Steve Jackson Games - Site Navigation
Home General Info Follow Us Search Illuminator Store Forums What's New Other Games Ogre GURPS Munchkin Our Games: Home

Go Back   Steve Jackson Games Forums > Roleplaying > GURPS

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 07-29-2021, 01:56 PM   #1
johndallman
Night Watchman
 
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Cambridge, UK
Default [Basic] Advantage of the Week: Payload

Payload [1/L] is an exotic physical advantage. You have the ability to carry cargo or passengers that don’t count against your encumbrance. This can be used for vehicles with character sheets, flesh pockets within living bodies, robots with internal storage space, and a wide variety of other ideas. This advantage appeared at GURPS 4e, based on Flesh Pockets from Transhuman Space, and the general revision of vehicle rules.

The basic form carries your payload inside yourself, concealing it. You get Basic Lift/10 of weight capacity per level of this advantage, and it is protected by your DR (if any) and other defences. With the Exposed (‑50%) limitation, you carry your payload exposed, like a wheelbarrow or motorcycle, and it is unprotected.

You need to define how your Payload is carried. This might be internal cabins or external saddles for a vehicle, a kangaroo-style pouch, a surgically created space, or anything else the GM is happy with. You need to chose the division between cargo and passengers when you buy the advantage, although for a large enough vehicle, you can presumably install cabins and life support in cargo space later. Page B.74 has conversions from weight to volume and passenger capacity.

If you don’t have Injury Tolerance (Homogenous) or the Machine meta-trait, you need GM permission to buy more than five levels of Payload (half your Basic Lift). Small Payloads like that are valuable for concealment; for large Payloads, the fact that they don’t count as encumbrance for calculating Move, or the capacity of advantages like Jumper or Warp becomes increasingly important. Bulldozers, cranes, forklifts, tugboats and similar vehicles which handle heavy loads temporarily don’t have Payload; they have Lifting ST instead.

Powers makes some important additions: buying Cosmic, +50% on your Payload allows you to stow things in another dimension. They still have to fit within the weight limit, but can’t be found by normal means. Switchable Payload allows you to create new body cavities, and transforming robots can carry their Payload through a switch of form safely.

Payload isn’t very widely used in GURPS supplements. Adaptions gives us a modifier for it, Based on HP instead of ST (+0%), intended for balloons, large rafts, mobile homes and other movable structures with no ST, while Bio-Tech uses it for biovehicles, but not for sessile biobuildings, which can have as much internal space as they like. DF Kangaroos are remarkably smart and carry large payloads; Horror and Monster Hunters androids are scary before you consider what they can smuggle internally. You can buy a single level of this advantage as a natural(-ish) perk from Power-Ups 2, or a stranger version from Powers: The Weird. Template Toolkit 2: Races gives us Only if it’s funny! (‑20%), and Zombies can have Payload to carry nests of vermin.

The only character I’ve played with Payload has one level, with Cosmic (Only findable with Cosmic search abilities, +50%), No Signature (Material World, +20%), and No Signature (Spirit World, +20%). It usually holds lockpicks and a light pistol.

What have you carried off with Payload?
johndallman is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-29-2021, 05:07 PM   #2
Christopher R. Rice
 
Christopher R. Rice's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Portsmouth, VA, USA
Default Re: [Basic] Advantage of the Week: Payload

I've written about Payload a lot in my work and for my campaigns. It's a favorite advantage that I've heavily modified in some instances. In my current campaign, "A Thousand Tiny Gods" the players take the roles of offspring of mythological gods who are forced to fight one another for supremacy every 100 years or so. Winners either get to survive to the next one or get to ascend. It's kind of a compulsion - they either fight or hide. If the former the more they kill other demigods the more powerful they get. If the latter they can't kill another demigod at all - if they do they are forced to participate in the battles. At the end of each Harrowing only 10% of all demigods are left alive that participated in the battles and the most powerful three of them become gods. It's Highlander meets Battle Royale meets Mythology meets the Hunger Games.

But back on subject, demigods can purchase a "Stash" power that allows them to hold 20 lbs. of stuff in an extradimensional pocket. They can pull out items (typical cutting weapons) from nowhere and put them back. Such stashes are really baby pocket dimensions which grow bigger if the demigod becomes a full-fledged deity.

Here is the build:

Quote:
Stash
17/level
Group: General.
Prerequisite: Atheric Points 1+
Type: Active.

You have a special ability to hide items where you can recall them to you at will. These objects may be of any size, but if you can’t reasonably hide it on your person you take a penalty (each 5 lbs. gives a -1 to rolls or use the weapon’s Bulk). You may hold up to 20 lbs. within your cache. To place an object in your Secret Cache, you must make a Holdout roll (subject to all the usual penalties and modifiers; see p. B200). Once in your Cache, it is undetectable by mundane senses and can only be withdrawn by you. If you die, all objects placed within your Cache appear around your body. Additional levels add another 20 lbs. to your limit. You can use this power even if it’s not your turn allowing you to Fast-Draw weapons from your stash or assemble armor around your body with a high enough roll. For the latter, roll Holdout or IQ at a -1 penalty per 3 seconds of don time required by your armor.
Maximum level for demigods is half your Will, deities can take as many levels as they want!

Statistics: Payload 10 (Accessibility, Only items you could reasonably conceal on your person, -5%; Cosmic, Doesn’t count against encumbrance, +50%; Requires DX or Holdout roll, -10%; Reflexive, +40%; PM, -10%;) [17]. Feature: Weight limit is based on a static BL of 20 lbs. instead of using actual ST.
__________________
My Twitter
My w23 Stuff
My Blog

Latest GURPS Book: Dungeon Fantasy Denizens: Thieves
Latest TFT Book: The Sunken Library

Become a Patron!
Christopher R. Rice is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-29-2021, 08:10 PM   #3
kirbwarrior
 
kirbwarrior's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Dreamland
Default Re: [Basic] Advantage of the Week: Payload

I've made plenty of strong characters that use one level of Payload with the cosmic for another dimension. Even 2 lbs (for ST10) is completely worth 2pts (although I'd normally go for 2 levels and 3pts). I actually can't remember a time I or my players used Payload without that enhancement.

I also have a new trait based off of Payload (I think it's 15pts?). It's basically a limited version of Payload that doesn't increase carrying capacity, it just makes it so you aren't encumbered up to Extra Heavy and that what you carry can be brought with traits that don't let you carry stuff.

As for what we've all carried in Payload?;
Anything worth Fliching
Keys. All of the keys. Every single key.
Ammunition.
Spare set of clothes. Bigger levels means everything in a survival kit+.
Signature Gear.
Faeries. Turns out SM-6 beings are quite light.

Those are the more common things. I think one character stuffed a whole princess in there once.
__________________
Quote:
Originally Posted by cosmicfish View Post
While I do not think that GURPS is perfect I do think that it is more balanced than what I am likely to create by GM fiat.
kirbwarrior is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-29-2021, 08:15 PM   #4
whswhs
 
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Lawrence, KS
Default Re: [Basic] Advantage of the Week: Payload

For one of my books, I came up with the idea that ST 0 entities such as trees or unpowered vehicles could have Payload based on HP rather than ST.
__________________
Bill Stoddard

I don't think we're in Oz any more.
whswhs is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-29-2021, 08:28 PM   #5
awesomenessofme1
 
Join Date: Mar 2016
Default Re: [Basic] Advantage of the Week: Payload

Quote:
Originally Posted by Christopher R. Rice View Post
Cosmic, Doesn’t count against encumbrance, +50%
But... Payload doesn't count against encumbrance? Am I misunderstanding something here?
awesomenessofme1 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-29-2021, 09:50 PM   #6
Refplace
 
Refplace's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Yukon, OK
Default Re: [Basic] Advantage of the Week: Payload

Quote:
Originally Posted by awesomenessofme1 View Post
But... Payload doesn't count against encumbrance? Am I misunderstanding something here?
Nope, and as a player I wish I had caught it but mostly its a under the hood build where the stats are in the character sheet or setting doc. Its been posted though, I should have looked at it.
__________________
My GURPS publications GURPS Powers: Totem and Nature Spirits; GURPS Template Toolkit 4: Spirits; Pyramid articles. Buying them lets us know you want more!
My GURPS fan contribution and blog:
REFPLace GURPS Landing Page
My List of GURPS You Tube videos (plus a few other useful items)
My GURPS Wiki entries
Refplace is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-29-2021, 09:55 PM   #7
Christopher R. Rice
 
Christopher R. Rice's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Portsmouth, VA, USA
Default Re: [Basic] Advantage of the Week: Payload

Quote:
Originally Posted by awesomenessofme1 View Post
But... Payload doesn't count against encumbrance? Am I misunderstanding something here?
Yeah, I was looking at v.3 not v.4 - It should be "Cosmic, Extradimensional" for the same cost.
__________________
My Twitter
My w23 Stuff
My Blog

Latest GURPS Book: Dungeon Fantasy Denizens: Thieves
Latest TFT Book: The Sunken Library

Become a Patron!
Christopher R. Rice is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-30-2021, 01:26 AM   #8
Celjabba
 
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Luxembourg
Default Re: [Basic] Advantage of the Week: Payload

Cosmic, Extradimensional, or more commonly : Cosmic: Hammerspace is a favourite whenever it is allowed.

I also build and used the following :

Payload*100 ( cosmic, hammerspace : +50%; exposed -50%; weight counts as encumbrance -50%) [50]
Everything you carry up to X-heavy stay with your "self" instead of on your body/corpse should you move to another body, but is otherwise visible, can be damaged, ...

for "respawn" Unkillable 3 abilities when you reappear alive with all the gear you were carrying at death.
Combining that one with possession would be an headache ...

Expensive, probably too much, but otoh, it can be used for warping an x-heavy load (or another character) around with a suitable respawn location.

Last edited by Celjabba; 07-30-2021 at 04:00 AM.
Celjabba is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-30-2021, 01:38 AM   #9
Christopher R. Rice
 
Christopher R. Rice's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Portsmouth, VA, USA
Default Re: [Basic] Advantage of the Week: Payload

I love it as a power. Add some Snatcher with Recall and you can do requipping - which is awesome in and of itself.
__________________
My Twitter
My w23 Stuff
My Blog

Latest GURPS Book: Dungeon Fantasy Denizens: Thieves
Latest TFT Book: The Sunken Library

Become a Patron!
Christopher R. Rice is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-30-2021, 04:36 AM   #10
kirbwarrior
 
kirbwarrior's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Dreamland
Default Re: [Basic] Advantage of the Week: Payload

Quote:
Originally Posted by Celjabba View Post
Payload*100 ( cosmic, hammerspace : +50%; exposed -50%; weight counts as encumbrance -50%) [50]
Everything you carry up to X-heavy stay with your "self" instead of on your body/corpse should you move to another body, but is otherwise visible, can be damaged, ...

for "respawn" Unkillable 3 abilities when you reappear alive with all the gear you were carrying at death.
Combining that one with possession would be an headache ...

Expensive, probably too much, but otoh, it can be used for warping an x-heavy load (or another character) around with a suitable respawn location.
I wouldn't allow that limitation for -50% for the exact reason you posted. I've allowed it for -40%, with the last -10% being the "does count as encumbrance for traits that don't allow encumbrance". But otherwise I love the idea. Mind, for how limited the end result is I do think 50pts is too much (but then I use Multiplicative Modifiers which brings it to 27pts, or 11pts with my other house rules for high leveled traits and those are probably fine).
__________________
Quote:
Originally Posted by cosmicfish View Post
While I do not think that GURPS is perfect I do think that it is more balanced than what I am likely to create by GM fiat.
kirbwarrior is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
advantage of the week, payload

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Fnords are Off
[IMG] code is Off
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 02:04 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.9
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.