Psi: What can you do with an astral accessory?

[Gef]

Just wanna be clear here: I can take a gun as signature gear, for a point, and make it an astral accessory, for a point, and inflict far more damage at far longer range than I could with a much more expensive Astral Sword ability, right? Or I could take a motorbike as an astral accessory and increase my spying radius more than a more expensive astral celerity ability, right? The accessory isn't merely cosmetic but works on the astral plane the same way it would in the real world. Is that the intent of the perk?

GEF

[Not another shrubbery]

In a Psionic Powers campaign, you could do any of those things if your GM allows it. It doesn't seem to be the default assumption, just based on the existence of those mentioned abilities.

[Gef]

I'm the GM, trying to decide what to allow, trying to understand the author's intent. Is it cosmetic, like shtick?

[sir_pudding]

Originally Posted by Gef

I'm the GM, trying to decide what to allow, trying to understand the author's intent. Is it cosmetic, like shtick?

I'm fairly sure that the Astral Accessory is supposed to do something. Otherwise what's the point. I don't really see a balance issue. It's gear, so it can be lost, stolen, broken, and so on. It's also inconvenient sometimes. There might be laws governing the ownership of Astral Accessories in certain Astral Realms.

[Sunrunners_Fire]

Originally Posted by sir_pudding

There might be laws governing the ownership of Astral Accessories in certain Astral Realms.

Walking into the Faerie Mist bearing a weapon of iron to their retreat from the world would be quite the learning experience, I'm sure. For example.

[sir_pudding]

Originally Posted by Sunrunners_Fire

Walking into the Faerie Mist bearing a weapon of iron to their retreat from the world would be quite the learning experience, I'm sure. For example.

Sure, and you might need a drivers license for your motorbike in Utopia (of course Utopian DMV lines are always no-waiting!).

[Daigoro]

Originally Posted by Gef

Just wanna be clear here: I can take a gun as signature gear, for a point, and make it an astral accessory, for a point, and inflict far more damage at far longer range than I could with a much more expensive Astral Sword ability, right? Or I could take a motorbike as an astral accessory and increase my spying radius more than a more expensive astral celerity ability, right? The accessory isn't merely cosmetic but works on the astral plane the same way it would in the real world. Is that the intent of the perk?

GEF

Isn't this basically the same dynamic between gear and powers as in the real world?

As a GM, just keep in mind that if the PCs can carry guns into the astral plane, then the bad guys can too, i.e. don't let the power operate in a vacuum.

[DangerousThing]

As I read it, the Accessory perk is only for non weapon items. It's so you can always have a small penknife or flashlight when you need it, not so you can sneak guns past customs.

If one of my players took a gun as an astral accessory, I'd allow it (after first telling him that i would rather he didn't and that it's a bad idea). However on the astral plane it wouldn't shoot.

[Prince Charon]

Originally Posted by DangerousThing

As I read it, the Accessory perk is only for non weapon items. It's so you can always have a small penknife or flashlight when you need it, not so you can sneak guns past customs.

If one of my players took a gun as an astral accessory, I'd allow it (after first telling him that i would rather he didn't and that it's a bad idea). However on the astral plane it wouldn't shoot.

Depending on the type of game it is, I might say 'Sure, you can have a gun, but if you want bullets, you have to pay two points for each bullet (one for Signature Gear, one for Astral Accessory), and the points are lost once you fire it,' (which would most likely result in the players taking the hint, and not buying Astral Accessory for that purpose). That, of course, is only for the sort of setting where guns in the Astral would be out-of-genre. I'd be inclined to allow swords and such as Astral Accessories, or bows and arrows, more-so than I would guns and bullets (e.g. you can pay one point for each bullet, and it's lost when used, or you can pay one point for a full quiver of identical arrows, and it refills every time you leave your Material Body), but it really very much depends on the setting.

I'd base damage on Will, or perhaps on Astral Travel and/or Astral Projection Talent in some way, rather than on strength, or on the normal damage for a mundane firearm. If the Astral Sword ability also exists, though, it will have some significant advantages over the much cheaper option (or Astral Accessory simply wouldn't be allowed for weapons). Likewise, I might allow an Astral Only version of ranged Innate Attacks, if the players really want to have the option of ranged Astral combat. One of my ideas for the Astral Plane is that you simply can't fight there, in the manner you fight in the material realm, unless you're using telepathy (and maybe not even then - maybe it's all social engineering).

I'd also allow Astral Accessory without Signature Gear, for accessories that only exist on the Astral Plane, weapons or otherwise.

[sir_pudding]

Originally Posted by Prince Charon

Depending on the type of game it is, I might say 'Sure, you can have a gun, but if you want bullets, you have to pay two points for each bullet (one for Signature Gear, one for Astral Accessory), and the points are lost once you fire it,'

Wouldn't the rules for Consumable Signature Gear be appropriate here.

At any rate I don't really see the abuse. You have to have the item. It's restricted in the same ways that gear in the real world does and it may or may not be subject to wonky Astral physics on top of that. Getting a motorbike or a MBT or the USS Nimitz is prohibitively expensive in terms of Signature Gear plus ST or Payload (and really you can say, "Yes you can have anything as an Astral Accessory but you aren't allowed to buy Payload to get around the BL restriction in this game.").

So sure you can have your trusty .45s. Of course you can have bullets too! That's going to cost you at least 4 points though. This doesn't mean guns work everywhere in the Astral Plane, and it doesn't mean that they won't be a problem in Inner Realms with legal or supernatural gun control...