Gadgets at range?

[Adeen Dragon]

What are the rules for a Gadget that stays at home, but still provides mechanical benefit for the character? Specifically, any books within my character's library provides him with the equivalent skill, similar in function to Modular Abilities (Chip Slots). If the book is damaged he can no longer access that skill until it is replaced.

More generally, what about a lich's phylactery, or a teleporter that can lock onto a player character upon low HP? Most Gadget limitations (Breakable, Can Be Stolen) don't quite fit, because though they are fragile and prone to theft, they are also usually protected within a secret base.

[midnight77]

I'm the GM for the game, the reason we're asking is because he want's a library that boosts his skills so he doesn't necessarily have to spend points on skills.

[Anaraxes]

I'd agree with disallowing discounts Breakable and Can Be Stolen. This doesn't grant the items plot protection if someone does burn down the secret base, but just reflects the fact that they're not nearly as vulnerable as the usual values assume.

Though RAW doesn't explicitly say so, I think it's implied that the Gadget is normally part of your gear, something you wear or carry, readily at hand.

So, if you want the effect to work at a distance, you might add Ranged (B107, +40%) to "give range to an advantage that normally affects your immediate area, or that requires a touch..." Since Ranged starts with a Max of 100, you'll probably also want at least Increased Range (B106) for the Gadget. To work anywhere on Earth (diameter ~8000 miles ~= 1.41e7 yards), you need +170% worth of increased Max.

Possibly Long-Range (Powers 108, PU4 p15), two levels of which will bump Speed/Range table ranges up to no penalty. It's not obvious that there's a range penalty in this case at all, in which case there'd be no point in improving the class of range penalties -- though it would have some interesting flavor to have the skills less effective as the character got further from his font of knowledge.

If the Gadget is supposed to be the entire library, then presumably you build it as a Modular Ability. "Can only rearrange skills back at the library" could be an interesting Super-Memorization slot-cost modifier.

If it's supposed to be a whole series of Gadgets, each representing one book with one skill, with all those skills available at once, then I don't see how it would save CP, as the net CP cost for the Gadgets is going to be more than the CP cost for just having the skills. Gadgets start off costing as much as the ability they supply; it's usually just the Gadget modifiers that give you a discount, in exchange for those properties that we've already agreed don't apply here.

You might also try building it as an Ally. I'm not a big fan of non-intelligent allies, but even intelligent ones rack up a lot of Disads when they're Sessile brains-in-jars with minimal physical stats. Maybe there's a gimmick that will let you save points that way, maybe by making the main character a Puppet of the library whenever he needs to do something skill oriented, with the library having enough range on its telepathic powers to make it work.

[Varyon]

It’s a fairly minor Limitation, which usually puts things at around -5%. If the books are irreplaceable (as for a Unique Gadget), -10% could be justified. Note you normally can’t apply Limitations to Skills - you may wish to build it as one or more Talents (note the GM can allow you to purchase more than 4 levels, but generally any benefit aside from the skill bonus doesn’t get beyond 4 levels). There’s also the option of buying them as racial skill bonuses, but the GM will want to look at that with a very critical eye (racial skill bonuses are already cheaper than skills, at only [2] per +1).

Note if Granted by Familiar doesn’t require the granting Ally to be nearby, I’d probably let the character use that, and without requiring them to purchase the books as Allies (as the books offer no benefit aside from granting skill bonuses by existing). I think that modifier requires the Ally to be nearby, however.

[Donny Brook]

I wouldn't build this as a gadget.

I would build the Modular Ability function and then just apply Accessibility limitations Only While Appropriate Book Is In Library.

But I would also require some kind of ability that explains remote access to the library.

[Anders]

Originally Posted by Donny Brook

I wouldn't build this as a gadget.

I would build the Modular Ability function and then just apply Accessibility limitations Only While Appropriate Book Is In Library.

But I would also require some kind of ability that explains remote access to the library.

I think this is the best approach. Mind-Reading (Library Only/Books Only)?

[Adeen Dragon]

Thanks, this makes sense for my use case. What would you do in general however? I'm guessing that the thought process becomes "How does the character benefit, and how is the ability limited with regard to the character?"

For the teleporter that locks on to a dying character, would it look something like Warp (Anchored, Increased Range, Uncontrollable, Accessibility [Teleporter must be hooked up])?

[Taneli]

Why wouldn't super memorization, like in GURPS Dungeon Fantasy 4: Sages work for this? Just give the character these quirks "worried about his library while adventuring" and "never carries his books outside the base".

;-)

[Plane]

Originally Posted by Taneli

Why wouldn't super memorization, like in GURPS Dungeon Fantasy 4: Sages work for this? Just give the character these quirks "worried about his library while adventuring" and "never carries his books outside the base".

;-)

Maybe he means something like "I need this specific unique magic book" rather than "any grimoire will do"?

This might also be something other than books not defined in those parameters. Like compare:

I must wear my Thinking Cap to USE my modular abilities.
I must wear my Thinking Cap to REARRANGE my modular abilities.

What this reminds me of is the 'half-Gadget' arrangement made for werewolves (or selkies)... which is called "Skinbound", on pg 131 of Fantasy and pg 19 of Horror. They're gadgets which are only present (stealable/destroyable) either when you're using Shapeshifting or when you aren't.

This would be a bit different (someone could always steal your thinking cap) but since you're only applying it to a portion of the advantage (the changing, not the actual abilities created by it) it would probably be like a partially limited advantage, like shapeshifting.

The first 3 kinds of modular abilities have a "base" cost which might be appropriate for that? Cosmic Power is where there would be problems since it doesn't have a base cost.

P63 makes it sound like limitations on Modular Abilities (possibly even the entire cost, not the base) don't always apply to using the abilities. For example:

if your Modular Abilities have Costs Fatigue,
you can add an Innate Attack with Costs Fatigue,
because a FP cost for rearranging points
isn’t the same limitation as a FP cost for attacking

On the other hand, sometimes the abilities formed DO inherit limitations on MA:

If your Modular Abilities have Environmental, though,
none of the advantages they grant can claim this limitation

I guess the question is which limitations are inherited (like environmental) and which are not inherited (like costs fatigue) and only apply to the process of point-rearrangement. I'm not sure how to figure that out, to know which category Gadget Limitations would fall under.

[ericthered]

Originally Posted by Adeen Dragon

Thanks, this makes sense for my use case. What would you do in general however? I'm guessing that the thought process becomes "How does the character benefit, and how is the ability limited with regard to the character?"

For the teleporter that locks on to a dying character, would it look something like Warp (Anchored, Increased Range, Uncontrollable, Accessibility [Teleporter must be hooked up])?

essentially. Most of the time an capability that only works when a base is intact is worth from -5% to -10%, and its an accessibility. The thought process you list above is exactly what you should be thinking in gurps. Pay for what the ability does, not for how it does it.

Now, a teleporter that hooked onto you only when you're dying will have a hefty limitation, because its only pulling you to a single location in a very specific case.