02-18-2016, 07:07 PM | #1 |
Banned
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Europe
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Reliable Enhancement vs buying Power Talent?
On some Powers, it's cheaper to choose to buy a few levels of the Reliable Talent at +5% per level, than to purchase Power Talent.
Based on this, one might be tempted to say that Reliable should often be unavailable, and that Talent should be purchased instead as the sole route to "better control". The only reason for preferring Talent is that in many cases, a Talent covers 2 or 3 or sometimes more Powers (even while still costing only 5/lvl), boosting them all, which might make it cheaper than to buy Reliable (at least until you hit the Talent ceiling, 4 levels in most settings but higher in some with or without UB). I assumed that Talent added to some less-than-straightforward rolls that Reliable doen't add to, such as rolls for Power Stunts and perhaps also Extra Effort with Powers, but this appears not to be the case - it seems as if Reliable adds to all rolls, no exceptions. So that's not a reason for players to prefer Talent. So what's up and down here, on this issue? The topic is Reliable Enhancement vs Talent, in a player choice-making context. Discuss! |
02-18-2016, 07:27 PM | #2 |
Hero of Democracy
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: far from the ocean
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Re: Reliable Enhancement vs buying Power Talent?
GM's will often allow power talent and not allow reliable.
That would be 80% of the whole of it to me. The point about covering multiple abilities is also strong -- perhaps that's another 10 or 15%. There are some cases where reliable doesn't really apply and power talent does: innate attack rolls, for instance, or disguise rolls with elastic skin.
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02-18-2016, 07:53 PM | #3 | |
Join Date: Aug 2007
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Re: Reliable Enhancement vs buying Power Talent?
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Of course, I would only "require" Power Talent in the first place when it makes sense. Perhaps when Power talent is acting as a sort of UB but legally that is satisfied by a single level.
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Fred Brackin |
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02-19-2016, 02:01 AM | #4 | |
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Vermont, USA
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Re: Reliable Enhancement vs buying Power Talent?
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"Reliable … This works exactly like Talent …" (p. P109)Reliable is the ability-specific Talent. |
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02-19-2016, 02:16 AM | #5 |
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: U.K.
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Re: Reliable Enhancement vs buying Power Talent?
Reliable can be very appropriate sometimes when a creature or being has some specific ability that just works, pretty darned well, despite the controlling attribute possibly being mediocre, and where the ability is a standalone thing rather than being part of some complex power. In such cases, fudging in a Talent feels clunky and inappropriate. Where you're not really talking about a power, having a Talent for it is silly.
My big example is Transhuman Space's AIs with their "Visualization" (sophisticated task modelling) ability. This is supposed to be far more dependable than their usual IQ levels would imply, but obliging them to take 20 points of Talent to make a 10-point advantage reasonably useful would just be nuts.
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02-19-2016, 02:43 AM | #6 | |
Join Date: Dec 2007
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Re: Reliable Enhancement vs buying Power Talent?
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02-19-2016, 05:31 AM | #7 | |
Banned
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Europe
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Re: Reliable Enhancement vs buying Power Talent?
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Likewise, Reliable can't aid skills associated with shapechange effects, such as Acting, but that's only part logic, the rest being because in GURPs shapechange effects usually don't have an associated skill roll, they just work automatically, and so Talent needed something to do to make it worthwhile, and that ended up being as a bonus to rolls to "pass" or otherwise deceive while being affected by a shapechange type power. |
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02-19-2016, 07:02 AM | #8 | |
Banned
Join Date: Aug 2004
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Re: Reliable Enhancement vs buying Power Talent?
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Source please? |
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02-19-2016, 07:07 AM | #9 | ||
Banned
Join Date: Aug 2004
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Re: Reliable Enhancement vs buying Power Talent?
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02-19-2016, 07:08 AM | #10 |
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: America
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Re: Reliable Enhancement vs buying Power Talent?
I normally have a cap on both (Talent 4-5, Reliable 5) so having maxed bother (Reliable 5 and Talent 4) means +9 to that advantage and +4 to related others. It allows both specialization in the single most used abilities, and general ability in other related powers.
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