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Old 06-10-2017, 01:05 AM   #1
pgb
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: UK
Default Modifiers for High TL advantage

Are there any canonical modifiers for High TL? For example, to limit its scope to one category of skills/equipment? I'm aware of the Cutting-Edge Training perk, but that's at the extreme end, limited to one skill/speciality. What about "only for vehicles" or "only for armor", say?

More generally, since the example on pB27 makes it clear that having both High TL and Wealth does not guarantee continued access to particular gear of your own TL, what is the best way to ensure that? Signature Gear, Patron with the Equipment enhancement, Unusual Background; am I missing a better/more specific way?

Thanks.
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Old 06-10-2017, 08:43 AM   #2
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Default Re: Modifiers for High TL advantage

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Originally Posted by pgb View Post
More generally, since the example on pB27 makes it clear that having both High TL and Wealth does not guarantee continued access to particular gear of your own TL, what is the best way to ensure that? Signature Gear, Patron with the Equipment enhancement, Unusual Background; am I missing a better/more specific way?
The Cheaper (Gear) perk lets you start the game with at least one connection to a dealer in a category of goods of your choice. That should be plenty in most games.

For a really extreme approach, something that will work even after you've been thrown into the brig of a starship, light-years from anything, in a different universe, and stripped of all your stuff- there's always Snatcher with the Permanent enhancement.
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Old 06-10-2017, 09:02 AM   #3
Culture20
 
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Default Re: Modifiers for High TL advantage

My concern is that high TL can often be a disadvantage. A 2017 Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court who doesn't come back in time with tools and a working knowledge of historical engineering and metalurgy will be worse off than a native of the time period.
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Old 06-10-2017, 10:58 AM   #4
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Default Re: Modifiers for High TL advantage

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My concern is that high TL can often be a disadvantage. A 2017 Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court who doesn't come back in time with tools and a working knowledge of historical engineering and metalurgy will be worse off than a native of the time period.
Not really at least not so in gurps if your interest is in using your more modern knowledge for the purpose of inventing. Remember each TL difference reduces the Complexity level of the new invention by 1 level. So even inventions that in that time period that are "amazing" and would require a skill 21 or better to make and requires a 500,000$ facility. Would potentially only count as a "simple" invention requiring a skill 14 or less and a facility costing only 50,000$ (150,000$ if trying to do a tech 1 level above).

It also would be significantly faster to research an amazing prototype requires 3D6 Months to create, a simple prototype only takes 1d-2 days to crank out.
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Old 06-10-2017, 12:13 PM   #5
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Default Re: Modifiers for High TL advantage

A TL8 recent mechanical engineering graduate working with the best tools a TL3 society has available works at a -7 to skill (-9 for wrong TL, +2 for best at TL3 [max of {round down TL/2 | 2}]) . Before this person can get access to these best-in-the-world tools, they may have to demonstrate principles with poor quality or even damaged TL2-3 tools, at even further penalty. Taking time might help offset, but you can't discount that it's a serious disadvantage. A cinematic High TL advantage usually allows aliens or future people to only have bonuses when dealing with older tech "A keyboard. How quaint.", but the existing advantage is a serious disadvantage in some campaigns which don't involve regular inter-TL travel.
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Old 06-10-2017, 12:30 PM   #6
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Default Re: Modifiers for High TL advantage

It's not so much high tech guy is at a disadvantage for coming from a higher tech place. It's that you took a guy adapted to one location and tossed him into one radically different.
That can happen to literally anyone.
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Old 06-10-2017, 12:34 PM   #7
Kelly Pedersen
 
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Default Re: Modifiers for High TL advantage

Note that High TL doesn't force you to take all your skills at the higher TL. It merely allows you to buy such skills, and permits buying higher TL gear, at the usual doubled-per-TL price.

As to the original question, it seems clear that "one skill only" is effectively a -80% limitation on High TL (since Cutting-Edge Training is a 1-point perk, 20% of the cost of the 5-point High TL). I'd allow -60% on High TL for a narrow group of technology like "high-performance aircraft" or "scientific electronics" - generally something that would cover the design-build-use triad of skills for that technology. -40% would be for a broader tech field like "aircraft" or "electronic devices", while -20% would be a very broad field like "vehicles" or "electrical systems and devices".
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Old 06-10-2017, 02:31 PM   #8
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Default Re: Modifiers for High TL advantage

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Originally Posted by Kelly Pedersen View Post
Note that High TL doesn't force you to take all your skills at the higher TL. It merely allows you to buy such skills,
Yeah, the disadvantage isn't having High TL as such, it's having your points sunk in skills you can't effectively use instead of ones you could.
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Old 06-10-2017, 02:45 PM   #9
Christopher R. Rice
 
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Default Re: Modifiers for High TL advantage

Quote:
Originally Posted by pgb View Post
Are there any canonical modifiers for High TL? For example, to limit its scope to one category of skills/equipment? I'm aware of the Cutting-Edge Training perk, but that's at the extreme end, limited to one skill/speciality. What about "only for vehicles" or "only for armor", say?

More generally, since the example on pB27 makes it clear that having both High TL and Wealth does not guarantee continued access to particular gear of your own TL, what is the best way to ensure that? Signature Gear, Patron with the Equipment enhancement, Unusual Background; am I missing a better/more specific way?

Thanks.
Pyramid #3/86: Organizations (p. 6) has an Limited modifier for High TL
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Old 06-10-2017, 03:59 PM   #10
Kelly Pedersen
 
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Default Re: Modifiers for High TL advantage

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Originally Posted by Ulzgoroth View Post
Yeah, the disadvantage isn't having High TL as such, it's having your points sunk in skills you can't effectively use instead of ones you could.
A character in a lower-TL setting with High TL who took only skills at the higher TL probably qualifies for Social Stigma (Uneducated), at least.
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