House Rules for Affliction

[ericthered]

The advantage is one of the most flexible in Gurps, but it has one grand weakness: Its levels are tied to this think called a HT roll. This means that if I want someone to roll at HT-2 instead of HT I have to pay three times the cost. This really doesn't make sense to me. A lot of times its cheaper to buy malediction and raise my will, and that just gets worse at the higher levels, not the lower ones.

I'm sure others have noticed this: does any one have house rules they use to get reasonable costs for affliction (meaning I actually consider if I want to improve the duration, the range, or the HT roll)? Alternatively, could someone explain why such a thing would be a bad idea?

I think the two routes that can be tried are

• creating a [base+x/level] structure similar to leech or terror
• treating the additional difficulty as a modifier rather than using levels

what numbers would you use, and what are the pitfalls of each method?

[Anthony]

Cost 10/2, and level of affliction does not affect recover rolls from stunning (otherwise it's far too easy to permanently stun someone). Also, affliction replaces the attack roll, not the effect roll, so winning the quick contests means you hit, but they still get a separate resistance roll against the effect.

[starslayer]

Re: Anthony

I think turning malediction into an 'attack roll not effect' roll would make it radically overpriced.

RE: ericthered

I agree with your assessment, the default affliction I almost never see applied beyond 2 levles, because the cost/reset curve on it is poor. (IE- at level 1 your affliction affects most people ~50% of the time, pay twice as much to have it affect people ~60% of the time; double the cost for 10% greater effectiveness seems a poor buy)

Perhaps 'hard to resist' could be a +50-100%/level enhancement- this would stop 'I take stun with resist -20' builds from being inexpensive ways to completely debilitate multiple foes, and allow more potent abilities to get some additional levels without being insanely expensive.

[Sunrunners_Fire]

Originally Posted by ericthered

• treating the additional difficulty as a modifier rather than using levels

I've been using the below chart for a couple campaigns now. It is essentially Reliable, up to Reliable 5, with Reliable 6+ also requiring Cosmic +50%, Reliable 10+ also requiring Cosmic +100% and Reliable 20+ also requiring Cosmic +300%. It has worked out well enough that it is actually being voluntarily taken by my players rather than being ignored as the rules-as-written Affliction levels were. Malediction remains significantly more popular in any case.

Chart:
HT -0, +0%
HT -1, +5%
HT -2, +10%
HT -3, +15%
HT -4, +20%
HT -5, +25% | natural ceiling
HT -6, +80% | (and better) includes cosmic exemption at the +50% value
HT -7, +95%
...
HT -11, +155% | (and better) includes cosmic exemption at the +100% value instead of the +50% value
HT -12, +160%
...
HT -21, +405% | (and better) includes cosmic exemption at the +300% value instead of the +100% value
HT -22, +410%
...

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by starslayer

Re: Anthony

I think turning malediction into an 'attack roll not effect' roll would make it radically overpriced.

Malediction on damaging powers is worthwhile, and on damage powers it's exactly that (attack roll not effect). It's still bypass DR and a high hit probability.

[Edges]

There is this thread, this one, and this one on the subject.

Or just jump to the Kromm quote.

[Joel]

IMO the cost modifier for actual effect of the Affliction should be factored as a multiplier on its own separate from other modifiers. So a heart attack affliction is a 40 points advantage and then you add enhancements and limitations on that value. Otherwise you end up in a situation where for afflictions with impressive effects (like f.ex. the +1000% stasis effect from Powers) you might as well add any and all enhancements you can think of because the cost wont be significantly affected.

I also agree that levels of affliction after the first should be reduced in price similar to how the Terror advantage works.

Originally Posted by Anthony

Malediction on damaging powers is worthwhile, and on damage powers it's exactly that (attack roll not effect). It's still bypass DR and a high hit probability.

Yeah. For Innate Attack, Malediction lets you replace the regular attack roll/dodge attack resolution with a resistance roll + ignore Damage Resistance. I see absolutely no reason it should do more than that for Afflictions, that already leaves Malediction 3 (+200%) as often times superior to Cosmic: Ignores DR (+300%).

[fifiste]

Originally Posted by Anthony

Cost 10/2, and level of affliction does not affect recover rolls from stunning (otherwise it's far too easy to permanently stun someone).

But if it'll keep affecting recover rolls - then 10/10 would be an OK price? Or even higher?

[sir_pudding]

Originally Posted by fifiste

But if it'll keep affecting recover rolls - then 10/10 would be an OK price?

That's what it is now. So no.

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by fifiste

But if it'll keep affecting recover rolls - then 10/10 would be an OK price? Or even higher?

I probably wouldn't include the option (if you want long-duration stunning, it's probably a +100% incapacitating condition).