GURPS Power-Ups 5: Impulse Buys

[dataweaver]

I had wondered why your post had disappeared. No problems here.

IMHO, a permanent magical effect is little different from an enchantment, and ought to be handled in a similar way: assign an "enchantment cost" to it, and use your preferred enchantment system to gather the necessary energy. Once you've done so, you can impose a permanent magical effect on your subject.

[Kromm]

Yes, the way to get permanent magic is to cast an Enchantment-class spell, or to cast another kind of spell using the rules under "Item" or, where offered, the higher cost for a permanent casting. You can trade character points for energy in order to do this, of course.

[mook]

Ooh, yay! I've been tinkering with these sorts of meta-game currencies for a while now, and all my players seem to really enjoy what it brings to the game.

Just grabbed it off e23, looking forward to reading tonight! Excellent timing.

[Cheomesh]

I don't have my book with me, but hasn't the basis for this concept been around since Basic? In Campaigns somewhere is a purple box on a right-hand page, upper area. It talks about letting players exchange CP for consessions, even giving an example about just so happening to be going past a security room.

I think this just codifies it, or I'm misunderstanding perhaps.

M.

[cmdicely]

Originally Posted by Cheomesh

I don't have my book with me, but hasn't the basis for this concept been around since Basic? In Campaigns somewhere is a purple box on a right-hand page, upper area. It talks about letting players exchange CP for consessions, even giving an example about just so happening to be going past a security room.

Pieces of this have appeared in Basic (the text box you reference), Supers (CP-activated powers), Monster Hunters 1 (Destiny-as-in-play-CP-reservoir), and perhaps other sources; PU5 collects and expands options in the area of expending CP in play.

[cmdicely]

Originally Posted by thulben

I haven't picked up the book yet, but I have plans to. My guess is that the next game that I GM, I'm going to give out points at the beginning of the session with the expectation that some or all of them will be used for Impulse Buys.

One thing I've been considering (before PU5 came out) is to give out points reserved for in-play use at the beginning, and then set end-of-session awards of points for permanent improvement for each character equal to the number of points used in play for that character in the session. So, instead of in-play use and improvement being opposed, holding back points for in play use holds back improvement, as well.

[dataweaver]

Power-Ups 5 gathers all of the existing uses for character points other than character development into one place, organizes them for ease of reference, examines them more closely to point out some of the intricacies involved, and provides some additional rules. Just like Power-Ups 3 did for Talents and Power-Ups 4 did for Enhancements.

So this does codify it; but it doesn't just codify it.

Personally, the only qualm that I have with Impulse Buys (and it's a minor one) is that it seems to focus exclusively on using character points in a cinematic fashion ‒ that is, in campaigns where the "cool factor" traditionally trumps reality. I would have liked to see a box or the like on other styles of play that impulse buys can enable, and perhaps a bit on how to tailor the earning of character points, not just the spending of them. Two examples:

• Comedy games: earn character points by getting other players to chuckle; spend character points to allow "cartoon physics" (where it succeeds if it's funny, and injuries are almost always recovered by the next scene) to override realistic physics; Schtick Points replace Wildcard Points as the currency for niché protection (not quite sure which traits would grant Schtick Points, though), and Silliness would replace Destiny as the source for "generic" Impulse Points. Cartoons are the most obvious example of this, but any campaign with a penchant for silliness could benefit (I'm thinking in particular of GURPS IOU).
• Melodramatic games: earn character points by making important discoveries about your feelings or relationships; spend character points in cases where drama trumps reality (being sufficiently motivated is often enough to ensure success or to overcome handicaps); niche protection comes from your relationships and drives (Allies, Enemies, Sense of Duty, etc.) instead of extraordinary skill, providing Relationship and/or Determination Points in appropriate circumstances.

In general, Impulse Buys are good for any game where you want players trying things (and succeeding/surviving the consequences) for reasons other than in-setting tactical or logistical considerations; and cinematic/over-the-top play is merely one example of this.

[vierasmarius]

Originally Posted by cmdicely

One thing I've been considering (before PU5 came out) is to give out points reserved for in-play use at the beginning, and then set end-of-session awards of points for permanent improvement for each character equal to the number of points used in play for that character in the session. So, instead of in-play use and improvement being opposed, holding back points for in play use holds back improvement, as well.

How I'd handle this is to refund character points (at the end of the session) if they were used in an appropriately dramatic and heroic fashion. This would encourage players to utilize the narrative control afforded by spending cp in a manner that enhances the story, rather than bypasses it; at the same time it wouldn't make PC improvement dependent on the player spending points during the session, which otherwise could lead to gamist frivolous expenditures (ie, when the session approaches its end all the players dump their remaining points into turning mundane skill checks into critical successes.)

[DouglasCole]

Originally Posted by vierasmarius

How I'd handle this is to refund character points (at the end of the session) if they were used in an appropriately dramatic and heroic fashion.

This was how Force Points worked in the old WEG d6 Star Wars game, and I always thought it worked out quite well.

[Refplace]

Originally Posted by dataweaver

I would have liked to see a box or the like on other styles of play that impulse buys can enable, and perhaps a bit on how to tailor the earning of character points, not just the spending of them. Two examples:

Some good examples, though it seems to me that earning bonus CP would be off the topic of this one and probably add another page or so to Word count, maybe more.