Doug's Musical Ability, in GURPS

[Mark Skarr]

[Sorry for the late response, Helen was over last night and I didn't get much of a chance to reply to anything or anyone.

No worries, it’s all good.

First, when in the Walk do you want this sheet to represent? The Fuzion version is explicitly the start of DW2; yours doesn't have to be. And regardless of what Doug thinks in DW13, he has learned things during his journeys.

Um . . . really? No idea. More of just an over-arching guideline.

Second, TL skills from Warriors' World should mostly be TL9, especially anything involving computers and robotics, where it's almost TL10.

I was going to ask about that, they’re all TL8 on the sheet, at the moment, because, well, I didn’t bother changing them. But, when I get a sec, I will.

While on that topic, I was considering Computers!/TL9 and Robotics!/TL9 for him.

(My groups have always referred to these as “dammit!” skills, so if I call something skill-dammit!, that’s what I mean.)
Personally, I despise wildcard skills, and I don’t use them in any of my games. They’re one of the optional rules I just, patently, ignore. To me, they’re a short-cut for people who don’t want to think too hard about their character, or, for people who want to bump up their stats to super-human levels and be awesome at everything possible.
To me, they’re overused and done so poorly. I mean, you’re only supposed to have one or two at most, and every character I usually see who tries to slide them in has a dozen. To me, they should only be used when they’re a major part of a person’s story (Reed Richards has Science!, sure, I could buy that; Beast, not really. Ben wouldn’t have Kloberin’! as a skill, he’s not that awesome).
And, honestly, if Doug were going to have a Wildcard skill, it would be the Asskicking! skill, created by TKD, that Brock Sampson has.

Sumo wrestling? Really?

Oh, yes! It’s not just for immense Japanese men, anymore. It’s a skill for slams, grapples and trips. All things that Doug would have figured out. A housecat, with Sumo at DX+2 has a 50% chance of knocking a person down (Gold & Appel Inc is a huge fan of Sumo Wrestling, and has shown me how awesome it can be; and getting your butt handed to you by a housecat is pretty embarrassing).

Other skills: Katana, Alchemy, Teaching (very important), Pilot (Motorcycle), Mechanic (average skill, enough to make basic repairs to the bike), any engineering skills specific to Cybernetics and Robotics. Tactics and Strategy. Military Savoir-faire.
After DW12, Singing, Mechanic (Steampunk), Engineer (Steampunk).

Technically, that would be Piloting (Contragravity), but, yeah, I can throw all that stuff in there. And a geologist, yeah, lossa rocks down there. Oops, sorry.

Incompetence: Surfing. (No, he can't figure it out either.)

We have something in common!

Advantages:
What you've got looks good. Shadowwalker, if anything, would be closer to a Patron; almost all the female Warriors are more powerful than Doug.
Speaking of Patrons, the Warriors and the UN, either separately or collectively, in WW.
Military Rank (Courtesy rank) (Seems to be accepted everywhere -- at least no one's refused to call him "Colonel".)
Filthy Rich (WW and the Kaleido*Star worlds only, with associated status)

Well, I figure this wouldn’t be his WW version. Although, as an experiment, we might try to make both a pre-walk Doug and a post-walk Doug. That could be fun.
On the other hand, I have people who call me "Admiral" even though I have no military rank.
ETF:

If he didn't have them before his Fenspace stopover, he would have picked them up quickly afterward. Eimi's a handwavium AI, not a god-built AI - some of her parts will eventually break, and Doug's often the only person around to repair her.

But, that’s not right. Bang/Wildcard skills are infinitely more diverse than that. You don’t suffer familiarity or TL penalties with Wildcard skills (unless the TL is higher, and I’m not 100% sure on that). With those skills, he would be able to work on any computer or robot, from the biocomputers of the Cheese-people of Ledercronz-8 through the Clockwork King’s minions, and everything in-between. No penalties.
If Doug were a cyber-psi, I’d have less problem with those skills, but, really, they’re just too powerful, in general (another reason I despise Wildcard skills). He doesn’t automatically know everything, but he does know how his helmet works, and how the computer implanted inside it works. So, Eimi’s reasonably fine, unless her code gets corrupted, and, after X years of wandering around with Doug, I’m sure he’s figured that out by now, and his Computer Programming/TL9 would be sufficient for debugging her if she gets corrupted.

[Shepherd]

While on that topic, I was considering Computers!/TL9 and Robotics!/TL9 for him.

If he didn't have them before his Fenspace stopover, he would have picked them up quickly afterward. Eimi's a handwavium AI, not a god-built AI - some of her parts will eventually break, and Doug's often the only person around to repair her.

That's easily solved. Since Doug's standard healing song seems to repair his costume in addition to healing his wounds, he simply has to play that song for Eimi in order to repair damage to her. Since she is alive, she can be targeted, and since she's a damaged object, she can be repaired.
----------------------------------------------------

"Anyone can be a winner if their definition of victory is flexible enough." - The DM of the Rings XXXV

[Mark Skarr]

Shepherd wrote:

---

That's easily solved. Since Doug's standard healing song seems to repair his costume in addition to healing his wounds, he simply has to play that song for Eimi in order to repair damage to her. Since she is alive, she can be targeted, and since she's a damaged object, she can be repaired.

I LIKE IT!
Sorry for shouting, but it seemed appropriate.

[Bob Schroeck]

With those skills, he would be able to work on any computer or robot, from the biocomputers of the Cheese-people of Ledercronz-8 through the Clockwork King’s minions, and everything in-between. No penalties.

At work, sneaking this in during the last minutes. Let me put it this way, towards the end of the Walk, Doug builds a cyborg body for an AI (not Eimi), kitbashing together technologies from his homeworld, boomers, Nuku-Nuku, Rin-Rin's work in sister Princess, and a couple other sources I'm forgetting right now. Then again, he's also using "Weird Science" by Oingo-Boingo to help weld it all together. But he's not just piling all the parts together and wishing hard.

More later. Oh and the comment about Fenspace was Rob Kelk, not me.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[Mark Skarr]

Bob Schroeck wrote:

---

At work, sneaking this in during the last minutes. Let me put it this way, towards the end of the Walk, Doug builds a cyborg body for an AI (not Eimi), kitbashing together technologies from his homeworld, boomers, Nuku-Nuku, Rin-Rin's work in sister Princess, and a couple other sources I'm forgetting right now. Then again, he's also using "Weird Science" by Oingo-Boingo to help weld it all together. But he's not just piling all the parts together and wishing hard.

Which makes sense.  I don't see an issue with a song giving him a Wildcard skill, as it really does change reality around him.  That makes perfect sense.  But, Wildcard skills are supposed to be the defining trait of a character, and really, Douglas Quincy Sangnoir is not going to be remembered as a computer or robotics technician.  The song also may have given him Snatcher with permanent and some other things so he didn't "make" the body in the conventional sense, creating it out of the parts.  After all, he is magically-powered.  He could have used all the parts as material components and summoned a body.  I'd actually lean more toward the Snatcher idea if it only took the duration of the song to complete the body.
But, the question is, could he have done it with robots he had never encountered in the Walk before?  And, not using a song.
It wouldn't be hard for him to pick up familiarities for all of those robots during the Walk, meaning that he could easily do it with just one "Mechanics: Robotics" and "Electronics Repair: Computer" skill.  But, if he could suddenly weld in a Hellion Swarmer Drone or an Archon Nanobuilder with no trouble, then he'd have Robotics-dammit!  And some very powerful people asking some very uncomfortable questions.
Bring me Doug Sangnoir! 
And a cookie.

Oh and the comment about Fenspace was Rob Kelk, not me.

D'oh!  Fixed.
  

[Star Ranger4]

eheheh... I can just see it. Robotics! and computers! =

BRING ME SANGNOIR!

Maybe he can get me a DANISH!

http://www.eyrie-productions.com/UF/FI/ ... netrun.jpg
Hear that thunder rolling till it seems to split the sky?
That's every ship in Grayson's Navy taking up the cry-
NO QUARTER!!!
-- "No Quarter", by Echo's Children

[Bob Schroeck]

But, Wildcard skills are supposed to be the defining trait of a character, and really, Douglas Quincy Sangnoir is not going to be remembered as a computer or robotics technician.

I'm going to have to go back and look at that material in 4E again, because I don't remember bang-skills being described that way. However, if that's the case, well, then, maybe Magic! or Thaumatology! would be more appropriate, because as is mentioned several times in extant story material, Doug had to become one of the foremost experts on magical theory in Warriors' World just to understand his own powers. And he uses that skill throughout the Walk, from learning Node Magic in Valdemar to teaching the DA almost as many styles of magic as there are members ("Neville, lad, have you ever considered shamanic magic?") to helping brainstorm against Glory in DW13.

Look. It's your interpretation of him, and there's no wrong or right when it comes to cross-system translations, just "does it do the job?" If as a player or a GM you don't like bang-skills, you don't have to use them, and that won't make the version of Doug you come up with wrong in any way. I would use them, because I think they have a lot of proper 4-color flavor to them, but that's just me.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[Mark Skarr]

I haven't forgotten about this, but was busy with another game this weekend.

I'm still trying to figure out how to do Doug's ability to survive AoEs and Explosions without being affected.

How, mechanically, does it work in V&V.

[Bob Schroeck]

It works by weapons and bombs being extremely wimpy. Nukes do 1d100, for example. All of the Warriors -- even the super normals -- could smother an exploding nuke with their bodies. And survive, ready for more action.

Oh, and add Cooking to the skill list. Forgot about that...

And yeah, no worries, I've been distracted and kept busy, too.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[Shepherd]

I haven't forgotten about this, but was busy with another game this weekend.

I'm still trying to figure out how to do Doug's ability to survive AoEs and Explosions without being affected.

How, mechanically, does it work in V&V.

Since you're already giving him Injury Tolerance (Damage Reduction), give him extra levels with a Limited Defense (area attacks) limitation, which would likely count as -20%. The justification is that Doug is being effected, but his defensive field is neutralizing most of the damage. His field is simply more effective at protecting him from explosions because they're more like millions of tiny attacks (with his probability field affecting each one seperately) instead of one big attack.
----------------------------------------------------

"Anyone can be a winner if their definition of victory is flexible enough." - The DM of the Rings XXXV

[robkelk]

Would that protect Doug from getting tagged by a drive-by graffiti artist, though?

(For that matter, would Doug's field protect Doug from getting tagged by a drive-by graffiti artist? Mark is the one who said "It’s effective against anything that targets him, or his immediate vicinity," not Bob.)
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

[Bob Schroeck]

Speaking in terms of V&V: If the graffiti artist had to make a "to hit" roll to paint Doug -- a not-unreasonable assumption for a GM to make under improvisational circumstances -- then Doug's field will apply its usual -8 penalty to the roll.

In other words, yes.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[Mark Skarr]

It works by weapons and bombs being extremely wimpy. Nukes do 1d100, for example. All of the Warriors -- even the super normals -- could smother an exploding nuke with their bodies. And survive, ready for more action.

Oh, those always suck to work with. Like the 6.4-ton MBT, or 100-ton F-15 from Hero. Or some strange game my sister is now working with where a hand grenade is regularly lethal out to about 150 feet.

Oh, and add Cooking to the skill list. Forgot about that...

Dhur! I even remember those scenes and I didn’t think to add cooking.

Since you're already giving him Injury Tolerance (Damage Reduction), give him extra levels with a Limited Defense (area attacks) limitation, which would likely count as -20%. The justification is that Doug is being effected, but his defensive field is neutralizing most of the damage. His field is simply more effective at protecting him from explosions because they're more like millions of tiny attacks (with his probability field affecting each one seperately) instead of one big attack.

However, as Rob and I were trying to explain as the SJGames fora, that only works against damaging attacks. I’m pretty sure Doug’s field protects him against sleep gas area effects as well as explosions. On the other hand, the +8 he’s getting to resist maledictions and the like would protect him against those as well.
Granted, it may wind up being more than just one, additional, advantage, so I’m still working on it.
If the field wouldn’t protect him against non-damaging attacks, please let me know.

Would that protect Doug from getting tagged by a drive-by graffiti artist, though?
(For that matter, would Doug's field protect Doug from getting tagged by a drive-by graffiti artist? Mark is the one who said "It’s effective against anything that targets him, or his immediate vicinity," not Bob.)

Speaking in terms of V&V: If the graffiti artist had to make a "to hit" roll to paint Doug -- a not-unreasonable assumption for a GM to make under improvisational circumstances -- then Doug's field will apply its usual -8 penalty to the roll.

While it wasn’t something that Bob had said, it did seem to be how the rule was written, mechanically.

[Shepherd]

Would that protect Doug from getting tagged by a drive-by graffiti artist, though?

(For that matter, would Doug's field protect Doug from getting tagged by a drive-by graffiti artist? Mark is the one who said "It’s effective against anything that targets him, or his immediate vicinity," not Bob.)

Obscure makes it less likely that Doug is successfully targeted with an attack, his high Dodge score makes it more likely that he can avoid attacks that do succeed in targeting him, Resistant is giving him a +8 to overcome Maledication type effects, and the Damage Resistance/Injury Tolerance combo help protect him from direct damage effects. If you want to protect Doug from superhumanly accurate graffiti taggers who blindside him so that he doesn't get to Dodge, just give him the 1-point Shtick perk from GURPS Martial Arts. Kai Lian (pg. 39) has Shtick (Clothes never get torn or dirty). Doug could have Shtick (chaos field rapidly breaks down random gunk sticking to Doug) or something to that general effect. I'd also give him a -5-point Odious Personal Habit (chaos field causes numerous mildly annoying things to happen in Doug's presence). This isn't literally a habit, but it is close enough to model the resulting reaction modifier.
----------------------------------------------------

"Anyone can be a winner if their definition of victory is flexible enough." - The DM of the Rings XXXV

[Mark Skarr]

Actually, instead of an OPH, I went with it Nuisance Effects on the powers.

[Bob Schroeck]

I’m pretty sure Doug’s field protects him against sleep gas area effects as well as explosions.

Actually, no. That's how Madigan's little strike force took him out in chapter 14 of DW2, after all.

Actually, instead of an OPH, I went with it Nuisance Effects on the powers.

If I'm not mistaken, that's how I did it the one time I started trying to model Doug's powers.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[Mark Skarr]

Actually, no. That's how Madigan's little strike force took him out in chapter 14 of DW2, after all.

Ah, okay. So does his field only protect him against things that roll to-hit and AoEs that do damage?

[Bob Schroeck]

If we're modeling the V&V behavior exactly, yes. It's Heightened Defense x2, which simply applies -8 to all attacks to hit him. Mind you, that includes things like attempting to read his mind, which you wouldn't normally think of needing a "to hit" roll, depending on your system of choice.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[Mark Skarr]

If we're modeling the V&V behavior exactly, yes. It's Heightened Defense x2, which simply applies -8 to all attacks to hit him. Mind you, that includes things like attempting to read his mind, which you wouldn't normally think of needing a "to hit" roll, depending on your system of choice.

Well, that's what the Resistance +8 was for. It was against attacks that didn't roll to-hit. So, he'd get a +8 to resist them.

How do you want the power to work? I'm pretty good at figuring out the mechanics of abilities, if you can describe how you want them to work.

[Bob Schroeck]

I think the way you've pieced it together so far seems to work the way I've played and envisioned it lo these many years. Some modifiers, which you've probably thought of already: While he can selectively suppress it for short times or for entire categories (like clothing), he cannot ever actually shut it off. Suppression stays even when he's asleep, if it's a simple enough category (clothes, bed).
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[Mark Skarr]

"Play--Bring out your Dead.  Thread Necromancy, successful!"
Having gone back and looked at Wildcard skills again, I came to the conclusion that "Doug's not my character and if Bob wants him to have Wildcard skills, then by-gum, he's gunna have Wildcard skills!"
And I have another strange question about Doug's power.
Does the power continue while the song plays or while Doug hears it?
ETA (several times, totally blew some grammar):
Bumped Doug's IQ to 17 and his Move to 8
Dropped scads of skills and added:
Computers!, Robotics! and Super Soldier!, all at 24-points (for a level of 17).
He's got Thaumatology, which is the study of Magic.  I could drop that and Alchemy and give him Magic!, if you think that's appropriate.
I could, also, drop the rest of his melee combat skills and give him Asskicking 101! at 20 (for 24 points).  
ETA4: 
No, not Asskicking 101! -- Dex Monkey!

[Bob Schroeck]

Hey, Mark, welcome back!

And I have another strange question about Doug's power.
Does the power continue while the song plays or while Doug hears it?

Not a strange question at all.  The answer is -- hears.  Doug was once severely inconvenienced by a sensory deprivation attack.

Computers!, Robotics! and Super Soldier!, all at 24-points (for a level of 17).
He's got Thaumatology, which is the study of Magic.  I could drop that and Alchemy and give him Magic!, if you think that's appropriate.

Hm.  Given the range of magical styles and traditions he's familiar with, it might be appropriate, as long as it doesn't include any ability to cast.

No, not Asskicking 101! -- Dex Monkey!

  I'm not familiar with that.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[Mark Skarr]

Hey, Mark, welcome back!

Good to be back, I'll try not to be too much of a stranger . . . er . . . not that I'm not strange . . ..  Eh, never mind.

Not a strange question at all.  The answer is -- hears.  Doug was once severely inconvenienced by a sensory deprivation attack.

Okay, was pretty sure, just wanted to verify.

Hm.  Given the range of magical styles and traditions he's familiar with, it might be appropriate, as long as it doesn't include any ability to cast.

Okay, then that would just be Thaumatology.  Magic! would be all aspects of magic, including casing spells.

  I'm not familiar with that.

It's a Hero term.  It's usually derogatory, aimed at characters who rely on a high Dex to avoid attacks and, have high CVs and a redonkulous Speed.  It’s only funny if you get the joke.  MonkeyFist laughed when I suggested that as the skill name (being a joke in GURPS, since this is a V&V character we’re converting).

[Norgarth]

 

Hey, Mark, welcome back!

Good to be back, I'll try not to be too much of a stranger . . . er . . . not that I'm not strange . . ..  Eh, never mind.

As the joke goes in my family, "I'm not a stranger, I'm a strangest." 8P

Hm. Given the range of magical styles and traditions he's familiar with, it might be appropriate, as long as it doesn't include any ability to cast.

  Okay, then that would just be Thaumatology. Magic! would be all aspects of magic, including casing spells.

I'm not familiar with GURPS, but could you 'buy' a limitation to prevent general spellcasting?
___________________________
"I've always wanted to be somebody, but I should have been more specific." - George Carlin

[Mark Skarr]

I'm not familiar with GURPS, but could you 'buy' a limitation to prevent general spellcasting?

Technically, no.  It's a Skill, and that's all that the base-magic system uses for Spells, along with the Magery advantage (which Doug already has) which is where you'd tack limitaitons.  You don't normally see limitations put on Skills.  And the first sentence of Thamatology the skill tells you what it is:

GURPS, Characters[/i], pg 225]This is the academic study of magical theory and the “physics” of mana.

And it, basically, is what Doug wants.  I think.  He still might need Thamatology! depending on how Bob says magic works on the walk, but I'm not going anywhere, so I can wait for an answer.