Tag: gurps

GURPS disease/package: Garish Tattoo. [GURPS 4E]

I dunno why.

Garish Tattoo [0]

This particular disease crops up on a number of timelines; it’s pretty obviously a bioengineered one, but nobody’s sure who is creating it, and how they’re spreading it.  It’s communicable, but not very: symptoms include extreme lassitude and a mild fever for several days, a brightly glowing rash that turns into a brightly glowing scar, and the permanent acquisition of both a psionic talent, and minor psionic abilities/perks.  Garish Tattoo is never fatal on its own, but somebody with a compromised immune system might not survive the experience.  There are seven recognized strains of Garish Tattoo: contracting one form of the disease immunizes you from the others.

Continue reading GURPS disease/package: Garish Tattoo. [GURPS 4E]

Tweet of the Day, GURPS Mars Attacks Coming Soon! edition

‘Soon’ being defined as ‘December.’ …Well, that’s about eighty to ninety days from now, so I guess that actually counts as ‘soon’ in RPG terms. I mean, shoot, September’s half over already. Anyway, be sure to nag your Friendly Local Gaming Stores:

I liked the Tim Burton Mars Attacks!, almost in spite of itself. It entertained, even though most of the characters in it were kind of horrible and/or broken. But it didn’t certainly didn’t lack for chutzpah…

Lagoon-2 (Quantum 6) #gurpsday

There are bizarre timelines, and then there’s Lagoon-2.  On this world, fish-men rose out of the sea in 1954… just in time to help keep humanity from being slaughtered by an incursion of warped Ant-Men from inland.  Today, humanity more or less is safe whenever they’re within ten miles of saltwater.  Go past that, and things get… Weird… very, very quickly.

Infinity finds this place alarming, but profitable: the culture has frozen worldwide into a somewhat demented perpetual rockabilly extravaganza.  Turns out that there are two things that Ant-Men can’t stand: salt water, and rock-and-roll.  Which is one reason why Elvis Presley just got re-elected President, and why most remaining countries are almost literally ruled by their Top 40 lists. It’s not really a place for disaster tourism, but lots of people want to go to Lagoon-2 and try it anyway.

Lagoon-2, 1973

Continue reading Lagoon-2 (Quantum 6) #gurpsday

An adaptation of Nikola Tesla’s GURPS Who’s Who 1 stats for 4e.

I needed this for something else, maybe, so since I was going to have to convert it anyway I figured that I might as well put it up here.  Please note: this is explicitly derived from the character stats found in GURPS Who’s Who 1, updated for the new edition. I made a few judgement calls and ignored the Third Edition point totals; judicious use of Talents could optimize/squeeze a few more points off of the total point cost.  Also note that this is not a cinematic Nikola Tesla. If that even means anything in this context, really.

But, hey, it might still be useful for GURPSDAY.

Continue reading An adaptation of Nikola Tesla’s GURPS Who’s Who 1 stats for 4e.

GURPS Disadvantage: Quinzel’s Syndrome [GURPS 4e]

Quinzel’s Syndrome [-10]

Psychologists, of course, have long been intimately familiar with the tendency of a certain type of individual to willingly dress up in identical and vaguely silly uniforms, take on anonymizing nicknames, and commit crimes on the behest of a bizarrely-costumed and extravagantly-themed supervillain.  Research continues in what has been called Quinzel’s Syndrome since the 1990s, but it’s widely agreed that there is definitely an odd physiological, and possibly even genetic, predisposition towards minion-hood among an alarmingly wide segment of the population. Curing it is even more potentially fraught, particularly since there are those outside of criminal life who consider Quinzel’s Syndrome to be potentially useful, too.

Continue reading GURPS Disadvantage: Quinzel’s Syndrome [GURPS 4e]

New Martial Arts Style: Poet’s Recourse [GURPS 4E]

Poet’s Recourse (6pt)

This is not a martial art for those who wish to engage in combat.  No, this is a martial art for those who are reluctantly in combat, and who wish to exit it at the first possible opportunity. It assumes that the adept is wearing no armor – possibly, no clothes – and does not have much in the way of a weapon, either.  The martial art essentially teaches how to avoid getting hit while running away, preferably while your opponent’s primary weapon has been knocked out of his grasp.  It’s best used against opponents using melee who aren’t trying to kill the adept; against anyone with a missile weapon, all the training manuals advise, pithily, “Jump through the window.” Luckily, the style teaches how to do that safely. Or… more safely. Continue reading New Martial Arts Style: Poet’s Recourse [GURPS 4E]

New Martial Arts Style: The Mind’s Hand [GURPS 4E]

Martial Art: The Mind’s Hand (5/10 pt)

This particular martial art is taught in worlds where psionic powers are known and codified.  The basic style is taught alongside regular psionic abilities: the style teaches the student how to make skin-to-skin physical contact with his opponent, hopefully thus allowing the student to use his psionic abilities to greater effect.  The Mind’s Hand is a very fluid, very quick style; Evades and Feints are emphasized, as are unusual fighting stances. Also note: the uniform of The Mind’s Hand is typically skimpier than normal. An elbow or ankle works just as well as a hand when it comes to making skin-to-skin contact.

The cinematic version of this style is typically the province of monks who spend thirty years sitting on a mountaintop, maintaining their existence through sheer force of psionic will. A cinematic adept will still be primarily skilled in psionic techniques, with ‘merely’ enough combat abilities to terrify the average fighter.

Continue reading New Martial Arts Style: The Mind’s Hand [GURPS 4E]

New Martial Art (Supers): Lock-On [GURPS 4e]

I’ve been kicking around various versions of this style in my head – and possibly have put an earlier version online: I can’t remember. But, wow, that Luke Cage trailer. That trailer is what reminded me of this style. Bricks who know how to fight skillfully; yeah, I’d watch that. Or play that.

Lock-On (20 pt)

This is a martial art designed specifically for ‘bricks:’ that is, superheroes with lots of strength and damage resistance.  It does not specifically teach how to punch or kick harder, however.  Teachers of Lock-On instead teach their students how to use their strength and bulk more effectively, plus how to subdue normal criminals without breaking them.  This style also encourages thinking in terms of three dimensions: students learn how to use heights and cover to their best advantage.  A well-trained Lock-On adept is not necessarily a ninja, but she would be taken seriously by one. Continue reading New Martial Art (Supers): Lock-On [GURPS 4e]

New Martial Arts Style: Spellfighting [GURPS 4e]

Spellfighting (10pt)

This martial art was created to give mages something of an idea of how to handle a close-up and personal brawl. Its primary skill is Brawling, for simplicity’s sake; it assumes that the mage is being beset by several opponents at once, and teaches appropriate techniques.  There are also some specialized techniques for use with heavy wands and staves.  The heavy wand in particular (uses Smallsword, and is equivalent to a baton) is associated with this style: Spellfighter students have specially-reinforced wands made, and usually proudly displayed.  It should always be assumed that these wands have been enchanted with at least the Staff spell. Also note that a Spellfighter is also almost always a mage, and thus has theoretical access to any number of useful spells that rely on physical contact. Continue reading New Martial Arts Style: Spellfighting [GURPS 4e]