Accessory vs Power

[DemiBenson]

This response in the Robot Repair Robot thread got me thinking. What is the difference between

• Accessory: Night-Vision Goggles
• Nightvision (the advantage)

or

• Accessory: Knife
• A Melee Weapon Innate Attack

or

• Accessory: Shield
• Buying a Defense Bonus plus highly-limited DR

or more prosaically

• Accessory: Flashlight
• Control Light

What do you get for it being an innate power that you don't get by buying it an accessory?

[Refplace]

The last example of a flashlight vs. Control Light is out of whack.
It would be more like a limited Create Light.

However to the point of your question....
Powers are available to people who can have them becasue of the right special effect. Tech is available to anyone who can afford the gear and is in the right time and place to get it. You can have a fireball as an IA in fantasy or Supers but maybe not access to a high powered rifle.
However if anyone can go to the store and say buy a flashlight then it seems odd to have to pay a lot of points for one, even if your accessory perk means its built in. That is still cool and all and may resist being taken away from you so is worth something (hence the perk) but not really worth as many points as if your the only one who can shine a light on something.
Perks are a discount for fairly common items so they can be bought as powers to level the playing field between tech gear and powers.

[Anders]

It's much easier to take away someone's night vision goggles than to take away his eyes.

[Langy]

Originally Posted by Asta Kask

It's much easier to take away someone's night vision goggles than to take away his eyes.

'Accessory' doesn't mean they're literally carrying around NVGs - that would be Signature Gear (Night Vision Goggles). It means they effectively have NVGs at all times.

[Ejidoth]

Accessory only lets you get things at least very similar to equipment that would be available to you.

Advantages can be anything, and can be part of a Power, meaning you might be able to do various tricks with them, like the psi techniques in Psionic Powers.

Basically, Accessory exists as a perk so you don't have to waste points on powers that the rest of the players are just going to buy with cash anyway.

[lexington]

Remember that Accessories come with all the limitations of the item they mimic except that they can't be easily taken away.

The flashlight and NVGs need a power source (probably batteries) and are vulnerable to being broken. Without a UB you can't reasonably buy Accessories from a TL higher than your own. Powers can upgrade and evolve as you gain points, Accessories cannot.

[Figleaf23]

Originally Posted by DemiBenson

This response in the Robot Repair Robot thread got me thinking. What is the difference between

• Accessory: Night-Vision Goggles
• Nightvision (the advantage)

or

• Accessory: Knife
• A Melee Weapon Innate Attack

or

• Accessory: Shield
• Buying a Defense Bonus plus highly-limited DR

or more prosaically

• Accessory: Flashlight
• Control Light

What do you get for it being an innate power that you don't get by buying it an accessory?

First, bear in mind the RAW says Accessories can provide only minor, non-combat benefits. Accordingly the knife and shield are not technically allowed (although I'm aware some GMs house-rule otherwise).

I think that practically Accessories should be considered subject to the 'natural' item-limitations (e.g. Breakable) that would appear to flow from their nature. Night Vision goggles should be subject to electrical shorts etc., while Night Vision would not.

[vierasmarius]

Originally Posted by lexington

Remember that Accessories come with all the limitations of the item they mimic except that they can't be easily taken away.

The flashlight and NVGs need a power source (probably batteries) and are vulnerable to being broken. Without a UB you can't reasonably buy Accessories from a TL higher than your own. Powers can upgrade and evolve as you gain points, Accessories cannot.

This is not necessarily the case. For some good examples of "Accessory"-like perks, check out Ergokinesis in Psi Powers (pg 35). Light Amplification doesn't mimic any specific flashlight, doesn't require batteries, and isn't subject to being broken. It just lets the character focus light in an area around himself. It's not really superior to a flashlight, except in being less vulnerable. Likewise, Interface lets you function as an input device for a computer, Phreaker lets you make calls by touching a phone cable, and Power Source lets you function as a small battery. None of these are actual gadgets that are built into the character, and can't be broken. They are dependent on his Ergokinetic abilities, and would be shut down if his psionics were neutralized or suppressed, which seems a fair balance.

Basically, Accessory lets a character emulate the abilities of one particular device, but not necessarily by having the device physically built-in. A cyborg's Illumination perk could be an actual flashlight that pops out of his hand, while the equivalent perk for a mage would let him light up his staff with a gesture. It's really up to the GM whether a particular effect is minor enough that 1 point is enough to enable it. In the case of Night Vision goggles, it would have to carry with it significantly more drawbacks than the actual Night Vision advantage for it to qualify as a perk.

[Figleaf23]

Originally Posted by vierasmarius

This is not necessarily the case. For some good examples of "Accessory"-like perks, check out Ergokinesis in Psi Powers (pg 35). Light Amplification doesn't mimic any specific flashlight, doesn't require batteries, and isn't subject to being broken. It just lets the character focus light in an area around himself. It's not really superior to a flashlight, except in being less vulnerable.

That description makes it a classic example of Perk-creep, IMO.

Basically, Accessory lets a character emulate the abilities of one particular device, but not necessarily by having the device physically built-in.

Actually, per B100:

"Your body incorporates a tool or
other useful gadget (e.g., a siren or a
vacuum cleaner)..."

What makes it only a Perk is that it's really not much better than buying an object that you hold in your hand or clip to your gear.

[PK]

Originally Posted by DemiBenson

Accessory: Night-Vision Goggles
Nightvision (the advantage)

The former include No Peripheral Vision, Colorblindness, and several other drawbacks when used; see GURPS Tactical Shooting for details. They can also be overloaded. The latter just eliminates darkness penalties with no drawbacks whatsoever.

Accessory: Knife
A Melee Weapon Innate Attack
or
Accessory: Shield
Buying a Defense Bonus plus highly-limited DR

For both, the former is not GURPS-legal while the latter is. :)

Accessory: Flashlight
Control Light

I'll assume you meant Create Light.

The latter is powerful. Even 1000kW is enough to flood a cave with bright light lasting for minutes. You can cover every nook and cranny, bend the light to illuminate behind things, spot secret doors and passageways (by flooding the cracks with light), flash your opponents (weakly, but still), and so on. It's a super-power.

The former lets you remove darkness penalties in a fairly narrow beam in one direction.