Dominance, Carrier, Infectious Attack
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All on Tue Jun 25 16:44:15 2024
(This file is public domain and you are free to copy it, including to copy
it into Path of Cunning and others.)
This is about variants of the Dominance, Carrier, and Infectious Attack.
GURPS Template Toolkit 2 Races lists the Carrier trait, and GURPS Zombies
has some more details about Dominance and Infectious Attack.
It may make sense to combine them into a single trait, so that you can then
add any modifiers to it, including combinations of modifiers that are not normally applicable to disadvantages. (If you are ignoring character
points, then you do not need to consider how many points it is worth,
although it is still useful to define the traits as having specific rules (existing/custom) apply to them, so that you can know how to play game.)
* Not a supernatural power: Normally, Dominance and Infectious Attack are defined as supernatural powers. They could instead be biological,
scientific, or superscientific powers. (Another variant would be one that infects computers.) (Another possibility is for the power itself to be supernatural, but the result isn't.)
* Different susceptibility: Normally only your original race and similar
races are susceptible, but there are other possible variants, e.g.
universal susceptibility, or more narrow susceptibility; you may consider
the Faith Healing and Xeno-Healing modifiers for the Healing advantage as
one way to allow broader susceptibility, while another way would be to
have physiology penalties.
* More than one attack or attacks other than natural attacks: Normally, it applies to one natural attack. You might want it to be applicable to other attacks too, e.g. all natural melee attacks, or maybe even a gadget.
* Modified onset time: GURPS Zombies has "No Onset Time", although you may
want the onset time to be nonzero but also not 2d days; it might be slower
or faster and may use a different number of dice. Another variant would be
for the onset time to depend on the number of damage (or how much the resistance roll misses by; see below).
* Additional conditions for infection: The book says the GM is free to
impose additional conditions, e.g. the target dies, etc. I think it would
make sense for such things to be applied as modifiers; when you define your character you can specify whatever criteria is appropriate.
* Partial template modification: This variant would allow it to only
partially modify the template of whoever is affected, instead of replacing
it entirely. This might be meaningful with "different susceptibility"
above, although not mandatory with it; it can also be used without it. (Alternatively, you can have one that affects their mind but does not
affect their body, or vice-versa.)
* Different template modification: A variant that changes their template
to a template different from your own.
* No control: Effectively what Infectious Attack does. (Here, you may wish
to apply other variants in combination with this one.) Other variants
include adding Reprogrammable instead of Slave Mentality, or giving them
free will (like Infectious Attack) but allowing you to add them as a
Puppet (allowing you to possess them). However, if they are still Allies
but have neither of those traits, then this increases the cost as Allies
and increases the value of Minion (unless somehow Minion won't apply); this
is described by Kromm in the GURPS forum.
* If they cannot create new servitors for you: This is clear, that "Special Abilities" on Allies would then be not applicable (since the book says that
it is why Special Abilities is added). (It also may reduce the cost of
Allies, because it is 20 points less.) Another variant of this would be if
they do have Dominance but it is less likely to work; the more there are in
the chain from you they are, the less likely that the power will work.
* Limited duration: If the change has a limited duration, either by time,
by conditions, or both. When it ends, it may be defined to either change
them back how they were before, or to not change them back but they will
still lose Slave Mentality and become free-willed (no longer a Ally).
* Other types of damage: Normally, HP damage is required. Other variants
can be: (a) non-wounding damage (a Innate Attack with the No Wounding modifier). (b) FP damage. (c) triggered by healing instead of damage.
(d) triggered by them damaging you (in this case, No Injury Required
together with some limitations, seems to be appropriate).
* Other amounts of damage: Instead of 3d vs HP, you may want a different number, making it more or less likely to work. (You might also add a
resistance roll in addition to requiring damage.) (In addition, 3d would
mean that it is guaranteed if 19 or more damage (since it does not say
it is a success roll), and that might be undesirable; however, if a
resistance roll is allowed, then that is probably not a problem.)
* No Injury Required: This is in GURPS Zombies. Although it also allows
attack modifiers (like a ranged attack), the examples make it unclear if
a maneuver is required to activate it or not. (It might also make sense
to use it with Follow Up; they are potentially affected if hit by another attack. It would seem that No Injury Required normally ignores DR, so
using Blood Agent limitation might do.)
* Decreased Immunity / Increased Immunity: This may make sense whether or
not you have No Injury Required. The rules for No Injury Required do say
you cannot be affected for one day if you resist, so this is similar and
would make sense to apply such modifiers to change the immunity.)
* If it only works on willing targets; only willing targets can be
transformed by your Dominance or Infectious Attack power. (You might
or might not also have control over it.)
* If you can use Dominance on someone who has previously been affected by Dominance to regain control of them if the control has been lost or if
someone one else controls them (to take it over from them).
* If they do not gain all of your powers (in your template) immediately,
but it takes time after being affected, before all of the powers are
gained. This can also apply in reverse; disadvantages also might not
apply immediately, but will be added later on. (This may also be applicable
to powers as well as body.)
* If other traits are added to both you and them, e.g. Special Rapport, Mindlink, etc.
* If you can effectively possess and control them remotely after they have
been affected by you (possibly with a limited range).
* If instead of changing their existing body, their existing body remains
dead and a new body (with a new template) is created with their mind (this
new "body" either can be a usual physical body or can be insubstantial).
(A variant can be that a copy of their mind is created in a new body even though their original body remains intact and alive.) (Another variant is
that they take over your body, but your mind is then moved to a newly
created body instead.)
* If instead of changing their existing body, you are a swarm, and the
swarm is expanded in their body as well as yours once you affect them.
* How they would be healed once changed, if they were damaged.
* Another variant would be you have control over specific things but not
all of them, e.g. you can use their senses (and maybe they can use yours
too, if you don't add Slave Mentality), but not control what they do.
--
Don't laugh at the moon when it is day time in France.
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From
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John Dallman on Tue Jul 30 11:09:56 2024
jgd@cix.co.uk (John Dallman) wrote:
Would you like to expand this into a fully fleshed-out article for The
Path of Cunning? The writer's guide is linked from the home page, as per
my signature.
I think this article is not really the quality for the Path of Cunning as
it is; the notice at the top of my article is really intended to be a
notice that you should not have to worry about copyright if someone wants
to copy some or all of something I wrote into a article for Path of
Cunning (or anything else, since it is public domain).
However, sometimes I might write things which do have a suitable quality.
But, I do not have OpenDocument and MS-Word on my computer, so I cannot
read the writer's guide, so I don't know what it says.
It should be made the opportunity to be done without OpenDocument and
MS-Word, e.g. to use text-based formats such as HTML or troff (which should
be common on UNIX-based computers such as Linux, which is what I have); so
that people who do not have OpenDocument and MS-Word can use this.
Converting the writer's guide to PDF and ePUB should also do since then
anyone who can access the existing issues can access the writer's guide.
If I am wrong, then you can tell me what is wrong with the above.
--
Don't laugh at the moon when it is day time in France.
--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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