300 Point Jedi

[Snaps]

So I am running a new Infinity game with a group of players brand new to GURPS (Man I think this makes 3 new groups of players I've introduced to GURPS in the last 12 months).

The game is 300 points with up to 150 in disadvantages. I'm also giving the characters a lot of leeway in what they can take. I'm probably just going to let him take Jedi! to cover most of his skills and everyone already gets an I-SWAT! Wildcard skill for free. (Covering everything they would have been trained in by I-SWAT).

My question for you guys is can a Jedi (Or something reasonably similar) be done with 300 points? How would you do it? I'm not afraid of the character being over powered, I just want him to have fun with a Jedi character while at the same time trying to use the rules as written.

So far he's just been getting whatever advantages he thinks a Jedi would have and buying a lot of them as Alternate Abilities.

I think what we are shooting for is like Luke Skywalker in Empire Strikes Back.

Right now I think he has Weapons Master, some enhanced Parry, and Empathy. He then has Telekinesis 20 with Precognition as an alternate ability (which I know is a stretch). I gave him a +0% Enhancement where his Precognition can kick in and interrupt his Telekinesis. So He can be lifting things with TK, then get a Precog of danger that makes him drop everything since they are alternate abilities.

Any suggestions on better ways to make this work?

[vierasmarius]

Originally Posted by Snaps

I gave him a +0% Enhancement where his Precognition can kick in and interrupt his Telekinesis. So He can be lifting things with TK, then get a Precog of danger that makes him drop everything since they are alternate abilities.

Any suggestions on better ways to make this work?

I don't think that's a valid way to do it. One of the built-in limitations of Alternate Abilities is that they take one Ready maneuver to switch between non-attack abilities. If Precog is an alternate to TK, that's fine, but it means while he's pushing stuff around he won't get glimpses of the future.

Also, Precog is often vague, and more about future events than immediate danger. It would be appropriate (thematically and mechanically) to give him Precog and Danger Sense as Alternates. He'd normally have Danger Sense active (though as the GM you could let Precog still give "spontaneous" foresight, effectively overriding his Danger Sense). When intentionally peering into the future, he'd switch to Precog, disabling Danger Sense.

A more appropriate set of alternates for TK would include things like Enhanced Speed, Super Jump, Innate Attack (Crushing, Double Knockback, possibly No Wounding, Jet or Cone) etc. However, considering that (in the games at least) many of those powers can be used simultaneously (Force Speed + Force Jump, for example) it might be better to just have him take those powers normally, with limitations like Power Modifier: Psi or "Force", Costs FP and Requires Attribute (or Skill) Roll.

[Snaps]

Precognition includes Danger Sense.

All we are really doing is saying that me, (the GM) can switch over his alternative ability. This can be both an advantage and a disadvantage as far as I see it so I think it's probably best as just a +0% Enhancement.

I think a way I've found to make his version of a Jedi a little more workable with the points we have by using Pacts. Pact: Jedi Code of Honor; Pact: Disciplines of Faith, Asceticism; Pact: Fanaticism, Ways of the Force, etc.

So for him giving into the dark side will actually result in a loss of power.

[Peter Knutsen]

Originally Posted by Snaps

Any suggestions on better ways to make this work?

No. I'd do it as Alternate Abilities too. For some expensive Advantages, try to find Limitations, in additon to the Power Modifier, that reduces their cost. Immediate Preparation Requied is one example, saving a little here and there, but in general the movies suggest that Jedi powers are instantaneous to use and they don't seem to have any Limitations except the PM.

Oh, wait, why are you giving him a Skill! instead of a Power Talent? The Power Talent is slightly cheaper but in most settings has a max of 4 levels, although allowing 6 levels makes sense in a "cinematic" campaign, such as space opera.

[vierasmarius]

Originally Posted by Snaps

Precognition includes Danger Sense.

Wow, completely missed that. Oops.

All we are really doing is saying that me, (the GM) can switch over his alternative ability. This can be both an advantage and a disadvantage as far as I see it so I think it's probably best as just a +0% Enhancement.

If the transition is entirely in the hands of the GM, then yeah, it should be fine. However, I'd probably require him to make a roll (perhaps Will+Talent) or be Stunned for one second (equivalent to the Ready maneuver that would normally be required). If you want to be more lenient with him, and let him use Precognition to its full effect against sudden threats, allow him to take one defensive action before he rolls for Stun.

I think a way I've found to make his version of a Jedi a little more workable with the points we have by using Pacts. Pact: Jedi Code of Honor; Pact: Disciplines of Faith, Asceticism; Pact: Fanaticism, Ways of the Force, etc.

So for him giving into the dark side will actually result in a loss of power.

Pacts are a good way to model it. Remember though that the Sith also have their own Codes. Also, the Corruption rules (Horror, pg.22 & 146) are a great way to model the grandual slide into the Dark Side. This will give Dark Jedi more power available now, at the cost of accumulating future disadvantages.

[Randover]

Could be done, but I got headache from all the rules I needed to know for my jedi padawans. I was the GM and they were kind of new players. A few months later and I still don't know how to do it smoothly.

I guess the first and absolutly nessesary thing is to figure out how much detail you want to know. The rest is best to create as new advatages something.

[Kuroshima]

If you put Reflexive on Danger Sense/Precognition, it will activate itself (and switch off the TK) as a free action when it's needed. The ready maneuver to switch between abilities is taken care of with the level of reduced time included in Reflexive, and the other +20% will deal with it switching on out of turn and in response to hostile action.

Oh, and don't forget to account for the -4 penalty Reactive imposes to Danger Sense. You can remove it with 4 levels of reliable.