Serendipity

[Vernon King Avaritt III]

There are multiple of Serendipity
What does level 3 do? or level 10? or level 21?

[PK]

Originally Posted by Vernon King Avaritt III

There are multiple of Serendipity
What does level 3 do? or level 10? or level 21?

Allows you to use Serendipity to obtain a favorable coincidence three times per session. Or 10 times per session. Or 21 times per session.

[Otaku]

Originally Posted by Vernon King Avaritt III

There are multiple of Serendipity
What does level 3 do? or level 10? or level 21?

Do you have GURPS Basic Set: Characters? Not a snide non-answer, just that I am uncertain what about it is confusing you.

You know how normally when people talk about luck in real life, they mean something good happening to them that seems to simply be a fortuitous coincidence rather than part of some grand design or intended occurrence? That is GURPS Serendipity Advantage.

Each level of the trait entitles you to one such plausible coincidence per session. It doesn't have to be probable, just something that could reasonably happen. If you have multiple levels, something that is implausible (but not impossible) can happen at the cost of some or all of those levels, at the GM's discretion. In fact, the entire trait is one that requires a lot of GM concessions: you can suggestion favorable occurrences for your character, but the GM does not have to use them. The GM does have to make sure something good happens to you; if the GM can't work something in that session, unlike similar traits Serendipity will carry over to the next session.

If your confusion is just how to upscale multiple levels, then remember that Serendipity is a lot like a plot contrivance in a novel (or at least the ones that benefit a character). One level already can justify something as useful as "...one of the guards you need to talk your way past just happens to be your cousin." or "...find a sports car idling..." outside of wherever you are when you really need a vehicle. At level three, both of those could happen during the same session and you'd still have a third coincidence coming.

When you've got 21 levels (a CP investment of 315 if there are no Modifiers), that is when stuff can get crazy good for you: it isn't just "a guard" but the head guard for the big bad who is your cousin, and he just needed to know it was you to turn on his boss and fight alongside you as a one-shot ally. You don't just find a sports car idling, but a cop car. I've not run this Advantage before, so maybe for 315 points your cousin ends up being as competent as the rest of the group while the car is actually a Transformer. XD

Yes, that is crazy but 21 levels of Serendipity is crazy high and presumably designed either for a silly campaign or an "Easy Mode" kind of experience.

[Gold & Appel Inc]

Yeah, the sky's the limit on how crazy Serendipity can get if you blow enough "charges" at once. My RL BFF ran a game where the PCs were pursuing a guy whose primary gimmick was I-Forget-How-Much Serendipity, and managed to keep the players from realizing it until they were chasing the guy on foot through the woods. He suddenly found a river they didn't previously know about to lose his scent in, and then when they finally had him cornered anyway, he dove into the river (Bonus Points: His name was "Catfish") and through a previously-unknown aquatic cave opening that just happened to contain a portal to another dimension that was only open for a couple of seconds. One of the players, OOC, immediately said something along the lines of: "Guys. We are dealing with a lot of Serendipity."