GURPS Powers: Enhanced Senses

[Varyon]

Originally Posted by whswhs

Well, that's a valid point. Perhaps something more like See Invisible (Temporary Disadvantage, Bad Sight, Low Resolution (Aspected, Invisible objects only, -20%), -20%) [12]?

With that Limitation on Bad Sight, there's no reason to have a Temporary Disadvantage at all. Rather, the character would have See Invisible [15] and Bad Sight, Low Resolution (Aspected, Invisible Objects Only -20%) [-20]. Obviously, this means we're off on Invisible Objects Only's Limitation value - -60%, for [-10] and a net cost of [5], might be more appropriate.

[Refplace]

Question on Stop Motion
Does (Aspected, Perception, -20%) kill the go first part of ETS?
The part about no diorect combat benefits implies to me it does.
But that is one of the main features of ETS and it still gives the Recovery from Surprise benefit included in Combat Reflexes so want to be sure.
And what about if you were in a cascade wait situation like a fast draw contest?

[Flyndaran]

I consider perceving what's happening half of ETS, not a tiny portion. Acting on what you percieve is the other half. -20% is the price for halving efficacy of an advantage, so I'd gather the authors agree.

[Flyndaran]

I'm still having issues with just how hard basic Discriminatory Scent is in this book. What bonuses must I have had to identify my house cat from a couple hundred feet away or play tag in the dark around the house with another by scent and only slight hearing alone? Even with the assumption I, and some family members, bought the Unusual Background - can have a limited form of DS?

[Bruno]

Originally Posted by Flyndaran

I'm still having issues with just how hard basic Discriminatory Scent is in this book. What bonuses must I have had to identify my house cat from a couple hundred feet away or play tag in the dark around the house with another by scent and only slight hearing alone? Even with the assumption I, and some family members, bought the Unusual Background - can have a limited form of DS?

Long Range enhancement on Scent, which amounts to 1 point per level.

[Flyndaran]

Originally Posted by Bruno

Long Range enhancement on Scent, which amounts to 1 point per level.

But if I had that, then what animal with DS doesn't? It means that all cats must also have loads of Acute Smell, and dogs must fly off the charts radically changing official write ups.
I'm not trying to be contrary. I just fail to see how all these ideas and rules mesh. DS isn't supposed to cover perfectly realistic humans, let alone allow any to have that range enhancement perk.
Also, those events weren't the norm, even for me.

[whswhs]

Originally Posted by Flyndaran

But if I had that, then what animal with DS doesn't? It means that all cats must also have loads of Acute Smell, and dogs must fly off the charts radically changing official write ups.
I'm not trying to be contrary. I just fail to see how all these ideas and rules mesh. DS isn't supposed to cover perfectly realistic humans, let alone allow any to have that range enhancement perk.

Flyn, GURPS is a game. It's intended to provide a gameable approximation to reality that works well enough to get by. It won't always be an exact fit. The GM is explicitly licensed to set rules aside, or change them, if reality testing requires it.

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by whswhs

Flyn, GURPS is a game. It's intended to provide a gameable approximation to reality that works well enough to get by.

I think the argument is that the rules for smell do not provide a gameable approximation to reality. For example, approaching animals from downwind is a big enough deal in hunting that it should probably be included in even a cursory description of the sense of smell.

[whswhs]

Originally Posted by Anthony

I think the argument is that the rules for smell do not provide a gameable approximation to reality. For example, approaching animals from downwind is a big enough deal in hunting that it should probably be included in even a cursory description of the sense of smell.

That's fair enough, but I don't think there is a GURPS Hunting or GURPS Wilderness Adventures, which is the logical place for this.

I could see, for example, getting +5 for wind blowing directly toward you, or -5 for wind blowing directly away from you. That would make a substantial difference to likely range.

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by whswhs

I could see, for example, getting +5 for wind blowing directly toward you, or -5 for wind blowing directly away from you. That would make a substantial difference to likely range.

Most of the problem with the Enhanced Senses treatment of smell is the -1/hex range scaling; smell is a weird sense because it's slow (and if the wind speed exceeds the diffusion speed of gases you aren't going to pick up anything at all) but it's got a fair amount of range