[MH] A couple of questions

[Derago]

These were characters made using the templates in Monster Hunters 1.

1. Regarding the size of the eagle... I'm pretty sure I saw birds in a GURPS books somewhere that were the size of an eagle and had a negative SM. I thought DF:Allies had an eagle in there, but it only has a Giant Eagle, described as having a 12' wingspan and is SM:0. If my players' character becomes an eagle with a 6' wingspan, then it should probably be SM:-1 or -2. I just want to know if the intent of the authors is for them to be large birds or if this was an accidental ommission (or something else).

2. Regarding Psionics:In this instance, there's no need for my player to have Psychokinesis Talent since his only power in that category is Telekinesis.
I see the Quick Contest of Will under Mindwipe now - I was an idiot for missing it before.

[the_matrix_walker]

I meant SM 0 not 1, oops, but you are correct that the SM 0 Giant Eagle has a 12 foot wingspan. Seems a little weird to me...

[PK]

Originally Posted by Derago

1. Regarding the size of the eagle... I'm pretty sure I saw birds in a GURPS books somewhere that were the size of an eagle and had a negative SM.

This was a hard decision, but in the end I made all lycanthropes SM 0 (large birds and small tigers) solely for the sake of simplicity. We get many FAQs about the SM rules; they throw a lot of new gamers. And since the GURPS Monster Hunters series is designed as a ready-to-play setup for people who find GURPS a little bit too complex and intimidating, I didn't want to force the GM to deal with PCs with changing SMs.

So yes, the were-eagle is large, as hinted at by its impressive ST! But not 6' tall -- its SM comes from its wingspan, not height as with a human. If it's flying high, this shouldn't be an issue. If it's just hanging out on the ground, most people will think, "Wow, I've never seen a wild eagle up close. I didn't realize how huge they were!" Experts (e.g., anyone with Animal Handling for birds or Veterinary) should get a roll to realize something is weird, as with any lycanthrope.

2. Regarding Psionics:In this instance, there's no need for my player to have Psychokinesis Talent since his only power in that category is Telekinesis.

That's not true! PK Talent is awesome for TK, because it adds to every roll you make using the TK. If you want to grab someone using TK and Judo skill, your PK Talent adds to Judo for that roll!

[Derago]

Originally Posted by PK

This was a hard decision, but in the end I made all lycanthropes SM 0 (large birds and small tigers) solely for the sake of simplicity. We get many FAQs about the SM rules; they throw a lot of new gamers. And since the GURPS Monster Hunters series is designed as a ready-to-play setup for people who find GURPS a little bit too complex and intimidating, I didn't want to force the GM to deal with PCs with changing SMs.

So yes, the were-eagle is large, as hinted at by its impressive ST! But not 6' tall -- its SM comes from its wingspan, not height as with a human. If it's flying high, this shouldn't be an issue. If it's just hanging out on the ground, most people will think, "Wow, I've never seen a wild eagle up close. I didn't realize how huge they were!" Experts (e.g., anyone with Animal Handling for birds or Veterinary) should get a roll to realize something is weird, as with any lycanthrope.



That's not true! PK Talent is awesome for TK, because it adds to every roll you make using the TK. If you want to grab someone using TK and Judo skill, your PK Talent adds to Judo for that roll!

Thanks for the detailed response!
So a bonus to all skills that could concievably be used via TK? So, a couple questions come to mind: when using TK, is it as if he only had one hand or two (TK) hands? Do range modifiers come into play if you're TK-wielding a sword from 15' away?
My player also discovered that he has sufficient TK lifting strength to lift himself though at X-heavy encumberance (TK level 10; he weighs 140) resulting in move 2. Is this fatiguing (TK does not cost fatigue in MH)? How high can he lift himself? Could he levitate across the grand canyon? I'm currently thinking about having a 20' maximum altitude since that's the range of his TK and I explain it as pushing against the ground. Sounds reasonable?

As for the large eagle, your explanation makes perfect sense - there would be confusion or at least a fact that would be easily forgotten, so I like the way it was done. As an aside, my player decided he'd rather be a Weretiger (is it supposed to hyphenated? Were-tiger?) thus making a large part of the conversation moot. Is there any type of clothing he can wear so that he won't be naked when he turns back into a human? Maybe signature gear or a schtick?

[Ulzgoroth]

Originally Posted by Derago

My player also discovered that he has sufficient TK lifting strength to lift himself though at X-heavy encumberance (TK level 10; he weighs 140) resulting in move 2. Is this fatiguing (TK does not cost fatigue in MH)? How high can he lift himself? Could he levitate across the grand canyon? I'm currently thinking about having a 20' maximum altitude since that's the range of his TK and I explain it as pushing against the ground. Sounds reasonable?

Lifting yourself with TK is a well-known possibility. I wouldn't impose a flight ceiling on it...TK does not play by Newton's Third Law. You can have a mouse standing on a sheet of paper lift a car with TK, so there's not a really compelling reason you can't just lift yourself without needing to reference anything else.

Fatigue should be whatever you'd normally impose for long-term exercise of the ability. I think Powers has some discussion of that? No charge for short-term use.

[PK]

Originally Posted by Derago

So a bonus to all skills that could concievably be used via TK?

No, a bonus to skills that you are using via your TK. If the skill roll is being made to see how well you can control your TK (e.g., to swing a sword or throw something), you should add your PK Talent.

So, a couple questions come to mind: when using TK, is it as if he only had one hand or two (TK) hands?

Read the Telekinesis advantage; it explicitly gives you a "pair of hands."

Do range modifiers come into play if you're TK-wielding a sword from 15' away?

They should, yes. It's only reasonable that it'd be harder to see what you're doing when fighting a foe 5 yards away than when you're fighting one at arm's reach.

My player also discovered that he has sufficient TK lifting strength to lift himself though at X-heavy encumberance (TK level 10; he weighs 140) resulting in move 2. Is this fatiguing (TK does not cost fatigue in MH)?

Inherently, no. But if he's doing it for hours, it'd be only reasonable to charge him FP as if he were hiking.

How high can he lift himself? Could he levitate across the grand canyon? I'm currently thinking about having a 20' maximum altitude since that's the range of his TK and I explain it as pushing against the ground. Sounds reasonable?

There is normally no limit, as the TK's range is defined as range from you. But if you want to make that call as the GM, it's a perfectly reasonable one.

Is there any type of clothing he can wear so that he won't be naked when he turns back into a human? Maybe signature gear or a schtick?

A perk would make sense for that, sure. Though personally, I'd charge one perk just for retaining some ragged clothing, and a second perk if you want the clothing to actually stay in perfect shape. :)

[Sunrunners_Fire]

Originally Posted by Derago

Is there any type of clothing he can wear so that he won't be naked when he turns back into a human? Maybe signature gear or a schtick?

Adding "Absorptive Change (No Encumbrance), +5%" to the Alternate Form base advantage costs [0.75] and so a perk would be perfectly reasonable to retrofit AF with the enhancement. This'd allow them to absorb up to their basic lift in gear whenever they shift and then have it reappear unharmed when they shift back.

[Saabre]

Originally Posted by PK

That's not true! PK Talent is awesome for TK, because it adds to every roll you make using the TK. If you want to grab someone using TK and Judo skill, your PK Talent adds to Judo for that roll!

Don't Talents specifically state that they don't effect combat skills?

[Sunrunners_Fire]

Originally Posted by Saabre

Don't Talents specifically state that they don't effect combat skills?

Both Talents and Power Talents work with combat skills. Where are you seeing that which says they don't?

[Saabre]

I was thinking of the last sentence under Talents. It says GMs "ought to forbid Ninja Talent or Weapon Talent." Rereading it, I guess it doesn't say Talents can't effect combat skills. I just got that impression.