The GURPS Meta-Tech Hype Thread

[Nostri]

Oh hot damn, I knew this was happening but I've been working too much over time lately to realize we'd finally gotten a release date for it! I just set myself a calendar reminder for this so I don't forget to buy it.

I've been trying to work out how to build Iron Kingdoms mechanika in a way that I could let my players build stuff with it without having to have the whole thing resting on a swaying tower of GM Fiat on and off for a few years now. This looks like exactly what I need. From some of the other comments I should be able to build 'jacks (coal powered robots) and warcaster armor (effectively steampunk iron man armor).

[Christopher R. Rice]

Originally Posted by Nostri

Oh hot damn, I knew this was happening but I've been working too much over time lately to realize we'd finally gotten a release date for it! I just set myself a calendar reminder for this so I don't forget to buy it.

I've been trying to work out how to build Iron Kingdoms mechanika in a way that I could let my players build stuff with it without having to have the whole thing resting on a swaying tower of GM Fiat on and off for a few years now. This looks like exactly what I need. From some of the other comments I should be able to build 'jacks (coal powered robots) and warcaster armor (effectively steampunk iron man armor).

You can build bots and power armor, yes. For my fantasy campaign I have a special ops group that has alchemical power armor and weapons. So I've done it. Works fine.

[Gumby Bush]

Gremlins with Malf-Ray guns with Bulk and axes on the ends they can get a Parry 0U with, powered by fae magic.

Facing off against clockwork gnomes who carry staves providing the ability to pour cash into them to power modified Luck that takes the roll nearest to 10 to their mechanical minions built with a variety of interchangeable clockwork devices. The staves can also be broken to dictate a single die roll once as per Super Luck. The clockwork gnomes' devices are powered by wind-up gizmotry.

Easy-peasy, Christopher?

[dataweaver]

And now I'm thinking about GURPS RWBY, where “everything is a gun”.

[Christopher R. Rice]

Originally Posted by Gumby Bush

Gremlins with Malf-Ray guns with Bulk and axes on the ends they can get a Parry 0U with, powered by fae magic.

Facing off against clockwork gnomes who carry staves providing the ability to pour cash into them to power modified Luck that takes the roll nearest to 10 to their mechanical minions built with a variety of interchangeable clockwork devices. The staves can also be broken to dictate a single die roll once as per Super Luck. The clockwork gnomes' devices are powered by wind-up gizmotry.

Easy-peasy, Christopher?

If you can build it, it can be meta-tech'd. :-)

[Christopher R. Rice]

Originally Posted by dataweaver

And now I'm thinking about GURPS RWBY, where “everything is a gun”.

Powered by magical dust even!

[Christopher R. Rice]

Nine days to go...just nine. Wonder what else y'all want to know before the release (that I can share).

Let me know!

[Farmer]

Originally Posted by Christopher R. Rice

Nine days to go...just nine. Wonder what else y'all want to know before the release (that I can share).

Let me know!

Can meta-tech have its own traits, rather than just giving them to its user?

[Christopher R. Rice]

Originally Posted by Farmer

Can meta-tech have its own traits, rather than just giving them to its user?

In the beginning I had a box for this and when I hit the playtest I quickly realized how gonzo things could get - especially in the case of battlesuits and the like where it just...well, it wasn't pretty. I axed it within the first few days. But eventually, I realized that some builds would need something like that so I consulted with the White Wizard, Seandalf. We bounced a few ideas back and forth and that's when we came upon a solution (we'll he did, I just took it a few steps further). Now adding traits to an item is a highly optional rule that requires a lot of GM oversight, but it essentially works like this: Each thing added is added at 1/5 value and it applies only to the device itself. There is a recommended list of what can be added and buyer beware for straying beyond it. It's mostly things like enhanced HP, HT, etc., but also a way to create a weapon you can summon to your hand ala the MCU Mjolnir or create a sword that will teleport back to its owner and so on. Does that answer your question?

What else you fine folks got. ^_^

[whswhs]

Originally Posted by Christopher R. Rice

In the beginning I had a box for this and when I hit the playtest I quickly realized how gonzo things could get - especially in the case of battlesuits and the like where it just...well, it wasn't pretty. I axed it within the first few days. But eventually, I realized that some builds would need something like that so I consulted with the White Wizard, Seandalf. We bounced a few ideas back and forth and that's when we came upon a solution (we'll he did, I just took it a few steps further). Now adding traits to an item is a highly optional rule that requires a lot of GM oversight, but it essentially works like this: Each thing added is added at 1/5 value and it applies only to the device itself. There is a recommended list of what can be added and buyer beware for straying beyond it. It's mostly things like enhanced HP, HT, etc., but also a way to create a weapon you can summon to your hand ala the MCU Mjolnir or create a sword that will teleport back to its owner and so on. Does that answer your question?

For what it's worth, GURPS Supers has a treatment of this problem for the specific case of powered exoskeleta: You buy the ST as "External ST," worth 8 points/level (it doesn't include hit points), and you take a taboo trait, such that the point cost of the powered armor FOR YOU is based on the difference between its ST and your ST, but if someone else wears it, the point cost is based on the difference between its ST and THEIR ST, as part of External ST, making it a kind of meta-trait.