How to make a Treesinging abilities

[nerdvana]

I'm trying to figure out how to make a treesinging ability for my game. This is just like the ability from the Wheel of Time books/RPG.

Basically can do these things:

• Heal damaged or diseased trees
• Cause trees to grow to enormous sizes
• Create wooden objects by having a tree grow the item (read about this here)

The first is the Healing power (limited to trees only I figure), would the second be growth?, unsure at all on the third.

I was hoping that either (a) its been written up and my Google-fu has failed me looking for it or (b) someone could give me some suggestions on how to start this.

***** EDITED CONTENTS BELOW *****
This thread is going to contain the results of the work I am putting into this project. Below is a list of contents of the meaty bits of the treesinging power.

1. Treesinging (Basic Description)
2. Treesinging Abilities, Basic (and the crunch, including the power talent, the power skill, and an available perk)
3. Treesinging Abilities, Advanced: Treesinging Woodcraft (and the crunch, including a related disadvantage called Weak Woodcrafting and two available perks)
4. Treesinging Abilities, Advanced: Green Support (includes crunch, including an available perk) [Requires Treesinging Woodcraft]
5. Treesinging Abilities, Advanced: Song of Growth (and the crunch, including a technique and two available perks) [Requires Treesinging Woodcraft]
6. Treesinging Abilities, Advanced: Commune with Plants (description and crunch)
7. Treesinging Abilities, Advanced: Commune with Nature (description and crunch) [Requires Commune with Plants]

[Anaraxes]

(3) could be Create Linked with Control with an Environmental limitation. Snatcher is the other base for creating items.

If (2) only causes trees to grow within their natural limits, it could be construed as an aging attack. (Not that Growth isn't a better answer; just throwing out alternatives.)

[nerdvana]

Originally Posted by Anaraxes

If (2) only causes trees to grow within their natural limits, it could be construed as an aging attack. (Not that Growth isn't a better answer; just throwing out alternatives.)

Definitely need it to include growth beyond natural limits. It is how elves get gigantic trees to live in.

[nerdvana]

Found some errors in the previous posts and have been updating them thoughout the day. Some of these errors were in the application of modifiers and prices have changed as well.

First changes are in Basic Treesinging Abilities

Originally Posted by nerdvana

By concentrating for a second on a plant he can see or touches, a treesinger can get a sense of the plant’s nature and status.

Originally Posted by nerdvana

Detect Sapient Plants: Treesingers unerringly recognize sapient plants on sight. They can also make an IQ roll to analyze the detected sapient mind – a success lets them know that the mind is sentient (IQ 6+) or not, on a critical success the GM will also tell the player the plant’s IQ level within a margin of ±1 (GM will roll 1d and divide by two then subtract 2 from the roll and adjust informed IQ by that number; if the IQ is at the sapient/sentient borderline then this cannot move the IQ across that line).

The above changes reflect changes to the Crunch post for the same ability...

Originally Posted by nerdvana

Statistics: Plant Empathy (Treesinging PM, -10%; Based on Will, +20%; Concentration Required, -15%; Resistible by Will, -15%; either Melee Attack (-30%) or Sense-based: Vision (-20%), -6%. 11.1pts.) plus Detect Plant Sapience (Treesinging PM, -10%; Cosmic: no roll required, +100%; Sense-Based: Vision, -20%; Vague, -50%. 6pts.) plus Detect Plant Sapience (Treesinging PM, -10%; Basic Analytics only, -50%; Sense Based: Vision, -20%. 1pts.) plus Perk: Ultra Narrow Talent 2 (bonus to Naturalist rolls to identify toxic plants) plus Quirk: Eyes, which are green, glow when concentrating on any Treesinger power. [20]

That also allows for simpler notation below the statistics as I have gotten rid of the "Sense Based: Touch" which I realized very late wasn't a thing!

Originally Posted by nerdvana

If the character goes blind they can trade out Sense-Based: Vision (-20%) in the Detect Plant Sapience builds for Melee Attack (-30%) at no effective cost (it would be .5 points cheaper but that is rounded up per SOP in GURPS).

I made a few mistakes in Treesinging Woodcraft's crunch. For one I left out the Power Modifiers! That and some basic miscalculation reduced the power cost from 33 points to 24 points. The new Statistics are quoted below...

Originally Posted by nerdvana

Control Plants (Treesinging PM, -10%; Based on Will, +20%; Link with Create, +10%; Reduced Fatigue Cost, +40%; Vital Manipulation*, +0%; 3/5th Power, -40%; Contact Agent, -30%; Specialized: Healthy Trees only, -15%; Takes 1 hour Recharge before reuse on same tree**, -10%; Weakened without Immediate 1 minute Preparation, -15%. 10pts.) plus Create Plants (Treesinging PM, -10%; Based on Will, +20%; Cosmic: no creation pool required, +100%; Link with Control, +10%; Reduced Fatigue Cost, +80%†; Vital Creation*, +0%; 3/5th Power, -40%; Accessibility: only during the day, -20%; Costs Fatigue, -5%†; Specialized: Healthy Trees only, -15%; Takes 1 hour Recharge before reuse on same tree**, -10%; Transmutation only, -50%; Vow (Never abuse treesinging abilities)‡, -5%; Weakened without Immediate 1 minute Preparation, -15%. 14pts.) plus Feature: Every 15 minutes of continuous use costs an additional FP to continue. [24]

Since Song of Growth is getting a major re-write I'll post its crunch change separately. Basically made it a touch-required power rather than a ranged one, the flavor text will be updated first then I'll update the crunch and share it as a reply to that posting...

[WingedKagouti]

The third would be Snatcher with Permanent, Specialized (Wood), Creation, Large Items, and More Weight (the last three are from Powers). Specialized should probably be -25% since it's more limiting than No Metal -20%, but still quite versatile.

Healing and Growth seem to fit the other two abilities fine.

[Christopher R. Rice]

Originally Posted by nerdvana

I'm trying to figure out how to make a treesinging ability for my game. This is just like the ability from the Wheel of Time books/RPG.

Cool. A good series if a bit dry towards the middle.

Originally Posted by nerdvana

• Heal damaged or diseased trees

As you pointed out this is Healing. Modify that with "Accessibility, Plants Only, -25%" or "Accessibility, Living Plants Only, -25%." I also wrote a blog post on Healing in general here.

Originally Posted by nerdvana

• Cause trees to grow to enormous sizes

This is basically Control Wood with Vital Manipulation to allow it to affect living targets and Extended Duration to make it last after you stop concentrating. Edit: You could go with Affliction (Growth) but you end up needing to add extra levels of ST too and that gets annoying (IME).

Originally Posted by nerdvana

• Create wooden objects by having a tree grow the item (read about this here)

This is Create Wood with Transformation only and a skill roll against a appropriate creation skill.

Originally Posted by nerdvana

I was hoping that either (a) its been written up and my Google-fu has failed me looking for it or (b) someone could give me some suggestions on how to start this.

I actually wrote up "Plant Telepathy" (I jokingly call it "florakinesis") in Pyramid #3/49: World-Hopping. Treesinging was a inspiration for some of the abilities.

[thulben]

Originally Posted by Ghostdancer

I jokingly call it "florakinesis"

Wouldn't that be the ability to move plants? How about "flore(o)pathy"?

[Christopher R. Rice]

Originally Posted by thulben

Wouldn't that be the ability to move plants? How about "flore(o)pathy"?

It actually includes both telepathy and telekinetic abilities - just relating to plants.

[Gef]

Ghostdancer>You could go with Affliction (Growth) but you end up needing to add extra levels of ST too and that gets annoying (IME).

I like it; I have something similar in my mutants campaign, except that it's for animals. The way to make it work is with the enhancement (for Affliction) Cumulative, and I also do a little handwaving: The Affliction adds POINTS to ST, and since ST gets cheaper with size, the result is that each application adds a level of size and enough ST to sustain it.

Afflict (Growth and 30 points of ST, Cumulative) [90].

Target has SM0, ST 10, gets SM1 (3yd tall) and ST 16 (NFM -40%, SM -10%).

Next application, SM 2 (5yd tall) and ST 25 (NFM -40%, SM 2 -20%).

3rd application, SM 3 (7yd tall) and ST 40 (NFM -40%, SM 3 -30%).

4th application, SM 4 (10yd tall) and ST 70 (NFM -40%, SM 4 -40%).

5th application, SM 5 (15yd tall) and ST 85 (max discount 80%).

6th application, SM 6 (20yd tall) and ST 100 (max discount 80%).

7th application, SM 7 (30yd tall) but ST 115 is less than the required 150; work out with the GM what happens then. I'd rule that you could swing it with Extra Effort, and that an 8th application would be impossible.

[Christopher R. Rice]

Originally Posted by Gef

Ghostdancer>You could go with Affliction (Growth) but you end up needing to add extra levels of ST too and that gets annoying (IME).

I like it; I have something similar in my mutants campaign, except that it's for animals. The way to make it work is with the enhancement (for Affliction) Cumulative, and I also do a little handwaving: The Affliction adds POINTS to ST, and since ST gets cheaper with size, the result is that each application adds a level of size and enough ST to sustain it.

Afflict (Growth and 30 points of ST, Cumulative) [90].

Target has SM0, ST 10, gets SM1 (3yd tall) and ST 16 (NFM -40%, SM -10%).

Next application, SM 2 (5yd tall) and ST 25 (NFM -40%, SM 2 -20%).

3rd application, SM 3 (7yd tall) and ST 40 (NFM -40%, SM 3 -30%).

4th application, SM 4 (10yd tall) and ST 70 (NFM -40%, SM 4 -40%).

5th application, SM 5 (15yd tall) and ST 85 (max discount 80%).

6th application, SM 6 (20yd tall) and ST 100 (max discount 80%).

7th application, SM 7 (30yd tall) but ST 115 is less than the required 150; work out with the GM what happens then. I'd rule that you could swing it with Extra Effort, and that an 8th application would be impossible.

Interesting. I still prefer Control (it lets you do more), but that too is workable.