[SE] Sanitized Metabolism: how useful is +1 in in 'close confines', like 'elevators'?

[Otaku]

Originally Posted by vicky_molokh

'Broken' seems like a serious accusation for a narrowly-applicable pair of bonuses (-1 to be tracked by scent only, and +1 to Reaction in close confines only).

Now, whether the intended mechanic was to offset penalties is an interesting question. But 'offsets a -1 penalty that is usually not factored into reaction rolls even when it might anyway' seems very meh compared to other Perks.

Also, an interesting note is that Sanitised Metabolism isn't restricted to smell only.

I think the +1 for close quarters might be more "You won't generally notice this unless you're living with them and/or in close quarters." Definitely not a RAW statement, but between what the rest of the text says and thinking about it, that would seem to be the benefit. Also don't forget how "big" a +1 is in GURPS; this is the equivalent of "is Attractive, but only in close quarters or similar situations."

Perhaps it is just because I'm so picky myself, but it is a Perk I know I both wish I had and wish was actually a zero point feature of real humans. XD

[vicky_molokh]

Originally Posted by Otaku

I think the +1 for close quarters might be more "You won't generally notice this unless you're living with them and/or in close quarters." Definitely not a RAW statement, but between what the rest of the text says and thinking about it, that would seem to be the benefit. Also don't forget how "big" a +1 is in GURPS; this is the equivalent of "is Attractive, but only in close quarters or similar situations."

I'm not sure it's all that 'big':
For [1], you can get a +1 Reputation vs. Everyone that applies on a 7- (i.e. 1/6 of the time).

Sanitized Metabolism has the other benefit of providing -1 to be tracked by scent. OTOH, using the +1 Reaction seems tricky, restricting it to less than 1/6 of all situations. I'm not sure how much less.

[Flyndaran]

Originally Posted by Bruno

You can stick your nose right in the shaved armpit of someone who's well washed and wearing airy, clean clothing in a cool environment, and it's not going to smell any more or less than their forearm is. Get rid of the clothing (which traps sweat) and it's doubly so.
Make them a vegan instead of a meat eater, and the effect is even easier to achieve.

....

Okay, so either I still have some of my super smell or you're on the lower end of human olfactory acuity.
I can't smell forearms anymore, but can detect pit odor from nearly everyone when within one half foot.

And OMG, do heavy meat eater emit stronger odors. That should be obvious to anyone not an anosmiac. But so do eaters of certain plant products like beans, asparagus, broccoli, etc.

[Flyndaran]

Originally Posted by Otaku

...
Perhaps it is just because I'm so picky myself, but it is a Perk I know I both wish I had and wish was actually a zero point feature of real humans. XD

I wish people I don't like or know had it. But the scents of loved ones and the familiar are quite comforting.
There certainly is such a thing as comforting stink. My cat Timmay has shoulder blade B.O. but it's cute somehow.
Oddly, losing my super sense of smell has decreased my social phobia. People aren't so unavoidably in my face bombarding my senses anymore. They're just sights and sounds I can ignore or turn away from.

[Otaku]

Originally Posted by vicky_molokh

I'm not sure it's all that 'big':
For [1], you can get a +1 Reputation vs. Everyone that applies on a 7- (i.e. 1/6 of the time).

Sanitized Metabolism has the other benefit of providing -1 to be tracked by scent. OTOH, using the +1 Reaction seems tricky, restricting it to less than 1/6 of all situations. I'm not sure how much less.

Not what I meant. Let me try again. ^^'

I'm talking about GURPS increments and how a "minor" bonus in GURPS mechanical terms is often more significant in "fluff" terms. The sum total presented by a Sanitized Metabolism (that is, all the areas of your physiology it affects) need to be noticed to be impressive, and that is what close quarters does. "Impressive" perhaps sounding like too strong a term for a mere +1... but in real life it is definitely something you'd notice. Kind of like how an Attribute of 11 in the physical stats is usually not apparent unless you are around the person for a bit.

[Flyndaran]

In many situations it might act as a supernatural feature like not sweating even in hot weather.

An episode of Monk involved UFO nuts thinking he might be an alien because of his over dressed odd nature coupled with his lack of noticeable sweating.

[Otaku]

Originally Posted by Flyndaran

In many situations it might act as a supernatural feature like not sweating even in hot weather.

An episode of Monk involved UFO nuts thinking he might be an alien because of his over dressed odd nature coupled with his lack of noticeable sweating.

Indeed. It is an Exotic Physical Perk, is it not? So like any such trait, I think the rules are for where such things are assumed to be accepted. Possessing it in a setting like our own world would probably get you quite a bit of unwanted attention once it was noticed.

[Keiko]

Originally Posted by Mailanka

I honestly find the +1 to be kind of weird. I expect it's actually "Won't get a -1 from accidentally farting or having BO, which is only noticeable in enclosed spaces," but that's really hard to adjudicate in game, so it becomes a +1.

Only, the very reasons that makes the random -1s for being a smelly human hard to adjudicate make the +1 rather hard to run as well. Basically, you get it whenever you DON'T fart or DON'T have BO in the sort of circumstances where doing so would get you a -1.

Yeah, its odd. I think you have to accept it as a part of the abstraction that RPGs have to engage in. The character gets at +1 because there is less chance of them being inadvertently offensive (which a bad Reaction roll could indicate), above and beyond the assumed effects of hygiene and grooming or off setting any bad habits or incidents they might have had before the encounter. As most games don't go into minutia about the PCs personal hygiene (Did you wash behind ears?) unless its mechanically noteworthy (Bad Smell or Odious Personal Habit, for instance). SM means there's less to go wrong for the character (fewer/no bad smells, missed sweat stains, lingering bad breath from lunch, etc) compared to a character without it. GMs would have to adjudicate the precise reasons and applications.

[vicky_molokh]

A note:
People seem to be overly focused on the sense of smell only. But Sanitised Metabolism, unlike a different Perk, isn't restricted to scent - it includes an explicit mention of a (more) perfect skin, at the very least.

As a comparison, there's the Perfume perk, which just gives '+1 on reaction rolls where a
pleasant smell makes a difference'. So it seems that Perfume has a wider application than Sanitised Metabolism. I'm not sure how to measure either.

[Gold & Appel Inc]

Originally Posted by vicky_molokh

A note:
People seem to be overly focused on the sense of smell only. But Sanitised Metabolism, unlike a different Perk, isn't restricted to scent - it includes an explicit mention of a (more) perfect skin, at the very least.

As a comparison, there's the Perfume perk, which just gives '+1 on reaction rolls where a
pleasant smell makes a difference'. So it seems that Perfume has a wider application than Sanitised Metabolism. I'm not sure how to measure either.

Perfume has a wider application with regard to smell, because it means you smell nice. Sanitized Metabolism has a wider application with relation to smell in confined spaces, because it means that you don't smell at all rather than appealing to a preference for a specific smell, and also has applications outside of smell that arguably make it wider in its potential applications overall (eg: even people with no sense of smell can appreciate somebody who never gets pimples).