Rules you ignore/alter.

[kirbwarrior]

Originally Posted by Fred Brackin

Buying normal skills up from their Default to an Attribute will probably never be cheaper.

I was actually just using one Average Skill that Defaulted to attribute -5. There are a lot of those. There are so few Skills that Default to another Skill at a favorable number that buying one of them up from Default is probably not worth your time to House Rule.

Buying skills from default would only apply to defaulting from another skill (I think that's how the regular rule works). An average skill at DX would still cost only 2pts. Two of them would be 4pts. But one at DX+10 would be 40pts, while the second one that defaults to it at -3 would only be 43pts.

Originally Posted by AlexanderHowl

Then you may want to limit it to 'when buying up a skill default from another skill, spend 1 CP per -1 default eliminated'. I could see that as being a cheaper way of improving groups of skills.

That was the intention, my bad for not explaining it clearly. I got the idea from PK using this for improving Combat Art and Skill from Melee Weapon and realized it works great when generalized.

[kirbwarrior]

Costs FP bugs me, but I realized the limitation isn't the problem, its how GURPS deals with attacks and similar traits. So I have some changes related to them and likely more as they come up;

1) Costs fp/min is unchanged. For IA and similar, this gives you the attack that you can use all you want for 1FP (per minute, but what combat lasts longer?).
2) Costs fp/sec is now per shot. That lines up with utility better in my mind and most people seem to house rule Costs 1fp at -10% so it lines up there
3) If you actually need to turn an attack on before use, that's another -5% Nuisance Effect (half of Takes Extra Time). 'Casting a spell' that gives you the ability to shoot fire balls for a minute would get -10% from 1 and 2.
4) Using Abilities at Default now gives Transient abilities for the full minute. However, you can default a single use for 2FP at half the penalty. This encourages my players to actually default attack abilities which was never done.

Mind, even with those fixes Costs FP still seems a bit too small, but doubling the costs seems too extreme.

I hope this isn't breaking any forum rules about double posting or resurrection

[Anaraxes]

By RAW, abilities that operate with "shots" already cost FP per "shot".

Originally Posted by B111

For abilities that produce instantaneous effects (e.g., Innate Attack), you must pay this FP cost every time you trigger the ability.

There's a difference between a switchable ability with a one-second duration and an instantaneous ability that takes a Maneuver to use, thus typically taking one second to use once.

"Shot" gets the scare quotes because an ability with RoF fires multiple shots in some sense even though you only activate it once. "Attack" is probably a better word than "shot", or even B111's word, "trigger". Or just plain "use".

Of course, if you want to spend 1 FP per round in your RoF, you can always houserule that any ability with Costs FP and RoF has to take a number of levels of Costs FP equal to the chosen RoF. (Though I suspect that would make RoF next to useless even at moderate levels, unless you've also got massive Energy Reserves.)

[kirbwarrior]

Originally Posted by Anaraxes

By RAW, abilities that operate with "shots" already cost FP per "shot".

Right, but for -5%. My change makes it so instead of the Costs per minute price being used per shot, it uses the per second price. The difference between per second and per shot seems roughly the same and interacts better with things like Extra Attack.

[Plane]

Originally Posted by Anaraxes

"Shot" gets the scare quotes because an ability with RoF fires multiple shots in some sense even though you only activate it once. "Attack" is probably a better word than "shot", or even B111's word, "trigger". Or just plain "use".

I definitely prefer trigger/use because "attack" either refers to the maneuver or the component rolls used within a maneuver.

B108's Selective Fire (example: fire RoF 7 as if it was RoF 1) option comes to mind as an example where you could spread a single trigger/use across seven maneuvers.

B112 is key too: if you had Fast Reload then uses x RoF = shots (bullets) in your magazine. Slow Reload has a reload time based on shots instead of uses, so if you had RoF 300 (maximum) and 10 uses per day, you have 3000 shots.

I'm thinking that's how this ought to work with "Costs Fatigue" too, if you had that instead of Limited Use: 1 FP buys 300 shots. Once you pay 1 FP you don't have to pay FP again until those 300 shots are used up?

As that's a little broken I'm thinking perhaps "subject to the usual 1 minute duration" could be a reasonable expectation there: if you don't use the 300 shots in 1 minute then you'd pay another 1 FP to replenish those 300.

OTOH if you took the -10% "per second" rate, you'd lose the 300 shots after 1 second.

Originally Posted by Anaraxes

if you want to spend 1 FP per round in your RoF, you can always houserule that any ability with Costs FP and RoF has to take a number of levels of Costs FP equal to the chosen RoF. (Though I suspect that would make RoF next to useless even at moderate levels, unless you've also got massive Energy Reserves.)

sounds like a perfect place to use Costs Fatigue, Variable.

[kirbwarrior]

Originally Posted by Plane

'm thinking that's how this ought to work with "Costs Fatigue" too, if you had that instead of Limited Use: 1 FP buys 300 shots. Once you pay 1 FP you don't have to pay FP again until those 300 shots are used up?

I think that's explicitly true, but I can't remember which book has it.

[Anthony]

The main problem with costs fp per minute is that it means the power will normally be turned off at the start of a combat, such as a surprise situation, which is worth more than -5% all by itself.

[Plane]

Originally Posted by Anthony

The main problem with costs fp per minute is that it means the power will normally be turned off at the start of a combat, such as a surprise situation, which is worth more than -5% all by itself.

I guess you could buy reflexive but then it ends up costing more than non-switchable so you'd want to make it worth your while like Costs Fatigue 5 -50%

[naloth]

Originally Posted by Anthony

The main problem with costs fp per minute is that it means the power will normally be turned off at the start of a combat, such as a surprise situation, which is worth more than -5% all by itself.

What are you thinking the value should be? -10% perhaps. -20% seems a bit too high. -5% might be a bit low, but being surprised isn't something a PC should make a habit. At 1 fatigue/min you would have the opportunity turn it on in most situations proactively unless the situation was a total surprise.

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by Plane

I guess you could buy reflexive but then it ends up costing more than non-switchable so you'd want to make it worth your while like Costs Fatigue 5 -50%

Which seems wrong. I'd probably add a limitation like

'Normally Off' (-20%): only for passive advantages that by default can be left active continually with no penalties. The ability can be assumed to be off in any unexpected situation, and will thus require activation. The GM may require additional limitations that justify why the PC normally leaves it off.