Pak Protecters in GURPS

Kelly Pedersen · 07-26-2018, 11:14 PM

The stats are really going to depend on where, exactly, you draw the Protectors from Niven's continuity. They got steadily more impressive over time. There's quite a gap between Jack Brennan, who's smarter than most humans, but capable of error (for example, failing to think of the Pak colonizing fleet), and Louis Wu, literally incapable of comprehending his own thought processes once he gets "reset" back to baseline humans.

I prefer the earlier versions of the Protectors, where they're not invincible, impossible-to-outthink demigods, so my comments will be geared along those lines.

I think IQ+10 is much too high, for a couple of reasons. First, it doesn't leave any room for variation - practically all human-derived Protectors will be identical intelligence levels, sitting at 20. I feel there should be some room for differences in Protector intelligence, whether from starting from an inherently higher-intelligence baseline, or long experience. Second, high IQ on its own doesn't really do much of what the Protectors manage to do - I think you need other advantages for that, which I'll cover below.

I'd make the human-baseline Protector IQ boost be something like +5 or +6 - enough to make even an average human into a genius, but leaving room for improvement above it. For a baseline barely sapient breeder, like a Pak, I'd peg the IQ boost at more like +8. That's enough to turn an IQ 6 breeder into something comfortably smarter than a human, but not as intelligent as, say, Brennan post-transformation.

I think I'd tone down the DX bonus too - the Protectors are definitely much more agile than baseline humanity, but again, I think you want to leave room for variation. I'd go for DX +5 for pretty much all the different forms of Protector.

HT +10 is just way too high. Protectors are tougher than baseline breeders, but HT +10 just makes them pretty much invulnerable. It means that even major tissue damage that doesn't kill them instantly will almost certainly be recovered from, for instance, and we know that Protectors have died from such attacks, so it can't be that much. Likewise, we know Protectors are vulnerable to diseases (that's how the original population on the Ringworld died out), and HT +10 just doesn't allow for that. I'd pull this down a lot, to more like HT +2, and pull down the Hard to Kill to only +2 or +3 or so.

The total level of ST is okay, but you might want to switch some of it to levels of Lifting and Striking ST - while Protectors certainly have more HP than humans, I don't think they have 150% more.

It's in advantages that I'd suggest you make up for the "intelligence" of the Protectors, rather than raw IQ. You've already got Intuition, which is good, but I'd add at least some of the following, or at least present them as optional for a Protector:

Absolute Timing
Common Sense
Danger Sense
Eidetic/Photographic Memory
Empathy (limited to Pak-descended species only, perhaps)
Enhanced Tracking
Gadgeteer (Brennan definitely had this)
Lightning Calculator/Intuitive Mathematician
Language Talent
Oracle (with the "requires access to data" limitation from Powers, representing sifting through reams of information and deriving answers from that)
Precognition (with the same limitations as Oracle)
Versatile
Visualization (probably with Reduced Time)

If you've got it, I'd also strongly recommend the Foresight advantage, from the article "Fortunately, I Saw This Coming" in Pyramid #3/53. It's a generalization of the Gizmo rules, allowing the character to retroactively declare they did something, brought some piece of gear, or otherwise were prepared, and it's one of the best traits I know to describe a cinematically intelligent character, which Protectors definitely qualify for.

As for other traits, I'd suggest at least a couple levels of Charisma. Despite the appearance, there's some suggestions that Pak descendants are genetically programmed to respect and listen to beings that look like Protectors.

I think the Obsession needs a much lower self-control number. It's basically the defining characteristic of a Protector, and suggested to be very difficult indeed to evade. Conversely, I think the Bloodlust could have a much higher self-control target, or be removed entirely. Protectors fight to win, certainly, but I don't think they ever make the tactically poor choice to kill off an enemy when there are other foes on the battlefield. I think their tendency to kill off the defeated, when all their foes are dead, is adequately explained by their Obsession and general Callousness. But if it was tactically or strategically valuable to leave a foe alive, they'll do so.

07-26-2018, 11:14 PM	#6
Kelly Pedersen Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Saskatoon, SK, Canada	Re: Pak Protecters in GURPS The stats are really going to depend on where, exactly, you draw the Protectors from Niven's continuity. They got steadily more impressive over time. There's quite a gap between Jack Brennan, who's smarter than most humans, but capable of error (for example, failing to think of the Pak colonizing fleet), and Louis Wu, literally incapable of comprehending his own thought processes once he gets "reset" back to baseline humans. I prefer the earlier versions of the Protectors, where they're not invincible, impossible-to-outthink demigods, so my comments will be geared along those lines. I think IQ+10 is much too high, for a couple of reasons. First, it doesn't leave any room for variation - practically all human-derived Protectors will be identical intelligence levels, sitting at 20. I feel there should be some room for differences in Protector intelligence, whether from starting from an inherently higher-intelligence baseline, or long experience. Second, high IQ on its own doesn't really do much of what the Protectors manage to do - I think you need other advantages for that, which I'll cover below. I'd make the human-baseline Protector IQ boost be something like +5 or +6 - enough to make even an average human into a genius, but leaving room for improvement above it. For a baseline barely sapient breeder, like a Pak, I'd peg the IQ boost at more like +8. That's enough to turn an IQ 6 breeder into something comfortably smarter than a human, but not as intelligent as, say, Brennan post-transformation. I think I'd tone down the DX bonus too - the Protectors are definitely much more agile than baseline humanity, but again, I think you want to leave room for variation. I'd go for DX +5 for pretty much all the different forms of Protector. HT +10 is just way too high. Protectors are tougher than baseline breeders, but HT +10 just makes them pretty much invulnerable. It means that even major tissue damage that doesn't kill them instantly will almost certainly be recovered from, for instance, and we know that Protectors have died from such attacks, so it can't be that much. Likewise, we know Protectors are vulnerable to diseases (that's how the original population on the Ringworld died out), and HT +10 just doesn't allow for that. I'd pull this down a lot, to more like HT +2, and pull down the Hard to Kill to only +2 or +3 or so. The total level of ST is okay, but you might want to switch some of it to levels of Lifting and Striking ST - while Protectors certainly have more HP than humans, I don't think they have 150% more. It's in advantages that I'd suggest you make up for the "intelligence" of the Protectors, rather than raw IQ. You've already got Intuition, which is good, but I'd add at least some of the following, or at least present them as optional for a Protector: Absolute Timing Common Sense Danger Sense Eidetic/Photographic Memory Empathy (limited to Pak-descended species only, perhaps) Enhanced Tracking Gadgeteer (Brennan definitely had this) Lightning Calculator/Intuitive Mathematician Language Talent Oracle (with the "requires access to data" limitation from Powers, representing sifting through reams of information and deriving answers from that) Precognition (with the same limitations as Oracle) Versatile Visualization (probably with Reduced Time) If you've got it, I'd also strongly recommend the Foresight advantage, from the article "Fortunately, I Saw This Coming" in Pyramid #3/53. It's a generalization of the Gizmo rules, allowing the character to retroactively declare they did something, brought some piece of gear, or otherwise were prepared, and it's one of the best traits I know to describe a cinematically intelligent character, which Protectors definitely qualify for. As for other traits, I'd suggest at least a couple levels of Charisma. Despite the appearance, there's some suggestions that Pak descendants are genetically programmed to respect and listen to beings that look like Protectors. I think the Obsession needs a much lower self-control number. It's basically the defining characteristic of a Protector, and suggested to be very difficult indeed to evade. Conversely, I think the Bloodlust could have a much higher self-control target, or be removed entirely. Protectors fight to win, certainly, but I don't think they ever make the tactically poor choice to kill off an enemy when there are other foes on the battlefield. I think their tendency to kill off the defeated, when all their foes are dead, is adequately explained by their Obsession and general Callousness. But if it was tactically or strategically valuable to leave a foe alive, they'll do so.