Combat Sense/Combat Reflexes - Discrete uses

[Strabo]

GURPS Powers on p. 153 categorizes abilities as passive/active and always on/switchable/transient. Combat Sense is an ESP ability based on Combat Reflexes and Danger Sense (GURPS Psionic Powers, p. 37). It has Requires IQ Roll, -10%, and the description states that rolls should be made once per second of combat.

By default, Combat Reflexes is an Always On ability. Adding Requires IQ Roll, -10% turns it into a Transient ability, because now it requires a trigger (the IQ roll) and has discrete uses. Typically, for such ongoing abilities, a single use is considered to be one minute (per Limited Use, p. B112). However, the requirement to make a roll once per second seems to imply that the ability is missing Reduced Duration, 1/60 to make the ability's effect last for 1 second instead of 1 minute per roll.

Does the ability really lack this limitation, or am I missing something?

[JulianLW]

Basic doesn't include the "Requires (Attribute) roll" limitation. That got introduced (I think) in Powers (on page 112), which is where Psionic Powers (on page 20) tells you to look for details.

Requires (Attribute) Roll (Powers 112 - and Power Ups 8: Limitations 17) has this: "For a defensive ability, roll each time the defense would mitigate an attack or a hazard – or once per minute, for constant exposure."

So the question is whether a melee situation is "constant exposure," and I think the (correct) interpretation is that it's a series of attacks.

The rules could be slightly more clear if they used the words "roll each time the defense would mitigate an attack or a hazard or for continual discrete attacks – or once per minute, for constant, continuous exposure to a source of damage or injury." But I think it's already pretty clear.

[Donny Brook]

The pricing seems problematic if you are going from always on to one second per roll for only -10% discount.

[JulianLW]

I think the problem is that Defense Bonus is really overpriced. It should be closer to 20 points per level than 30 points. In Supers, where the DB metatrait first appeared, Bill Stoddard just added the costs of Enhanced Block, Enhanced Dodge, and Enhanced Parry (All). I think it'd be more reasonable to have Enhanced Dodge and Block as Alternative Abilities. That would be 18 CP. And I think ESP should give access to straight-up improved defenses, without the skill roll: the defense itself is already a roll.

[Anders]

Make it an even 20 since you can switch between them at will... yeah, I agree.

[JulianLW]

I could buy Enhanced Dodge [15], Shield +2 [8] (or possibly 6, 3 or 2), and primary Parrying Weapon +2 [8] (or possibly, 6, 3 or 2), for 31 CP . And that extra +2 to Weapon Skill actually inflicts a -1 Defense on my opponent....

I think DB should be [20] also.

In the "Alternative Abilities" box, it says "After switching to an attack (Affliction, Binding, Innate Attack, Leech, Neutralize, Obscure, Static, and anything else the GM views as an “attack”), switching to a different attack is a free action" (Powers 11). I think it should be a free action to switch between alternative defenses in the same way, but ... 20 does seem like a good cost - with the extra 2 CP like a small Unusual Background or something.

Edit: But it does also say: "If the user can make more than one attack per turn, he must use the same setting for all of them." So maybe that's where the other 2 points come from - being able to change "defense settings" mid-turn.

[Strabo]

Originally Posted by JulianLW

Basic doesn't include the "Requires (Attribute) roll" limitation. That got introduced (I think) in Powers (on page 112), which is where Psionic Powers (on page 20) tells you to look for details.

Requires (Attribute) Roll (Powers 112 - and Power Ups 8: Limitations 17) has this: "For a defensive ability, roll each time the defense would mitigate an attack or a hazard – or once per minute, for constant exposure."

So the question is whether a melee situation is "constant exposure," and I think the (correct) interpretation is that it's a series of attacks.

The rules could be slightly more clear if they used the words "roll each time the defense would mitigate an attack or a hazard or for continual discrete attacks – or once per minute, for constant, continuous exposure to a source of damage or injury." But I think it's already pretty clear.

So that's what I was missing. Thank you!