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Old 09-17-2015, 10:15 AM   #1
Varyon
 
Join Date: Jun 2013
Default [Powers] Building Temporary Add-on Effects

This is a fairly straightforward question. Say I want to build a corrosion attack that only reduces DR for a minute or so, or I want Symptoms that fade away much more quickly than usual. How would I go about doing that?

The FAQ for Powers has a suggestion from Kromm for a Reduced Duration Limitation. Might it be appropriate to use this? A corrosion attack that only damages DR would be built with No Wounding -50%, so we should probably halve the value of the Limitation on that. For Symptoms, we'd be applying the Limitation to the Enhancement, as normal for that optional rule.

DR normally heals at the same rate as HP (that's natural DR, but allowing gear to "heal" here should be fine, as it's an aspect of the attack, not the gear), and Symptoms go away once we've recovered enough HP. The problem is that HP recovery rates are highly variable, dependent upon if the character's maximum HP, his HT, and his possession of traits like Rapid Healing and Regeneration. This is where things get nasty. First off, it will be best if we can ignore the effects of HT, Rapid Healing, and Regeneration. Cosmic: Unhealing Damage is +100% and would get rid of all healing; +50% to get rid of just the above variables (and standardizing HT to 10) might be appropriate. Of course, this is only for the Reduced Duration - this won't affect normal healing (essentially we want something that will last for n minutes, or its normal amount of time, whichever is less). How should this be applied? I'm thinking that because +50% is usually x1.5, but we're applying it to a Limitation, perhaps interpreting it as x2/3 will be appropriate. An HT 10 character normally recovers at around a rate of 1 HP (or 10% if he has greater than HP 10) every 2 days. Recovering 1 HP or 1 DR (again, 10% HP or 10% DR if greater than 10) every minute is thus a x1/2880 Duration, which is close enough to x1/3000. By Kromm's progression, that's -70%, which with our x2/3 multiplier comes out to around -45%. Bumping this to an even -50% might be justified. We halve this for Corrosion, for around -25%.

Does all of this follow?

For some examples, let's say we've got Symptoms (Terrible Pain at 1/3 HP) +60% tacked onto a 1d cr Innate Attack. We apply our "Recover quickly -50%" modifier from above, making our Symptoms worth only +30%. Against an HP 20 foe, we need to hit him an average of 4 times before the Symptoms crop up. Once they do, they only last for 1 minute, +1 minute for every 2 HP by which we've exceeded our minimum (which for this foe is 14 injury). So, if we've done 20 HP of injury with this attack to our foe, it will take him 5 minutes to recover.
Similarly, let's take a 2d corr Innate Attack with DR Recovers Quickly -25% up against a foe wearing some DR 12 armor. If we manage to reduce this armor by 5 points over the course of the fight, it will take it (5/1.2=) 4 minutes and 10 seconds to recover.
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Old 09-18-2015, 01:11 PM   #2
Desthro
 
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Albuquerque
Default Re: [Powers] Building Temporary Add-on Effects

If I am not mistaken, using enhancements and limitations to apply to other enhancements/limitations is a matter of multiplying the modifier with the enhancement or limitation you are using. Examples would include limiting enhancements based on certain accessibility. Like say, your ability has an AoE effect, (+50%) but the AoE effect only works when you are standing in a vat of Everyone's Buddy Brand Peanut Butter (Accessibility -80%), it is a net +10% modifier (-80% of 50% is 10%) IF your ability works without the AoE effect generally. This requires a little finesse, as not everything works as intended this way, and you need to use some common sense on what is okie dokie and what is not.

An attack that reduces DR but heals more quickly would require some tinkering, but I think you are on the right track. You COULD try and extrapolate a "reduced duration" modifier in terms of the recovery period for healing the DR, and it seems you have done that with a value of ~ -70%. This would make the no-wounding effect even more limiting, 70% of 50% is 35%, 50%+35% = 85%, and I'd snowball an attack that lowers DR for minutes over days at about that range. -85% caps at -80%, and 2 points per 1d of exceedingly limited corrosion damage seems pretty comparable to an Affliction that removes DR.

Of course, I'd just use an affliction that removes DR ;)
Actually... I'd consider an affliction that inflicts negative DR to be reasonable... there's no reason that DR can't scale inversely. Striking ST is comparable. =)

Last edited by Desthro; 09-18-2015 at 01:16 PM.
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