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Old 09-18-2021, 03:39 PM   #1
Plane
 
Join Date: Aug 2018
Default desining a teleport-steal ability?

This is an ability I saw used in an anime by a char named Chris where they basically teleport something random off another person into hand, like a weapon or purse or piece of clothing.

One countermeasure to it is to carry a bunch of low-value items (like rocks) so there's a lower chance of randomly selecting something good. It's possible to change that via a high "Luck" stat which I figure in GURPS terms is having a Super Luck advantage to reroll if you got something low-value.

It doesn't quite seem like Snatcher (B86) since that is grabbing stuff from other dimensions, even tough the "Unpredictable" limitation is very much along the lines of what I had in mind...

Powers 77's "Recall" broadens things to "space or dimensions" but requires it be your personal possession (can't deprive others of things) which doesn't quite fit.

Though this does make me wonder how exactly one attains ownership. For example if I punch a mage, steal his staff, carry it around for a year, is it eventually considered mine via right of conquest?

If "take it, it's yours" is a valid policy then maybe if you used Telekinesis to grab something (attain ownership) and then Snatcher, you could take it?

Another approach might be Affliction: Warp (exoteleport) ?

To do stuff like warp something you can't hit directly (like a magic amulet inside a rucksack, without porting the rucksack too) probably doably by enhancing Affliction w/ Malediction...

But I think Malediction requires that you sense an item to target it, and this type of thing actually doesn't require that (you can steal items you're not even aware that a person has on them)

For that reason I'm thinking perhaps it would be like having Detect w/ Reflexive but it's "Uncontrollable" and "Unconscious Only" and since you're not the one using Detect, you don't actually learn what your ability detects, the purpose is just to inform your unconscious abilities to be able to target?

Steal isn't an "Unconscious Only" ability (you willingly use it: shout "steal!" and so on) but there's an element of that since you can't actually target what is taken.

I thought maybe one way to do that would be to enhance Affliction with Area Effect and have a very low weight limit: the ability could not normally function because the total weight of everything in the area is too heavy, thus since you can't teleport ALL of it, you teleport NONE of it...

"Selective Effect" might be a way around it (you get to choose what stuff in the area is teleported, allowing you to pare it down to something within your Weight Limit)

If however we made that a limited Enhancement (ie apply Uncontrollable and Unconscious Only to Selective Effect) then maybe that could be used to represent the random selection of what is taken?

In terms of Uncontrollable only being triggered by stress, the possibility of "my ability doesn't use selective effect so I get nothing and wasted my time" could perhaps be viewed as a stressful scenario, and so you will automatically kick in the uncontrolled activation of Selective Effect which attempts to reduce what is grabbed to something within your weight limit?

Another alternative, is instead of Affliction:Warp, might be to just take Warp w/ TK-based Lift, and instead apply Uncontrollable to Telekinesis, and that is used to randomly decide which object your TK grapples and thus which is warped along with you?

Warp (as opposed to Affliction: Warp) normally takes you along for the ride, but with the Exoteleport limitation perhaps that could be used only to Warp equipment under your uncumbrance.

I know the exoteleport limitation is designed for Affliction (Warp) so I don't know if I'm applying it right here.
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Old 09-19-2021, 05:53 PM   #2
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Default Re: desining a teleport-steal ability?

Check out Exoport (psionic powers p.69-70).
I think it's exactly what you want.
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Old 09-20-2021, 12:34 AM   #3
Plane
 
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Default Re: desining a teleport-steal ability?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Tinman View Post
Check out Exoport (psionic powers p.69-70).
I think it's exactly what you want.
That's what I was referring to w/ Affliction (Warp)

But as mentioned, Malediction requires knowing exact location of the object teleported, and allows you to specify it.

I want randomized target selection without the need to know the location of the object.

Thought perhaps taking AE + Bombardment on the Affliction, but I'm still thinking Uncontrollabe/Unconscious limiting Selective Area could be closer
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Old 09-20-2021, 05:17 AM   #4
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Default Re: desining a teleport-steal ability?

OK, so how does the ability work?

You designate a target creature, and one random object from that creature is teleported to you?
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Old 09-20-2021, 05:56 AM   #5
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Default Re: desining a teleport-steal ability?

The ability sounds suspiciously similar to how I could see the JRPG "Steal" ability being interpreted - is your point of reference here a litRPG anime?

If so, unless you're specifically trying to have a game set in a litRPG setting, I'd advise not trying to mimic the randomized nature of what you're able to steal with this ability - it really doesn't make much sense outside of a litRPG. If you are designing the ability for such a setting (or have some other reason to want that randomization to be in play), I'd probably just build whatever you need to be able to steal a chosen item from a foe (sounds like Exoteleport has you largely covered there), then tack on a -20% Limitation for not having that choice. Or use the Unpredictable Limitation from Snatcher (away from books, so can't check the value of that). If Exoteleport has a lot of Enhancements, such that -20% ends up not making much difference, you may want to adjust the value so that it makes this ability worth about 80% of what a "Steal" ability that lets you choose your target would.
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Old 09-20-2021, 09:21 AM   #6
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Default Re: desining a teleport-steal ability?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Varyon View Post
... I'd probably just build whatever you need to be able to steal a chosen item from a foe (sounds like Exoteleport has you largely covered there), then tack on a -20% Limitation for not having that choice. Or use the Unpredictable Limitation from Snatcher (away from books, so can't check the value of that). If Exoteleport has a lot of Enhancements, such that -20% ends up not making much difference, you may want to adjust the value so that it makes this ability worth about 80% of what a "Steal" ability that lets you choose your target would.

This is what I would do. Though I'm not 100% sure of the value of the limitation, its basically correct. The inability to target the specific item is a limitation on the core ability.
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Old 09-20-2021, 11:11 AM   #7
Kallatari
 
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Default Re: desining a teleport-steal ability?

I agree with those that say you just add an additional limitation to Exoteleport to represent the random item selected.

As to the value of that limitation, it should depend on "how random" it is. Are you sticking to game-significant items only (i.e., defined as GURPS equipment) or is anything on the target fair game (i.e., you might end up with a penny in his pocket, or his left sock, or that piece of lint stuck to his shirt, or all those rocks you yourself referred to). If you get armor, is it his whole armor, or just a piece of the armor? Does a toolkit/first aid kit count as one item, or would you just get a single tool from the kit? Do you get both of his wireless earbuds?

If you're mostly sticking to game-significant items, I think you'd be in the -10% to -20% ballpark. If you're on the "anything goes", there is a significant chance you'll get absolutely nothing that helps you or hinders your foe in anyway, and you could easily place that limitation in the -40% or -50% range. I personally would never go below -50% even if I do throw in a lot of insignificant possibilities as there is always a chance to do hit something significant ("I tried it on Tony Stark and ended up with his Iron Man suit... sure beats the sunflower seeds wrapper I got from him last time I tried it.")
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Old 09-20-2021, 04:27 PM   #8
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Default Re: desining a teleport-steal ability?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Varyon View Post
The ability sounds suspiciously similar to how I could see the JRPG "Steal" ability being interpreted - is your point of reference here a litRPG anime?
Yeah basically the ability the protagonist learns in KonoSuba, though I'm not sure which JPRG you're referring to.

I know in Disgaea you could choose specifically what you stole, while guys like Locke Cole I think just randomly stole a potion or something (I think monsters were assigned what would be taken when stealing)

Quote:
Originally Posted by Varyon View Post
Or use the Unpredictable Limitation from Snatcher (away from books, so can't check the value of that).
It seems like a good baseline for "I can't choose amongst my options", though the -25% for that might be a bigger discount for Snatcher since it might literally be anything, as opposed to "anything within the hex/person I'm targeting" which is a smaller amount of variability.

Plus it still doesn't exactly let me target things I'm not aware of, which is why I figured doing an AE because then you don't need to be aware of what is in the hex, since you just target the hex.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Kallatari View Post
As to the value of that limitation, it should depend on "how random" it is. Are you sticking to game-significant items only (i.e., defined as GURPS equipment) or is anything on the target fair game (i.e., you might end up with a penny in his pocket, or his left sock, or that piece of lint stuck to his shirt, or all those rocks you yourself referred to).

If you get armor, is it his whole armor, or just a piece of the armor? Does a toolkit/first aid kit count as one item, or would you just get a single tool from the kit? Do you get both of his wireless earbuds?
The inspiring ability is a bit inconsistent on that front: on one hand you can in theory end up with a single stone, but on the other hand, you can end up with an entire coin purse (not just one of the coins inside).

That's part of why I figured it might have something to do with a weight limit.

A left sock seems possible since one of the recurring jokes is that the "luck" of the protagonist was aspected so it kept stealing undergarments, though you do eventually see it come into play during combat when he actually takes possession of a Dullahan's floating head while probably trying to gamble to take his sword.

The Dullahan mentioned that a low-level char's steal wouldn't work on a high-level monster like him, so if when targeting Affliction:Warp on gear there's normally just a HT roll, that might mean that some monsters have the ability to give their equipment HT bonuses to resist magical Afflictions.
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