Blindness in GURPS, and the "Star Trek" setting 2262...

Stormcrow · 06-09-2024, 09:47 AM

Blind characters — or characters with mere Bad Sight — will almost always have a Mitigator on their Blindness: Miranda Jones has her sensor web; Geordi La Forge has his VISOR; Velma Dinkley has her glasses. If not an actual Mitigator, then some other sense that replaces it: Lynx-O from Thundercats has ESP and high levels of all the Acute Senses other than Vision.

(And in some silly fiction, blind characters simply stumble around and "coincidentally" end up where they need to be or wherever will make the best joke. Mr. Magoo is an example, as are the Three Blind Mice in Shrek.)

And I bring up these non-Star Trek examples in order to illustrate the possible approaches you can take or not take in a Star Trek game, not to suggest that Velma Dinkley or Lynx-O belong in Star Trek. Take my post as it's meant.

Characters who are simply not able to see at all are rare in adventure fiction; this should be avoided unless the player is willing to be led by other characters all the time. In the case of Star Trek, it seems quite clear that Mitigators are available, common enough that they can be disguised as a fashion accessory. I can't imagine a crewman simply being blind with no compensation.

So your player's character probably has Blindness with a Mitigator, the cane. That makes the cane basically part of the character, not merely a piece of gear.

06-09-2024, 09:47 AM	#3
Stormcrow Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Ronkonkoma, NY	Re: Blindness in GURPS, and the "Star Trek" setting 2262... Blind characters — or characters with mere Bad Sight — will almost always have a Mitigator on their Blindness: Miranda Jones has her sensor web; Geordi La Forge has his VISOR; Velma Dinkley has her glasses. If not an actual Mitigator, then some other sense that replaces it: Lynx-O from Thundercats has ESP and high levels of all the Acute Senses other than Vision. (And in some silly fiction, blind characters simply stumble around and "coincidentally" end up where they need to be or wherever will make the best joke. Mr. Magoo is an example, as are the Three Blind Mice in Shrek.) And I bring up these non-Star Trek examples in order to illustrate the possible approaches you can take or not take in a Star Trek game, not to suggest that Velma Dinkley or Lynx-O belong in Star Trek. Take my post as it's meant. Characters who are simply not able to see at all are rare in adventure fiction; this should be avoided unless the player is willing to be led by other characters all the time. In the case of Star Trek, it seems quite clear that Mitigators are available, common enough that they can be disguised as a fashion accessory. I can't imagine a crewman simply being blind with no compensation. So your player's character probably has Blindness with a Mitigator, the cane. That makes the cane basically part of the character, not merely a piece of gear.