Advantage or Feature?

[nerdvana]

I am developing a mobile sapient plant species (to be used by players) that reproduces by sending out spores. This species only does so when they are gendered (less than one week out of every month) and cycle though male one month and female the next. It requires the spore of a male and of a female (can be the same plant, doesn't have to be) in order to reproduce. If the character exposed to the cloud of spores succumbs to them (fails a HT check) they permanently give their carriers a package disadvantage "(Male or Female) Spore Carrier" [-15 points] (see below; can be removed by appropriate medical treatment or healing powers) unless they already have the "Unfertilized (gender) Spore" quirk. If they have that quirk then they are immune to spores of the same gender, but for spores of the opposite gender, if they fail their HT check, they loose consciousness for 30 minutes (per point they fail the check by) and the Spore Carrier trait is removed as their spore is fertilzed and the infant plant sloughs off and crawls away.

Spore Carrier
Cowardice @15 [-5], Delusion: "the strange green patch of hair is just a cosmetic mutation" [-5], Distinctive Features (a patch of short green tendrils growing out of the skin) [-1], Gluttony @15 [-2], Uncongenial [-1] and Unfertilized (gender) Spore [-1]

I have built this as a pair of linked afflictions (see below) but this comes up as a whopping 80 points(!) and doesn't really give the character any advantage other than having reproduced. I'm thinking that I can just call it a feature and call the spore effects a disease and leave it at that. Opinions please?

Affliction BuildAffliction #1 (10; Effect {Cowardice @15, -5%; Delusion: “the strange green patch of hair is just a cosmetic mutation”, -5%; Distinctive Features, -1%; Gluttony @15, -2%; Uncongenial, -1%; Unfertilized Spore, -1%}, -15%; Area Effect (2 yards), +50%; Drifting, +20%; Doesn’t Cost Fatigue, +10%; Extended Duration (cloud, 30× duration), +60%; Link to Affliction #2, +10%; Permanent Duration (Effect), +150%; Persistent, +40%; Respiratory Agent, +50%; Accessibility (only when gendered), -30%; Accessibility (only on those who don’t already have an Unfertilized Spore), -10%; Always On (during “that time of the month”), -20%; Emanation, -20%; Metabolic, -20%; Nuisance Effect (attracts stinging insects), -5%; Onset (1 week), -40%; Temporary Disadvantage (Bad Smell), -10%; Unconscious Only, -20%; Uncontrollable, -30%) [27 points]

Affliction #2 (10; Effect {Remove Afflicted Cowardice @15, +50%; Remove Afflicted Delusion: “the strange green patch of hair is just a cosmetic mutation”, +50%; Remove Afflicted Distinctive Features, +10%; Remove Afflicted Gluttony @15, +20%; Remove Afflicted Uncongenial, +10%; Remove Afflicted Unfertilized Spore, +10%; Sleep, +150%}, +300%; Area Effect (2 yards), +50%; Drifting, +20%; Doesn’t Cost Fatigue, +10%; Extended Duration (cloud, 30× duration), +60%; Extended Duration (sleep, 30× duration), +60%; Link to Affliction #1, +10%; Persistent, +40%; Respiratory Agent, +50%; Accessibility( only when gendered), -30%; Accessibility (only on those who already have an Unfertilized Spore past its onset), -30%; Metabolic, -20%; Onset (1 week), -40%; Unconscious Only, -20%; Uncontrollable, -30%) [53 points]

[ThomasSmith]

It's almost certainly just a feature.

There's a lot of other things I could say if I felt like delving into the probable mechanics of xenobiology, but I'll go for the most obvious systemic one. I find it very odd that you're having a failed health check cause reproduction. This doesn't seem evolutionarily wise - check what it does to the probability of healthy offspring!

[lexington]

Probably a feature. For anyone traveling a long time outside their species would have Social Disease.

[nerdvana]

Originally Posted by ThomasSmith

It's almost certainly just a feature.

There's a lot of other things I could say if I felt like delving into the probable mechanics of xenobiology, but I'll go for the most obvious systemic one. I find it very odd that you're having a failed health check cause reproduction. This doesn't seem evolutionarily wise - check what it does to the probability of healthy offspring!

I hear you. Its for my GURPS Gamma World campaign. Its just a strange mutant plant thing and logic doesn't always have to win out over fun. :)

BUT... the logic behind this works. Due to the future abilities of the adult plant I think I'll add a +1 to HT, Fit and Susceptible to Spores (at least four levels) to the Spore Carrier Trait to reflect that these normally affect sickly beings and make them healther for the duration of their "infection" and make them have complete immunity to being bonded by their "child" (as the full plant can bond to creatures).

Thanks for the answer, I'm glad to know that I'm right in thinking this is a feature though. :)