06-10-2009, 07:46 PM | #31 |
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Lynn, MA
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Re: Allies: Free Points amplification?
Just to get back to a comment on the OP,
The point amplification trait is an important point of concern. As I recall, the first time I read the 4th Ed Characters book, I was surprised by the listing in the Frequency of Appearance box.. Allies that are worn, implanted etc.... this just struck me as an invitation to abuse! |
06-11-2009, 11:48 AM | #32 |
GURPS Line Editor
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Montréal, Québec
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Re: Allies: Free Points amplification?
Allies should never "go bad" or whatever . . . the player is paying points for what's overall a beneficial relationship with an NPC. Tampering with that assumption is squarely in "evil GM" territory. I agree with those who feel it runs counter to the spirit of the rules. I'd even argue that it runs counter to the letter of the rules.
That said, Allies are people, with all that implies. They can have off days. In the terms defined on pp. B560-561, an Ally reacts better than Neutral on average . . . but that could mean "Poor 10% of the time, Neutral 70% of the time, and Good 20% of the time." Anybody who reads Allies as having a permanent Good, Very Good, or Excellent reaction to their PCs, and therefore being de facto stooges, has also misread the spirit and possibly the letter of the rules. Finally, Allies aren't "like PCs," "extensions of PCs," or anything else under player control. They're GM-created and -controlled characters. They should be about as useful as any other NPC who averages better-than-Neutral reactions. Again, that's the spirit of the rules. Treating Allies as something like PCs sans players, or as PCs shared with the GM, is missing the point. I would say that an Ally designed and controlled by the player, and that always has a Good or better reaction and goes along with the PCs' plans, is surely worth a lot more points. I'd call that the equivalent of Cosmic, +100% on Ally, probably on top of the +50% for Minion.
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06-11-2009, 02:04 PM | #33 | |
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: The ASS of the world, mainly Valencia, Spain (Europe)
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Re: Allies: Free Points amplification?
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06-11-2009, 02:39 PM | #34 |
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Massachusetts
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Re: Allies: Free Points amplification?
Also, while I understand the GM creating most allies, vehicles and some minions probably should be player created (after all, if the mad scientist build the robot, he should know what it can do). Likewise, the player should have a pretty good say in what type of starship he wants, if ally rules are used to make it.
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06-11-2009, 06:45 PM | #35 |
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Saskatoon, SK, Canada
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Re: Allies: Free Points amplification?
Perhaps in general terms, but the GM is still within their rights to say "No, sorry, Super-Robot-Buddy-9000 will need the Maintainance and Restricted Diet (Plutonium Fuel Pellets) disadvantages. And his eye-lasers have Unreliable, since you haven't worked the glitches out." An Ally actually built or designed by a PC may allow the player to specify exact stats a bit more, but it's still the GM designing things.
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06-11-2009, 07:36 PM | #36 | |
Join Date: Jan 2008
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Re: Allies: Free Points amplification?
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06-11-2009, 07:59 PM | #37 | |
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(If you have to ask . . .) Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Somewhere high up.
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Re: Allies: Free Points amplification?
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I do, however, tend to make my own Allies/Dependents when I take them as a player. I usually do so to ease the burden from the GM. I do put the same amount of effort into the Ally as the character. Most of the time the GM takes the Ally's sheet, gives them a once-over and generally accepts them. There have been a few cases when the GM says, "that's great, but I do need to make a few adjustments. But, thanks for all the hard work. Do you have them in GCA format." |
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06-12-2009, 05:42 AM | #38 | |
Join Date: May 2009
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Re: Allies: Free Points amplification?
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06-12-2009, 09:20 AM | #39 |
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Canada
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Re: Allies: Free Points amplification?
Players in any campaign can get involved with the world design aspect of the game - creating areas, populating them with NPCs with backgrounds and agendas, filling in history of the campaign world etc.
It's considered a little unusual, though, and I think it requires a not-entirely-common relationship between the GM and the players, plus a GM with the right temperament and players with the right temperament. It's probably more common in groups where players GM their own games (either for other groups, or for that group, either in parallel or in series, etc etc). I certainly let players write up their own Allies and Dependants, but it's CLEAR between the player and me that "I am letting them write a part of the campaign world because we're cool like that and my campaign world has room for it", and not "I am letting them fill in this other part of their character sheet which happens to live on its own piece of paper". IE, the player is performing a GM function, not a player function.
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06-12-2009, 02:20 PM | #40 | |
Join Date: May 2009
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Re: Allies: Free Points amplification?
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Tags |
allies, kromm explanation |
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