07-17-2018, 12:13 PM   #8
AlexanderHowl
 
Join Date: Feb 2016
Default Re: Shrared Ability Question

Alternate Form works best if you have a positive value racial template to exchange for a new template. Other than that, Modular Abilities can work if you can do anything, though they are really expensive.
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