Building In Nomine Abilities in GURPS 4e

[JCurwen3]

Originally Posted by sir_pudding

What are you quoting here?

Sorry for lack of citation - quote was from p. P119, the Energy Reserve box. It suggests putting the -5% in the power modifier there.

[JCurwen3]

Cross-posting from the IN forum's thread here, to encourage discussion and get comments, opinions, etc.:

Originally Posted by JCD

So you are assuming that the default assumption for Powers will be that it causes Disturbance?

Please note that if you go this route, quite a few Powers will have a +25% add on the cost. Save for Songs, the majority of Powers (resonances, attunements etc) do NOT automatically cause Disturbance if they don't cost Essence.

Based on the RAW, yes, all powers built in GURPS will leave psychic signatures, which is how I'd define Disturbance. Many abilities don't leave any mundane signatures, so they often don't need No Signature, just No Psychic Signature.

One way we can handle this is to add No Psychic Signature +25% into the Symphonic power source modifier, and that way by default nothing makes any Disturbance, and we "add" Disturbance to an ability by listing it as "Has Signature, -25%". Although I might take this approach if building out all of this for my own personal use, obscuring what's being done by hiding it in a power modifier, and then using a non-standard "inverse" limitation to cancel that out might be a bad idea. And besides, it'll still add to the costs just the same.

So many abilities will need +25% No Psychic Signature. Actually, I think +20% is, in fact, acceptable (that's a -8 penalty to detect, and just barely leaves a trace), except in cases where the abilities explicitly mention that they outright cause Disturbance, or else are very explicitly really "quiet" (in which case the full +25% fits better).

Those abilities that only create Disturbance under certain conditions can have No Psychic Signature but modified with an Accessibility limitation (you can use limitations on enhancements themselves rather than on the whole ability in GURPS). It would be written like AdvantageName (No Psychic Signature (Accessibility, Only if so and so, -40%), +15%)... +25% * 0.6 = +15% (the -40% was just an example pulled out of my head). And that is how it would be formatted too (I asked Kromm a while ago).

Originally Posted by JCD

What mechanic would you suggest for the difference between a Celestial and a Mortal re Disturbance? A disadvantage?

Yes, I thought the disadvantage Divine Curse (Causes Disturbance) at -5 would do the trick nicely (I just hunted through looking for a way after seeing your post!). I think it makes sense at -5 because that's pretty comparable to some other equally disadvantageous things (like Trademark at it's lowest level, or No Body Heat), and in an IN game it'll be a bigger deal than just a -1 quirk. And, in a way, it sort of is a "divine" curse, that they cause Disturbance.

All just IMO - thoughts?

On another note, regarding Disturbance: since it can be a pretty significant thing in IN, I think it makes sense to create a new limitation, extrapolated from Low/No Signature - High Signature (and High Psychic Signature - the more important for our purposes).

"High Signature" (which I suspect would be rarely used) and "High Psychic Signature" (high Disturbance) would be -5% per +2 to detect. With the ability to have variable levels of disturbance, ranging from No to Low to arbitrarily High, I think we can include and model the importance of the original IN Disturbance mechanic within our conversions.

[johndallman]

Originally Posted by JCurwen3

... obscuring what's being done by hiding it in a power modifier, and then using a non-standard "inverse" limitation to cancel that out might be a bad idea.

Definitely. It also gives people the idea that any ability can be made no-Disturbance for just some extra CP. And that doesn't fit IN, where not causing disturbance is a primary factor in tactics - and deliberately causing a little can thus mislead your opponent a lot.

So many abilities will need +25% No Psychic Signature. Actually, I think +20% is, in fact, acceptable

You also need to make it really clear where this cannot be added.

"High Signature" (which I suspect would be rarely used)

Song of Thunder!