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Old 02-09-2016, 05:48 PM   #1
Captain Joy
 
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Default Motivational Speeches Perk

I'm considering this for my Star Trek campaign. I encourage questions and comments.

EDIT: I've since revised this perk into a 5/lvl advantage, see post #10.

Motivational Speeches*‡
Your motivational speeches are truly inspiring. Once per adventure, after giving a motivation speech to your crew, roll against your Public Speaking skill. On a success, the GM will give you “penny pips” equal to your margin of success times the number of levels of this perk that you have. E.g. you have one point in this perk and Public Speaking-13. You give a motivational speech and roll a 10. You now have 3 penny pips to spend on what you motivated everybody about.
Penny pips are pennies that you can give to yourself or any member of your crew after they make any roll in the service of what you gave your motivational speech about. Each penny adds one pip to any die they rolled.
Only Command Division officers are allowed to take this perk. You may not have more levels of this perk than you have levels of the Charisma advantage.

Last edited by Captain Joy; 05-27-2019 at 05:23 PM.
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Old 02-09-2016, 06:34 PM   #2
evileeyore
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Default Re: Motivational Speeches Perk

Quote:
Originally Posted by Captain Joy View Post
Each penny adds one pip to any die they rolled.
You might want to make that "... adds or subtracts...". Skills are roll under affairs after all.
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Old 02-09-2016, 07:01 PM   #3
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Default Re: Motivational Speeches Perk

Giving everyone in the team a bonus on everything they try isn't a perk, even if it's only sometimes. Basically, pigeonhole it down or it should be built as a fairly strong advantage with a use limit. Looks like an afflicted visualize with area effect, reduced time, reflexive, limited use, etc at the moment.

Replace penny pips, it's a new term that adds nothing but verbal complexity imo. Speaker shouldn't be able to use the motivation, only the target audience. Each bonus point should affect a single die roll (one use per point? not clear from your summary). Can't use more than one point per turn (also prevents stacking bonus on one roll), and there should be a time limit on the points. Failing and especially crit failing should also have a negative impact on morale somehow. Should probably take penalties from anything that would impact a similar reaction roll, too.
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Old 02-09-2016, 07:34 PM   #4
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Default Re: Motivational Speeches Perk

If it works that well, I'd make it a technique with a base around Public Speaking-5. Motivational speaking seems like a classic example of a thing you can learn as a technique anyway.
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Old 05-27-2019, 06:04 AM   #5
smurf
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Default Re: Motivational Speeches Perk

Penetrating Voice PU2. p14

The 'Motivational Speeches' is actually sort of done in PU2. p16.

Rallying Motivational Speech: When the chips are down and you need the crew to dig a little bit deeper and focus on success you can use this perk with Public Speaking to get +5 to the skill.

You know the situations, the Starboard nacelle is on fire, the ceiling panels have fallen down, everyone is a bit sweaty because the aircon has packed up. Engineering are working hard as they can with bleeding hands, there's a triage system in the mess hall. But there is a glimmer of hope and the crew needs to know they can pull through this without opting to jumping into life pods.
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Old 05-27-2019, 06:24 AM   #6
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Default Re: Motivational Speeches Perk

Quote:
Originally Posted by smurf View Post
The 'Motivational Speeches' is actually sort of done in PU2. p16.

Rallying Motivational Speech: When the chips are down and you need the crew to dig a little bit deeper and focus on success you can use this perk with Public Speaking to get +5 to the skill.
You're treating this as Hyper-Specialization?
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Old 05-27-2019, 06:39 AM   #7
smurf
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Default Re: Motivational Speeches Perk

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You're treating this as Hyper-Specialization?
Without reinventing the wheel this seemed to do what the OP wanted.
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Old 05-27-2019, 07:25 AM   #8
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Default Re: Motivational Speeches Perk

The OP seemed to be adapting the mechanic for Tactics, although I'm not sure where exactly it shows up. Action or Pulling Rank, perhaps.
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Old 05-27-2019, 10:44 AM   #9
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Default Re: Motivational Speeches Perk

Quote:
Originally Posted by smurf View Post
Without reinventing the wheel this seemed to do what the OP wanted.
It's far too broad to be Hyper-Specialization, I think. Motivating someone else whenever the situation looks dire is not a once-an-adventure thing, it's something that can and will happen quite often to player characters.
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Old 05-27-2019, 05:21 PM   #10
Captain Joy
 
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Default Re: Motivational Speeches Perk

Quote:
Originally Posted by Daigoro View Post
The OP seemed to be adapting the mechanic for Tactics, although I'm not sure where exactly it shows up. Action or Pulling Rank, perhaps.
I just revisited this ability yesterday and was about to revive this thread myself. I've changed this ability from a perk to an advantage; it's mostly a simplified "Natural Leader" from Pyramid #3/65: Alternate GURPS III, p. 12

Motivational Speech
5 points/level
Prerequisites: Command Division officer, 1+ points in Starfleet Reputation(s)

Once per gaming session per level of this advantage, you can inspire those under your command with a rousing speech. Roll against your Leadership skill after you, the player, deliver your life-changing oration ("Risk is our business"). You may effect a number of individuals equal to your Charisma squared, or more at -1 per individual beyond that.

You recieve as many "pip chips" as your Margin of Sucess. For as long as the crisis persists, you may cash in a "pip chip" to improve any number rolled by individuals inspired by your speech who are acting towards the goals for which you rallied them. You may cash in as may "pip chips" at a time as you wish; one "pip chip" will add or subtract one die's pip. You may not affect your own die rolls, unless you made your Leadership roll exactly. In that case, you feel pretty good about your speech even though nobody else did: you get a "pip chip" that you can only use for yourself.

Inspiring your teammates is stressfull; if the situation wasn't dangerous and/or important, then you wouldn't have bothered. Each use of Motivational Speech (successful or not) temporarily lowers your Will and any Self-Control numbers you may have by 1. Pip chips and stress penalties vanish upon completion of the task for which your team was inspired.

Time: about 2 minutes
Cost: -1 to Will and Self-Control numbers, whether successful or not
Duration: Until the task at hand is completed

This advantage is mostly based on "Natural Leader" from Pyramid #3/65: Alternate GURPS III, p. 12, but also "Visualization" from B96; "Enthrallment" from B191; "Tactics" from Martial Arts, p. 60; and "Tactics for the Win" from Pyramid #3/70: Fourth Edition Festival, p. 17. The stress cost is a simplified version of Stress and Derangement from GURPS: Horror, pp. 141-142.

It's proven to be fun in play. I give the Command officer beads for the "chip pips" which adds a nice tangible resource management element for that player—more fun than all the other players just remembering they have +1's like the stock abilities it's based on. The speech is usually entertaining as well.
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