09-27-2013, 11:41 AM | #21 | |
GURPS Line Editor
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Montréal, Québec
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Re: Dodging while being levitated by Telekinesis?
What people keep missing is what I keep saying and what the rules say:
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The key point is that the initial, one-second grapple doesn't immediately make defenses worse than if you had grappled with hands. You have to take a turn for an Attack to grapple him, then a turn for a Move to lift him, and then another turn for an Attack to put him in a bad position. The huge benefit of TK is that you operate as an invisible attacker, so the initial defense against the grapple is likely to fail. A lesser benefit is that TK can be made very cheap with limitations, so you can easily have enough effective ST to ensure victory at takedowns and shoving around. Another lesser benefit is that you can stand 10 metres away and be at zero risk from having your hands parried by weapons, or having an angry, grappled foe attack you to get free. Players who are expecting TK to turn each grapple into three turns of actions are asking too much from their points. If they want to do that, then they should invest in Altered Time Rate with suitable limitations for mental-only actions. If they just want instant restraint (one attack and the target is defenseless), then yes, they do indeed need to take Binding . . . which, as an alternative attack to Telekinesis, is stupidly cheap. And to be clear, a GURPS dodge is any movement that pulls the attacked body part out of the line of attack. It may well involve nothing more than twisting the torso 10° or moving an arm 3 cm to the right. Full, bodily dodging with footwork is what retreat represents, and TK already prevents that.
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09-27-2013, 11:56 AM | #22 |
Join Date: Jun 2013
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Re: Dodging while being levitated by Telekinesis?
You could probably use the same mechanics for turning the enemy around (thus denying him defenses) and not turn him around, but rather say you've bound him enough that he can't defend. The foe can then use the same mechanics as to turn back around, except fluff-wise this would be him struggling to regain some degree of movement (thus being able to defend again), rather than just turning back around. The mechanical difference is only in edge cases (enemy has 360-degree vision, or his attackers are in a circle such that he should always get a defense against some of them), so you could easily just consider this as a special effect (some RAW special effects - like disintegration from a fatal Heart Attack Affliction, or decapitation from a fatal cutting attack to the Neck - have similar edge-case caveats).
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09-27-2013, 01:03 PM | #23 | |
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Los Angeles County
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Re: Dodging while being levitated by Telekinesis?
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09-27-2013, 02:28 PM | #24 |
GURPS FAQ Keeper
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Kyïv, Ukraine
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Re: Dodging while being levitated by Telekinesis?
Pickup actually looks very weird with TK due to being HT-based. In fact, it looks extremely weird even with normal hands. I think it's the first case of having a HT-based offensive action roll in 4e, though I might be mistaken. HT rolls are normally reserved for being a target of a negative effect, while a brute-force offence would be done with ST, and a finesse-based one with DX.
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09-27-2013, 02:43 PM | #25 |
Join Date: Dec 2007
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Re: Dodging while being levitated by Telekinesis?
Does See Invisible work on Telekinesis?
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09-27-2013, 02:50 PM | #26 | ||
Join Date: Mar 2013
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Re: Dodging while being levitated by Telekinesis?
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As you stated in an earlier post: Quote:
To mimic all but the simplest fictional abilities in GURPS usually requires more than one GURPS advantage. In order to duplicate your example of having a lifted subject with TK helpless you need another ability, Binding, that would be bought along with the TK and somehow linked to it. The Psionic Powers book creates a framework in which almost any fictional powers can be made. Binding is specifically mentioned at the end of the Pychokinesis chapter.
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09-27-2013, 06:20 PM | #27 | |
Doctor of GURPS Ballistics
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Lakeville, MN
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Re: Dodging while being levitated by Telekinesis?
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So, when it came to Pickups, I asked PK and Kromm if they'd mind if I used the same table we'd worked out for grappling encumbrance, where you had a multiple of BL be a modifier, and basically asked what I'd roll against. Well, you're straining to just lift him, and avoid injury. That's a HT roll. They agreed that in this case (a BOX on a very particular kind of move that really shouldn't come up much in combat) it was an OK approach. You want a ST roll? Go right ahead. The basic rule for pickups is "you can't, unless your target is less than 4xBL." I thought that wasn't quite right, since I can and have picked up someone closer to 6xBL in a match. Anyway, I thought treating the weight-to-BL ratio as a modifier to a HT roll was better than a ST roll. I got permission. The entire book is optional anyway, so there's always that!
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09-27-2013, 06:29 PM | #28 |
GURPS Line Editor
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Montréal, Québec
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Re: Dodging while being levitated by Telekinesis?
FWIW, I officially endorse replacing all ST rolls with HT rolls for tasks that bring ST to bear, and using ST effects such as BL and damage to assess the results of success. ST has the annoying trait of being extrinsic where DX, IQ, and HT are intrinsic, and thus seems like a bizarre score to roll against – a bit like rolling against Basic Move, really. I do relent in situations where it's clearly ST vs. ST, but even there I have to wonder if comparing thrust damage or something wouldn't be more sensible. Interestingly, CP are found from thrust . . .
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Sean "Dr. Kromm" Punch <kromm@sjgames.com> GURPS Line Editor, Steve Jackson Games My DreamWidth [Just GURPS News] |
09-27-2013, 06:39 PM | #29 | |
Doctor of GURPS Ballistics
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Lakeville, MN
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Re: Dodging while being levitated by Telekinesis?
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09-27-2013, 08:46 PM | #30 | |
Wielder of Smart Pants
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Ventura CA
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Re: Dodging while being levitated by Telekinesis?
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Tags |
grappling, telekinesis |
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