The GURPS Meta-Tech Hype Thread

[whswhs]

Originally Posted by Varyon

I mean, the cost calculation being trivial is a good thing - it makes the system quick and easy to use (at least once you've built the ability itself, which is the complex part - but that's no different from building any ability in GURPS). In a setting where MTD's don't have cash prices, you could still use the derived cash price as a guideline for inventing (most rules for which rely on the nominal value of the item being made IIRC), crafting (price is materials+labor), and repairing (replacement parts are generally a percentage of full value IIRC) such items, using the relevant rules from Basic Set, After the End, etc. If you have absolutely no use for a nominal cash value - if you aren't going to allow characters to do any of the above in play, but rather just require them to purchase the abilities as Gadgets - then the process of turning an Advantage into an MTD won't be of any use to you, and you can largely ignore those parts of the book. Or you could modify the guidelines to create a variant of the Gadget rules with more nuance, with the CF modifiers turning into Limitations on the relevant Advantages - or the Metatrait as a whole - and using the size-based base costs to set what Limitation value is associated with various SM's. Some other guidelines could also be of use, like Attachables if your character has a priceless magic gem they can attach to mundane gear to enhance it. Even if you aren't using that, things like having a Payload with built-in Temporal Stasis (or having two characters with shared Payloads, like the Hither-Thither Trunks) or any of the other modifiers introduced in Meta-Tech can be useful.

One section that I read with particular interest in Meta-Tech was the discussion of origins. I particularly like origins and am using them in my own project, and there are some here I hadn't thought of and might want to borrow. But my treatment using origins as modifiers expressed as percentages, and it gives specifics on what factors contributed to those modifiers (for example, Super is -5% for having anti-powers and -5% for being subject to advanced technological countermeasures).

I can convert a BCM into a percentile modifier trivially. But this book doesn't spell out exactly what elements contributed how much to which BCM, and I don't find it obvious how to reverse engineer the designs.

I'm interested in Cthulhutech, Materials, and Necromantic, which seem to be original and without parallels in other material. And I'm curious about the +3.5 for Cosmic: I'm accustomed to treating the Cosmic PM as +50%, not as +350%. If anyone can shed light on how their BCMs were derived, it would be appreciated.

[Varyon]

Originally Posted by whswhs

I'm interested in Cthulhutech, Materials, and Necromantic, which seem to be original and without parallels in other material. And I'm curious about the +3.5 for Cosmic: I'm accustomed to treating the Cosmic PM as +50%, not as +350%. If anyone can shed light on how their BCMs were derived, it would be appreciated.

I believe Cthulhutech gets its -0.4 BCM from that Fright Check rule, which sounds like something out of Horror but I don't recognize it. However, the fact Corrupting -20% can replace it (and is -0.2 BCM if combined with it) implies to me that there's another -20% in there somewhere.

Necromantic is straightforward - the only drawback it comes with by default is a Reaction Penalty (a hefty one, at -4), but this is explicitly treated as a Feature on account of being readily concealed. Personally, I'd be inclined to have an option where it's only concealed when not in use, such that you'll always get worse reactions while actively using the item; that should be around -0.2 BCM, as a general -4 to Reaction Rolls is worth [-20] (although you could lessen that if there are notable groups that don't react poorly, or even react more positively, using the guidelines from Reputation; if Necromancers and Undead together count as a large group, that's a x2/3 multiplier to leave them out, for [-13] - and if they also react to someone using Necromantic items at +2, that would be worth [5], making the above [-8], which would round to -0.1 BCM). The others are optional, at -0.1 BCM - -10% as Limitations - each, with the exception of the -0.8 BCM - -80% - for requiring the sacrifice of a soul.

The Cosmic Origin has No Roll Required +300% baked into it, as well as using standard Extra Effort rules rather than the harsher ones for MTD's. Personally, I'd also have them ignore the harsher rules for Critical Failures (for those cases where a roll is required, like making attacks).

EDIT: I missed that you asked about Materials as well. Yeah, I think that has too many parts for me to figure out an "Under The Hood" for either.

[whswhs]

Originally Posted by Varyon

The Cosmic Origin has No Roll Required +300% baked into it, as well as using standard Extra Effort rules rather than the harsher ones for MTD's. Personally, I'd also have them ignore the harsher rules for Critical Failures (for those cases where a roll is required, like making attacks).

Okay, that makes sense. But for my project I think I'm going to stay with +50%. For one thing, it's consistent with Powers, in which only the minimal +50% of Cosmic counts as a power modifier. For another, well, if Thor shows up, I'm going to make him roll Thrown Axe/Mace to hit his foes with Mjollnir.

[Addendum: Thinking about it, though, I'm not sure it should be +3.5. In GURPS Powers, if you take a Cosmic modifier worth +300%, as No Roll Required is, and you also take the Cosmic power modifier for +50%, the power modifier is just folded together with the first 50% of the NRR. So you get a total of +300%, or in this book of +3. Unless there's some separate Cosmic enhancement that I'm not seeing?]

I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who finds reverse engineering the BCMs perplexing. I really would like to see an analysis of the +70% for Materials, though.

[Christopher R. Rice]

Mods, please go ahead and close down this thread - the hype ends here! But party for Meta-Tech isn't stopping! Head here with questions, comments, etc.

[Kromm]

This thread is cool and we are not closing it because it isn't! However, it was meant to last only until the official announcement, where you are welcome to continue the discussion!