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 01-14-2021, 04:37 PM   #11
Prince Charon
 
Prince Charon's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Default Re: [Basic] Advantage of the Week: Illuminated

Has anyone considered using it as a replacement for Magery 0 (or used Magery 0 as a more limited form of Illuminated)? It flows well with the advantage as written, IMHO, and seems like that would fit some campaign types.


Unrelated, something that occurred to me while typing this, that I'm not sure if anything interesting can be done with: Illuminated as an ESP ability (possibly the key 'gateway' psi ability in a world of psionic conspiracies).
__________________
Warning, I have the Distractible and Imaginative quirks in real life.

"The more corrupt a government, the more it legislates."
-- Tacitus

Five Earths, All in a Row. Updated 12/17/2022: Apocrypha: Bridges out of Time, Part I has been posted.
Prince Charon is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 01-14-2021, 05:12 PM   #12
Gumby Bush
 
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: FL
Default Re: [Basic] Advantage of the Week: Illuminated

Quote:
Originally Posted by Phil Masters View Post
I’m now also trying to imagine an Illuminated Dungeon Fantasy character; I think that they’d be like a bard in The Order of the Stick — prone to viciously accurate fourth wall breaking and talking in game jargon. (“You work for the GM, don’t you?”)
This would be great, but I'm not totally clear how the mechanics would translate over. I suppose you would have in-character knowledge of who was a PC versus an NPC and be able to tell things were plot hooks with an IQ roll?
__________________
Formerly known as fighting_gumby.
Gumby Bush is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-15-2021, 12:47 AM   #13
RedMattis
 
RedMattis's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Sweden, Stockholm
Default Re: [Basic] Advantage of the Week: Illuminated

Quote:
Originally Posted by RogerBW View Post
Like ericthered, I think this seems like more of a gatekeeper advantage than a useful trait in itself, and I've never really liked that kind of thing; I can see why it exists in GURPS, but it still feels ugly.

And I would like to see the campaign in which some PCs have it and some don't. (Which for me is the main time the cost of an advantage matters.)
Well, it is basically a "Medium" advantage for conspiracies and the more physical supernatural.

It is basically a vague "Detect Conspiracy-person" ability, bundled with a large reaction modifier, and a disadvantage of also being noticeable it return. Depending on setting you may not want all these parts.

Anyway, in f.ex. a Van Helsing-type campaign having it on one of the investigators make sense:
"That man over there... he isn't a nobody" - Investigator

"Huh, is he a vampire or something? Not another demon I hope?" - The Muscle

"I don't know. Hold on, he is heading over, try to keep it cool." - Investigator
__________________
"Prohibit the taking of omens, and do away with superstitious doubts. Then, until death itself comes, no calamity need be feared"
RedMattis is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-15-2021, 02:56 PM   #14
oneofmanynameless
 
Join Date: May 2012
Location: New Hampshire, USA
Default Re: [Basic] Advantage of the Week: Illuminated

Quote:
Originally Posted by RedMattis View Post
Well, it is basically a "Medium" advantage for conspiracies and the more physical supernatural.

It is basically a vague "Detect Conspiracy-person" ability, bundled with a large reaction modifier, and a disadvantage of also being noticeable it return. Depending on setting you may not want all these parts.

Anyway, in f.ex. a Van Helsing-type campaign having it on one of the investigators make sense:
"That man over there... he isn't a nobody" - Investigator

"Huh, is he a vampire or something? Not another demon I hope?" - The Muscle

"I don't know. Hold on, he is heading over, try to keep it cool." - Investigator
The part of the advantage I'm always the most interested in using is the "in regards to X mysterious thing you can roll on IQ instead of skills if better to know what's going on with it." I occasionally want that effect and I'm not sure where else to find it. So I sometimes boil the rest out of Illuminated to use that part, but allow it to work in regards to things that aren't technically conspiracies (really anything that I might ascribe to a hidden lore skill).
oneofmanynameless is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-15-2021, 03:51 PM   #15
Ulzgoroth
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Default Re: [Basic] Advantage of the Week: Illuminated

Detecting other special people automatically is perhaps the weirdest part of the package. Clued-in people having a good ability to pick out weird stuff and other clued-in types is pretty common in settings with a secret exotic society (whether it's MIB or any number of urban fantasy instances). But having the recognition be flawless and impossible to block, that's atypical.
__________________
I don't know any 3e, so there is no chance that I am talking about 3e rules by accident.
Ulzgoroth is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-15-2021, 05:12 PM   #16
Refplace
 
Refplace's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Yukon, OK
Default Re: [Basic] Advantage of the Week: Illuminated

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ulzgoroth View Post
Detecting other special people automatically is perhaps the weirdest part of the package. Clued-in people having a good ability to pick out weird stuff and other clued-in types is pretty common in settings with a secret exotic society (whether it's MIB or any number of urban fantasy instances). But having the recognition be flawless and impossible to block, that's atypical.
Yeah, I tried to break it down into a Detect, perhaps with an Active limitation that lets people sense you too. Never was able to account for everything with the same total cost.
__________________
My GURPS publications GURPS Powers: Totem and Nature Spirits; GURPS Template Toolkit 4: Spirits; Pyramid articles. Buying them lets us know you want more!
My GURPS fan contribution and blog:
REFPLace GURPS Landing Page
My List of GURPS You Tube videos (plus a few other useful items)
My GURPS Wiki entries
Refplace is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-16-2021, 04:26 AM   #17
vicky_molokh
GURPS FAQ Keeper
 
vicky_molokh's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Kyïv, Ukraine
Default Re: [Basic] Advantage of the Week: Illuminated

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ulzgoroth View Post
But having the recognition be flawless and impossible to block, that's atypical.
Highlander-Immortals come to mind.
__________________
Vicky 'Molokh', GURPS FAQ and uFAQ Keeper
vicky_molokh is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-16-2021, 06:44 AM   #18
Gumby Bush
 
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: FL
Default Re: [Basic] Advantage of the Week: Illuminated

Quote:
Originally Posted by Refplace View Post
Yeah, I tried to break it down into a Detect, perhaps with an Active limitation that lets people sense you too. Never was able to account for everything with the same total cost.
Looking at your build, I'd agree with Detect (Occasional), but I'd give it Cosmic, No Die Roll Required +100%. I'd break out the detectable effect as a [-5] Disadvantage, giving others +12 to detect you (basically a variant of Flagrant Aura, Thaum p25).

That's already 15 points, though, and we haven't accounted for the ability to perceive and communicate with associated supernatural beings (Medium (Limited -50%) [5]) the +3 to reactions [5], or the floating of rolls to IQ (which is probably just the use of analysis with the Detect ability).

We could just say:
Detect (Occasional) [10]; Flagrant Aura (+12 to others' rolls to detect you as illuminated) [-5]; Medium (Illuminati Beings -50%) [5]; +3 to Reactions from Illuminati Beings [5]. With +12 to detect others, you basically always succeed.

That's 15, but you can't see the illuminati beings... although, with Detect, you can get pretty close.
__________________
Formerly known as fighting_gumby.
Gumby Bush is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
advantage of the week, illuminated

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 10:28 AM.


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