[Basic] Disadvantage of the Week: Epilepsy

[johndallman]

Epilepsy [-30] is a mundane physical disadvantage, based on a severe version of the neurological disorder. It appeared at GURPS 1e, and hasn’t changed much since then. You are subject to seizures, during which you can’t control your body, and can’t speak or think clearly. You are risk of suffering a seizure in any stressful situation, especially if your life or that of a friend is threatened, or you are exposed to something you have a phobia about. Roll against HT to avoid a seizure, and if the stressful situation is lasting, again every 10 minutes. If you succumb, a seizure lasts 1d minutes, during which you cannot do anything, and costs you 1d fatigue.

You can attempt to induce a seizure if you want, by concentrating for a minute, and succeeding in a Will or Autohypnosis roll. There are a couple of practical reasons for considering this. Depending on the setting, seizures might be a way to gain visions, especially in or near places with supernatural aspects. Some cultures associate seizures with magic or divine intervention, and will react at +1 to someone who has one, with a Very Good reaction indicating religious awe, and a Poor one inclining them to flee, rather than attack.

One could, in theory, make this disadvantage unlikely to occur by buying very high HT, and getting the points back via a combination of Easy to Kill, reduced basic Speed and reduced fatigue points. That’s one of the reasons why a disadvantage limit can be a useful tool for the GM. More reasonably, practitioners of advanced physical or mental disciplines could ask the GM to change it to having a self-control roll, and gradually buy down the frequency as they master their problem. And almost any adventurer can buy Fit, for +1 to the HT roll.

Bio-Tech, unsurprisingly, has things to say about Epilepsy, as a problem that can show up due to inbreeding, genetic engineering, or specialised hostile magic, and can be treated via neuropsychology and mitigated by drugs (daily, readily available at TL8, -60%). DF9: Summoners makes it an option for shamans, supported by Fantasy. Horror’s charlatans may have it, as do some Madness Dossier templates, while that setting also has drugs and other things that can cause it. The horror theme continues with Infinite Worlds’ Reich-5 Mules, Metro of Madness crazy people and the Mars Attacks mad scientist Teed suffering from this disadvantage. The Martial Arts lasting injury table includes it, but Power-Ups 2: Perks forbids it as a Controllable Disadvantage, although Powers allows it as an ability trigger. The Psi series use it as one of the results of brain damage or unreliable psi technology, and Thaumatology as a form of the evil eye. Ultra-Tech strobe warheads are hard on those with this disadvantage, which can be added or removed with brain implants. Finally, it get used to represent various problems with Zombies.

Personally, I’m happy to leave this disadvantage to shamans, but I can see how it would be important in the right kind of horror-occult setting. Has it been used in your games?

[jason taylor]

A Grand Mal might be similar to an OD. The subject simply does not remember the occurance. He only wakes up in a hospital trying to get his bearings.

More mundane forms just cause the hands to shake. Commander Queeg may have had that (actually given his backstory it was closer to Post-combat Shakes but kinda similar), that is the sort of thing that makes you want to fondle ball bearings.

[whswhs]

I haven't used Epilepsy in Tapestry, and I ought to; as you say, it's a classic disad for shamans.

[ravenfish]

I always thought it odd that Epilepsy is resisted by HT rather than something like a self control roll. I doubt that the frequency of attacks in an epileptic correlates in any simple manner with general help; I doubt it is helpful to have an advantage that will frequently come up for an HT10 character and almost never come up for an HT15 character, with both paying the same cost.

[jason taylor]

Originally Posted by ravenfish

I always thought it odd that Epilepsy is resisted by HT rather than something like a self control roll. I doubt that the frequency of attacks in an epileptic correlates in any simple manner with general help; I doubt it is helpful to have an advantage that will frequently come up for an HT10 character and almost never come up for an HT15 character, with both paying the same cost.

Self Control is only relevant to a light seizure. A grand mal makes you black out.

[Bruno]

Originally Posted by jason taylor

Self Control is only relevant to a light seizure. A grand mal makes you black out.

Don't take the term "Self control" too literally. You could call it "Frequency of Appearance" if that causes less cognitive dissonance. The intent is to divorce it from HT - I'm pretty sure having good cardiovascular condition doesn't change the rate of seizures, for example.

[jason taylor]

Originally Posted by whswhs

I haven't used Epilepsy in Tapestry, and I ought to; as you say, it's a classic disad for shamans.

You can see why. I have been told by other people that it looks rather uncanny to a bystander.

Though I would think getting high is just as common. It probably looks similar with some drugs and one can control the schedule. You need a partner to pull it off and probably a systematic tradition of priestcraft.

[jason taylor]

Originally Posted by Bruno

Don't take the term "Self control" too literally. You could call it "Frequency of Appearance" if that causes less cognitive dissonance. The intent is to divorce it from HT - I'm pretty sure having good cardiovascular condition doesn't change the rate of seizures, for example.

Taking meds properly does.

Epilepsy is basically a system crash in the brain. It is caused by getting malware to continue the anology. I believe autists or at least aspies often get it, or I read that somewhere. I think Health actually would be relevant. It is just not health in the rest of the body.

It does not effect grunt work. Nor does it effect mental work when the subject is conscious. Writing can be hard and it makes signatures ugly. It also makes learning to drive out of the question.

Waking up from a seizure gives something like amnesia. Not like the Hollywood sort. More like when someone has had way to much narcotics and is just recovering. It is a feeling of cloudiness.

[RogerBW]

Originally Posted by Bruno

Don't take the term "Self control" too literally. You could call it "Frequency of Appearance" if that causes less cognitive dissonance. The intent is to divorce it from HT - I'm pretty sure having good cardiovascular condition doesn't change the rate of seizures, for example.

In game terms, using a dedicated roll seems like a logical change to make from the pre-4e version, just as many mental disads got their own rolls rather than being based off IQ.

[Ashtagon]

Originally Posted by jason taylor

Taking meds properly does.

Epilepsy is basically a system crash in the brain. It is caused by getting malware to continue the anology. I believe autists or at least aspies often get it, or I read that somewhere. I think Health actually would be relevant. It is just not health in the rest of the body.

In a medical sense, it absolutely is a health issue. In the GURPS sense, it really isn't related to much else that the HT attribute covers. I'd favour making it a self-control roll (i.e., a frequency of appearance roll).

It does not effect grunt work. Nor does it effect mental work when the subject is conscious. Writing can be hard and it makes signatures ugly. It also makes learning to drive out of the question.

During a seizure, writing is hard or impossible. Outside of one? Some of the best calligraphers I know of are prone to epilepsy.

It does not make learning to drive out of the question. It is quite possible to be prone to epilepsy and be a very good driver -- when not having a seizure. The problem with epilepsy and driving isn't so much that they can't drive, but that the onset of a seizure is unpredictable and would usually lead to an uncontrolled vehicle. Essentially, it's a legal barrier, not a cognitive one. In game terms, a character who is known to be epileptic would probably require at least a perk-level Unusual Background to explain how they found someone willing to teach them to drive. A character who was diagnosed after learning to drive would retain their pre-existing skill level, but would almost certainly have had their driving licence revoked once diagnosed. Their ability to drive would be as good as it was before -- right up until a seizure is triggered.

Waking up from a seizure gives something like amnesia. Not like the Hollywood sort. More like when someone has had way to much narcotics and is just recovering. It is a feeling of cloudiness.

This much is correct.