01-11-2019, 01:22 AM | #1 |
Night Watchman
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Cambridge, UK
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[Basic] Disadvantage of the Week: Increased Life Support
Increased Life Support is an exotic physical disadvantage, used for beings that can’t survive in an environment suitable for normal humans, or who are dangerous to have in such an environment. It was created for aliens who live in different environments and appeared in GURPS Uplift, for 3e, but it can also be used for normal humans who need special life support (e.g., an “Iron Lung”) to survive.
This disadvantage is about logistical requirements for life support. The health effects of doing without it (or not) are covered by Dependency, Maintenance and/or Restricted Diet. Some requirements will have both health and logistic aspects. For example, breathing fluorine, rather than oxygen, would be a large Dependency, Increased Life Support, and likely a reaction problem given the danger any breakdown in your life support poses to oxygen-breathers. The examples of Increased Life Support in basic, each worth [-10], are Extreme Heat/Cold, Massive, Pressure and Radioactive. Others are obviously possible, normally at the same price, although Space has some more extreme versions. There’s a limit of [-40] even if you need many kinds of special life support. You can only claim Increased Life Support if it’s necessary on a large scale: needing a small whiff of fluorine daily as a Dependency would not let you claim a disadvantage for having a cabin with that as its sole atmosphere, even if it would be more comfortable for you. This disadvantage mostly appears on racial templates. Bio-Tech has a couple of examples, and Horror has the variant for a disembodied brain. Powers: The Weird has an ability that makes this disadvantage unnecessary. Space has a lot about Increased Life Support, including when it applies, different life chemistries, and non-chemical life, and Underground Adventures has a race as weird as any in Space. I’ve never used this disadvantage as a player or GM, having mostly done GURPS on a human-beings scale. How has it complicated your games?
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01-11-2019, 12:18 PM | #2 | |
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: near London, UK
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Re: [Basic] Disadvantage of the Week: Increased Life Support
Quote:
It does occur to me that it's appropriate for use for people who need, e.g., to carry a supplemental oxygen supply about with them – the person I know who does this has a portable oxygen concentrator rather than anything involving pressurised gas, but it's a significant logistical consideration when they want to leave their home.
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01-12-2019, 08:43 AM | #3 |
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Twin Cities, Minnesota, U.S.A.
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Re: [Basic] Disadvantage of the Week: Increased Life Support
Does this trait have any relevance at low tech levels? It clearly matters for spaceships, space stations, Iron Lungs, ventilators, etc. But would it matter on a sailing ship or on land, if only low-tech non-magical life support is available?
That is, in a situation where pressurized cabins, ventilators, radiation shielding, etc. aren't even available, would a creature only have Dependency, Maintenance, or Restricted diet?
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I have Confused and Clueless. Sometimes I miss sarcasm and humor, or critically fail my Savoir-Faire roll. None of it is intentional. Published GURPS Settings (as of 4/2013 -- I hope to update it someday...) |
01-12-2019, 09:29 AM | #4 |
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Meifumado
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Re: [Basic] Disadvantage of the Week: Increased Life Support
You could have it for a merfolk who can't leave their water tank.
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01-12-2019, 09:44 AM | #5 | |
Banned
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: 100 hurricane swamp
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Re: [Basic] Disadvantage of the Week: Increased Life Support
Only in so far as it does in any other TL, as far as Characters are concerned.
Extreme Cold/Heat and Radioactive doesn't go away because TL drops. Note the line: Quote:
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01-12-2019, 09:59 AM | #6 |
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Twin Cities, Minnesota, U.S.A.
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Re: [Basic] Disadvantage of the Week: Increased Life Support
OK, but I'm asking specifically about a setting with no high-tech and no magical life-support. Real world historical low-tech.
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I have Confused and Clueless. Sometimes I miss sarcasm and humor, or critically fail my Savoir-Faire roll. None of it is intentional. Published GURPS Settings (as of 4/2013 -- I hope to update it someday...) |
01-12-2019, 10:16 AM | #7 |
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Saskatoon, SK, Canada
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Re: [Basic] Disadvantage of the Week: Increased Life Support
I could see a human character who was massively overweight, to the point of requiring people to carry them around in a litter or the like and putting serious strain on wooden floors, claiming Increased Life Support at some level. I'd probably price that at -5, half the value of Massive.
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01-12-2019, 10:22 AM | #8 | |
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Lawrence, KS
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Re: [Basic] Disadvantage of the Week: Increased Life Support
Quote:
But ordinarily you'd use this with alien races at substantially higher TL, maybe TL 7 at a minimum.
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01-12-2019, 10:40 AM | #9 |
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Twin Cities, Minnesota, U.S.A.
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Re: [Basic] Disadvantage of the Week: Increased Life Support
Thanks, that's what I was thinking seemed likely, but really wasn't sure.
So I'm guessing then that ILS (Massive or Large) isn't something that happens just for having a large SM, except in cramped quarters on a ship or spaceship. I must say, I'm finding these [X] of the Week threads very informative.
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I have Confused and Clueless. Sometimes I miss sarcasm and humor, or critically fail my Savoir-Faire roll. None of it is intentional. Published GURPS Settings (as of 4/2013 -- I hope to update it someday...) |
01-12-2019, 11:05 AM | #10 |
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Lawrence, KS
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Re: [Basic] Disadvantage of the Week: Increased Life Support
I would say not even then. That part is accounted for just by being big and awkward. You don't have to pay points for being SM -4 and taking up far less space than a human; you shouldn't get points back for being SM +4.
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Bill Stoddard I don't think we're in Oz any more. |
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