[MH] A couple of questions

[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.

[Peter Knutsen]

Originally Posted by Derago

2. Psionics. How does this even work? On of my players made a Psi and has mind wipe, mind reading, and telekinesis. I don't see anything that a player needs to roll to activate his ability (beside mind reading), so where do the talents come into play? Also, is there a way for a characters ability to reduce the resistance of a target in a way like you can take hits to your melee skill to reduce active defense?

If you require Psychology rolls to do tricky things with telepathic powers, then the Talent bonus should apply to those.

There may be IQ rolls in difficult-communication situations, i.e. if language is involved and one of the participants has less than Fluent. Again, the Telepathy/Psi Talent should add to the IQ roll for such purposes.

It's the same as with the Shapechanging advantage. There's no roll to use it, so in order to make Talent still be useful, the RAW says to apply it to rolls such as Acting, during the use of the advantage.

[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?

[vierasmarius]

Originally Posted by Saabre

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

Not at all. It's just that most pre-made Talents don't, and the GM is recommended to keep a close eye on those that do. But this is a Power Talent, not a regular one. Power Talents add to all skills rolls associated with their Power, including opposed rolls for Maledictions and to-hit rolls for Innate attacks.

[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.

[PK]

Originally Posted by 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.

That sentence is saying that the GM shouldn't allow unrealistically broad Talents, not Talents with skills useful in combat. In other words, the GM shouldn't let players build a 15/level Talent that encompasses 25 different useful Ninja skills -- that's too good of a deal and makes no sense as an inherent talent.

Several existing Talents include combat skills; see GURPS Power-Ups 3: Talents for a complete list.

[Bruno]

THe thing to remember with TK is it's utterly Non Newtonian. If you're thinking of TK "pushing against the ground" to lift you, you're "doing it wrong" - that's Newtons third law "When one body exerts a force on a second body, the second body simultaneously exerts a force equal in magnitude and opposite in direction to that of the first body."

The Third Law doesn't apply to TK at all - there is no first body to exert force upon you (the second body), or upon anything else. Your TK is a disembodied force in the most literal sense and requires no mass to act with.

If you dislike that (and it's a little brain-hurty-impossible so I can understand that) it might be easier to visualize the TK itself as the first body - it has some unstated invisible unmeasurable mass that is probably proportional to it's ST rating, and it exerts force through the "normal" methods but cannot be detected or interacted with by any means other than using anti-powers to "unhappen" it entirely.

That's also pretty impossible, so it comes down to which makes your brain hurt less.

I strongly recommend against the "TK applies force between two perfectly normal objects" model to get its effects, because creative players can use that to affect twice as many targets with the effect.