Steve Jackson Games Forums - View Single Post - Cybernetic costs and modifiers both 3e & 34e

hal · 09-12-2017, 07:08 PM

Back to item by item comparison between 3e and 4e...

When building disadvantages/advantages that are cybernetic, we have the standard in 4e, where the thing is "electrical". I don't have an issue with using that as a baseline for building the disadvantage or advantage in that any attack that is specifically electrical affecting in nature, will affect the individual in question.

If you're standing within an EMP blast zone, any electronics you have on you are likely going to be fried, or what have you. Natural eyes won't suffer from the EMP effects, but Bionic eyes that are unshielded will. But what happens if the eyes are built to be EMP resistant? What if they gain a +3 HT saving roll against the effects of an EMP? Do those eyes no longer qualify as "unshielded electronics" and hence, lose their -20% discounted aspect?

What I liked about the original rules in GURPS CLASSIC CYBERPUNK was that the eyes could be made to be any number of things, which is largely what 4e allows for as well (buy the advantage as is, and take it from there). But where GURPS 4e has something that 3e didn't, was the Nictitating membrane advantage. It added +1 DR to the eye, and +1 HT to the eye per level of advantage. So - does this mean that a normally HT 10 item, just got upgraded to HT 11 because of the Nictitating membrane advantage? Why can the eye get a +1 HT advantage, but other "cybernetic" devices not get the ability to gain a +1 HT? It is the little stuff like that which annoy me when I examine the rules for a system/structure for building cybernetic stuff.

Having said ALL of that? Please remember that in the back of my head is a little voice saying to me "oh, so you're so critical smarty pants, let's see you do better and design your own system right?"

That little voice usually gets a kick in the pants, and my "House rule demon" starts coming to the fore and modifying those rules. ;)

it is far easier to criticize than it is to create - so, please don't take this the wrong way when I get into things along this line...

09-12-2017, 07:08 PM	#6
hal Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Buffalo, New York	Re: Cybernetic costs and modifiers both 3e & 34e Back to item by item comparison between 3e and 4e... When building disadvantages/advantages that are cybernetic, we have the standard in 4e, where the thing is "electrical". I don't have an issue with using that as a baseline for building the disadvantage or advantage in that any attack that is specifically electrical affecting in nature, will affect the individual in question. If you're standing within an EMP blast zone, any electronics you have on you are likely going to be fried, or what have you. Natural eyes won't suffer from the EMP effects, but Bionic eyes that are unshielded will. But what happens if the eyes are built to be EMP resistant? What if they gain a +3 HT saving roll against the effects of an EMP? Do those eyes no longer qualify as "unshielded electronics" and hence, lose their -20% discounted aspect? What I liked about the original rules in GURPS CLASSIC CYBERPUNK was that the eyes could be made to be any number of things, which is largely what 4e allows for as well (buy the advantage as is, and take it from there). But where GURPS 4e has something that 3e didn't, was the Nictitating membrane advantage. It added +1 DR to the eye, and +1 HT to the eye per level of advantage. So - does this mean that a normally HT 10 item, just got upgraded to HT 11 because of the Nictitating membrane advantage? Why can the eye get a +1 HT advantage, but other "cybernetic" devices not get the ability to gain a +1 HT? It is the little stuff like that which annoy me when I examine the rules for a system/structure for building cybernetic stuff. Having said ALL of that? Please remember that in the back of my head is a little voice saying to me "oh, so you're so critical smarty pants, let's see you do better and design your own system right?" That little voice usually gets a kick in the pants, and my "House rule demon" starts coming to the fore and modifying those rules. ;) it is far easier to criticize than it is to create - so, please don't take this the wrong way when I get into things along this line...