Bioengineering/Strength and Weight

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by Alonsua

As you probably noticed already the normal weight for a given strength is the bare minimum for that given strength

I'm not aware of any text claiming anything of the sort. Typical weight is ST^3/8, or typical ST is (weight)^1/3 * 2, but I can't think of anything that says everything must match those weights.

[Alonsua]

Originally Posted by Anthony

I'm not aware of any text claiming anything of the sort. Typical weight is ST^3/8, or typical ST is (weight)^1/3 * 2, but I can't think of anything that says everything must match those weights.

Do not worry, it is in some books but you can assume it as a house-rule to prevent us from deviating from the main subject.

[Sam Baughn]

Originally Posted by Alonsua

Is there any chance to increase Strength without increasing body weight?

I'm not a biologist, but I think this may be possible. As I understand it, every trait which is affected by a large number of genes is held in a mutation-selection balance which falls short of the theoretical ideal which could be achieved if selection was allowed to build an optimal genome without new mutations constantly dragging performance down. In theory, this could mean almost everyone has performance below what a genetically 'perfect' human could achieve in traits which aren't strongly selected for. So it might be possible to make humans (or pretty much any species) who are stronger, fitter and more intelligent than existing ones without actually introducing novel traits but by simply 'cleaning up' their genome.

As far as I'm aware, it isn't yet known what kind of improvement (if any) this would actually translate into, so you are pretty much free to declare that in your setting it is really good at boosting muscle efficiency or whatever you want to get much better.

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by Alonsua

Do not worry, it is in some books but you can assume it as a house-rule to prevent us from deviating from the main subject.

Okay, the answer is "as long as you're using that house rule, no".

[jason taylor]

[QUOTE=Alonsua;2191625 Is there any chance to increase Strength without increasing body weight?[/QUOTE]

Be a Gurkha.

[Alonsua]

Originally Posted by Anthony

Okay, the answer is "as long as you're using that house rule, no".

What is the difference between using it or not? What if I was not using it?

[NineDaysDead]

Originally Posted by Alonsua

What would happen if I were to increase the density of muscles, bones, etc. instead of increasing apparent things such as muscles or height in order to increase Strength? Would that count as eugenic, species or radical species modifications? Is there any chance to increase Strength without increasing body weight?

See Muscle Reinforcement (TL10) Bio-Tech, page 176, for ST without extra mass.

[Alonsua]

Originally Posted by NineDaysDead

See Muscle Reinforcement (TL10) Bio-Tech, page 176, for ST without extra mass.

Thank you. A depleted version (basically muscle grafts) was already in use but I need to increase hit points too (full ST) and unfortunately Muscle Reinforcement only raise Lifting and Striking ST.

[whswhs]

Originally Posted by Alonsua

Thank you. A depleted version (basically muscle grafts) was already in use but I need to increase hit points too (full ST) and unfortunately Muscle Reinforcement only raise Lifting and Striking ST.

The principle that HP ~ (body mass)^(1/3) is pretty basic to GURPS physics. I would not recommend setting it aside. Of course if you make them Unliving you can double their hit points right there.

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by Alonsua

What is the difference between using it or not? What if I was not using it?

You declare "this person is stronger than typical for his or her weight". Doubling lifting ability without increasing weight is perfectly realistic, most humans have well below max muscle and conditioning for their weight. This will be visible but not necessarily unattractive, particularly if you don't go to the absolute max (maxing out requires eliminating a lot of unneeded mass. This includes breasts and buttocks, which is opposed to our standards of feminine beauty).

Originally Posted by whswhs

The principle that HP ~ (body mass)^(1/3) is pretty basic to GURPS physics.

Only collision rules, and massless (+0%) on HP has been around for a long time. That said, you probably are going to require a bit of structural reinforcement to justify hp changing much, muscle is more resistant than fat but its effect on strength is certainly higher than its effect on toughness.