06-08-2012, 09:42 AM | #1 |
GURPS Line Editor
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Montréal, Québec
|
GURPS Power-Ups 5: Impulse Buys
Another pause in e23's GURPS release schedule, and then . . . GURPS Power-Ups 5: Impulse Buys. As its author, I must be modest: This one might not be for everyone. Why is that? Because it expands the notion of character points-as-currency from the traditional role of buying goods (attributes, advantages, skills, etc.) to the more "meta" role of buying services (or at least concessions) from the GM. For instance:Joy cannot be held
As I said, it isn't for everyone. But if you like to tinker, or are intrigued by concepts like "player agency," or are fond of the idea of points being dynamic rather than static . . . well, this one's for you.
__________________
Sean "Dr. Kromm" Punch <kromm@sjgames.com> GURPS Line Editor, Steve Jackson Games My DreamWidth [Just GURPS News] |
06-08-2012, 04:58 PM | #2 |
Join Date: Feb 2007
|
Re: GURPS Power-Ups 5: Impulse Buys
What a great idea! I must have this at once!
__________________
GURPS Settings Beneath Castle Everglory: A Dungeon, Lineage (Modern Fantasy) Paradise City (Cyberpunk), The World of Kung Fu (Modern Martial Arts Setting) |
06-08-2012, 07:01 PM | #3 |
Join Date: Aug 2004
|
Re: GURPS Power-Ups 5: Impulse Buys
Got it; love it. A few observations:
1. There's no reason that I can see to charge double for buying an Extra Life retroactively. In order to do so, the character in question needs to have 25 unspent character points available to him; this is no different than the character who pre-spent them on Extra Life, with the sole exception that said points can't be used for Impulse Buys ‒ and even that's not true if the GM is willing to let the player Sacrifice the Extra Life in order to free up the points for other purposes. In effect, Extra Life isn't so much an Advantage as it is a Declaration of Intent. 2. A so-called "No-Growth" campaign can have growth in it, after a fashion: build young and inexperienced characters (like Luke Skywalker in "A New Hope") with most of their points "locked up" in Destiny (and allow a lot more than "just" three levels of it), while their more experienced companions have less Destiny and more established, dependable ability; then allow the inexperienced characters to mature by trading in levels of Destiny for additional permanent abilities, either at a rate determined by the Improvement Through Study rules or by invoking a Training Sequence as outlined in Martial Arts. |
06-08-2012, 07:25 PM | #4 | |
Join Date: Aug 2004
|
Re: GURPS Power-Ups 5: Impulse Buys
Quote:
The problem is that if you allow the rules for sacrificing abilities (p. 5), you don't even need to have 25 unspent points kicking around; the door's open for the hero to sacrifice his abilities for the points he'd use to buy Extra Life. In other words, in theory, every character becomes "ablative" in a campaign where death is a concern and Extra Life costs the same at character creation or bought on the fly. If you don't impose some kind of penalty, then no one would bother to "shop ahead" for Extra Life; you'd simply scrape the points you need from abilities on your character sheet (since "built on 225 points and still alive" is a better deal for most folks than "built on 250 points but dead"). This issue isn't eliminated entirely by doubling the cost of Extra Life, but it at least introduces a gulf between someone who plans ahead to die and those who scrape up the points at the "last minute." This isn't to say you can't impose whatever rules you want in your campaign, but (IIRC from the review process) that's the rationale there. |
|
06-09-2012, 04:37 AM | #5 | |
Night Watchman
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Cambridge, UK
|
Re: GURPS Power-Ups 5: Impulse Buys
Quote:
The interesting thing about Impulse Buys is that it (optionally) changes a feature of GURPS that has been pretty fundamental to date. It's always been a game where you needed to consider consequences fairly carefully, to be "realistic" in accessing your chances when doing dangerous things. Luck, Daredevil and the like gave you better odds ... but it was still a matter of odds. The tricky thing for a GM who lifts those limits with Impulse Buys is going to be setting the budgets to keep his players from going utterly wild.Their problem is going to be budgeting their rule-escapes. A few disasters are inevitable. |
|
06-09-2012, 09:14 AM | #6 |
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Kansas
|
Re: GURPS Power-Ups 5: Impulse Buys
"Impulse Buys" is a good name for it. So far I am resisting the impulse to buy it before I catch up on all my other reading I have to do. Eventually, but it won't be impulsive.
Hooray, I made my Will roll. |
06-09-2012, 12:21 PM | #7 | |
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: SF Bay Area, CA
|
Re: GURPS Power-Ups 5: Impulse Buys
Quote:
|
|
06-09-2012, 12:42 PM | #8 | |
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Nashville, TN
|
Re: GURPS Power-Ups 5: Impulse Buys
Quote:
I'll pick up the supplement soon and mine it for some more ideas.
__________________
I didn't realize who I was until I stopped being who I wasn't. Formerly known as Bookman- forum name changed 1/3/2018. |
|
06-09-2012, 09:25 PM | #9 | |
Join Date: Aug 2004
|
Re: GURPS Power-Ups 5: Impulse Buys
Quote:
As well, the Enchantment College is a natural fit for converting things over to character point expenditures: just divide the energy cost to make a magic item by 25, and you have a "Changing the World"-style point cost that could be paid, in full or in part, to speed up the enchantments. Last edited by dataweaver; 06-10-2012 at 12:19 AM. |
|
06-09-2012, 11:11 PM | #10 | |
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Spain —Europe
|
Re: GURPS Power-Ups 5: Impulse Buys
Thanks dataweaver for your comments; I'll think about them.
At the same time, my apologies for making you to answer to a post mine that I deleted because I wanted to re-check its points before re-posting it. If that deletion is a cause of confusion, I can post it again. Another thing that I see is that, contrary to what the "Changing the World" section in PU 5 allows for certain advantages, isn't possible to change the duration of a magical effect to permanent by means of other PU 5 options, like spending CP/IP for adjusting spell' effects according to Thaumatology, p. 39, since that is expressly forbidden: Quote:
__________________
"Let's face it: for some people, roleplaying is a serious challenge, a life-or-death struggle." J. M. Caparula/Scott Haring "Physics is basic but inessential." Wolfgang Smith My G+ |
|
Tags |
character points, metagaming, power-ups |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|