[Basic] Disadvantage of the Week: Increased Life Support

johndallman · 01-11-2019, 01:22 AM

Increased Life Support is an exotic physical disadvantage, used for beings that can’t survive in an environment suitable for normal humans, or who are dangerous to have in such an environment. It was created for aliens who live in different environments and appeared in GURPS Uplift, for 3e, but it can also be used for normal humans who need special life support (e.g., an “Iron Lung”) to survive.

This disadvantage is about logistical requirements for life support. The health effects of doing without it (or not) are covered by Dependency, Maintenance and/or Restricted Diet. Some requirements will have both health and logistic aspects. For example, breathing fluorine, rather than oxygen, would be a large Dependency, Increased Life Support, and likely a reaction problem given the danger any breakdown in your life support poses to oxygen-breathers.

The examples of Increased Life Support in basic, each worth [-10], are Extreme Heat/Cold, Massive, Pressure and Radioactive. Others are obviously possible, normally at the same price, although Space has some more extreme versions. There’s a limit of [-40] even if you need many kinds of special life support. You can only claim Increased Life Support if it’s necessary on a large scale: needing a small whiff of fluorine daily as a Dependency would not let you claim a disadvantage for having a cabin with that as its sole atmosphere, even if it would be more comfortable for you.

This disadvantage mostly appears on racial templates. Bio-Tech has a couple of examples, and Horror has the variant for a disembodied brain. Powers: The Weird has an ability that makes this disadvantage unnecessary. Space has a lot about Increased Life Support, including when it applies, different life chemistries, and non-chemical life, and Underground Adventures has a race as weird as any in Space.

I’ve never used this disadvantage as a player or GM, having mostly done GURPS on a human-beings scale. How has it complicated your games?

01-11-2019, 01:22 AM	#1
johndallman Night Watchman Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Cambridge, UK	[Basic] Disadvantage of the Week: Increased Life Support Increased Life Support is an exotic physical disadvantage, used for beings that can’t survive in an environment suitable for normal humans, or who are dangerous to have in such an environment. It was created for aliens who live in different environments and appeared in *GURPS Uplift, for 3e, but it can also be used for normal humans who need special life support (e.g., an “Iron Lung”) to survive. This disadvantage is about logistical* requirements for life support. The health effects of doing without it (or not) are covered by Dependency, Maintenance and/or Restricted Diet. Some requirements will have both health and logistic aspects. For example, breathing fluorine, rather than oxygen, would be a large Dependency, Increased Life Support, and likely a reaction problem given the danger any breakdown in your life support poses to oxygen-breathers. The examples of Increased Life Support in basic, each worth [-10], are Extreme Heat/Cold, Massive, Pressure and Radioactive. Others are obviously possible, normally at the same price, although Space has some more extreme versions. There’s a limit of [-40] even if you need many kinds of special life support. You can only claim Increased Life Support if it’s necessary on a large scale: needing a small whiff of fluorine daily as a Dependency would not let you claim a disadvantage for having a cabin with that as its sole atmosphere, even if it would be more comfortable for you. This disadvantage mostly appears on racial templates. *Bio-Tech* has a couple of examples, and *Horror* has the variant for a disembodied brain. *Powers: The Weird* has an ability that makes this disadvantage unnecessary. *Space* has a lot about Increased Life Support, including when it applies, different life chemistries, and non-chemical life, and *Underground Adventures* has a race as weird as any in Space. I’ve never used this disadvantage as a player or GM, having mostly done GURPS on a human-beings scale. How has it complicated your games? __________________ The Path of Cunning. Indexes: DFRPG Characters, Advantage of the Week, Disadvantage of the Week, Skill of the Week, Techniques.