Disad: Bound to person/place/item

[Daigoro]

How much would such a disadvantage cost?

This is where a character cannot move away from a certain anchor. GURPS Fantasy uses Dependency to model this for a bound location and gives some costs based on the size of the area, but this isn't appropriate for all cases.

For one, Dependency allows the character to move away from the location as long as they return within a defined time period, but what about for cases where a fixed radius or perimeter is preferred?

Also, Dependecy inflicts HT damage, but what if I want to say that it's simply impossible to leave the perimeter, or if crossing it causes instant death or incapacity (see examples below).

Thirdly, Kromm has said (somewhere) that taking a PC's person as an Ally's Dependency anchor, as Rare/Hourly for a -120pt disad, is a total point-crock, so how could that situation be modelled?

Examples:
Supernatural
I was originally thinking of this in regards to a spirit that is bound to a PC as a Guardian Spirit, but who couldn't wander far from his vicinity.

Another example might be a sword spirit that can manifest a physical body nearby, but wouldn't be able to move more than a few yards away or out of sight.

A haunting ghost is also an example, though the Dependency route is probably sufficient here, unless you want to say that the ghost just can't cross the threshold of its territory.

Tech
A prisoner with an explosive collar or cortex bomb that triggers either when they cross the prison perimeter, or when they get too far away from their partner (a la the Rutger Hauer classic Wedlock). This might be based on Terminally Ill, along with a Mitigator.

A solid holographic projection that can't exist outside its area, like the holo-doctor from Star Trek: Voyager, or whose holographic projector is a large piece of equipment with a limited beam range.


I'd say you'd need some base cost for the disadvantage, then multipliers for the range or equivalent area of the binding, then more multipliers for the severity of the effect- incapacitation, HT loss, death, etc.

[David Johnston2]

Originally Posted by Daigoro

How much would such a disadvantage cost?

This is where a character cannot move away from a certain anchor. GURPS Fantasy uses Dependency to model this for a bound location and gives some costs based on the size of the area, but this isn't appropriate for all cases.

For one, Dependency allows the character to move away from the location as long as they return within a defined time period, but what about for cases where a fixed radius or perimeter is preferred?

A fixed radius wouldn't normally be a limitation of the character but rather a feature of the place (it has a pentagram to contain the spirit; the place is the spirit's body and it has no powers that let it leave its body.)

Also, Dependecy inflicts HT damage, but what if I want to say that it's simply impossible to leave the perimeter, or if crossing it causes instant death or incapacity (see examples below).

For PCs it's way better to have some kind of fudge factor. For NPCs it doesn't matter.

Thirdly, Kromm has said (somewhere) that taking a PC's person as an Ally's Dependency anchor, as Rare/Hourly for a -120pt disad, is a total point-crock, so how could that situation be modelled?

How does it inconvenience the player character?

Examples:
Supernatural
I was originally thinking of this in regards to a spirit that is bound to a PC as a Guardian Spirit, but who couldn't wander far from his vicinity.

How is this bad for the PC? Answer that, you'll start knowing what the disadvantage should be. For example if he has a visible Guardian Spirit around him all the time, that could be considered an Unnatural Feature.

Another example might be a sword spirit that can manifest a physical body nearby, but wouldn't be able to move more than a few yards away or out of sight.

Why doesn't it carry itself around? In any case that would be best represented by giving the sword visible telekinesis.

Tech
A prisoner with an explosive collar or cortex bomb that triggers either when they cross the prison perimeter, or when they get too far away from their partner (a la the Rutger Hauer classic Wedlock). This might be based on Terminally Ill, along with a Mitigator.

Mundane tech is best represented as mundane tech.

A solid holographic projection that can't exist outside its area, like the holo-doctor from Star Trek: Voyager, or whose holographic projector is a large piece of equipment with a limited beam range.

The character is the computer.

[SuedodeuS]

Originally Posted by David Johnston2

A fixed radius wouldn't normally be a limitation of the character but rather a feature of the place (it has a pentagram to contain the spirit; the place is the spirit's body and it has no powers that let it leave its body.)

If the first example is the case, it should be possible to free the character without CP investment (destroy the pentagram). I suspect he wants this to be an integral part of such characters, however, which means making a contract with the GM that you won't be able to free the character without CP investment - hence, it should buy you some CP back, just like other such contracts.
The second example would be a rather complicated build and may be completely inappropriate, depending on character concept (and abilities).

Originally Posted by David Johnston2

For PCs it's way better to have some kind of fudge factor. For NPCs it doesn't matter.

Fudge factors suck as a policy. It's far better to give a balanced price than just wave your hands around a bit, although the latter is certainly easier.

Originally Posted by David Johnston2

How does it inconvenience the player character?

The big things I can think of is that you can't send the spirit out to scout for you, or watch over a prisoner while you do something else, or have it fetch you a wrench from that workshop you saw earlier... or stay home when you need to go up against the guy with the Sword of Spirit-Slaying (which puts those CP you invested in the Ally at risk). These probably aren't overly common, but we'll need to see how much the Disadvantage ends up being worth to the spirit. The character only gets a fraction of this cost as a discount on his Ally Advantage, so it may well balance out.
There's also the fact that this is a legitimate Disadvantage for another PC. I once played in a Vampire: The Masquerade game where my character was basically a spectral entity that was bound to another player's character. I couldn't go too far away, and if she got killed my character would have ended up bound back to his grave site until someone else came along that was willing to hear him out and be his next "host."

Originally Posted by David Johnston2

How is this bad for the PC? Answer that, you'll start knowing what the disadvantage should be. For example if he has a visible Guardian Spirit around him all the time, that could be considered an Unnatural Feature.

That could work nicely.

Originally Posted by David Johnston2

Why doesn't it carry itself around? In any case that would be best represented by giving the sword visible telekinesis.

It may be a case where the character is somehow forbidden from interacting with its corporeal shell. I do agree TK works nicely here, however. Of course, one needn't get stuck on the example - you could instead have a spirit that has been imprisoned to the sword but can go a short distance from said prison (the true prison is actually an area around the sword).

Originally Posted by David Johnston2

Mundane tech is best represented as mundane tech.

It need not be mundane nor tech. It could be a superscience device that vaporizes you if you get out of line (like what the fake vampires from the Hellsing manga have). It could be a curse (one book from the Noble Dead Saga has a nobleman who has been afflicted with a geas that will kill him if he leaves his home).

Originally Posted by David Johnston2

The character is the computer.

Indeed. This is basically the superscience version of the sword from above.

[David Johnston2]

Originally Posted by SuedodeuS

The second example would be a rather complicated build and may be completely inappropriate, depending on character concept (and abilities).

Not that complicated. There's a design for a building character in Biotech. Just give it Visible Telekinesis.

Fudge factors suck as a policy. It's far better to give a balanced price than just wave your hands around a bit, although the latter is certainly easier.

I wasn't talking about price. I was talking about how it's better for the PC to get some warning before it does something that will kill it.

It may be a case where the character is somehow forbidden from interacting with its corporeal shell. I do agree TK works nicely here, however. Of course, one needn't get stuck on the example - you could instead have a spirit that has been imprisoned to the sword but can go a short distance from said prison (the true prison is actually an area around the sword).

That's a difference that makes no difference. The character is still best represented as visible telekinesis possessed by the sword (with an extra limitation that attacks on the manifestation do damage to the character.)

[Bruno]

Following the Dependancy idea, you could give a ghost or other "tethered" character a Dread of being too far from the tether. Price it at the highest level of frequency, because the character basically has a Dread of almost everything. Perhaps double or triple the value (instead of working with Radius) to cover the fact that it's almost everything that the character Dreads.

The character won't be destroyed by being forced out of the area, but you'll be forced to flee back to your "safe zone" and you instinctively know exactly which way to go to go back to your safe zone.

EDIT: Rereading, with Dread capped at -20 for Radius I'd say instead triple the base value - so -90 points unless you have an extremely large "safe zone" (at which point I would start reducing the frequency rather than the multiplier).

[SuedodeuS]

Originally Posted by David Johnston2

Not that complicated. There's a design for a building character in Biotech. Just give it Visible Telekinesis.

Visible TK allows the character to use TK at any point within range, instantly - it just has a blatantly visible effect (unless I'm misinterpreting/misremembering that Limitation). That is inappropriate if the spirit needs to physically move around to reach someone.

Originally Posted by David Johnston2

I wasn't talking about price. I was talking about how it's better for the PC to get some warning before it does something that will kill it.

What's being fudged then? Instant death upon leaving is more disadvantageous than just taking damage, and of course the PC has warning - he built the character to be unable to leave the area, after all!
Being physically incapable of leaving may be a Feature (you can't leave for a short while and just eat the damage, but nobody can kill you by forcing you away from the area either).

Originally Posted by David Johnston2

That's a difference that makes no difference. The character is still best represented as visible telekinesis possessed by the sword (with an extra limitation that attacks on the manifestation do damage to the character.)

No. First off, there's the issue of TK's speed - if it has a 50 yard radius, that means the spirit can effectively move 100 yards instantly. Secondly, there are things like maneuvering and range. If it's the spirit, you should be able to get behind it and attack it like that, and it shouldn't be suffering range penalties for being a few yards away from the sword. If it's the sword, getting behind the spirit for a sneak attack does nothing (and getting behind the sword, with the spirit facing you dead-on, results in you attacking the spirit from behind). Additionally, if the spirit is using ranged attacks, it suddenly gets a penalty stacked on top of range for being a certain distance from the sword, and Aiming becomes... iffy. Thirdly, there's the fact that the sword is a prison. Attacking it won't hurt the spirit, and attacking the spirit won't hurt the sword. Destroying the sword may do nothing but render it useless as a sword (it may be possible to repair), or it may free the spirit.

[David Johnston2]

Originally Posted by SuedodeuS

[Visible TK allows the character to use TK at any point within range, instantly - it just has a blatantly visible effect (unless I'm misinterpreting/misremembering that Limitation). That is inappropriate if the spirit needs to physically move around to reach someone.

Link it to clairsentience and limit how fast the viewpoint can be moved.

What's being fudged then?

The limitation on the character's freedom of movement.

Incidentally, Obsession also works nicely to restrict a character's freedom of movement. If one is Obsessed with remaining in a house, one will remain in the house. Period.

[Bruno]

Originally Posted by David Johnston2

Incidentally, Obsession also works nicely to restrict a character's freedom of movement. If one is Obsessed with remaining in a house, one will remain in the house. Period.

Actually, no it won't. Obsession has resistance rolls, meaning it is possible for the character to leave. And you can subdue them and carry them off with no penalties beyond the characters psychological disturbance (which can be controlled with self control rolls).

[William]

For being bound to an area, I would start with Sessile, which is exactly what that is. Being bound to a large area would be a limitation on the Disadvantage.

Being bound to an object that you can't move, but someone else can, seems pretty similar to the inconveniences posed by the Portable version. Should you be able to move it slowly with TK, or if the anchor is an Ally that you can convince to go somewhere, these again make the Disadvantage less cumbersome.

In the base version, it's simply physically impossible to move the character without incredible effort and care; a tree is Sessile because it dies if you move it away without significant preparations, while a spirit might simply wink out. If you can remove their body but they fall unconscious, or they can strain to get away temporarily by spending Fatigue or HP, those both seem like limitations on the base Disad as well.

[David Johnston2]

Originally Posted by Bruno

Actually, no it won't. Obsession has resistance rolls, meaning it is possible for the character to leave. .

Ah a 6 or less is close enough for government work.