should closed eyes protect against blood agents?

[Rupert]

Originally Posted by Varyon

An area-effect blood agent - which is probably what you're dealing with - has a lot more than just the eyes available to it. The nostrils, the ear canals, and the inner surface of the lips are all mucous membranes on the head, and you've got some down south as well (although clothing can help protect you there). Additionally, any cut, scrape, etc that hasn't at least scabbed over is a point of entry. So, yeah, if you aren't Sealed, a blood agent area of effect is going to get you, open eyes or not.

For some your fingernails (and toenails) are as well - they are permeable to many things that skin stops effectively. [/trivia]

[Plane]

Originally Posted by Anthony

Not talking about the GURPS term persistent (if you wanted GURPS terms, most of them should be cyclic with low base damage). I'm talking about 'shampoo dripped down from my hair over my eyes and, sure, closing my eye helps, but if I open my eyes before it's all cleared off, it's still going to hurt'.

Yeah dripping shampoo if I were inventing some kind of "I shoot shampoo" power would have to be persistant since there is harmful residue, not "vanish as soon as it hits" default for non-persistant non-AE innate attacks.

Although Burning Attack / Incendiary probably hinges on something different since it can cause secondary effects by igniting stuff.

Originally Posted by Ulzgoroth

Your eyelids are not your eyes. Your closed mouth is still your mouth. It's a consequence of semantics, not a special emphasis.

Also a question of mucous membranes for entering into blood supply, as the oral mucosa is on the inside of the mouth.

Originally Posted by malloyd

For any kind of attack this modifier actually makes sense for I think the eyelids will fail to protect, since the agent that splashes over them *is* going to get into your eyes, and frankly probably your mouth too, as it runs down your face.

still seems like sub-hex AE effect which most damage types don't enjoy as a benefit, excepting B399's note for Face which has an sub-hex-AE-ish effect of being able to cripple eyes on Major Wounds to Face

"can hit eyes or skull or nose (any of the 3 which might be armored) and drip down into mouth" might be something like B105's "Drifting" ? basically "goes where gravity pulls it" seems similar to "where the wind blows" or "where the water currents flow"

Originally Posted by malloyd

For a "beam" yeah it's arguably ambiguous, but a "blood agent beam" sounds pretty nonsensical in itself.

I'm just going by B201's technical classifications, where I'm guessing "beam" despite saying "energy blast" could just as easily refer to "continuous narrow liquid stream".

The next-closest would be "Projectile" but that seems to imply non-continuous.

I figure like the difference between flamethrowers and fireballs, though aside from "have different skills" I don't know what other mechanical effects there are.

Both of them require an unrestrained hand (which doesn't need to be empty) to shoot so continus vs. non-continuous seems about the only major difference.

[Varyon]

Originally Posted by malloyd

I think this is one of those places where people are trying to get the letter of the rules to tell them how the universe works when the *purpose* of those rules is exactly the reverse - to model something real in the game system.

Honestly, I think that's a pretty fair summation of ~90% of Plane's posts.

Originally Posted by Plane

I'm just going by B201's technical classifications, where I'm guessing "beam" despite saying "energy blast" could just as easily refer to "continuous narrow liquid stream".

It's up to the GM how this works - just as a GM can decide that Hydroboy's Innate Attack 4d (Double Knockback +20%; Jet +0%; No Blunt Trauma -20%; No Wounding -50%) [10] can put out fires (despite not having explicitly paid for that), he can also decide if a squirted Blood Agent persists for a bit (requiring at the least that the target keep his/her eyes closed until it's gone, or even saying any hit to an exposed face is sufficient), vanishes into thin air, or simply loses potency rapidly enough that anything but a direct hit to a mucous membrane or open wound has no effect.

[pestigor]

Sometimes I get the feeling that some people want to make the GM superfluous and let an "algorithm" or "if then" statements run their game. While in some cases "What ever the GM says" isn't very satisfying or informative I think this is a case where that statement is truer than ever.

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by Plane

still seems like sub-hex AE effect which most damage types don't enjoy as a benefit

The affected area of attacks is not generally defined. Tight beam must be narrow enough to pass through an eye socket, but non tight beam could easily be hitting an area the size of your face without being mechanically distinct.