GURPS Psionic Powers

[Peter Knutsen]

Originally Posted by Bruno

Probability Alteration definitely was in Uplift for 3e, and I think the rules there were reprinted from another worldbook (Wildcards?)

Isn't it just some kind of Enhancement to various luck-type Advantages, to make them active-use? Wishing ot something?

[Shrale]

Does Lucky Break involve dropping a die roll by 1 pt (or 3%) ?

If so then I'd probably just make it go "inactive" after a successful use,
then assuming 3% of 365 days is ~10; wait 350 or so days before it
can be used again.

Seems pretty weak though, especially if it's a cinematic style game...
probably relegate that to every 100+ days or so; depending on how
many Perk Points were spent up-front...(assuming one is allowed to
do that).

>

[Dragyn]

Um... no?

Lucky Break: Once ever, you can move any success roll up
one step, where the steps are critical failure, failure, success,
and critical success. Then this perk (and the character point
spent on it) disappears! This can be cheaper than Influencing
Success Rolls (p. B347), but it must be bought in advance
and only psis with Probability Alteration abilities or Talent
can do so. It can be bought multiple times.

Emphasis mine..

[Shrale]

Sorry, I meant the range of the dice-roll, so rolling a 10 (say = success)
means you can turn that into a 3 or 4 (critical success) so it's not a
numbers-driven dealy.

That's quite a hand-wave.

As a player I'd ask the GM for a break on a power that I can use more
often that's not quite as over-the-top :)

>

[Bruno]

Originally Posted by Peter Knutsen

Isn't it just some kind of Enhancement to various luck-type Advantages, to make them active-use? Wishing ot something?

No, it was a full leveled Powers based system with i think two or three main powers (the 3e kind of Psionic Powers, not the 4e type).

[PK]

Originally Posted by Peter Knutsen

Isn't it just some kind of Enhancement to various luck-type Advantages, to make them active-use? Wishing ot something?

No, it was a leveled power, but done really strangely. Basically, if you had bought enough levels to cover the cost of (say) Ridiculous Luck, then you had Ridiculous Luck. On top of that, you could pay 1d FP and roll skill, if successful you got to use it even if it wasn't recharged. It was a very odd system compared to both other 3e psi and 4e psi.

Originally Posted by Shrale

Sorry, I meant the range of the dice-roll, so rolling a 10 (say = success) means you can turn that into a 3 or 4 (critical success) so it's not a numbers-driven dealy.

That's quite a hand-wave.

Note that it was derived almost verbatim from Influencing Success Rolls (p. B347), an existing (optional) part of the rules.

As a player I'd ask the GM for a break on a power that I can use more often that's not quite as over-the-top :)

That'd be Second Chance, unless you wanted a perk that gave you a very slim bonus to be used very rarely. The fact that it goes away is the only reason it's balanced. Something like this might be fair:

Perk: Just Made It

You can retroactively alter any roll you make (for success or damage) by 1. After using this perk, it becomes inactive for the remainder of this game session and the next one.

Example: Jeff games once a week. This week, he rolls a 12 against a Diagnosis skill of 11. He uses this perk to change the roll to an 11, turning failure into success. He cannot use this perk again this game session, or next week's' game session, but it becomes available for the session the week after.

[Shrale]

No I meant: "Don't waste time with a one-shot deal unless it's almost a freebie
and get the GM to gimme some freedom with something slightly unconventional
that'll work more often".

:)


>

[vitruvian]

Originally Posted by Shrale

No I meant: "Don't waste time with a one-shot deal unless it's almost a freebie and get the GM to gimme some freedom with something slightly unconventional that'll work more often".

Well, basic Luck lets you roll the dice three times and take the best result; which will usually garner you at least one step's worth of change, and frequently more, so on the basis that it's slightly less useful than Luck (but only slightly, since it's also more predictable) I might price this at ~10 CP for a once per hour of play/once per day of game time ability to shift things by one step. Whether greater levels should be taken like Luck (i.e., 20 pts for once per half hour, 40 points for once per 10 minutes, or twice and six times per game day) or just at 10 points per shift, stackable at will so that with 30 points you could shift things one step three times, or shift things three steps one time, I'm not sure.

[PK]

Frankly, I'd make that a same-cost variant of Luck, not cheaper. Who hasn't used a Luck roll on a failure only to roll another failure, then another. Depressing. The ability to guarantee a one-step shift is powerful, especially considering that you can turn any success into a crit, which is something that regular Luck isn't actually that likely to do.

[jeff_wilson]

Originally Posted by Rev. Pee Kitty

Example: Jeff games once a week. This week, he rolls a 12 against a Diagnosis skill of 11. He uses this perk to change the roll to an 11, turning success into failure. He cannot use this perk again this game session, or next week's' game session, but it becomes available for the session the week after.

Jeff is confused and not sure why he would want to pay for a perk that causes him to fail an important medical task and be mocked in perpetuity by Dr House.