[Basic] Advantage of the Week: Insubstantiality

[RogerBW]

Originally Posted by AlexanderHowl

You can usually pass through anything with Insubstantiality, it is just that you cannot normally affect anything you pass through. You would normally need both Affects Substantial (+100%) on Insubstantiality and Affects Substantial (+40%) on any attack to target substantial targets.

I agree that that's probably the right answer, though this is where I start to find GURPS' complexity a little excessive.

I've used this mostly in my WWII-with-magic game where spirits of various sorts have become quite important; there's definitely a spirit-world, where recently-dead people and various sorts of inhuman things live (elementals, for example), though the degree to which they can manifest in the mundane world varies quite a bit.

[AlexanderHowl]

Injury Tolerance (Diffuse) is often a legitimate option for ghosts, especially those that are maintaining an ectoplasmic form. Alternatively, a ghost could have Jumper (Spirit; Limited Access, World of the Living, -20%; Projection, -0%) [80], which would have them leaving a comatose body in the world of the dead while sending an insubstantial form into the World of the Living. It is actually superior than Insubstantiality in some ways because you could more cheaply interact with the World of the Living.

[ericthered]

Originally Posted by AlexanderHowl

A good invincibility build is Insubstantiality (Affects Substantial, +100%; Can Carry Objects, Heavy, +100%; Ghost Air, +10%; Selective Effect, +20%) [264]. You (and your gear) can become selectively insubstantial to certain attacks.

I went back and looked up the build I used. It was cheaper than I expected:

Insubstantial (Affects Substantial +100%, no Permeation -50%, Achilles heel -10%, Relexive +40%, Partial Change +50%) [184]

There is remarkably little overlap between those two builds.

[Plane]

are Achilles Heel and No Permeation custom?

[ericthered]

Originally Posted by Plane

are Achilles Heel and No Permeation custom?

I'm not sure. No Permeation is probably custom. I'm actually not sure where I got that limitation from. Its a fairly interesting limitation for insubstantial. Achilles Heel shows up on other advantages, most notably unkillable. That game required it, because of some setting conceits.

[Not another shrubbery]

Originally Posted by ericthered

I'm not sure. No Permeation is probably custom. I'm actually not sure where I got that limitation from. Its a fairly interesting limitation for insubstantial. Achilles Heel shows up on other advantages, most notably unkillable. That game required it, because of some setting conceits.

Maybe from RobKamm's old idea? PK endorsed the -50% value for it there.

[Otaku]

For those using Insubstantiality as Invincibility, remember that means the source of damage is still there/passing through you. Under most circumstances, I don't think that can be handled as fluff. Where it does work is something like Superman getting caught in a big bomb blast and coming out fine. Where it doesn't work is Supes shielding innocent civillians, allies, etc. Then there's the bookkeeping (though maybe Cosmic handles most of that) remembering all the stuff about "true" Insubstantiality that applies to Invincibility-As-Insubstantiality.

Maybe use IaI as an Alternate Ability to the appropriate amount of DR/IT?

I know I'm switching (sub)topics, but when it comes to using Insubstantiality offensively, as in, to directly harm someone, I recommend just having the character buy the appropriate form of Innate Attack (or similar Advantage), and the fluff is that it happens via their "phasing".

[Aldric]

How does the Always On limitation work with the previous sentence that your natural form (physical or insubstantial) is a feature and you only need to buy this advantage if you can switch between the two ?

[ericthered]

Originally Posted by Aldric

How does the Always On limitation work with the previous sentence that your natural form (physical or insubstantial) is a feature and you only need to buy this advantage if you can switch between the two ?

I have asked this question before.

[ericthered]

Originally Posted by Otaku

For those using Insubstantiality as Invincibility, remember that means the source of damage is still there/passing through you. Under most circumstances, I don't think that can be handled as fluff. Where it does work is something like Superman getting caught in a big bomb blast and coming out fine. Where it doesn't work is Supes shielding innocent civillians, allies, etc. Then there's the bookkeeping (though maybe Cosmic handles most of that) remembering all the stuff about "true" Insubstantiality that applies to Invincibility-As-Insubstantiality.

There are some issues to using insubstantial as invincibility RAW. That's one of the largest ones. But since you can't buy real invincibility by RAW, that's an aspect of invincibility I'm happy to handwave.

Maybe use IaI as an Alternate Ability to the appropriate amount of DR/IT?

That's not a bad idea. Or even just a big pile of DR. At some point even though you are invulnerable the damage will throw you to the side and proceed on its merry way, and being able to Detonate the shell doesn't sound off to me.

I know I'm switching (sub)topics, but when it comes to using Insubstantiality offensively, as in, to directly harm someone, I recommend just having the character buy the appropriate form of Innate Attack (or similar Advantage), and the fluff is that it happens via their "phasing".

Yep. Pay for what you can do.



though if you have the partial enhancement and they have a big chamber in the center I might allow you to stick your hand in with a dagger and wave it around.