Wanted: GURPS Power-Downs 1

[Mgellis]

I would add that many diseases, if they are not life-threatening and are only occasionally annoying, even if they are VERY annoying, are just quirks.

A severe allergy that causes one to get painful blisters inside one's mouth, etc., but whose effects do NOT go beyond pain (i.e., no risk of a heart attack, etc.) and only last maybe half-an-hour and is triggered by something that can usually be avoided like eating seafood, etc...really, that's just a quirk. There are exceptions. If it is a condition that cannot easily be avoided (e.g., you are allergic to pollen...really, really allergic to pollen, and it causes Moderate Pain for hours at a time), so that you have to roll for it once per day, THEN it would probably be best to model it with Chronic Pain.

[Rocket Man]

Originally Posted by Mgellis

If it is a condition that cannot easily be avoided (e.g., you are allergic to pollen...really, really allergic to pollen, and it causes Moderate Pain for hours at a time), so that you have to roll for it once per day, THEN it would probably be best to model it with Chronic Pain.

Something similarly interesting to model might be a condition of my wife's: Her immune system is so screwed up that she has a wide variety of allergies (a couple of them life-threatening, others painful/inconvenient) and discovers more on a regular basis. When you don't know what it is you have to avoid -- or when something that was safe yesterday could become dangerous today -- it's a little scary.

Imagine having to roll versus HT in a new situation (or sometimes an old one!) to discover if you're going to suffer an Affliction or worse ...

[Mgellis]

Originally Posted by Rocket Man

Something similarly interesting to model might be a condition of my wife's: Her immune system is so screwed up that she has a wide variety of allergies (a couple of them life-threatening, others painful/inconvenient) and discovers more on a regular basis. When you don't know what it is you have to avoid -- or when something that was safe yesterday could become dangerous today -- it's a little scary.

Imagine having to roll versus HT in a new situation (or sometimes an old one!) to discover if you're going to suffer an Affliction or worse ...

First, I am really sorry for your wife. I know what it's like to worry about a loved one's health. I hope there is something that can be done.

To model this condition, I might use a Secret Disadvantage...-20 points of this would be enough to cover several dangerous and unknown allergies, the kind of things that, using the rules from Bio-Tech, could be lethal allergies, but there is no way for the player character to know exactly what is wrong with him...day by day, as the GM decides to throw new problems at you, you learn about new problems.

[Rocket Man]

Originally Posted by Mgellis

First, I am really sorry for your wife. I know what it's like to worry about a loved one's health. I hope there is something that can be done.

To model this condition, I might use a Secret Disadvantage...-20 points of this would be enough to cover several dangerous and unknown allergies, the kind of things that, using the rules from Bio-Tech, could be lethal allergies, but there is no way for the player character to know exactly what is wrong with him...day by day, as the GM decides to throw new problems at you, you learn about new problems.

Thanks for the kind words. She's doing a lot better these days.

Thinking about the condition made me wonder about something even more complicated -- a case where the unknown or barely-known limitation changes on a regular basis. For example, consider a wizard who is not only cursed with Single-College Magery but has it based on a different college every day. ("I've never seen anyone study as wide a range of magic as Brother Agnus!" "There's a reason ..." )

The more I think about it, the more it sounds like a Disadvantage version of Modular Abilities. :)

[JCurwen3]

Originally Posted by Rocket Man

The more I think about it, the more it sounds like a Disadvantage version of Modular Abilities. :)

Exactly! Secret Disadvantage rules seems like a good start to house rule something like that as a base, but it would be great to have an expanded rule set for variable disadvantages, what Modular Abilities does for positive things.

[Mgellis]

As for supernatural weaknesses, what I settled on that...

A) If the weakness acts like a disease, then it should be treated as a disease, even if the cause is supernatural...for example, a curse that causes Chronic Pain is just Chronic Pain; an allergy to silver is just a quirk-level allergy, etc.

B) Anything really freaky can usually be modeled with Divine Curse. It's a wonderfully flexible disadvantage.