Immunity

[Farmer]

I would like to get some feedback on how best to list and price immunity to specific damage type.

For example, immunity to fire. Taking resistant at the immune level doesn't help as it specifically says that anything for which damage resistance would apply is not covered by resistant (immune). DR gives partial defense against a particular damage type, but I can not see where or how to list or price complete immunity to a particular type of damage. I'm sure there's something in there, but I can't find it.

Any help appreciated :-)

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by Farmer

I would like to get some feedback on how best to list and price immunity to specific damage type.

For example, immunity to fire. Taking resistant at the immune level doesn't help as it specifically says that anything for which damage resistance would apply is not covered by resistant (immune). DR gives partial defense against a particular damage type, but I can not see where or how to list or price complete immunity to a particular type of damage. I'm sure there's something in there, but I can't find it.

There isn't. If you want 'immunity', you have to buy enough defense to take zero damage from all effects of that type that appear in the setting.

[whswhs]

Originally Posted by Farmer

I would like to get some feedback on how best to list and price immunity to specific damage type.

For example, immunity to fire. Taking resistant at the immune level doesn't help as it specifically says that anything for which damage resistance would apply is not covered by resistant (immune). DR gives partial defense against a particular damage type, but I can not see where or how to list or price complete immunity to a particular type of damage. I'm sure there's something in there, but I can't find it.

There is nothing that has that effect. If something inflicts physical damage, then you can block out some number of points of it, or divide it by some reduction factor, or have the ability to recover from it, perhaps even coming back from death; but you cannot simply not be affected by it. This is discussed in GURPS Powers. GURPS simply does not allow absolute abilities like that.

Bill Stoddard

[Refplace]

What they said :)
Resistant to infinite damage costs infinite points.
So its jut not a feature of GURPS.
However buying a lot of DR (as much as you think youll get hit with) and limiting it to that damage type is pretty good. Add in IT:Damage reduction for those odd cases or even regen, only vs that type and your pretty solid against predicted levels. Assuming you have the points.

Unkillable is overkill but a neat idea for a few Supers conventions I can think of.
The only place you have real immunity in a genre is some Fantasy and for that you could have a spell at such levels that its 0 cost to maintain or a magic item.
That would do Resist Fire at the level of a star for example.

[whswhs]

Originally Posted by Refplace

Unkillable is overkill but a neat idea for a few Supers conventions I can think of.

During the playtest for GURPS Supers, we converted a bunch of 3/e supers to 4/e. Allison Lonsdale's character, Bulletproof, had been created in 3/e with Invulnerability to everything (you can find it in GURPS Compendium 1). In 4/e, that wasn't available! So she was rebuilt with huge Damage Reduction and enough Damage Resistance to keep her from being nickel and dimed to death.

Bill Stoddard

[Refplace]

Originally Posted by whswhs

During the playtest for GURPS Supers, we converted a bunch of 3/e supers to 4/e. Allison Lonsdale's character, Bulletproof, had been created in 3/e with Invulnerability to everything (you can find it in GURPS Compendium 1). In 4/e, that wasn't available! So she was rebuilt with huge Damage Reduction and enough Damage Resistance to keep her from being nickel and dimed to death.

Bill Stoddard

Yeah I was glad to see Invulnerability go from 3E.
It was too expensive for a Fantasy character like say a Fire elemental and too cheap for a Super to be Invulnerable to several things.
And really liek I said above I see it in some Fantasy environments but cannot think of a single Super who is really Invulnerable in a way that would best be built that way.
Most who claim invulnerability are just able to take a LOT of that damage type but can be overwhelmed.

And worse is if you make really tough Supers like say Superman your more likely to give them Invulnerability then the same points of DR and IT
The advantage removes a lot of the middle ground which I didnt like.
Admittedly I used it in 3E but I am happy enough to work around it :)

[munin]

GURPS Powers suggests building effective invulnerability from DR, IT:DR, IT:Diffuse, or Insubstantiality (pp. P118-119). It offers an Insubstantiality build (328 points, p. P119) which briefly turns you insubstantial when attacked (and notes that this is little use against Affects Insubstantial and Malediction attacks, etc.). Some have suggested tacking on a Limited Defenses limitation (p. B46) to give invulnerability only to specific damage types.

Another possibility is to use Warp or Jumper with Tunnel, +100% (p. P89) to divert damaging attacks away from you. Use Aura + Melee Attack to "wrap" the tunnel around your entire body (not RAW, but in the spirit) and anything which touches you will go through the tunnel instead of hitting you (again, add Limited to restrict this to certain damage types). For example:

Fire Invulnerability: Jumper (Aura, +80%; Cosmic, No Die Roll Required, +100%; Limited, Heat/Fire Attacks, -40%; Limited Access, "Nowhere", -0%; Melee Attack, C, -30%; No Signature, Undetectable, +25%; Reduced Fatigue Cost 1, +20%; Reflexive, +40%; Faster Concentration 5, +25%; Tunnel, +100%) [420].

Depending on your IQ you might be able to reduce Faster Concentration and still have success automatic. Or you can replace Cosmic, NDRR with Improved (-90 points) and hope your roll makes it (granting invulnerability for 3d seconds). Depending on how such tunnels are defined in your setting you might need to add Penetrating Vision to the build to see through your own skin-tight tunnel. Maledictions and Irresistible Attacks that don't pass through intervening space won't be diverted, so it's still not perfect (maybe Malediction-Proof, +100% from Psionic Powers, p. 14?).

[Farmer]

Thank you all for your comments. I was actually hoping there was something in there. As it happens, it's for a fantasy setting. Vulnerable to cold, immune to fire was the concept (yes, I realise that vulnerable and immune are not the antithesis of each other).

IT doesn't really fit the bill so far as I can see, so I'm left with DR (Limited to burning).

Fair enough - question answered - thanks :-)

[starslayer]

Taking limited intangibility can often grant effective immunity to a given thing- Be sure to take 'affects substantial' at the full +100% though, or else you won't be able to effect the world, but will be able to be effected by it (with the exception of what your intangible to). Of course this will preclude you from effecting what your immune to without additional modifiers or abilities.

IE if you did this to become immune to fire you could stand inside a campfire unscathed while your clothes burn around you- but you would not get warm from so doing (So temperature tolerance would likely be required; or immunity to cold).

[Refplace]

Originally Posted by Farmer

Thank you all for your comments. I was actually hoping there was something in there. As it happens, it's for a fantasy setting. Vulnerable to cold, immune to fire was the concept (yes, I realise that vulnerable and immune are not the antithesis of each other).

IT doesn't really fit the bill so far as I can see, so I'm left with DR (Limited to burning).

Fair enough - question answered - thanks :-)

Note that if it is an NPC you can just declare they have enough that they are immune.
As GM points are an idea for some NPCs but you really do not have to build everyone, especially in detail.