Pricing Borrowed Technology Cost

[nerdvana]

I was recently reminded (in the Gurps: Post Apocalyptic thread I found searching the forums for PA postings) about Borrowed Technology (on B513). How would you price this? (I was thinking of treating it like an accessability -80%, thus making each level of Borrowed Technology a perk.) How does this sound to the rest of you?

[David Johnston2]

I don't understand what you mean by borrowed technology.

[Not another shrubbery]

That's the bit from B513 about a TL higher than yours that you can learn for operating purposes, but not for repairing. I don't understand the 'for CG purposes' though.

[nerdvana]

Originally Posted by David Johnston2

I don't understand what you mean by borrowed technology.

Originally Posted by Not another shrubbery

That's the bit from B513 about a TL higher than yours that you can learn for operating purposes, but not for repairing. I don't understand the 'for CG purposes' though.

NAS had DJ2's answer for me (thanks) and by "CG Purposes" I mean chargen... sorry for using short hand and something that completely didn't matter anyway... I've edited the original post for clarity puropses. NAS, my question is about pricing in general.

[Not another shrubbery]

I'm not sure that it's worth a reduction... it sounds like a form of Taboo Trait linked to the levels of High TL.

[nerdvana]

Originally Posted by Not another shrubbery

I'm not sure that it's worth a reduction... it sounds like a form of Taboo Trait linked to the levels of High TL.

So, for a TL 4/8 person you'd recommend just paying for 8 and saying that they have a taboo trait about repairing or building above TL4?

Still seems better to have them pay for 4 (or have that as the campaign baseline) and then have some sort of discount on the other levels... maybe -80% is too much?

[Not another shrubbery]

Originally Posted by nerdvana

So, for a TL 4/8 person you'd recommend just paying for 8 and saying that they have a taboo trait about repairing or building above TL4?

Still seems better to have them pay for 4 (or have that as the campaign baseline) and then have some sort of discount on the other levels... maybe -80% is too much?

To the first question: Yeah, I think that is the intent of Borrowed Tech. For the second: -80% is definitely too much for just the restriction on mechanical and engineering skills. Are you envisioning some other limitation beside that?

[nerdvana]

No, I don't envision any other limitations, thus my realizing that I went way to far there. :D

[cosmicfish]

I don't know if 80% is necessarily unreasonable... depending on the item! A TL4 character with a TL8 deserves 0% discount, but what if it is a major item requiring a lot of maintenance, like a vehicle? The discount should represent the relative loss of use due to degredation from lack of repair. If that laser only has 20 shots left before it fails, how much is it really worth?

[nerdvana]

Originally Posted by cosmicfish

I don't know if 80% is necessarily unreasonable... depending on the item! A TL4 character with a TL8 deserves 0% discount, but what if it is a major item requiring a lot of maintenance, like a vehicle? The discount should represent the relative loss of use due to degredation from lack of repair. If that laser only has 20 shots left before it fails, how much is it really worth?

This is for a post apocalyptic world where the higher tech stuff is not easily replacable.