Steve Jackson Games - Site Navigation
Home General Info Follow Us Search Illuminator Store Forums What's New Other Games Ogre GURPS Munchkin Our Games: Home

Go Back   Steve Jackson Games Forums > Roleplaying > GURPS

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 02-01-2019, 12:49 AM   #1
johndallman
Night Watchman
 
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Cambridge, UK
Default [Basic] Disadvantage of the Week: Infectious Attack

Infectious Attack [-5] is an exotic physical disadvantage. You have some kind of supernatural condition that is infectious, and which you have no choice about passing on if you use a relevant attack. This disadvantage appeared during the 3e period, in GURPS Blood Types.

This is a disadvantage, because you have no control over anyone you have infected, and they’re free to seek revenge on you for infecting them. They were also presumably opposed to you before being infected, and nothing about Infectious Attack changes that. It works like the Dominance advantage, apart from the lack of control.

Basic points out a possible abuse of this disadvantage: one PC with it can readily give his friends a powerful supernatural template. The standard response is to charge them for the powers, or give them corresponding disadvantages to pay for them, and there’s a suggested list.

Obviously, this disadvantage will usually be found on supernatural racial templates, and zombies are the prime example. Some, but not all vampire and lycanthrope templates also have it. Bio-Tech has a biological version, accomplished as a side-effect of chemical communication.

This is a rather situational disadvantage. It will be really important in a campaign where creatures with it are a theme, but there are plenty of fantasy and horror campaigns where that isn’t the case, and it’s going to be very rare outside those genres. That may increase its surprise value, of course. Has it been used in your games?

Last edited by johndallman; 07-31-2020 at 12:25 PM.
johndallman is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-01-2019, 03:51 AM   #2
Rupert
 
Rupert's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Wellington, NZ
Default Re: [Basic] Disadvantage of the Week: Infectious Attack

Several of the PCs got bitten by werewolves a while back, and one was infected and is now a werewolf herself. So, I suppose I have used it in my game.
__________________
Rupert Boleyn

"A pessimist is an optimist with a sense of history."
Rupert is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-01-2019, 05:50 AM   #3
Michael Cule
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
Default Re: [Basic] Disadvantage of the Week: Infectious Attack

Having infectious lycanthropy in my Yrth game led not only to the cult of St Stephen the Werewolf but also to there being two separate types of werewolf, one infectious and one magically chosen. Because Plot.

I think the problem is (as with infectious zombies) that you have to put some sort of limit on the degree of infection or you end up arse deep in in werewolves three nights a month.
__________________
Michael Cule,
Genius for Hire,
Gaming Dinosaur Second Class
Michael Cule is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-03-2019, 06:24 AM   #4
RogerBW
 
RogerBW's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: near London, UK
Default Re: [Basic] Disadvantage of the Week: Infectious Attack

It's rather more GM-will-decide than many traits; as with Dominance, it's the same value no matter how powerful the template that gets imposed.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Michael Cule View Post
I think the problem is (as with infectious zombies) that you have to put some sort of limit on the degree of infection or you end up arse deep in in werewolves three nights a month.
Some options:
  • the new template includes a Limited Lifespan
  • the new template includes a behavioural modification, so they go out and attack people and get shot
  • the bigger supernaturals than you will squash you if you cause too much of a fuss

All of which feels to me a bit like saying "you've got this cool power, but you can't use it". But the alternative, I suppose, is to say that the game is about the infectious takeover of the world.
RogerBW is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 02-03-2019, 06:59 AM   #5
Bruno
 
Bruno's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Canada
Default Re: [Basic] Disadvantage of the Week: Infectious Attack

Quote:
Originally Posted by RogerBW View Post
It's rather more GM-will-decide than many traits; as with Dominance, it's the same value no matter how powerful the template that gets imposed.
On the one claw, you can give your buddies an awesome template!
On the other claw, you buff your enemies with an awesome template, and the ability to buff their buddies with same, ad nauseum.
__________________
All about Size Modifier; Unified Hit Location Table
A Wiki for my F2F Group
A neglected GURPS blog
Bruno is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-03-2019, 07:40 AM   #6
Flyndaran
Untagged
 
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Forest Grove, Beaverton, Oregon
Default Re: [Basic] Disadvantage of the Week: Infectious Attack

There was a Canadian TV series based on a series of books that had an interesting "fix". The vampires had cool powers, but an instinctive violent aggression towards others of their kind past a short neophyte stage. They also could tell when others were within a few miles, IIRC.

This would lead to not wanting to turn your friends, because then you could never be anywhere near them without going bonkers kill crazy.
__________________
Beware, poor communication skills. No offense intended. If offended, it just means that I failed my writing skill check.
Flyndaran is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-04-2019, 12:20 AM   #7
Plane
 
Join Date: Aug 2018
Default Re: [Basic] Disadvantage of the Week: Infectious Attack

What would be the effect of someone going around zapping people with Affliction (Disadvantage: Infectious Attack)? If you zapped a human with it and the human swatted a mosquito with their bare hand, would the mosquito come back to life as a human?
Plane is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-04-2019, 12:22 AM   #8
David Johnston2
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Default Re: [Basic] Disadvantage of the Week: Infectious Attack

Quote:
Originally Posted by Plane View Post
What would be the effect of someone going around zapping people with Affliction (Disadvantage: Infectious Attack)? If you zapped a human with it and the human swatted a mosquito with their bare hand, would the mosquito come back to life as a human?
It doesn't work if they're all the way dead.
David Johnston2 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-04-2019, 06:41 AM   #9
Bruno
 
Bruno's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Canada
Default Re: [Basic] Disadvantage of the Week: Infectious Attack

Quote:
Originally Posted by David Johnston2 View Post
It doesn't work if they're all the way dead.
GURPS Zombies has a limitation that requires you to kill them all the way dead. There's an enhancement that brings them back to life pretty immediately in an burning desire for revenge that can't be slaked until one or the other of you is dead.

EDIT: But yes, the default mode requires them to survive, like a werewolf bite.

Either way though, if the template isn't valid on a mosquito, then it isn't valid on a mosquito and you can't have a whatever-mosquito. It's up to the GM to determine what are valid combinations, as part of world building.
__________________
All about Size Modifier; Unified Hit Location Table
A Wiki for my F2F Group
A neglected GURPS blog
Bruno is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-04-2019, 07:08 AM   #10
ericthered
Hero of Democracy
 
ericthered's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: far from the ocean
Default Re: [Basic] Disadvantage of the Week: Infectious Attack

I just read the description and noticed that the template doesn't need to include nasty drawbacks to qualify. A super-soldier who turns others into super-soldiers if their blood mingles qualifies. As a GM I'd probably still lean into versions where the new spawn can't control themselves properly.
__________________
Be helpful, not pedantic

Worlds Beyond Earth -- my blog

Check out the PbP forum! If you don't see a game you'd like, ask me about making one!
ericthered is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
disadvantage of the week, infectious attack

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Fnords are Off
[IMG] code is Off
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 08:33 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.9
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.