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Old 12-07-2015, 06:40 PM   #1
Pseudonym
 
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Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: Phoenix, AZ
Default Buff Powers With Tradeoffs

I was wondering what might be the best strategy for recreating a buff from a video game for example that has a tradeoff.

A specific example I'm working on is a buff that gives +2 striking strength if attacking a weak point (which I interpret as vitals, skull, and neck), but -2 striking strength if attacking anywhere else.

I think this is giving an advantage with an accessibility, and a disadvantage with an accessibility, but I'm kinda stuck after that, because it seems like if I just flat out add the two together, the disadvantage makes it way cheaper than I think it should be, and if I think of it as afflicting an advantage and a disadvantage simultaneously, it becomes even more costly than if it were only inflicting the advantage to begin with.

In short, I think +2 striking st (weakspots only - 10%) is about a 9 point advantage, and -2 striking st (everything but weakspots -5%) is a -10 (or, precisely, -9.5) point disadvantage, but this advantage can't be negative points, can it? Is there a supplement or simple solution somewhere that explains what the point cost of a buff should be if tempered with a drawback?


And one interesting thought on that by the way: it seems like the guide in the sorcery book for pricing magic items works well for beneficial enchantments, but might fall apart when purposefully making a malicious enchantment. Is such an option available if, for example, a player wanted to be a jerk and force a princess to wear a ring that turns her into a frog? I mean, the princess, of course, will not be using FP of her own volition to maintain the upkeep of a curse on herself. Is there an obvious solution to this problem? Did I read it wrong?


Edit: Just found the solution to my own problem seconds after posting (Temporary disadvantage)... Slightly Embarassed, wish I could delete/lock my own thread.
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Last edited by Pseudonym; 12-07-2015 at 06:49 PM. Reason: Found the answer myself. :c
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Old 12-08-2015, 07:18 AM   #2
Varyon
 
Join Date: Jun 2013
Default Re: Buff Powers With Tradeoffs

Quote:
Originally Posted by Pseudonym View Post
And one interesting thought on that by the way: it seems like the guide in the sorcery book for pricing magic items works well for beneficial enchantments, but might fall apart when purposefully making a malicious enchantment. Is such an option available if, for example, a player wanted to be a jerk and force a princess to wear a ring that turns her into a frog? I mean, the princess, of course, will not be using FP of her own volition to maintain the upkeep of a curse on herself. Is there an obvious solution to this problem? Did I read it wrong?
For Cursed items, I'd take a page from Weapon Buffs and allow for Always On variants. You can probably safely ignore the balancing factor of the item being obviously magical - the fact it requires a foe to put it on (or have it forced upon them) is drawback enough. You'll probably also need to include some other curse that prevents the foe from simply removing the ring or whatever once it's on, however.

As for Temporary Disadvantage, that is indeed what you want to use for your example. That said, I personally think Temporary Disadvantage could use some work - it would likely be more balanced if the discount were based on relative point value, rather than the absolute point value.
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