Gurps Supers and Psionics

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When is gurps going to put out a Super Heroes source book and a Psionic
World book???

 

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On Mon, 18 Apr 2005 18:48:26 -0500, "Kevin Roberts" <st0023kr@vci.net>
wrote:

>When is gurps going to put out a Super Heroes source book and a Psionic
>World book???

Over a decade ago, for Third Edition - they're "GURPS IST" by Bob
Schroeck and "GURPS Psionics" by David Pulver, respectively. I believe
both are out of print, but turn up on eBay regularly.

(As an aside, a number of folks have been unofficially updating the IST
characters to Fourth Edition, with Bob's knowledge and input. See
<http://p087.ezboard.com/fdrunkardswalkforumsfrm7> for the discussions.)

From what I've heard, "GURPS Powers" will be the Fourth Edition book for
supers and psi. I don't know whether either will have a gameworld
included.

--
Rob Kelk Personal address (ROT-13): eboxryx -ng- wxfei -qbg- pbz
"As far as Doug is concerned, "dignity" is just a tragic disease that
other people suffer from."
- Bob Schroeck, talking about his V&V character, 15 March 2005

 

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On Mon, 18 Apr 2005 18:48:26 -0500, "Kevin Roberts" <st0023kr@vci.net> wrote:
>When is gurps going to put out a Super Heroes source book and a Psionic
>World book???

None in the pipeline (unless maybe there's a Psionic World or two in
Infinite Worlds), but GURPS Powers will be coming out Real Soon Now (it's
been playtested at least a little bit), but not before August since they
have their releases until then posted and Powers isn't in it.

Powers will apparently have game mechanics etc. for just about any kind of
personal powers, but not a world or setting (which is fine with me -- it's
my most anticipated GURPS 4th book EVAR.)


--
chuk

 

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"Chuk Goodin" <cgoodin@sfu.ca> wrote in message
news:d43ien$biv$1@morgoth.sfu.ca...
> On Mon, 18 Apr 2005 18:48:26 -0500, "Kevin Roberts" <st0023kr@vci.net>
> wrote:
>>When is gurps going to put out a Super Heroes source book and a Psionic
>>World book???
>
> None in the pipeline (unless maybe there's a Psionic World or two in
> Infinite Worlds), but GURPS Powers will be coming out Real Soon Now (it's
> been playtested at least a little bit), but not before August since they
> have their releases until then posted and Powers isn't in it.
>
> Powers will apparently have game mechanics etc. for just about any kind of
> personal powers, but not a world or setting (which is fine with me -- it's
> my most anticipated GURPS 4th book EVAR.)
>
>
> --
> chuk

I thought all the books were going to include a background setting. If
Powers doesn't include a background setting than where will "The
Phoenix Project" campaign setting 9Chapter 8 in GURPS Psionics) go? This is
one setting I'd definitely buy from e23 if it was expanded to at least 32
pages and priced properly (I'd pay $8 for 32 pages, $10-$12 for 64).

 

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On Wed, 20 Apr 2005 00:28:13 GMT, "James Duncan" <j.duncan@verizon.net>
wrote:

<snip>

>I thought all the books were going to include a background setting. If
>Powers doesn't include a background setting than where will "The
>Phoenix Project" campaign setting 9Chapter 8 in GURPS Psionics) go? This is
>one setting I'd definitely buy from e23 if it was expanded to at least 32
>pages and priced properly (I'd pay $8 for 32 pages, $10-$12 for 64).

It seems obvious to me that the Phoenix Project setting was at least
inspired by the 1981 movie "Scanners", written and directed by David
Cronenberg. <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081455/> You'll get a few
plot ideas for the setting if you just watch the movie, and it's
somewhat easier to find...

--
Rob Kelk Personal address (ROT-13): eboxryx -ng- wxfei -qbg- pbz
"As far as Doug is concerned, "dignity" is just a tragic disease that
other people suffer from."
- Bob Schroeck, talking about his V&V character, 15 March 2005

 

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James Duncan wrote:
> I thought all the books were going to include a background setting.

That was the original plan, but POWERS just has too much rulesy
goodness. As it is, I'm having to take out around 18,000 words just to
get it back into the word count. (Y'all don't really need articles,
right?) I'm hoping to make do with wordwise cutting, plus the occasional
sentence or paragraph, but I'm leaving plenty of time in case I have to
go back with a buzz saw.

> Phoenix Project" campaign setting 9Chapter 8 in GURPS Psionics) go? This is
> one setting I'd definitely buy from e23 if it was expanded to at least 32
> pages and priced properly (I'd pay $8 for 32 pages, $10-$12 for 64).

I see you've given one likely answer to your own question . . .

--
Andrew Hackard
hackard@speakeasy.net

 

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Andrew Hackard wrote:

>> James Duncan wrote:
>> I thought all the books were going to include a background setting.


> That was the original plan, but POWERS just has too much rulesy
> goodness. As it is, I'm having to take out around 18,000 words just
to
> get it back into the word count. (Y'all don't really need articles,
> right?) I'm hoping to make do with wordwise cutting, plus the
occasional
> sentence or paragraph, but I'm leaving plenty of time in case I have
to
> go back with a buzz saw.


So if anything substatial ends up being cut out will it end up in e23
or will we need a pyramid subscription to see it?

 

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On Tue, 19 Apr 2005 23:49:51 -0500, Andrew Hackard
<hackard@speakeasy.net> drained his beer, leaned back in the
rec.games.frp.gurps beanbag and drunkenly proclaimed the following

>That was the original plan, but POWERS just has too much rulesy
>goodness. As it is, I'm having to take out around 18,000 words just to
>get it back into the word count. (Y'all don't really need articles,
>right?) I'm hoping to make do with wordwise cutting, plus the occasional
>sentence or paragraph, but I'm leaving plenty of time in case I have to
>go back with a buzz saw.

Do it in Amcn shthnd. Tht wil sv spc.
--

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Atheist #2147, Atheist Vet #5

"Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as
when they do it from religious conviction."
Blaise Pascal (1623-1662), Pense'es, #894.

 

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> So if anything substatial ends up being cut out will it end up in e23
> or will we need a pyramid subscription to see it?

Let's see if anything substantial DOES get cut out, first -- I think I
can make it fit without excising entire chapters.

But the answer to your question is "I don't know; it's no longer my
decision."

--
Andrew Hackard
hackard@speakeasy.net

 

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Andrew Hackard <hackard@speakeasy.net> writes:

> James Duncan wrote:
>> I thought all the books were going to include a background setting.
>
> That was the original plan, but POWERS just has too much rulesy
> goodness. As it is, I'm having to take out around 18,000 words just to
> get it back into the word count. (Y'all don't really need articles,
> right?) I'm hoping to make do with wordwise cutting, plus the
> occasional sentence or paragraph, but I'm leaving plenty of time in
> case I have to go back with a buzz saw.

Out of curiosity, does Powers have an enhancement to allow a striker
to do swing rather than thrust damage? Without such an enhancement,
you can't model an iguana's tail strike.

Trust me, if you've ever been tail-whipped by an iguana, you'd agree
that it's swing damage. It can break small bones (cat or small dog leg
bones, finger bones) if it's a full-grown iguana. (2' snout-to-vent,
plus 4' tail)

Shalon Wood

--
Check out Strange Love -- an ezine of science fiction, fantasy, and
paranormal erotica. Only $2 for more than 20,000 words of fiction!

http://strangelove.pele.cx

 

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On Thu, 21 Apr 2005 05:12:28 GMT, Shalon Wood <dstar@pele.cx> wrote:

>Andrew Hackard <hackard@speakeasy.net> writes:
>
>> James Duncan wrote:
>>> I thought all the books were going to include a background setting.
>>
>> That was the original plan, but POWERS just has too much rulesy
>> goodness. As it is, I'm having to take out around 18,000 words just to
>> get it back into the word count. (Y'all don't really need articles,
>> right?) I'm hoping to make do with wordwise cutting, plus the
>> occasional sentence or paragraph, but I'm leaving plenty of time in
>> case I have to go back with a buzz saw.
>
>Out of curiosity, does Powers have an enhancement to allow a striker
>to do swing rather than thrust damage?

I hope not. That idea simply doesn't work in combination with super
strength.

 

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On Tue, 19 Apr 2005 21:56:05 -0400, Rob Kelk <robkelk@deadspam.com>
wrote:

>On Wed, 20 Apr 2005 00:28:13 GMT, "James Duncan" <j.duncan@verizon.net>
>wrote:
>
><snip>
>
>>I thought all the books were going to include a background setting. If
>>Powers doesn't include a background setting than where will "The
>>Phoenix Project" campaign setting 9Chapter 8 in GURPS Psionics) go? This is
>>one setting I'd definitely buy from e23 if it was expanded to at least 32
>>pages and priced properly (I'd pay $8 for 32 pages, $10-$12 for 64).
>
>It seems obvious to me that the Phoenix Project setting was at least
>inspired by the 1981 movie "Scanners", written and directed by David
>Cronenberg. <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081455/> You'll get a few
>plot ideas for the setting if you just watch the movie, and it's
>somewhat easier to find...

You know, something I've never really seen is a conspiratorial
superhero universe like the ones that seem to be the standard
television superhero universe, one where people with phenomenal
superhuman powers are all over the place, but go unnoticed by the
conventional media. The Phoenix Project is the closest thing I've
seen to it (apart of course from the Buffy roleplaying game), but at
least the Phoenix Project's powers are largely invisible. It would be
interesting to try to come up with a universe where all the common
comic book powers are available, and yet for some reason they have
gone unnoticed as yet. Hard to work out the justification.

 

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Shalon Wood wrote:

>Out of curiosity, does Powers have an enhancement to allow a striker
>to do swing rather than thrust damage? Without such an enhancement,
>you can't model an iguana's tail strike.
>
>Trust me, if you've ever been tail-whipped by an iguana, you'd agree
>that it's swing damage. It can break small bones (cat or small dog leg
>bones, finger bones) if it's a full-grown iguana. (2' snout-to-vent,
>plus 4' tail)
>
I do not really think it is needed. I've had plenty of experience with
iguanas, and even more with large monitors (which also tail whip with
vigor, enthusiasm, and painful accuracy) and thrust damage seems to work
just fine. Most of the time, a blow from the tail of even a huge
monitor (say a salvator or a Nile) leaves only a welt and bruise. (Of
course, different species of monitor have differing abilities to tail
whip - the stubby African monitors like savannas and black throats do
not seem to do it as well as the long, slender species like Niles.)

Now, I think that bite damage could be reworked. Most wild carnivorous
mammals, for example, would be equipped with extra jaw strength (sort of
like extra arm strength with an automatic no fine manipulators).
Crocodilians and African monitors would also get extra jaw strength.
Domestic carnivorous mammals, particularly domestic dogs, will not
necessarily get extra jaw strength (although some breeds, like the
Staffordshire terrier probably would). The teeth of the Asian and
Australian monitors, as well as those of sharks and of most of the
theropod dinosaurs are better equipped to cause massive flesh wounds
than the teeth of mammals. This is cutting damage for sure (no Smilodon
fangs here) but they probably cause more than the bog standard Thr-1.

Luke

 

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> Out of curiosity, does Powers have an enhancement to allow a striker
> to do swing rather than thrust damage? Without such an enhancement,
> you can't model an iguana's tail strike.

It's also good for modeling a character who can manifest a 'magic'
sword at will.

 

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"David Johnston" <rgorman@telusplanet.net> wrote in message
news:4266f234.49142524@news.telusplanet.net...
> On Thu, 21 Apr 2005 05:12:28 GMT, Shalon Wood <dstar@pele.cx> wrote:
>
> >Andrew Hackard <hackard@speakeasy.net> writes:
> >
> >> James Duncan wrote:
> >>> I thought all the books were going to include a background setting.
> >>
> >> That was the original plan, but POWERS just has too much rulesy
> >> goodness. As it is, I'm having to take out around 18,000 words just to
> >> get it back into the word count. (Y'all don't really need articles,
> >> right?) I'm hoping to make do with wordwise cutting, plus the
> >> occasional sentence or paragraph, but I'm leaving plenty of time in
> >> case I have to go back with a buzz saw.
> >
> >Out of curiosity, does Powers have an enhancement to allow a striker
> >to do swing rather than thrust damage?
>
> I hope not. That idea simply doesn't work in combination with super
> strength.

Why not? The maximum difference between swing and thrust damage is only ~2d
(actually, I /think/ it's 2d+2 at ST~24 or so, then drops to 2d at ST 30+,
but my book is at home, so I can't verify that). It's really not that much
of an advantage to allow a striker to do swing instead of thrust damage.

--
ericbsmith
@earthling.net

 

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On Thu, 21 Apr 2005 10:58:27 -0600, Arthur Samuels
<asamuels0725NOSPAM@yahoo.com> wrote:

>> Out of curiosity, does Powers have an enhancement to allow a striker
>> to do swing rather than thrust damage? Without such an enhancement,
>> you can't model an iguana's tail strike.
>
> It's also good for modeling a character who can manifest a 'magic'
>sword at will.

Which I "failed" to build 'cause of this. ^______^;

Korin Duval

--

"Truth requires a great amount of courage;
Fiction requires a great amount of maturity."

 

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On Fri, 22 Apr 2005 06:41:33 GMT, korinNOduvalSPAM@yahoo.it (Korin
Duval) wrote:

>On Thu, 21 Apr 2005 10:58:27 -0600, Arthur Samuels
><asamuels0725NOSPAM@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
>>> Out of curiosity, does Powers have an enhancement to allow a striker
>>> to do swing rather than thrust damage? Without such an enhancement,
>>> you can't model an iguana's tail strike.
>>
>> It's also good for modeling a character who can manifest a 'magic'
>>sword at will.
>
>Which I "failed" to build 'cause of this. ^______^;

Is it really so very difficult to build an Innate Attack with no
range?

 

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David Johnston wrote:
> Is it really so very difficult to build an Innate Attack with no
> range?

No. It is very easy to do so. However, it does not scale with changes
in ST unless you rebuild it every time. You also have to finagle dice +
adds.

 

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On Fri, 22 Apr 2005 02:36:52 -0600, Arthur Samuels
<asamuels0725NOSPAM@yahoo.com> wrote:

>David Johnston wrote:
>> Is it really so very difficult to build an Innate Attack with no
>> range?
>
> No. It is very easy to do so. However, it does not scale with changes
>in ST unless you rebuild it every time.

Well, if you really want the ability to pull a sword out of nothing
that really is a sword, wouldn't a highly specialised Snatcher do the
trick?

 

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On Fri, 22 Apr 2005 02:36:52 -0600, Arthur Samuels
<asamuels0725NOSPAM@yahoo.com> wrote:

>> Is it really so very difficult to build an Innate Attack with no
>> range?
>
> No. It is very easy to do so. However, it does not scale with changes
>in ST unless you rebuild it every time. You also have to finagle dice +
>adds.

Exactly my "problem"... If it is possible to have talons with thrust
damage, why don't they put another -more expensive pointwise- option
for swing damage?

What price do you suggest? According to the fact mentioned above of
the maximum 2d of different damage, it seemes something around 10 CP
would be fair.

Korin Duval

--

"Truth requires a great amount of courage;
Fiction requires a great amount of maturity."

 

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"Korin Duval" <korinNOduvalSPAM@yahoo.it> wrote in message
news:4268cd31.4213343@powernews.libero.it...

> Exactly my "problem"... If it is possible to have talons with thrust
> damage, why don't they put another -more expensive pointwise- option
> for swing damage?
>
> What price do you suggest? According to the fact mentioned above of
> the maximum 2d of different damage, it seemes something around 10 CP
> would be fair.

http://home.stny.rr.com/gurpsland/articles/modifiers.htm

For claws, +50% to do swing/cut or thr/imp damage. I had previously priced
it at +50% for strikers to do swing damage, again with the idea that it
would be swing/cut damage (though I didn't say so in the above article).

--
ericbsmith
@earthling.net

 

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David Johnston wrote:
> Well, if you really want the ability to pull a sword out of nothing
> that really is a sword, wouldn't a highly specialised Snatcher do the
> trick?

Maybe. The character is a super who becomes a fantasy Paladin.
Actually, his 'magic' powers and items work only because he THINKS they
do. He's not 'really' tapped into an alternate universe. He's a bit
looney-tunes; he may or not be really clear on which universe he is in.
However, it could still work. As long as it has the right effect, and
the point-cost is reasonable, who cares if the sword is really from an
alternate dimension?
But it seems clunky. His armor and magic rings can all be modelled
using existing Powers. The shield was a little tricky, but I just added
up what it would cost to get +3 to each Enhanced Defense. So why should
I have to jump through such weird hoops to model a sword? Why isn't
there a Claws-like Power I can use? Or a variation of Striker?

 

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On Sun, 24 Apr 2005 14:04:23 -0600, Arthur Samuels
<asamuels0725NOSPAM@yahoo.com> wrote:

>David Johnston wrote:
>> Well, if you really want the ability to pull a sword out of nothing
>> that really is a sword, wouldn't a highly specialised Snatcher do the
>> trick?
>
> Maybe. The character is a super who becomes a fantasy Paladin.
>Actually, his 'magic' powers and items work only because he THINKS they
>do. He's not 'really' tapped into an alternate universe. He's a bit
>looney-tunes; he may or not be really clear on which universe he is in.
> However, it could still work. As long as it has the right effect, and
>the point-cost is reasonable, who cares if the sword is really from an
>alternate dimension?
> But it seems clunky. His armor and magic rings can all be modelled
>using existing Powers. The shield was a little tricky, but I just added
>up what it would cost to get +3 to each Enhanced Defense. So why should
>I have to jump through such weird hoops to model a sword?

Well you don't. You could just get Innate Attack with no range. If
you wanted to get really picky you could pick up the limitation
"Dependant on Strength". Ought to be good for a -5%

 

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David Johnston wrote:
> Well you don't. You could just get Innate Attack with no range. If
> you wanted to get really picky you could pick up the limitation
> "Dependant on Strength". Ought to be good for a -5%

That's how I'm doing it now. However, it is WAY more expensive than
almost any conceivable reasonable extrapolation from Claws or Striker.
Yes, I know about the Lim for one attack with two modes (the cutting
attack is full price; the impaling attack is 1/5 cost).
Also, it doesn't scale if you modify ST - you have to rebuild it
every time. It's also a bit of a pain to come up with dice + adds. I
just think it would be a lot more elegant to have a variant Striker. We
already have ST-based damage; why do I have to build it from the ground up?
I don't see what good "Dependent on ST" does.

 

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> Arthur Samuels Wrote
> So why should I have to jump through such weird hoops to model a
sword? Why isn't
> there a Claws-like Power I can use? Or a variation of Striker?

Why not use the claws then design a range 0 cutting follow up atack
that can do the max damage for the diference between swing and thrust
then tack on accesability modifiers so a) it only works when you chose
cutting damage and b) the actual damage is never more than the acual
diference between thrust and swing for the weilders current ST.