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Old 05-15-2017, 10:40 PM   #1
Otaku
 
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Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: South Dakota, USA
Default [Basic] Advantage of the Week (#42): Doesn't Sleep, Less Sleep

Previous Week: Doesn't Eat or Drink, Reduced Consumption, Universal Digestion
Next Week: Dominance, Infectious Attack, Slave Mentality

The intent of this thread is to discuss the selected traits in their entirety. Postings are meant to be weekly, but (as with this one), delays will happen.

The discussion begins with how the traits were written in [Basic]. I only copy and past entries from GURPS Lite because it is available as a free download; I will paraphrase entries from [Basic] simply because it is at the heart of the discussion so I cannot leave it out entirely, plus it can sometimes help to hear the same thing said in a different way. I'll mention other supplements that cover the topic but will not go into exacting detail because they are not an actual part of [Basic], and are usually covered in something that is for sale. ;) I would also like to include links to other useful sources (threads, blogs, etc.), and if it seems worth it, the rules for the traits from past editions.

Sharing thoughts and experiences on the matter means people will be free to praise, criticize, or merely report on the traits being discussed. I'll avoid sharing my own thoughts and try to minimize my bias. Except where it is necessary, such as when I don't really understand the trait all that well myself. Thanks to the index of topics johndallman created as is maintaining, it is much easier to keep track of what we've covered and where also lessening the need for me to try to cram every remotely related trait together or keep them all separate (whichever might make them easier to find). Another benefit is today's situation: we have three traits (Doesn't Eat or Drink, Reduced Consumption, and Universal Digestion) that were too long to list out in the thread title.

Basic

We'll begin with Doesn't Sleep (p. B50), which is an Exotic, Physical Advantage that costs 20 CP and removes the need for a character to sleep, allowing it to ignore all the usual drawbacks from missing a night's (or nights') rest. Next is Less Sleep (p. B65), a Mundane, Physical Advantage that costs 2 CP/level. Each level reduces the amount of sleep a character needs each night by one hour; a realistic human may take up to four levels, allowing that person to get by on just four hours of sleep per night. Sleep is not the same as being unconscious, and I am uncertain how to properly define the two in GURPS terms.

The rules for GURPS assumes a character needs eight hours of sleep per night. A character allowed to violate the normal four level cap on Less Sleep (such as a superhuman or non-human) could just take eight levels of Less Sleep to avoid the need to rest for 16 CP, four less than Doesn't Sleep. This is not a glitch in the system, however; Doesn't Sleep has been stated to also include Immunity to Sleep, which would be worth 5 CP on its own. That means there is a discount for purchasing Doesn't Sleep over Less Sleep Lv8 and Immunity to Sleep separately.

Other Supplements

GURPS Powers does discuss Doesn't Sleep, but not in a lot of detail; it mostly comes up when explaining certain concepts (like passive Advantages), powers for which it is appropriate, etc. Less Sleep isn't mentioned at all. These aren't criticisms; I just need to draw a distinction between how these are covered and how some past advantages are used much more extensively. There is an Enhancement that I feel is worth mentioning; "Reciprocal Rest" (p. P75) is a 30% Enhancement for Shapeshifting... which is also mentioned in GURPS Update page 11 (hence me actually giving the cost). Powers contains more details for it, though, and we'll discuss its Third Edition counterpart in the appropriate section.

GURPS Power-Ups 3: Talents contains a brief mention of Doesn't Sleep with regards to how it may interact with the Job Training Talent. No reference to Less Sleep, and again I only mention either because I am trying to be thorough, not because I actually expected to see anything about either trait in this supplement.

Third Edition

Doesn't Sleep can be found on page 53 of Compendium I, and is just a slightly reworded version of what you'll find in Basic Set: Characters. Less Sleep can be found on page 27 of Compendium I and is (again) almost the same as its Fourth Edition counterpart. The big change is that it costs 3 CP/level and the cap is five levels instead of four. There are two traits that didn't make the jump to Fourth Edition (and are closely related to Doesn't Sleep/Less Sleep) that I believe are worth including in the discussion.

First is Reciprocal Rest (Compendium 1, p. 43) for 15 CP, listed in the "Occult and Paranormal" section of Compendium I. To take this Advantage, you needed a character with multiple forms; Third Edition had numerous traits that could provide such a thing, and Fourth Edition unifies these under the Shapeshifting (p. B83-B85). As with its modern Enhancement treatment, the Third Edition Advantage allows you to treat any alternate form not currently in use as if it were resting. This does not require the resting form be unaware of what is happen with the active form; one modified the trait(s) accordingly if it did involve any such disconnect. With even one additional form to shift between, a character could function as if it had Less Sleep Lv8 with appropriate time management between forms.

Second is Reduced Sleep (Compendium I, p.64), from the Racial And Super Advantages section. It was priced at 10 CP and caused the FP loss associated with missed sleep to apply weekly instead of daily. Pages 173 and 174 of Compendium II provide more detailed rules for rest (and the effects of missing sleep), and this entry for Reduced Sleep does explain how the Advantage works when those are in effect. GURPS Update says to simply use Doesn't Sleep or Less Sleep to model this effect in Fourth Edition, a decision I agree with as I've been misunderstanding Reduced Sleep for the last 20 years!

Useful Links

As always, feel free to suggestion additions to this section. :)
Discussion Starters

This is a generic list of questions if you need them; if you already know what you want to say, feel free to just chime in.
  • Have you ever taken any of these traits for one of your PCs or NPCs? How'd it go?
  • Is there anything these traits do really well?
  • Is there anything you think these traits should do different, whether it means adding, subtracting, or just changing aspects of it?
  • Any thoughts on how the 4e version of these traits compares to them in earlier editions?
  • Feedback about BAotW threads in general, such as how I structure them?
__________________
My GURPS Fourth Edition library consists of Basic Set: Characters, Basic Set: Campaigns, Martial Arts, Powers, Powers: Enhanced Senses, Power-Ups 1: Imbuements, Power-Ups 2: Perks, Power-Ups 3: Talents, Power-Ups 4: Enhancements, Power-Ups 6: Quirks, Power-Ups 8: Limitations, Powers, Social Engineering, Supers, Template Toolkit 1: Characters, Template Toolkit 2: Races, one issue of Pyramid (3/83) a.k.a. Alternate GURPS IV, GURPS Classic Rogues, and GURPS Classic Warriors. Most of which was provided through the generosity of others. Thanks! :)

Last edited by Otaku; 05-28-2017 at 01:01 AM.
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advantage, advantage of the week, deep sleeper, doesn't sleep, less sleep, week, [basic]

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