[Basic] Disadvantage of the Week: Self-Destruct, Short Lifespan and Terminally Ill

[johndallman]

Self-Destruct [-10] is an exotic physical disadvantage. When you reach the age at which you need to start making ageing rolls, you will make them every day at HT-3, meaning that you will age to death rather rapidly. It is usually found in artificial species, sometimes in combination with:

Short Lifespan [-10/level] is also an exotic physical disadvantage. The age at which you start making aging rolls, and the interval between them, is halved for each level you have. These two disadvantages appeared during the 3e period, for various kinds of android in Robots.

Terminally Ill [-50, -75 or -100] is a mundane physical disadvantage, although it might well have exotic or supernatural causes. You’re going to die soon: within a month for [-100], within a year for [‑75] or two years for [50]. This doom is pretty certain, and if you manage to avert it, you need to buy it off, and/or take compensating disadvantages.

You cannot take both Self-Destruct and Terminally Ill: if the likely time you have left due to Self-Destruct is within the range of Terminally Ill, take that disadvantage. Obviously, these disadvantages are all meaningless if the game is a one-shot or a campaign too short for them to have any effect. They can be effects of injury, such as Terminally Ill for radiation exposure.

These disadvantages are rare on published character templates, though Short Lifespan shows up on many animals, Aliens: Sparrials, and Banestorm dolphins, insect men and octopus folk, among others. Action and similar settings ban Terminally Ill as a point crock in high-lethality games. Lots of Bio-Tech creatures have one or more of these disadvantages, and the book points out that Terminally Ill may not be meaningful in campaigns with very advanced medicine. Disasters: Meltdown and Fallout removes Terminally Ill as an effect of realistic radiation. Fantasy has spirits of specific times that use these disadvantages, and Martial Arts has Terminally Ill as a result of realistic injury. Space discusses size, physiology and lifespan, and Thaumatology: Alchemical Baroque has short-lived ghosts and sapient cats. Zombies . . . has 46 mentions of these disadvantages, and that's enough for me, thanks.

The internal duration of GURPS campaigns, and thus the impact of these disadvantages, seems to vary widely. I’ve played several campaigns that have lasted a few months or a year of game time, and one that’s just passed five years, and have run ones that have had similar durations. Obviously, one can run a long-term campaign in GURPS, although it’s likely to involve a lot of skipped time.

Have these disadvantages seen use in your games?