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Old 09-24-2019, 01:34 AM   #21
awesomenessofme1
 
Join Date: Mar 2016
Default Re: [Supers] Malice - A low-powered supers setting

Taking a break from the Meteor Squad to post an independent super. This guy was one of the first supers I completed for this setting.

Dart Frog

Real Name: Jeffrey Sawyer
Secret Identity: Yes
Costume: Green-and-black sleeveless shirt, green leggings, black boots, and a black mask with green lenses
Age: 16
Height: 5’5”
Weight: 160 lb
Sex: Male
Race: White
Hair: Chin-length straight brown
Eyes: Green
Powers: Jumping, climbing, amphibious, poison secretion

Jeffrey Sawyer is a high-school sophomore turned independent hero from Cincinnati, Ohio. So far, he’s managed to balance school and small-scale superheroics, but it’s getting more difficult. His new powers include powerful jumping, the ability to become amphibious, and the secretion of various substances. He can release a sticky substance that allows him to climb walls, a low-friction liquid that lets him escape from grappling or bonds more easily, and a deadly contact poison. The last one is one of his most useful, but he only feels comfortable using it as a last resort, and has been trying to find or create an antidote.

Attributes: ST 10 [0], DX 13 [60], IQ 11 [20], HT 12 [20]

Secondary Attributes: Dam 1d-1/1d, BL 20 lb, HP 10 [0], Will 11 [0], Per 11 [0], Basic Speed 7.00 [15], Basic Move 7 [0]

Advantages: Amphibious (Super, -10%) [9], Attractive [4], Claim to Hospitality (Family) [1], Clinging (Super, -10%) [18], Combat Reflexes [15], Contact (Friend in the police force, Criminology-12, 9 or less, Usually reliable) [2], Doesn’t Breathe (Gills, -50%, Super, -10%, Breathes with Lungs¹, +0%) [8], Fit [5], Hard to Kill 2 [4], Hard to Subdue 2 [4], Immunity to Poison (Super, -10%) [14], Nictitating Membrane 2 (Super, -10%) [2], Slippery 3 (Switchable, +10%, Super, -10%) [6], Super Climbing 2 (Super, -10%) [6], Super Jump 1 (Super, -10%) [9]+Super Jump 2 (Vertical Only, -25%, Super, -10%) [13], Temperature Tolerance 2 (Super, -10%) [2], Toxic Attack 2d (Aura, +80%, Cyclic 3 (1 hr, Resistible), +30%, Melee Attack (C), -30%, Symptom (Moderate Pain, 1/2 HP), +40%, Symptom (Nausea, 2/3 HP), +30%, Contact Agent, -30%, Resistible (HT-4), -10%, Super, -10%) [16]

Perks: Pet (Frog) [1], Supersuit [1]

Disadvantages: Bad Temper (15) [-5], Enemy (????, 9 or less, Hunter, Unknown) [-15], Overconfidence (12) [-5], Pacifism (Cannot Harm Innocents) [-10], Secret Identity [-5], Social Stigma (Minor) [-5]

Quirks: Altruistic [-1], Decisive [-1], Likes frogs [-1], Phobia (Extreme Heights) [-1]. Talkative [-1]

Skills: Acrobatics-13 [4], Acting-11 [2], Aquabatics-12 [2], Area Knowledge (Cincinnati)-11 [1], Bicycling-14 [2], Climbing-13 [2], Computer Operation-11 [1], Current Affairs/TL8 (Headline News)-11 [1], Current Affairs/TL8 (Popular Culture)-11 [1], Detect Lies-10 [2], Escape-14 [1], Hobby Skill (Video Games)-11 [1], Holdout-11 [2], Judo-13 [4], Karate-14 [8], Observation-11 [2], Poisons/TL8-10 [2], Research/TL8-10 [1], Running-12 [2], Stealth-13 [2], Swimming-13 [2]

1: He can breathe water, but he uses his lungs. This means he has no visible gills, but he is not immune to strangulation. I have a hard time seeing this being worth anything as an enhancement or limitation.

Last edited by awesomenessofme1; 12-20-2019 at 04:14 AM. Reason: Changed poison effects
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Old 09-24-2019, 07:30 AM   #22
naloth
 
Join Date: Sep 2004
Default Re: [Supers] Malice - A low-powered supers setting

Quote:
Originally Posted by awesomenessofme1 View Post
Taking a break from the Meteor Squad to post an independent super. This guy was one of the first supers I completed for this setting.

Dart Frog

<snip>
He can release a sticky substance that allows him to climb walls, a low-friction liquid that lets him escape from grappling or bonds more easily, and a deadly contact poison. The last one is one of his most useful, but he only feels comfortable using it as a last resort, and has been trying to find or create an antidote.
First off, these feel like alternate abilities i.e. if he can only do one at a time and has to switch (choose) between what he's doing, AA makes sense.

For utility reasons, I'd convert the toxin to a paralyzing agent or fatigue damage. You could have a secondary (or side) effect of choking if you want it to be potentially lethal.

I'd suggest you look at KYOS if you haven't already. It makes ST a lot more useful for its point value. I even went one step further and converted down damage and DR for existing gear to put it on a quadratic scale. It allows the Hulk to punch tanks without red misting people while keeping the point costs more reasonable*.

*Which itself is a matter of taste. There's no problem with 5k supers if that's to your liking. My personal opinion is that once you get above a certain level, point budgets aren't really useful and don't reflect the overall usefulness of abilities.
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Old 09-24-2019, 09:29 AM   #23
Varyon
 
Join Date: Jun 2013
Default Re: [Supers] Malice - A low-powered supers setting

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Originally Posted by naloth View Post
First off, these feel like alternate abilities i.e. if he can only do one at a time and has to switch (choose) between what he's doing, AA makes sense.
On the other hand, if I’m not mistaken the current build could coat his hands and feet with sticky mucus, the rest of his body with slippery mucus, and output poison into the whole lot, allowing him to climb walls while making it so anyone who tries to pull him off both has a hard time and gets poisoned. That’s utility he’d lack if they were an AA set.

Quote:
Originally Posted by naloth View Post
For utility reasons, I'd convert the toxin to a paralyzing agent or fatigue damage. You could have a secondary (or side) effect of choking if you want it to be potentially lethal.
I suspect part of the idea is that the toxin lacks utility outside of killing people (although there is the side benefit that, so long as he’s careful not to bump into anybody, he has nothing to fear from biting and stinging insects). That said, it could be interesting to reduce the damage and add in Side Effect or Symptoms - it’s still only an emergency measure, but it’s a bit more useful and a bit less likely to kill somebody. Reducing the damage to 2d (average 28 injury after all cycles, enough to potentially kill most humans by itself) would allow up to +140% of further Enhancements at the same [16] price point.
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Old 09-24-2019, 09:43 AM   #24
naloth
 
Join Date: Sep 2004
Default Re: [Supers] Malice - A low-powered supers setting

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Originally Posted by Varyon View Post
On the other hand, if I’m not mistaken the current build could coat his hands and feet with sticky mucus, the rest of his body with slippery mucus, and output poison into the whole lot, allowing him to climb walls while making it so anyone who tries to pull him off both has a hard time and gets poisoned. That’s utility he’d lack if they were an AA set.
Agreed, it just wasn't really described that way.


Quote:
I suspect part of the idea is that the toxin lacks utility outside of killing people (although there is the side benefit that, so long as he’s careful not to bump into anybody, he has nothing to fear from biting and stinging insects). That said, it could be interesting to reduce the damage and add in Side Effect or Symptoms - it’s still only an emergency measure, but it’s a bit more useful and a bit less likely to kill somebody. Reducing the damage to 2d (average 28 injury after all cycles, enough to potentially kill most humans by itself) would allow up to +140% of further Enhancements at the same [16] price point.
That's another good way to handle it. As his only real attack on a character designed to go into emergency situations, I suspect this will get used about like a solder uses his gun.
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Old 09-24-2019, 10:03 AM   #25
AlexanderHowl
 
Join Date: Feb 2016
Default Re: [Supers] Malice - A low-powered supers setting

I would actually reduce the Toxic Attack to 1 point, increase the cycles to 60 one hour cycles (+600%), get rid of resistable (+610%), and include a wide variety of nasty symptoms For example, Hemophilia at -1/3 HP, Neurological Disorder (Crippling) at -1/2 HP, and Blindness at -2/3 HP could represent a toxin that causes bleeding through the walls of the arteries and veins, and would only cost +200%. With the other modifiers totaling +10%, you end up with +1420%, keeping the cost at 16 CP.
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Old 09-24-2019, 10:40 AM   #26
awesomenessofme1
 
Join Date: Mar 2016
Default Re: [Supers] Malice - A low-powered supers setting

Lot of good suggestions.

Quote:
Originally Posted by naloth View Post
I'd suggest you look at KYOS if you haven't already. It makes ST a lot more useful for its point value. I even went one step further and converted down damage and DR for existing gear to put it on a quadratic scale. It allows the Hulk to punch tanks without red misting people while keeping the point costs more reasonable*.

*Which itself is a matter of taste. There's no problem with 5k supers if that's to your liking. My personal opinion is that once you get above a certain level, point budgets aren't really useful and don't reflect the overall usefulness of abilities.
I've looked at KYOS, but it seems fiddly. I'm not going to be having too many high-point value supers anyway, and regular and Super-Effort ST work well enough.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Varyon View Post
On the other hand, if I’m not mistaken the current build could coat his hands and feet with sticky mucus, the rest of his body with slippery mucus, and output poison into the whole lot, allowing him to climb walls while making it so anyone who tries to pull him off both has a hard time and gets poisoned. That’s utility he’d lack if they were an AA set.
Yeah, this was my idea with it.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Varyon View Post
I suspect part of the idea is that the toxin lacks utility outside of killing people (although there is the side benefit that, so long as he’s careful not to bump into anybody, he has nothing to fear from biting and stinging insects). That said, it could be interesting to reduce the damage and add in Side Effect or Symptoms - it’s still only an emergency measure, but it’s a bit more useful and a bit less likely to kill somebody. Reducing the damage to 2d (average 28 injury after all cycles, enough to potentially kill most humans by itself) would allow up to +140% of further Enhancements at the same [16] price point.
That's definitely something to think about. Terrible Pain (1/2 HP) and Paralysis (2/3 HP) if I can find another -10% both fit into that cost range as Symptoms.

Quote:
Originally Posted by AlexanderHowl View Post
I would actually reduce the Toxic Attack to 1 point, increase the cycles to 60 one hour cycles (+600%), get rid of resistable (+610%), and include a wide variety of nasty symptoms For example, Hemophilia at -1/3 HP, Neurological Disorder (Crippling) at -1/2 HP, and Blindness at -2/3 HP could represent a toxin that causes bleeding through the walls of the arteries and veins, and would only cost +200%. With the other modifiers totaling +10%, you end up with +1420%, keeping the cost at 16 CP.
This is a valid attack, but it doesn't fit at all into my concept of what this attack should look like. The poison is supposed to be something that can quickly incapacitate someone in a combat situation and possibly kill in a few hours if left untreated. What you're describing has no combat utility. It sounds more like an assassination tool if anything.
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Old 09-24-2019, 11:00 AM   #27
naloth
 
Join Date: Sep 2004
Default Re: [Supers] Malice - A low-powered supers setting

Quote:
Originally Posted by awesomenessofme1 View Post
I've looked at KYOS, but it seems fiddly. I'm not going to be having too many high-point value supers anyway, and regular and Super-Effort ST work well enough.
More of a change of paradigm. Log takes a bit of getting used to, so it may not be to your tastes.

I'd avoid Super-Effort ST altogether, though. I played with Super-Effort ST for fair amount of time and decided that it really doesn't play well. You end up in a fatigue contest, trying to reserve for your "good" attacks for when your opponent cannot defend. That's on top of the additional record keeping and gap of range it doesn't handle well. YMMV.
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Old 09-24-2019, 01:07 PM   #28
zoncxs
 
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Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: earth....I think.
Default Re: [Supers] Malice - A low-powered supers setting

Quote:
Originally Posted by naloth View Post
More of a change of paradigm. Log takes a bit of getting used to, so it may not be to your tastes.

I'd avoid Super-Effort ST altogether, though. I played with Super-Effort ST for fair amount of time and decided that it really doesn't play well. You end up in a fatigue contest, trying to reserve for your "good" attacks for when your opponent cannot defend. That's on top of the additional record keeping and gap of range it doesn't handle well. YMMV.
Another way to handle Super ST is to always include Cosmic and reduced FP cost. It bumps the cost up to 47pts per level, but now it does not cost you any FP to use.

So for +100 ST you can spend 470pts, that would have normally given you only +47 ST.
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Old 09-24-2019, 01:58 PM   #29
AlexanderHowl
 
Join Date: Feb 2016
Default Re: [Supers] Malice - A low-powered supers setting

Super ST has marginal utility in the first place. I generally prefer Enhanced ST [8/level]. With Will 20 [50], Enhanced ST 20 (Reliable+10, +50%) [240], ER 200 (Enhanced ST Only, -50%; Stunts Only, -10%) [240], and Extra Options (Godlike Extra Effort) [1], you can increase your effective Enhanced ST up to 6800 with a 98% chance of success, and you only spend a little more than Super ST that gives you plus 100. If you really want to be obnoxious, take Regeneration (Extreme; ER Only, +0%) [150], which allows you to recover your entire ER every second.
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Old 09-24-2019, 02:15 PM   #30
zoncxs
 
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Default Re: [Supers] Malice - A low-powered supers setting

What is Reliable on ST supposed to do?
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