Do I actually need [POWERS]?

[Nymdok]

Originally Posted by Jürgen Hubert

...That being said, it's so utterly awesome that upon reading it you will realize that it fills a hole in your gaming which you never realized that it was there before...

Ditto. Powers does for Advantages what Martial Arts Does for combat.

Nymdok

[trooper6]

Originally Posted by Jürgen Hubert

GURPS Powers is entirely optional, and not at all needed.

That being said, it's so utterly awesome that upon reading it you will realize that it fills a hole in your gaming which you never realized that it was there before.

It's that good.

Eh. I own it...because I'm a bit of a completists. But I never use it.

[Mark Skarr]

Originally Posted by trooper6

Eh. I own it...because I'm a bit of a completists. But I never use it.

See, I own Thaumatology and I think I've looked through it once. But hardly a day goes by that I don't crack Powers to look something up. On the other hand, I play a lot of games that use Powers and none that use Magic/Thaumatology.

I highly recommend Powers.

[Luke Bunyip]

Originally Posted by whswhs

I'd think you could do a lot of this just with the Extra Effort rules in the Campaigns books. Have you examined them closely to see if they address what you want?

Bill Stoddard

Yes I did, but I was after a second opinion etc from the collective wisdom regarding Powers. I would prefer to not purchase Powers, as my player group are not superhero inclined.

[Kaldrin]

Originally Posted by Luke Bunyip

Yes I did, but I was after a second opinion etc from the collective wisdom regarding Powers. I would prefer to not purchase Powers, as my player group are not superhero inclined.

I think for what you're after Powers might be a bit much. You can construct almost everything in it from the basic set. The thing that you might miss is the enhancements and limitations that aren't listed elsewhere...

From what I'm seeing in your posts you can certainly construct off/on abilities from Characters. Some might require a bit of GM-ruling though.

[Mark Skarr]

You need all the books. Even if you don't use them. Heck, I've bought books that I gave away. I gave my copy of Magic to RPK and I only know him from the boards (I also gave him a Heavy Gear book because I had a spare laying around).

We need to buy as many books as possible to help keep SJGames in the black. I don't play Munchkin so I have to buy all the GURPS books I can!

Seriously, though, Powers is a great book. If you're not going to have any supernatural powers, ever, you don't need it. If you're only going to use the generic magic system, ever, you won't need it. But, if you want a change, or dislike the inherent magic system, then you'll want the book. At the very least it explains a lot of issues people have as well as expands on rules from the Basic Set. It also includes Creates, Controls, Illusions and Leech.

Your Mileage May Vary, but I highly recommend it.

[Luke Bunyip]

Originally Posted by Kaldrin

From what I'm seeing in your posts you can certainly construct off/on abilities from Characters. Some might require a bit of GM-ruling though.

I am the GM for this game.

[Luke Bunyip]

Originally Posted by Turhan's Bey Company

1) No. I'm reasonably sure all you need to do those sorts of things is in Basic. You'll need to assemble the parts (frex, extra Speed with Costs Fatigue or extra ST with Costs Fatigue and some heavy limitation indicating that it's for digging only) and possibly decide for yourself how much what the relevant limitations/enhancements are worth, but you don't really need Powers for that.

OK. That is what I was sort of doing. Just thought I would double check.

Originally Posted by Turhan's Bey Company

2) Dear gods, no. You most definitely do not need Powers. Powers is a good book if you really want to massively fine-tune a huge range of advantages and disads for your campaigns, but it is not I repeat not necessary, any more than the equally detailed Vehicles was necessary for 3rd edition games.

LOL. My finances are about to get devoured by a building project, so this and the above have convinced me to not purchase. Might wait for Caberet Chicks on Ice instead...

[sjmdw45]

Originally Posted by Luke Bunyip

I have been musing on working out mechanics for expending Fatigue for a short term advantage, say sprinting fast, or being able to dig through rock. This morn it occured to me that this could be one of the ways that Powers operate in GURPS. Is this so?

Get Powers if you're interested in Advantages. If you're interested in skill-based mechanics you'll probably be more interested in products like Martial Arts, Magic, or Thaumatology. Sprinting fast sounds like garden-variety Extra Effort from the Basic Set--I'm not sure about digging through rock. You mean with your bare hands? Do you want it to be an esoteric skill like Power Blow that anybody could learn, or do you want it to be something that only some people can do? If the latter you probably do want Powers.

-Max

[Mailanka]

Yes, you absolutely need it, because it is awesome. Buy it! Buy it now!

^_^