GURPS Power-Ups 4: Enhancements

[Lamech]

Originally Posted by Bruno

Variable enhancements are most like Cosmic Modular Abilities. I'd make a comparison to Wildcard powers too but I'd then have to go reread wildcard powers and my brain's shutting down for the night.

Yeah basically. In fact if you did something like cosmic modular abilities (only enhancements for this one ability -X%, +50% physical/social (maybe) +20% reduced time), a similar result would occur. Except arguably it would be much cheaper for the modular ability route (especially for mental ones)

[JCurwen3]

Originally Posted by Lamech

only enhancements for this one ability -X%

I'd value that "X" at -50%. In Powers the Limited categories get progressively narrower and the most narrow got a value of -50%.

I have always made it a house rule to cap any trait-Limited limitation on MAs at -50%, no matter how massive and specific the limitation. Total modifier value gets capped at no lower than -80% (you can still have other limitations), but no more than -50% from trait-Limited. It has seemed to keep potential abuses in check.

[Gurps Fan]

Just bought. Very, very and very cool book! Arigatō to RPKitty-chan! ^^

Star Devourer: Affliction 1 (HT; Accessibility, Only on inanimate objects, -20%; Density Increase, *(2*10^41), +620%; Extended Duration, Permanent, Irreversible, +300%) [100]. Notes: This ability astronomically increases the subject's mass. If you find any handy 1-lb. object (bottle, rock, whatever), then afflict it with this ability, and you'll get a supermassive black hole whose mass is about 50 billion solar masses. Its Schwarzschild radius is more than 1000 AU, so it immediately swallows down the entire structure of our solar system, not to mention the Earth. 100 points.

[Bruno]

Originally Posted by Lamech

Yeah basically. In fact if you did something like cosmic modular abilities (only enhancements for this one ability -X%, +50% physical/social (maybe) +20% reduced time), a similar result would occur. Except arguably it would be much cheaper for the modular ability route (especially for mental ones)

Originally Posted by JCurwen3

I'd value that "X" at -50%. In Powers the Limited categories get progressively narrower and the most narrow got a value of -50%.

I have always made it a house rule to cap any trait-Limited limitation on MAs at -50%, no matter how massive and specific the limitation. Total modifier value gets capped at no lower than -80% (you can still have other limitations), but no more than -50% from trait-Limited. It has seemed to keep potential abuses in check.

The Modular Ability for adding enhancements is pretty dang complicated to work with, regardless of how cheezy it ends up. It's a lot simpler, if you're doing math in percentages for enhancements, to stick with percentages with enhancements the entire way through. Anything that involves reconfiguring your character on the fly must be as simple as possible or players are going to drag down gameplay time with calculations.

[Greg 1]

Clearly a must have! I expect it to see a great deal of use in loads of different GURPS games.

Off to buy it now...

[Edges]

I just finished reading it yesterday.

Much gratitude.

[dataweaver]

OK; I just finished looking it over. My thoughts:

• I like the eyeballs, and I wouldn't mind seeing them expanded to cover more things.
• The Meta-Enhancements probably should have been called Meta-Modifiers, considering that they can include Limitations as well as Enhancements.
• I see no conflict between Enhancements to innate abilities and Imbuements. They do two drastically different things: Enhancements modify traits that either are or can be bought as Advantages or Attributes, whereas Enhancements are essentially Enhancements for Skills.

[cmdicely]

Originally Posted by dataweaver

I see no conflict between Enhancements to innate abilities and Imbuements. They do two drastically different things: Enhancements modify traits that either are or can be bought as Advantages or Attributes, whereas Enhancements are essentially Enhancements for Skills.

I don't know what you mean by "innate abilities"; if you mean those under "Modifying Existing Damage" on pp. 9-11, they are not "drastically different" than what Imbuements do, they are a subset of what Imbuements do. Imbuements seem to do one of three things:

• Produce effects of the type modelled by "Modifying Existing Damage" (PU4, pp. 9-11)
• Produce effects of the type modelled by an attack using Follow-Up, Universal (PU4, p.14)
• Switch the basic underlying attack type of an existing attack (PU4 doesn't provide general tools for this, though Follow-Up, Universal would set the outer limit for cost, since it is like Follow-Up but loses the underlying attack effect. +20% is probably good [to do this for something already built as an innate attack, etc., just use an Alternative Attack, you'd only use an enhancement for the kind of things that Follow-Up, Universal applies to.])

[cmdicely]

Originally Posted by zoncxs

also note that adding ranged to your unarmed attack is not allowed by the book normally. though I would allow it with the follow-up +50% (making it +90% enhancement to allow it).

Follow-Up makes an attack a follow-up to another attack, so you have to have a different attack. (Also, Follow-Up is on the list of prohibited enhancements for unarmed attacks.) +50% Cosmic (of the "avoiding drawbacks" type) might be appropriate to allow this though, which is the same price.

[PK]

There's zero conflict between Modifying Existing Damage and Imbuements. That's why I made sure to reference Imbuements in PU4. Both have their place, and they each do exactly what they're intended to do.

If you want to add Armor Divisor to every rifle you wield, you use Imbuements. If you want to give just your personal, favorite, Signature Gear rifle an Armor Divisor, you use Modifying Existing Damage. (You could use Imbuements for the latter, technically -- maybe with a Quirk, "Only ever imbues this one rifle" -- but it's usually overkill and less efficient, unless you're already using Imbuements for plenty of other things.)