[Basic] Advantage of the Week: Obscure

[ericthered]

Back in the Advantage of the Week: Invisibility thread, we talked about obscure a LOT. Probably about obscure as much as invisibility.

I like obscure. It doesn't come up too often, but when it does its dead useful.

In my current game about psionic agents trying to take over a spaceship, two of them have obscure. And they've both used it heavily for sneaking around.

I've represented kinetic fields of energy protecting a user from projectiles as obscure: the obscure gives a penalty to attack rolls from ballistic attacks. A very skilled attacker can place a bullet dead center in the field to get through, but its generally a fairly useful build.

Obscure 10 (Pysical Projectiles, Defensive +50%, targeting only -20%, psi -10%) [22]

(this is also from the dreadstormer game, oddly enough)



I've toyed around with letting obscure represent weather granting generic penalties over an area to more than vision. Never run it in a game though. For example, wind giving a penalty to certain actions. Still haven't worked that out all the way though.

[Christopher R. Rice]

Originally Posted by ericthered

I've represented kinetic fields of energy protecting a user from projectiles as obscure: the obscure gives a penalty to attack rolls from ballistic attacks. A very skilled attacker can place a bullet dead center in the field to get through, but its generally a fairly useful build.

That's interesting. That's *very* interesting.

[Pursuivant]

A small weakness in Obscure is that it assumes that all senses are created equal.

That isn't the case for relatively short-ranged senses like Smell or Vibration Sense, or a non-ranged sense like Taste.

I think it would be fair to apply a -20% Accessibility limitation to Obscure if it can only "jam" a relatively short-ranged sense, or a -40% limitation if it can only affect a non-ranged sense.

[Not]

"Tasteless"

[Christopher R. Rice]

Originally Posted by Pursuivant

A small weakness in Obscure is that it assumes that all senses are created equal.

That isn't the case for relatively short-ranged senses like Smell or Vibration Sense, or a non-ranged sense like Taste.

I think it would be fair to apply a -20% Accessibility limitation to Obscure if it can only "jam" a relatively short-ranged sense, or a -40% limitation if it can only affect a non-ranged sense.

You'd have to overhaul the entire thing if you did that. Arguably targeting senses like Vision should cost more in such cases. Not that that's a bad idea, but I don't think it would be worth it in the end.

[Not another shrubbery]

Originally Posted by johndallman

I don’t think I’ve ever used Obscure, as a GM or a player. I’ve used Chameleon, Invisibility and Silence as concealment powers, but never this one. Have you?

I've only tinkered with it. The idea behind it feels kind of meta-gamey in the way it assumes that every form of detection should be equally easy to obfuscate. I've shied away from using it in games, although it seems suited to vision blocking.

Originally Posted by Pursuivant

A small weakness in Obscure is that it assumes that all senses are created equal.

I'd call that a major problem. You really should have separate advantages with their own prices that depend on the utility of the affected sense.

Originally Posted by martinl

Not only have I never used this disad, I don't think I've ever even noticed it.

How appropriate.

It is arcane ;)

[Prince Charon]

A variant on something posted earlier in the thread:
Obscure (Vision; Defensive, +50%; Targeting only, -20%; Only When Berserk, -20%; power modifier, -10%) # [##]

Berserkers don't have good survival prospects, but something like that could be pretty helpful. The specific power modifier would affect how it messes with targeting, and 'Vision' might be switched out for something else. One version that occurs to me is to have the base power be Probability Alteration, so the logic is that you're luckier in specific ways when you're in a frenzied rage. Possibly accompany it with one or more other Probability Alteration abilities with the Only When Berserk limitation. (EDIT: Basing it on Telepathy could be something like 'Your rage clouds the minds of others!')


In case anyone is curious, 'Only When Berserk' comes from the Berserkergang style, in GURPS Martial Arts: Yrth Fighting Styles pp15-16, with the limitation being detailed on p25.

[ericthered]

Originally Posted by Prince Charon

A variant on something posted earlier in the thread:
Obscure (Vision; Defensive, +50%; Targeting only, -20%; Only When Berserk, -20%; power modifier, -10%) # [##]

Its a powerful combination, but I don't know how natural it is. Compare making the Berserker invisible.

But yeah, Obscure is one of the few defenses a berserker can make good use of.

Amulets of deflection from that other game could be built this way, as an alternative to using DR.