How to model a "Strobe Grenade?"

[Jinumon]

Hey all, just a quick question for you guys,

So I'm gonna be playing a near-future street-level Supers game pretty soon, and my character is something of a Daredevil/Ergokineticist with a Digital Mind and an emphasis on nonlethal martial arts. I'm considering taking some kind of enhanced sense, perhaps the ability to sense the bioelectricity in foes (Detect: Electricity; Sight-Based, Precise, Reflexive) or the ability to view different wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum (Hyperspectral Vision), and I thought it would be really useful to use something like this to really play havoc with my enemies before closing to fisticuffs with them, especially if it is dark and their eyes have adjusted accordingly. I haven't been able to find anything like this in any of my GURPS materials, and was wondering how the community would handle it. Thanks all,

Jinumon

[Ulzgoroth]

Ultratech p. 157 has it.

[Phantasm]

I'd probably have it as a kind of affliction. A grenade's damage line could be: HT-5 aff (5 yds); affliction causes blindness for 1d x 10 seconds. Protected Vision probably gives a +5 to resist (or whatever its usual bonus is, which I think is +5), while those with Blindness and/or IT: No Eyes are immune.

YMMV

[Bruno]

The modern weapon is a "flashbang" grenade, and it combines the sudden bright light with a sudden loud noise. Overloading two senses works better, generally. They're a pyrotechnic, however, and can set things on fire under bad circumstances.

EDIT: High-tech page 192, the TL 7 Schermuly Stun grenade, is a flashbang. It's a HT-5 aff with a 10-yard radius causing Stun.

[Christopher R. Rice]

Originally Posted by Jinumon

Hey all, just a quick question for you guys,

So I'm gonna be playing a near-future street-level Supers game pretty soon, and my character is something of a Daredevil/Ergokineticist with a Digital Mind and an emphasis on nonlethal martial arts. I'm considering taking some kind of enhanced sense, perhaps the ability to sense the bioelectricity in foes (Detect: Electricity; Sight-Based, Precise, Reflexive) or the ability to view different wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum (Hyperspectral Vision), and I thought it would be really useful to use something like this to really play havoc with my enemies before closing to fisticuffs with them, especially if it is dark and their eyes have adjusted accordingly. I haven't been able to find anything like this in any of my GURPS materials, and was wondering how the community would handle it. Thanks all,

Jinumon

This just came up in Aeon (the supers campaign I'm running at the moment in two different campaigns with another 2 online campaigns coming). The gadgeteer in the campaign came up with this for a metatronic grenade:


Strobe: Affliction 1 (Area Effect, 2 yards, +50%; Disadvantage, Secondary Blindness, +10%; Extended Duration, x10, +40%; Fixed Duration, +0%; Link, +10%; Stunning, +10%; Vision-Based, +150%) [37] + Obscure 5 (Vision) (Extended Duration, x3, +20%; Link, +10%; Ranged, +50%) [18]. 55 points.

So basically you make a roll to hit an area (+4 bonus). Success means everything in that area must make an HT roll or be stunned for 30 seconds. Failure by 5 or more or critical failure also induces blindness for the same duration. DR has no effect! The attack is channeled through the victims vision. Protected Vision gives a +5 to resist. Any Vision rolls (including rolls to hit someone in combat) made while in the area or looking into it suffer a -5 until the duration expires.

[Fred Brackin]

Originally Posted by Ghostdancer

Strobe: Affliction 1 (Area Effect, 2 yards, +50%; Disadvantage, Secondary Blindness, +10%; Extended Duration, x10, +40%; Fixed Duration, +0%; Link, +10%; Stunning, +10%; Vision-Based, +150%) [37] + Obscure 5 (Vision) (Extended Duration, x3, +20%; Link, +10%; Ranged, +50%) [18]. 55 points.

I bet he wishes he'd looked in HT. :)

[Christopher R. Rice]

Originally Posted by Fred Brackin

I bet he wishes he'd looked in HT. :)

His is actually way better (it has a -10 to Vision rolls and -10 to HT rolls to resist blindness and stunning) - I just toned it down for the OP. :-)

[Fred Brackin]

Originally Posted by Ghostdancer

His is actually way better (it has a -10 to Vision rolls and -10 to HT rolls to resist blindness and stunning) - I just toned it down for the OP. :-)

A full 10 levels of Affliction? I'm not sure how sane that is.

[Christopher R. Rice]

Originally Posted by Fred Brackin

A full 10 levels of Affliction? I'm not sure how sane that is.

It's the only way he gets the effect he wanted - which was to knock out most normals. It is a 1,000 point supers game. I'm not sure why most people have an issue running high point total games, but I find it easy. Or how some folks think that if you play a game over 500 points it's just not playable. That's such BS. GURPS does supers surprisingly well. there are a few things you have to take into account, but after that's it's smooth sailing. And I'm not accusing you of saying that, just making an observation of my own.

[Fred Brackin]

Originally Posted by Ghostdancer

It's the only way he gets the effect he wanted - which was to knock out most normals. It is a 1,000 point supers game. I'm not sure why most people have an issue running high point total games, but I find it easy. Or how some folks think that if you play a game over 500 points it's just not playable. That's such BS. GURPS does supers surprisingly well. there are a few things you have to take into account, but after that's it's smooth sailing. And I'm not accusing you of saying that, just making an observation of my own.

You misread me. I first played in and then ran a 3e game with unlimited pts. My Archmage was 1500 and he wasn't the highest one there. There was an early 4e game that was 500pts+ and I don't think I've started any other Gurps games at less than 250pts.

So, having established my high pts credentials I will go on to explain that it was just the enormous cost of that particular Affliction. I think I could have dealt with normals for fewer pts.

Probably with something like an FP sapping "sleep gas". I don't care for the "force a HT roll" mechanic just because you have to flood it with such steep minuses to get dependable results.