[Impulse Buys] Game Time

[Dwarf99]

Another thread got me thinking on whether 10 points per Destiny/Luck/Serendipity points that refresh each session is a fair price. More specifically

Originally Posted by PK

<snip>
(Game Time, +0%; Selectivity, +10%)

You're either using Game Time or Real Time to calculate when luck/destiny/serendipity points come back... is this an abusive combo when it modifies "1 point per 5 CP of the advantage"?

[DangerousThing]

Originally Posted by Dwarf99

Another thread got me thinking on whether 10 points per Destiny/Luck/Serendipity points that refresh each session is a fair price. More specifically



You're either using Game Time or Real Time to calculate when luck/destiny/serendipity points come back... is this an abusive combo when it modifies "1 point per 5 CP of the advantage"?

I give people 1 point per 5 points of luck. I give them one point + refresh points at the beginning of each session. The refresh points are equal to 1 for each 3 full luck points and the refresh can never raise their points above 1 point per 5 CP of luck.

At the end of the session you lose all points over your maximum.

This means that even those without luck still have the one point given at the beginning of the session.

I also give out another luck point if a character has a critical failure and doesn't use luck to avert it. Another way to gain a luck point is to have somebody use a luck point against your character; you gain the luck points used that way, if they were significant (GM's call).

This will be playtested soon, so I don't know exactly if this is too much yet.

[Peter Knutsen]

Originally Posted by DangerousThing

This means that even those without luck still have the one point given at the beginning of the session.

I think that's a bad idea. It takes away the specialness of having Luck. If you go that route, you might as well make it mandatory to have Luck, like GURPS Action does, although there it's done a bit heavy-handed. It'd be better to require each PC to have a minimum of 15 CP worth of stuff selected from a specific list of Advantages, that just happens to contain all the luck-shaped stuff.

[Dwarf99]

Well, more specifically I was asking about having a middle ground between having 1 point of refresh per session no matter what, and having full refresh.

one is five, the other is ten/IP. The middle ground being: Points recharge at the end of session or the appropriate in game period, whichever is faster. the recharge rate (1 per interval) remains unchanged. The interval itself is what changes.

[DangerousThing]

Originally Posted by Peter Knutsen

I think that's a bad idea. It takes away the specialness of having Luck. If you go that route, you might as well make it mandatory to have Luck, like GURPS Action does, although there it's done a bit heavy-handed. It'd be better to require each PC to have a minimum of 15 CP worth of stuff selected from a specific list of Advantages, that just happens to contain all the luck-shaped stuff.

If you have luck at 15 points, you would get 4 luck points. If you don't have luck, you get 1 luck points and can't save them from game to game; this one point can save a character's rear end once during the game. I don't see the problem.

[Dwarf99]

Originally Posted by Peter Knutsen

I think that's a bad idea. It takes away the specialness of having Luck. If you go that route, you might as well make it mandatory to have Luck, like GURPS Action does, although there it's done a bit heavy-handed. It'd be better to require each PC to have a minimum of 15 CP worth of stuff selected from a specific list of Advantages, that just happens to contain all the luck-shaped stuff.

I think what he means is that the way you said it indicates those without luck get a point. If that's where he was going and that's what you meant, he's right. Those without Luck should not get IP for it.

Back to my original question though: Should those with Game Time and Selectivity be allowed. It'd end up being 6CP per IP (Well actually 17 per 3).

[DangerousThing]

Originally Posted by Dwarf99

I think what he means is that the way you said it indicates those without luck get a point. If that's where he was going and that's what you meant, he's right. Those without Luck should not get IP for it.

Back to my original question though: Should those with Game Time and Selectivity be allowed. It'd end up being 6CP per IP (Well actually 17 per 3).

Yes, those without luck will still get one point. Just one point, as opposed to at least four points.

As for the original question, I would only allow a refresh at the start of each gaming session. But that's my personal feelings about the subject rather than logic.

Let's see if I can trace back the logic behind it, if any.

1. Luck points implies that you can use them any time, all of them in the first hour of gaming if necessary.

2. Allowing some players to refresh in the middle of the game merely because game time has passed is more powerful than for standard luck, if you are refreshing the entire pool.

3. Therefore, it would be my opinion that if they are using luck that fast and need a refresh in the middle of the game, then perhaps they should just buy more luck points to increase the luck points in their pool so they don't run out.

That's all I've got at the moment.

[Dwarf99]

Originally Posted by DangerousThing

2. Allowing some players to refresh in the middle of the game merely because game time has passed is more powerful than for standard luck,

Given this, I'm not so sure...

Originally Posted by Kromm

Yep. Game Time isn't a limitation -- even though it might look like one at first to action-and-adventure heroes -- because it lets you use Luck out of play, for long, slow actions, on a reliable basis. Someone with Game Time could use his Luck to justify a lucky daily roll at almost any task that requires a roll a day. The abuses possible with this tool are left as an exercise for the reader. It suffices to say that I believe that Game Time approaches being an enhancement for anyone who isn't a blood-and-guts fighter, and it appears with the other enhancements for this reason.

I think that whether game time is abusive depends on how frequently days pass. If the GM doesn't skip ahead too much, I don't know where the problem is, especially since Selectivity does enhance the cost of the advantage already.

if you are refreshing the entire pool.

I reiterate:

Originally Posted by Dwarf99

the recharge rate (1 per interval) remains unchanged. The interval itself is what changes.

Also amusingly enough, the default is 10 CP for 1 instantly recharged IP but they went 7.5 for Serendipity (because you get two SIP for every 15 point level). Looks to me like a 50% Cosmic modifier was backward engineered into it.

In any case due to that RAW example 7.5 is too much to actually charge for individually recharging points that happen as a result of passed game time unless the GM lets the players take 3 game days worth of break. Or unless you a zombie.

[johndallman]

Originally Posted by Dwarf99

I think that whether game time is abusive depends on how frequently days pass. If the GM doesn't skip ahead too much, I don't know where the problem is.

The campaign I was running tonight involves a lot of exploring. It's normal for played scenes to be a day or two apart, and for several sessions to pass between combats. I'd price Game Time on Luck in that Campaign as at least +100%, probably more.

[Dwarf99]

Originally Posted by johndallman

The campaign I was running tonight involves a lot of exploring. It's normal for played scenes to be a day or two apart, and for several sessions to pass between combats. I'd price Game Time on Luck in that Campaign as at least +100%, probably more.

Fair enough, for that campaign, because players may get individual luck points back for the next scene up to their current luck value and in that event you're not really limited.

What I'm mainly asking for is what I consider a typical campaign.

Take Supers for example. With the 6CP/level luck you have the following possibilities

1) A super or team goes out on the town generally solving crimes. If the requisite real time passes, yay, you get luck points commensurate with the length of time you spent on small time crime. Whenever you go to bed you only get 1 luck point. Say they find something in their general crime solving that leads them to the HQ of the BBEG

2) Now each individual encounter is played out (possibly using One Man Army) and it may be more than one session before they get to the BBEG, who escapes.

3) BBEG threatens the city with a death ray. Maybe this requires the supers to do research that just happens to take 3 days allowing 3 LIP recovery even though you took 3 seconds to make the rolls. In all fairness, you are preparing to fight the BBEG so you need all the luck you can get.