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Old 03-23-2017, 10:30 AM   #1
Dragon11
 
Join Date: Mar 2017
Default What's the deal with super strength

I've looked at multiple places trying to understand how to build super strength, but something in my head just won't let me get it. I'm using the gurps character sheet program and when I add in the different st options (lifting, striking, etc...) my base strength doesn't budge. The first time I built this character, I just upped the st stat. Why can't I just do that instead of adding in a million different advantages and not seeing a payoff in the St stat?

Please explain all this to me. Pretend like I have no idea of what i'm doing, cause, according to others, I don't. Oh, I don't math that well, so please make any explanations as simple as possible.
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Old 03-23-2017, 10:40 AM   #2
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Default Re: What's the deal with super strength

Super ST gives you a massive discount on being able to use ludicrous ST for different tasks, at the expense of Fatigue.

Lifting and Striking ST are just components of the ST stat.
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Old 03-23-2017, 10:44 AM   #3
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Default Re: What's the deal with super strength

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dragon11 View Post
Why can't I just do that instead of adding in a million different advantages and not seeing a payoff in the St stat?
You can, but it is really expensive.
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Old 03-23-2017, 10:51 AM   #4
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Default Re: What's the deal with super strength

I'm afraid I'm not familiar with the GURPS Character Sheet program (unless you mean GURPS Character Assistant?), so I can't help with that. However, I can try to explain how to get high levels of ST in the game in general.

First, you can just increase your overall ST score. This costs 10 points per level over ST 10. So if you want to have ST 20, it will cost you 100 points. ST in GURPS 4e is what's called "quadratic", which means the effects of high ST increase faster than just multiplying the effects of the default ST by the new ST would. ST 20, for example, is not just twice as effective as ST 10, it's actually more like four times as effective - a ST 20 person can easily lift 80 lbs., for example, compared to the ST 10 person's 20 lbs.

You can also buy advantages that represent a "subset" of ST - these are Lifting ST (for being good at lifting heavier loads, but not hitting harder), Striking ST (for being better at hitting harder, but not lifting heavier loads), and Arm ST (for your arms specifically being stronger, but not the rest of you). Levels in these advantages add to your base ST score when they're relevant.

So, if you wanted a character who was very strong overall, but even stronger than that when hitting things, you could buy ST 20 [100 points] and Striking ST 10 [50 points] (because Striking ST is 5 points/level), and you'd have effectively have ST 30 when hitting things, but not when lifting stuff (then you'd just have the base ST 20).

Now, GURPS Powers and GURPS Supers introduced a new modifier, called Super-Effort, that lets a character, by spending a fatigue point, seriously boost their effective ST for a minute. This is a +400% enhancement on Lifting ST, or a +300% enhancement on full ST. (I'm going to assume you know how to apply enhancements to point costs here - if not, we can explain that if you need it.) For full ST, apply the enhancement to the cost of the ST (you can apply it to only some levels, if you want less "full power" ST). For the rules of how much ST you get when you've spent the FP to "power up", see Powers or Supers.
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Old 03-23-2017, 11:24 AM   #5
Culture20
 
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Default Re: What's the deal with super strength

There is also an option to use cosmic to ignore the fatigue costs and essentially have Super ST on all the time (found in Supers; can't remember the price), but GCS will never show the results of Super ST since it's usually a temporary effect and based on the additional "normal" ST value. I usually temporarily increase my ST to the value it is in Super mode (don't forget to add regular ST), then mark those damage and lift values elsewhere. If I keep the Super ST on all the time with cosmic, then I sometimes trick the system by pricing what the Super ST with cosmic costs, then make a new advantage that costs this much and increases ST by the new huge amount and reduces HP and other things Super doesn't help by the Super value.
e.g. ST 10 normal with an advantage of Increased ST Z (Super +300%, extra cosmic +Y%)
I'd make an advantage that costs (300+Y)% of (Z times 10), which grants S extra strength where S is Super value of Z, but removes (S-Z) HP. It's cumbersome during initial setup, and slightly convoluted, but lets you see what happens when you apply a required-ST-100 lamppost in a weapon slot with your Super Strength.
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Old 03-23-2017, 11:31 AM   #6
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Default Re: What's the deal with super strength

what happens if you use the Advantage "Extra Strength" and change the "super Strength stat to the actual strength from the chart.
Then you subtract portions of the stat you want to adjust (for things like HP and such).
Add advantages and disadvantages. Doesn't that update the chart? Please note I don't have access to the program right now so I can't test it but the Advantages are more flexible in how you adjust the cost and you can probably twiddle with the cost to make them correct.

I'll have to add that to my random advantages to fiddle in the program with.
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Old 03-23-2017, 01:15 PM   #7
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Default Re: What's the deal with super strength

Moved to the appropriate forum, since this thread seem to be primarily about what options GCA gives you for this and how GCA handles this.
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Old 03-23-2017, 03:53 PM   #8
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Default Re: What's the deal with super strength

Hi at least some of the discussion is how to process it in GCS -- I know its unofficial but is there an appropriate place to discuss how to do something in GURPS Character Sheet on the forum.
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Old 03-23-2017, 05:38 PM   #9
Culture20
 
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Default Re: What's the deal with super strength

I would never have seen this thread if it had been in GCA as I instead use GCS like the original poster.

Plus, there was some discussion about Super Strength in general, absent a character creation program.
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Old 03-23-2017, 06:00 PM   #10
Armin
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Default Re: What's the deal with super strength

If this is actually about GURPS Character Sheet rather than GURPS Character Assistant, then yes, it should be in the general GURPS forum.

The original poster needs to make clear exactly what program they mean.
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