Questions on: Immune to Metabolic Hazards & Stun

[Tinman]

Two questions for the Hive-Mind:

1) A creature that is Immune to Metabolic Hazards gets hit by a Taser (or Electro-Laser) that uses electrical current to stun. Can the creature be affected?

2) A creature that is Immune to Metabolic Hazards takes a major wound.
Does it need to roll for knock down & stunning or is it immune?

Thanks.

[Black Leviathan]

Rules as Written the character isn't immune to knockdown. I think the argument could be made for a character who's immune to electricity. The knockdown effect in this case would seem to be the muscular ambiguity that comes from being shocked rather than any kind of reaction to metabolism. Damage is also a given since it's the burn of arcing electricity rather than any thing governed by metabolism.

Stun I'm less sure on. That would seem to represent the body being overwhelmed by electrical current, which could be argued varies by metabolism.

[Varyon]

Originally Posted by Tinman

1) A creature that is Immune to Metabolic Hazards gets hit by a Taser (or Electro-Laser) that uses electrical current to stun. Can the creature be affected?

Yes. Electricity doesn't only affect the living - a zombie would have its muscles seize up as well, and of course anything with the Electrical Disadvantage would be affected. Immunity to electrically-based stunning would be part of a separate trait.
EDIT: Upon checking GURPS Zombies, it turns out the above is incorrect - Resistance/Immunity to Metabolic Hazards works just fine against electrical stun weapons. Oops.

Originally Posted by Tinman

2) A creature that is Immune to Metabolic Hazards takes a major wound.
Does it need to roll for knock down & stunning or is it immune?

It would still need to roll - the knockdown/stun effect of Major Wounds isn't restricted to the living. Even artifacts can suffer a comparable effect from a Major Wound (see B484), although since "stunning" doesn't make as much sense with, say, a chair, things work a bit differently (IQ 1+ artifacts are explicitly called out as suffering from knockdown and stunning, however).

[Flyndaran]

That assumes your zombies have functional rather than fully magical muscles.
Machines at least have Electrical, so would suffer from electrical attacks.

[Varyon]

Originally Posted by Flyndaran

That assumes your zombies have functional rather than fully magical muscles.

Or at least that they have muscles that are still capable of responding to electrical stimuli. However, I decided to take a quick look at GURPS Zombies, and on page 45 it calls out Immunity to Metabolic Hazards as rendering electric stun weapons useless. So, it looks like I was wrong on that - unless you happen to have Electrical, Immunity to Metabolic Hazards does indeed render you immune to the stunning effect of electrical stun weapons.

[Anaraxes]

Once upon a time, Vicky compiled a list (hierarchical at that) of "metabolic hazards". They're primarily poisons and disease, plus some disease-like effects like motion sickness, as well as radiation.

[Anthony]

A significant problem with ItMH is that it's super obscure what a metabolic hazard is, because it doesn't seem to be quite the same as a technical definition of metabolism, which is primarily interested in biochemistry (convert food to energy, convert food to tissue, eliminate wastes), and actual immunity to metabolic hazards should probably cover some things that specifically aren't covered (such as eating, drinking, and breathing) and not cover some things that are (such as electric shock, acceleration, dizziness, ...).

[NineDaysDead]

Originally Posted by Tinman

2) A creature that is Immune to Metabolic Hazards takes a major wound.
Does it need to roll for knock down & stunning or is it immune?

Yes it needs too roll. Take Immunity to Pain [30] to be immune to this.

[Plane]

Originally Posted by Varyon

Yes. Electricity doesn't only affect the living - a zombie would have its muscles seize up as well, and of course anything with the Electrical Disadvantage would be affected. Immunity to electrically-based stunning would be part of a separate trait.
EDIT: Upon checking GURPS Zombies, it turns out the above is incorrect - Resistance/Immunity to Metabolic Hazards works just fine against electrical stun weapons. Oops.

You remember the page?

[Varyon]

Originally Posted by Anthony

A significant problem with ItMH is that it's super obscure what a metabolic hazard is, because it doesn't seem to be quite the same as a technical definition of metabolism, which is primarily interested in biochemistry (convert food to energy, convert food to tissue, eliminate wastes), and actual immunity to metabolic hazards should probably cover some things that specifically aren't covered (such as eating, drinking, and breathing) and not cover some things that are (such as electric shock, acceleration, dizziness, ...).

I think "Metabolic Hazards" is meant to be shorthand for "stuff only living things are affected by," but exactly what falls into that category - and what doesn't - isn't always clear. There's also the fact that I don't think it's supposed to subsume any other existing Advantage, like Doesn't Breathe or Doesn't Eat/Drink.

Originally Posted by Plane

You remember the page?

Page 45, as part of "Special Weapons and Tactics."