Bomb-in-head disadvantage?

[thalcos]

I was trying to come up with a simple way to do a Suicide Squad-like "I've got a bomb in my head and someone I don't like has the trigger".

I THINK this is mostly an Involuntary Duty, though the -5 points for Involuntary seems low considering the implications.

Bio-Tech kinda-sorta covers the mechanics of this, suggesting Fragile and Easy to Kill as additional options. But I'm not looking for the PCs to just blow up by accident here, so I think I'm not going to include those.

Did I miss anything else that might cover this?

[Anthony]

It's mostly just a plot device for an involuntary duty (and potentially other similar imposed disadvantages).

[WingedKagouti]

Terminally Ill specifically lists this as one usecase:

You are going to die . . . soon. This could be due to a nasty disease, a potent curse, an irremovable explosive device embedded in the base of your skull,

You will almost certainly want some sort of Mitigator applied to it.

[Tyneras]

Terminally Ill (<1 Month) (Mitigator (Obey), -60%) [-40]

You have a bomb in your head! If you don't obey, you head explodes.

[WingedKagouti]

Originally Posted by Tyneras

Terminally Ill (1 Month) (Takes less time 15, +300%; Mitigator (Obey), -60%) [-340]

You have a bomb in your head! If you don't obey, you head explodes in 1 minute.

The -100 point version of Terminally Ill is "up to 1 month" (ie. anything from 0 seconds to 1 month), so no bonus points for a shorter amount of time than 1 month.

[Tyneras]

Originally Posted by WingedKagouti

The -100 point version of Terminally Ill is "up to 1 month" (ie. anything from 0 seconds to 1 month), so no bonus points for a shorter amount of time than 1 month.

Ah, serves me right for speed reading.

[martinl]

Cortex bombs (or "dotbombs," as they were small and round) were an important part of the arc of my CyberPony saga. Nothing that would explode your skull - just enough to reliably kill the victim. Efficiency!)

The first act was a mostly straight pony-themed Shadowrun clone, where all the corps used cortex bombs on anyone of middling importance. (Low importance Glubies weren't worth it, and the ponocracy had the means to resist it.)

This meant that all shadygallopers, by default, had them. However, in the end of the first act the PCs scored big and retired with a big wad of hay, more than enough to get their cortex bombs removed.

Between the first and the second act was the "Dotbomb Bust" where some unidentified hacker figured out a way to override the controls of all the dotbombs at once. Too bad they set them all off instead of rendering them inert or similar.

Basically everypony in any corp job that required loyalty, plus a good chunk of the remaining government security services, plus assorted extras, all died in the same second.

I seriously doubt this is in any way original, but it was a fun way to force those PCs out of retirement for the second act.

[Anthony]

I would note that this sort of thing doesn't necessarily need a point value at all, it's basically "plot device: here's why you're going on an adventure".

[Say, it isn't that bad!]

Originally Posted by Anthony

I would note that this sort of thing doesn't necessarily need a point value at all, it's basically "plot device: here's why you're going on an adventure".

That's... basically half the reason disads exist in the first place. The other half is to give you more points make sure your character has a personality.

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by Say, it isn't that bad!

That's... basically half the reason disads exist in the first place.

No, the main reason for adventuring is "implicit disadvantage: PC". While disads to get used as plot hooks (particularly duty and sense of duty) their main function is adding complications to attempting to resolve the adventure.

In any case, a disad that never actually goes off isn't worth anything, so unless your head will explode during the adventure, it's just worth the value of what it's coercing you to do. Which is Involuntary Duty.