GURPS Power-Ups 9: Alternate Attributes

[Bruno]

Originally Posted by Michael Thayne

A lot of other stuff (and this is very YMMV) struck me as cases of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it", but the book is long and dense and it's possible I'm missing other things that solve significant problems.

The thing Chapter 1 is addressing is that what is one persons significant problem is another persons feature. So it goes through the kinds of scenarios where a "feature" is actually a "significant problem", and some superficially-simple changes that might have unexpected impacts (I'm looking at you, nonlinear attribute prices) and also ways to deal with those knock-on effects (treating template attribute bonuses as non-fixed-price).

[johndallman]

OK, that's useful. It will hep me design what I think is going to be my next campaign: GURPS in Glorantha, based on RuneQuest 2nd edition. In many ways this is simple: subtract the BRP system and replace it with the relevant parts of GURPS 4e.

However, the attribute of Power, and its associated secondary characteristic of Magic Points are rather fundamental to the Gloranthan atmosphere. POW will start at 10, and be buyable at 3 or 4 points per level, I haven't decided which yet. Characters will have to qualify for a POW increase in the same way as in RQ, by overcoming someone else's POW in a situation where it matters, and will then be able to buy up to 3 points, but only with character points they have on hand at the time.

I also still have to decide how Gloranthan Sorcery will work, a problem that was never properly solved in RuneQuest. It won't be Thaumatology: Sorcery, that's quite wrong. A tweaked form of Ritual Path Magic might work.

[Refplace]

Originally Posted by johndallman

OK, that's useful. It will hep me design what I think is going to be my next campaign: GURPS in Glorantha, based on RuneQuest 2nd edition. In many ways this is simple: subtract the BRP system and replace it with the relevant parts of GURPS 4e.

I dont recall Sorcery but the Pow based magic system seems like an easy fit with this book. FYI I only played RQ First Edition.
I just added a new advantage to my Chalice World setting called Chi Adept based on this book. It could be an example for Pow.
I have a few other ideas milling around as well.

[johndallman]

Originally Posted by Refplace

I just added a new advantage to my Chalice World setting called Chi Adept based on this book. It could be an example for Pow.

That's somewhat similar, thanks.

[Refplace]

Originally Posted by johndallman

That's somewhat similar, thanks.

My pleasure, this really has a lot of potential.
Pow for RQ, SAN for horror games, Magery to replace the default Magery advantage (pretty much directly covered in the book), an Essence attribute for Shadowrun conversions, etc.
And I may redo my Vampire magic based on it too.

[evileeyore]

I suppose it's time I break down and actually hammer out my fully proposed house rules for 12/16 stat GURPS... (the majority of the work is in rearranging the skills)

[gmillerd]

Wow, this is really an amazing comprehensive supplement. Well done.

[Anders]

It's for the people who think you don't have to do enough work to start a GURPS campaign...

Just kidding. I love it.

[Kromm]

The very short answer to both is "It would depend on the campaign."

This supplement is effectively my mental sketchpad re: altering attributes in GURPS. In the course of writing it, I revisited answers given in email, on these forums, and in person – to both GURPS players and GURPS writers. And in doing so, I rethought a few things that I initially felt were "obvious" or even right.

Were I running a new fantasy campaign similar to the one that inspired GURPS Dungeon Fantasy, I might choose:

Attributes

Body

Strength [10/level]: Nothing wrong with leaving this as in the standard rules. It didn't seem too cheap, too expensive, or whatever.

Dexterity [20/level]: Nothing wrong with this, either.

Health [20/level]: I found this to be way, way too cheap. It led to PCs who were utter juggernauts in combat (which got silly) and who benefited a little too much from the Rule of 16 (which I like) against supernatural powers. If I raised HT from 10 to 20 points/level, though, I'd also base a lot more skills on it – notably most or all noncombat athletic skills and cinematic martial-arts skills (at least to me, chi is just another word for health).

Mind

Intelligence [20/level]: Without Will, Per, or cinematic and supernatural skills depending on it, people would still pay 20 points/level to be superior gadgeteers, military leaders, rogues, or social manipulators. I wouldn't split off a Charisma attribute . . . the campaign was frequently violent and non-cerebral enough to leave the academic, social, strategic, technical, etc. lumped together.

Perception [10/level]: The same attribute as in the standard rules, made independent and more expensive. That's because it reached silly levels as well. But it would affect Basic Speed (see below), and I might base a few more skills on it, like Diagnosis and Shadowing.

Power [20/level]: The biggest change! Will would go away and be replaced by this independent attribute. For most people, it would just do the stuff Will does . . . but by costing a lot more, I could keep the Rule of 16 (again, which I happen to like) and not make supernatural powers worthless. For clerics, wizards, etc., it would govern spells, True Faith, and the like.

Secondary Characteristics

Hit Points [2/level] = Strength: Nothing wrong with leaving this as in the standard rules.

Fatigue Points [2/level] = Health: These would get cheaper because I didn't do much with them (I found enforcing fatigue for fighting, hiking, hot days, etc. tiresome when I also had to track special abilities). They wouldn't go away completely because I like the idea of extra effort and cinematic martial-arts skills depending on them. Magic would not be able to use FP!

Magic Points [3/level] = Power: This would work more like Energy Reserve, and be exclusively for magic – all kinds of magic. The price wouldn't drop; magic is powerful.

Basic Speed [20/level] = (Dexterity + Perception)/4: I really like the idea of this formulation. It fits my view of how reflexes "should" work. And based on my campaign, Dodge and striking first are still worth 20 points/level, despite the next formula taking away Basic Move. Two notable "boss fights" ended up being anticlimactic because someone with high Basic Speed acted first and one-shotted the boss . . .

Basic Move [5/level] = (Dexterity + Health)/4: I find this makes more sense to me than a direct Speed/Move link.

Power Level?

Unchanged. That campaign was ridiculously high-powered. People had tons of points. They would just have to decide what was important to them!

I wouldn't do the same thing in a modern-day spies game like my other recent campaign – the one that inspired GURPS Action. There I might go with:

Attributes

Physical

Strength [5/level]: While punching, stabbing, shooting big guns, and carrying heavy gear were a big deal, it did seem like a niche that suggested cheaper would be better.

Agility [15/level]: I'd split DX into this and the next item. This half would govern melee combat and anything involving the whole body, including Acrobatics, Jumping, and Stealth.

Coordination [15/level]: This part of DX would govern ranged combat, vehicle operation, and fine motor skills like Filch, Knot-Tying, and Sleight of Hand. Note that despite being cheaper than DX, this plus Agility together are more expensive than DX . . . and I'd definitely split skills evenly between them.

Health [15/level]: I found this too cheap, but not as bad as in the fantasy campaign, mostly because there were no supernatural powers to resist with HT.

Mental

Intelligence [15/level]: I'd still take away Will and Per, but I'd split off a social attribute, so this would be cheaper than in the fantasy campaign.

Charm [10/level]: This would be the other big change, after splitting DX. Social manipulation was just huge, and being good at it was too cheap at 5 points/level (like Charisma), especially when bundled with IQ.

Perception [10/level]: Independent, and exactly as in the fantasy campaign. The major prep work of the campaign would be splitting IQ-based skills more evenly among Intelligence, Charm, and Perception.

Will [5/level]: This would become independent but not change price – it still mattered a lot for resisting social manipulation, interrogation, brainwashing, etc., but it never got out of hand. I just didn't like it being tied to IQ.

Note: I would not add a Social realm! Charm and Will handle that well enough, and in that campaign, everybody was "reborn" as a "zeroed" secret agent, and so had no formal social status that would matter enough to venture into external social attributes.

Secondary Characteristics

Hit Points [1/level] = Strength: Priced cheaply to go with ST pricing, but I'd strictly limit HP to 2×Cube Root(Weight in lbs.) so skinny waifs and hulking goons would differ meaningfully (even if both can be strong), and so "lethal dose" and "deadly weapon" would be at least semi-predictable.

Fatigue Points [3/level] = Health: Exactly as in the standard rules. While there were no weird powers, I was strict about enforcing fatigue for fighting, hiking, standing long watches, being poisoned or waterboarded, etc. Running out of FP was pivotal in numerous scenes.

Basic Speed [20/level] = (Coordination + Perception)/4: Again, I like this a lot. I'd choose Coordination, not Agility, because I like the idea of a link between reflexes and skills for shootists and wheelmen. I might just rename this Reflexes. Shooting first and dodging were even more important here, so I wouldn't lower the price despite the next call.

Basic Move [5/level] = (Agility + Health)/4: Again, this makes more sense . . . but Agility seems like the right part of DX to use here.

Power Level?

Again, unchanged. That campaign was high-powered, too, and I like the idea of forcing players to decide what's important to them!

[finn]

Just finished reading it, and this is a great book. It's contesting the spot of the second best GURPS 4e supplement I have ever read with GURPS Thaumatology. (with the best being How to Be a GURPS GM)

Only thing I was missing was worked examples by Kromm. However, he has provided 2 of them in this thread. So, I am happy.