Stock #37-2703 i t n his ® i ssue C ontents Adventurers are only as cool as the obstacles they over- come. In an effort to give heroes the opportunity to be more heroic, we present this issue devoted to setbacks, snags, From the editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 and complications. Maintaining stability in the face of adversity is a chal- mad as Bones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 lenge for even the most seasoned of investigators; can you by Christopher R. Rice keep from going Mad as Bones? Christopher R. Rice – monsters’ minions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11 co-author of GURPS Dungeon Fantasy 19: Incantation Magic – presents a complete optional GURPS system that by Michele Armellini allows for tracking and influencing the stability of heroes in eidetic memory: challenging situations. Now heroes can struggle – and hope- fully prevail – against fear, isolation, mental fatigue, and other spaceship malFunctions . . . . . . . . . . .19 ephemeral afflictions with more variety than ever. by David L. Pulver Long story short, the heroes have poked something they designer’s notes: shouldn’t have, and now they need to face the Monsters’ Minions. Michele Armellini – author of GURPS Locations: the silk road . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29 St. George’s Cathedral – presents 16 threats that would by Matt Riggsby be well-suited for a GURPS Monster Hunters campaign, random thought taBle: or any modern-day GURPS campaign where the heroes fight against the forces of evil. Now you can have stats at a complications in moment’s notice – and a little background – for a pugilist, a certain World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34 collaborator, or an old family servant . . . and a dozen other by Steven Marsh, Pyramid Editor denizens of darkness! In space, only your crewmates can hear you say “uh-oh” aBout GURPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36 as you hurriedly deal with Spaceship Malfunctions. GURPS Spaceships author David L. Pulver presents options for hav- poster-size map oF central asia ing things go wrong with the various Spaceships components and silk road locations . . . . . . . . . .37 of a vessel, and how to fix them. For those looking to save a few bucks at the shipyard, it also includes options for reducing the price of a ship if it has problems. From radiation leaks to jammed turrets to software bugs, a C now traveling the void between the stars just got a lot rtiCle olors more interesting . . . Each article is color-coded to help you find your favorite Historically speaking, getting from here to there sections. has always involved setbacks and complications, as showcased in Designer’s Notes: The Silk Road. Matt Pale Blue: In This Issue Riggsby – author of GURPS Hot Spots: The Silk Brown: In Every Issue Road – looks at some recent discoveries in this his- Green: Columnist torical connection of East and West, plus describes Dark Blue: GURPS Features a handful of supernatural beasts that would make a great threat for those undergoing the expedition. Purple: Systemless Features This issue also includes a Random Thought Table that looks at how to add setbacks that the players cover art will appreciate. Whether in the past, present, or Christopher Shy future – or struggling with your own mental for- titude – this issue of Pyramid is sure to have some- thing to give heroes new ways to prove their mettle! Editor-in-Chief z STEVE JACKSON Executive Editor z MIRANDA HORNER Chief Executive Officer z PHILIP REED GURPS Line Editor z SEAN PUNCH Production Artist & Prepress Checker z Chief Creative Officer z SAM MITSCHKE Assistant GURPS Line Editor z NIKOLA VRTIS Chief Operating Officer z SUSAN BUENO JASON “PK” LEVINE Page Design z PHIL REED Marketing Director z RHEA FRIESEN GURPS Project Manager z STEVEN MARSH & JUSTIN DE WITT Director of Sales z ROSS JEPSON P m 2 m 2017 yramid agazine ay f rom the e ditor W t g W This issue also focuses on some elements that I try to do for hen hings o rong Pyramid: having at least one article that will ideally be of use for all the right reasons to most groups, keeping you abreast of something new and cool among GURPS, and providing you with something that When we first started the third volume of Pyramid maga- you didn’t know you wanted until you saw it. zine over eight years ago now, one of the possibilities I insisted So hopefully you find an issue that includes spaceships, we squeak in was “miscellaneous”-themed issues. After all, I the Silk Road, madness, and minions as awesome as I do just reasoned, I’d hate for good articles to fall by the wayside just thinking about it. because I couldn’t find a theme to tie them to. To date, we haven’t had one of those miscellaneous issues. W h , W n To be fair, we’ve had some motlier issues than others, but I rite ere rite oW like to think that we’ve done a good job of tying together con- Regardless of how you felt about this issue, we want tents with a unifying theme. to hear about it! Let us know if this issue is as cool as we For a while, this issue looked like it might be the excep- envisioned, or if it’s a “setback” to the quality you usu- tion to the miscellaneous rule. But when I took another look ally associate with Pyramid. You can write privately at at the articles I had that I wanted to find a home for – and [email protected], or set your thoughts down back at when I asked David Pulver and Christopher R. Rice about their the public space of forums.sjgames.com. thoughts for articles for this issue – I realized that I could do an issue revolving around a broad theme of things going wrong. Pyramid, GURPS, Warehouse 23, the pyramid logo, and the names of all products published by Steve Jackson Games Incorporated are trademarks or registered trademarks of Steve Jackson Games Incorporated, or used under license. Pyramid is copyright © 2016 by Steve Jackson Games Incorporated. All rights reserved. Version 1.1 (June 2017). Submission of your photos, letters, humor, captions, and marginalia constitutes permission to Steve Jackson Games Incorporated to use them in all media. All such submissions become the property of Steve Jackson Games Incorporated and will not be returned. The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this material via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal, and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage the electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the authors’ rights is appreciated. P m 3 m 2017 yramid agazine ay m B ad as ones C r. r By hristoPher iCe For everything there is a price. Even heroes experience set- the End to help keep track of how far you slipped down the backs from time to time. Sometimes, it’s just fleeting; some- rabbit hole? This article presents a new, detailed system that times, it scars and disfigures . . . and not all wounds can be allows you to do exactly that. seen. GURPS Horror introduces stress and derange- ment as a way to keep track of how “mentally” fatigued someone is. However, while they function If we are all insane, then all somewhat like fatigue points, keeping track of the differences can be difficult. If you add in Fright insanity becomes a matter of degree. Checks rules (p. B360), things become even more complicated. Instead, why not just treat such men- – Stephen King tal fatigue as if it were Fatigue Points in the first place? In fact, why not use the marvelous mechanic of Long-Term Fatigue Points from GURPS After f r g m olloW the ules or o ad This system introduces two new secondary attributes. The Loss is often compared to a multiple of your SP; e.g., “2¥SP” first measures how stressed, mentally exhausted, anxious, or or “SP/2.” Where this is the case, use your base SP score in the troubled the character is and are called Stability Points (SP). formula, not your current SP total. The second is called Long-Term Stability Points (LSP), an indi- Whenever a roll to resist SP loss is required, rolls of 14 cator of how mentally disturbed a character currently is. LSP or higher automatically fail. Treat any margin of failure as act as a “cap” for SP – the higher the LSP, the less SP the per- though it were at least 1. When stress and insanity threaten, son can recover. no one is getting off easy. Stability Points (SP) Long-Term Stability Points (LSP) ±2 points per ±1 SP 2 points per -1 LSP Stability Points represent your mental well-being and are Long-Term Stability Points represent “damage” done to a measure of how stressed you currently are. By default, you your psyche that a few minutes of rest and relaxation isn’t have SP equal to your IQ. For instance, IQ 10 gives 10 SP. going to fix. LSP start at 0 and then increase. The maximum You can increase Stability Points at the cost of 2 points per size of your overall SP pool is reduced by your accumulated level, or reduce them for -2 points per SP. You cannot raise SP LSP. Your SP can never be higher than your maximum SP past 20, or lower them by more than 4, without GM permis- score minus your LSP, until you remove some of those Long- sion. In a realistic campaign, the GM should not allow SP to Term Stability Points! vary by more than ±30% of Will; e.g., a Will 10 character could You gain 1 LSP whenever you go below a multiple of SP/2. have between 7 and 13 SP. In some campaigns, you cannot For example, if you had SP 10 and lost 5 of them, you’d also raise SP at all – ask the GM first! gain 1 LSP. When you gain LSP, you also lose SP equal to the You can temporarily lose SP to special attacks (e.g., the total amount lost! If you have LSP equal to your SP or worse, touch of a ghost), stress, Fright Checks, severe mental dis- you fall unconscious or suffer from one of the listed effects turbances (e.g., if you have Truthfulness and managed to lie until you recover; see 0 SP to -1×SP, p. 7. or if you suffer from Nightmares), grief (e.g., anything that Negative LSP can be purchased. They represent your men- might trigger Guilt Complex), severe emotional trauma (e.g., tal grit, inner strength, and how “well adjusted” you are. The being forced to kill if you have Pacifism), and other similar GM should limit these extra levels of LSP to no more than situations. You can also “burn” SP to power supernatural 30% of your (IQ + Will)/2, if they are even allowed to be pur- abilities (p. 6). chased in the first place. Note that the cost of LSP and SP are If you lose enough SP, you will eventually become over- essentially the same, but purchased LSP allows you to defend stressed; if you lose too many SP, you will go mad. Lost SP do against things that normal SP cannot – such a Sanity-Blasting not reduce IQ, despite being based on IQ. The loss does cause attack (see Innate Attack, pp. 8-9), which directly targets LSP. penalties to Will rolls as well as some IQ and Perception rolls! P m 4 m 2017 yramid agazine ay W B u Fear ays to eCome nstaBle Seeing a terrifying monster or coming upon a dead body You can lose SP in a number of ways, detailed below. can induce fright. This is similar to a mental disturbance Additionally, stress tends to feed back on itself. Long-term (p. 6), but from a specific and immediate source. Whenever stressful situations where you are not losing SP to any one the GM deems it appropriate, make a Will roll with the follow- event, but also unable to relax enough to regain SP (extended ing modifiers to resist SP loss; use the rules for mental distur- patrols or marches in enemy territory, locked in a bunker bances (p. 6). Additionally, Fearlessness and Combat Reflexes surrounded by zombies, etc.) require a daily Will roll to add their full bonus to this roll to resist SP loss. avoid gaining LSP. The following modifiers apply to any SP loss that can be resisted. A roll of 14 or higher on such Will Bodies: +6 for a peaceful-looking body, prepared for burial; attempts always fails. +2 for a dead body with no signs of violence; no modifier for most victims of violence; from -1 to -3 for grisly mutilations. Modifiers: Half of any Fearlessness bonus (round up) Apply another -6 if the victim was your Dependent, -4 for a or Fearfulness penalty (round down); Unfazeable gives a loved one, -2 for a friend, and -1 for an acquaintance. In all flat +8. +1 for Combat Reflexes or -1 for Combat Paraly- cases add a further +4 if the body is not human or a beloved sis. Other modifiers are conditional: -1 to -4 for Cowardice non-human (e.g., your cat you’ve had for many years). when your physical safety is at risk; +1 for Daredevil when Physical Circumstances: -1 if the body, monster, etc. charging into a scary situation; +1 for Higher Purpose touches you; +1 if you witness it at a great distance (at when confronting threats you are sworn to oppose; +1 to least 100 yards); or +3 if you view it remotely (using +4 for Xenophilia when confronting monsters. Clairsentience, closed-circuit TV, etc.). Apply -1 if the area is physically isolated, -1 at night or in the dark (or in day- Culture Shock light, if you’re a night-dweller!), and -2 if you are (or think Those without an appropriate Cultural Familiarity or Lan- you are) alone. guage (or of a different tech level) who are forced to deal with Heat of Battle: +5 if you are in combat when the terrifying a society different from their own might suffer LSP gain. In thing happens or you first notice it. such a situation, assess a gain of one LSP per week; actively Size: +1 for small monsters (dog-sized or smaller); no trying to understand the society you are in by assimilating modifier for human-sized ones; -1 for anything bear-sized its culture or language allows a Will roll to resist. This roll is through elephantine; -3 for truly huge monsters (like Godzilla penalized depending on how different your native culture or King Kong); or -6 for mind-boggling sizes (“Look! The is from the one you are trying to understand: giant space virus is blocking out the sun!”).These modifiers rate perceptions, and are subjective – don’t use the monster’s • Culture or language is similar, but some words or ges- Size Modifier. tures are different (e.g., an American in England): No penalty. Unusual Appearance: -1 for disgusting features (e.g., a trail • Culture or language is different enough to be jarring of slime or a foul odor); -2 for alien appearance (e.g., a five- (e.g., an American in France): -2 to Will roll. sided head with one eye and two mouths on each side); or -3 • Culture or language is vastly different from your native or more for something that utterly defies the laws of biology one (e.g., an American in Japan): -4 to Will roll. and physics. • Culture or language is completely alien (e.g., an Ameri- Hordes of Monsters: Roll at -1 for 5 monsters, -2 for 10, -3 can on an alien planet): -6 or more to Will roll. for 20, -4 for 50, and -5 for 100 or more. • Per TL above or below your own native TL (e.g., a cave- man operating in the 16th century): -2 per TL of difference (halve this for TLs below your own). These penalties disappear once you have spent points on i h n C ave o ontrol acquiring an appropriate Cultural Familiarity, Language, or TL. If you try to make an effort at fitting in or understanding, Self-control rolls (p. B120) could be completely make two rolls every week – one roll to avoid gaining an LSP dumped and instead replaced with Will rolls. If so, the and another roll to shed one. Those with Cultural Adaptability value of the disadvantage depends on the severity of are immune to this rule for cultures, while those with Lan- the Will roll: 2.5¥ normal cost for Will-15, 2¥ cost for guage Talent add 2 to their rolls. Those with Broadminded Will-10, 1.5¥ cost for Will-5, normal cost for Will, and add 1 to rolls to resist LSP gain. The GM may rule that those half cost for Will+5. with an appropriate disadvantage related to their own native While this may appeal to those with high Will, culture or beliefs – e.g., Fanaticism (the British Empire) – lose remember that Will rolls to resist SP loss always fail on SP instead of gaining LSP. a 14 or higher! Thus, Bad Temper with a Will-5 roll to resist would be worth -15 points, but also would result Drug Use and Withdrawal in a Will-5 roll to resist SP related to it. Also note that some disadvantages like Nightmares Withdrawal from psychologically addicting drugs can be a would not benefit from this rule. It actually makes sense mind-wrenching experience. Treat withdrawing from psycho- for Nightmares to have a Frequency of Appearance roll logical addiction the same as physiological addiction, except like Chronic Pain instead of a self-control roll – night that the rolls are versus Will and failures cause SP loss instead terrors come on whether you want them to! of HP loss. The halving of Will below one-third SP does affect withdrawal rolls; see Effects of Lost Stability, p. 7. P m 5 m 2017 yramid agazine ay Preparation: +1 if you have previous personal experience • Intense or lasting fighting: +1 SP. with this kind of threat; +1 per exposure to this particular • Battle included horrific deaths or mutilations: +1 SP threat in 24 hours; +1 to +3 (depending on the quality of the (doubled if the event involved someone you know). report) if you learned the details of this particular situation • You made no attack or defense rolls during the fight: -1 before you witnessed it. SP (minimum 0). At the GM’s option, SP lost from combat stress can only be Fueling Supernatural Powers and regained by no longer being in a combat zone, or is treated as Defending Against Attacks negative SP for the purposes of how it is shed. Actually going into negative SP from combat stress is liable to cause any Abilities may require SP in place of FP or LSP in place of number of issues, including Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder HP. Some attacks can inflict SP loss; see Innate Attack, pp. 8-9, (Horror, p. 144). and Terror, p. 9, for examples. Social Isolation Extended solitary confinement is stressful. The aver- Casting the Yellow King’s age person in such a situation must roll once per day to Gaze Costs How Much?! avoid losing 1 SP; those with Chummy roll once every 12 hours, and those with Gregarious roll every six hours. A simple switch to any magical system relying on FP Those with Loner do not need to roll. This roll is at a might be to substitute casting costs for SP. This allows you to bonus (up to +4) with suitable distractions available, or a use familiar systems while completely changing the flavor of penalty (up to -10) if the environment is particularly bor- the magic. For powers-based systems you can do the same;- ing. Optionally, Dreaming or Meditation may substitute simply use the rules for Costs Fatigue (p. B111). Addition- for Will and suffer no penalty for lack of distractions. ally, in powers-based systems, any roll to improvise powers, use extra effort, etc. require SP loss, not FP loss. Sustained Mental Exertion Doing the same thing for extended periods, especially if boring and/or repetitive, induces stress. Any situation which Mental Disturbance requires absolute focus for a number of hours equal to (Will + Whenever you suffer a severe mental disturbance (e.g., you 2) causes the loss of 1 SP: computer programming, research, fail a self-control roll for a mental disadvantage), you imme- Concept rolls for new inventions, long-distance travel (if diately lose 1 SP per three points of your margin of failure driving or walking), studying, and other similar situations (critical failure turns this into LSP gain); round for the worse. (in particular, anything that gets a bonus from Attentive or Since players are encouraged to waive self-control rolls when Single-Minded). Add an additional SP for each of the follow- appropriate, resisting mental disadvantages during such a sit- ing applicable situations: uation reduces SP. • If the skill being used is Hard or Very Hard. If the event does not normally call for a roll, make a Will • You are rolling against penalties of -10 or more. roll, including the modifiers from Ways to Become Unstable • You are working hastily (penalties of -5 or more for Time (see p. 5); as always, a 14 or higher fails. Suffer one-third your Spent, p. B346). margin of failure as SP loss (minimum 1, even on a success); • You are engaged in Intensive Training (p. B293). critical failure turns this into LSP instead. Extremely stressful • You are using a typically non-combat skill in combat or events (e.g., such as the loss of a loved one) double (or triple) other hazardous situation. that loss. You may always choose to give in to a disadvantage when The GM may allow a Will roll to reduce this penalty by 1 it comes up; if you do this, you suffer the normal effects of SP plus an extra SP per three points of margin of success. the disadvantage and do not roll self-control. This allows Single-Minded and Attentive give their bonus to this roll. you to regain SP instead of losing it. Giving into your habits Those with Obsession for a task they are working on receive and inner nature help you regain control of yourself! Make +3 to this roll. a Will roll instead and add one-third of your margin of suc- If the GM is using Improvement Through Study (p. B292), cess to your SP total (minimum of +1 SP); critical success apply -1 per point of SP below 12 when engaged in Intensive also lets you recover an equal amount of LSP, while critical Training (p. B293); Grounded and Very Grounded (p. 8) offset failure means you suffer the effects of the disadvantage and this penalty. lose SP normally. Shell-Shock I became insane, with long Any battle that involves real danger, regardless of length (though not simple sparring), causes stress. At the end of the intervals of horrible sanity. battle, you lose at least 1 SP, modified as follows: – Edgar Allan Poe • You were injured: +1 SP. • You received a major wound or were reduced to 0 HP: +1 SP. P m 6 m 2017 yramid agazine ay e l s -1×SP or Less ffeCts of ost taBility You are courting permanent mental damage. Upon reach- When you lose too many SP, bad things happen. ing -1¥SP, you must make an immediate Will roll to avoid per- manent damage, but gain 1d LSP even if you succeed! For Less Than 1/3 SP to 1 SP every three points by which you succeed on this roll (or if you You begin suffering from “mental shock.” Below 1/3 SP critically succeed), reduce the final LSP gain by 1 (to a mini- (but more than 1 SP), halve your Will to resist mental intru- mum of 1 LSP gained). sion, psychic assault, and similar circumstances. You also Failure results in permanently lost traits or new or wors- suffer -3 on: ened disadvantages with a character point value equal to 1/3 the margin of failure (2/3 for a critical failure), rounded for the • Self-control rolls (or Will rolls to resist disadvantages if worse. Roll again for every multiple of SP lost (e.g., at -2¥SP, using that optional rule; see I Have No Control, p. 5). -3¥SP, and so on), with no limit. Further, the penalty on the • Withdrawal rolls (see also Drug Use and Withdrawal, p. 5). listed rolls under Less Than 1/3 SP to 1 SP (above) starts at -8 • IQ or Perception rolls that rely on being focused. and each multiple of SP lost decreases it by another -2 (e.g., • Skill rolls. -10 at -1¥SP, -12 at -2¥SP, and so on). There is no limit to this • Influence rolls. and characters could lose -17¥SP and have to make 17 Will • DX rolls that require steady hands (e.g., working on rolls to avoid permanent mental damage! clockwork). • Some HT rolls (e.g., sexual performance) • Will rolls to resist fear from startling events (pp. 5-6). Harsher SP Loss Penalties 0 SP to -1×SP The GM who prefers a sliding scale for penalties due to Your grip on reality is fading, and you are only hold- SP loss can use the following: Use the absolute value of lost ing it together through sheer stubbornness and mental SP to determine penalties to self-control rolls, skill rolls, etc. fortitude. At 0 SP, you suffer -8 to all rolls listed under This can become perverse as those with more SP have more Less Than 1/3 SP to 1 SP (above) and you must make a to lose by suffering greater penalties, but this may be exactly Will roll. If you fail, one of the following happens (GM’s the GM wants for his campaign. Even more optionally, the decision). GM may decide that SP are based on a “Sanity Attribute,” which starts at 10 and costs ±10 points a level. All rolls to • You experience a debilitating affliction for seconds resist SP loss, shed LSP, etc. are based on this statistic. (possibly modified) equal to your margin of failure: This optional rule is meant for games where brainy profes- dazed (¥2 duration); hallucinating (¥2 duration); paral- sors and former Marines start on the same footing. Being ysis (¥0.75 duration); or unconsciousness (¥0.5 dura- smarter doesn’t necessarily make you well-adjusted or resis- tion). See p. B428 for what these effects result in game tant to delusions! mechanically. • You suffer an irritating affliction for minutes (possi- bly modified) equal to your margin of failure: drunk (¥25 duration); nauseated (¥14 duration); pain (¥25 duration for r s P moderate pain, ¥12 for severe pain, ¥8 for terrible pain); or egaining taBility oints stunning (¥50 duration). See p. B428 for what effects actually As long as you are above 0 SP, you regain one Stability occur. Point for every 10 minutes in a relaxing situation (defined as • You suffer the effects of an appropriate mental disadvan- any situation in which +4 or more for “routine tasks,” p. B345, tage for minutes equal to your margin of failure. The value of would apply). Much as a meal while resting restores an extra this disadvantage is -5 points per three points (round down, FP, certain indulgences (massage, sex, brandy, etc.) restore minimum of -5 points) of your margin of failure. Combat one extra SP. Long-Term Stability Points affect this maximum Paralysis, Cowardice, and Post-Combat Shakes are especially in the normal way (p. 4) and may limit the number of points appropriate if currently engaged in battle. you gain back. • You suffer 1d LSP gain immediately – with no other If you are at 0 SP or less, but above -1xSP, you recover 1 effects. Stability Point per hour instead of every 10 minutes. If you are Upon recovering Stability Points (see below), you regain at or below -1¥SP, you must instead roll versus Will daily to a fragile grip and may act normally until you lose more than recover SP, at a rate of 1 per day – once above that limit, you 1/2 your SP in further damage (a mental “major wound”). recover SP normally. Every second you’re performing mentally stressful actions Recovering Long-Term Stability Points requires a Will roll (like combat!), make another roll with the usual results. Tak- on a daily basis where you do nothing but relax. You regain 1 ing Do Nothing actions negates this and represents a mild point per day. This is independent of any SP regained. “fugue state”; remaining in this state for at least (20 - Will) Grounded (p. 8) and some types of Healing (p. 8) can mod- minutes has the same effect as recovering from a faint. ify this recovery amount. Additionally, a trained therapist can The GM may also wish to consider using the tables from help you recover lost SP or LSP much faster than you could Fright and Madness Checks (Horror, pp. 143-144) for a ran- on your own. Use the rules for Medical Care (p. B424), substi- dom approach to results of weakening stability. tuting Psychology (or some forms of Esoteric Medicine) for Physician, and Will for HT. P m 7 m 2017 yramid agazine ay Meditation might allow the rapid recovery of SP at the GM’s e a xisting dvantages option. Use the rules for Breath Control (p. B182), except SP are regained instead of FP. Optionally, the GM might permit The following existing advantages use the rules for Stability these benefits to be extended to other skills as appropriate. For Points. example, a truly devout person might use Religious Ritual or Theology to steady themselves with their faith and thus regain Damage Resistance SP faster than they otherwise could. Environments might give see p. B45 a bonus to this roll. For example, being in a quiet cabin by a lake or at a cathedral might count as “hospital” care, but only The following new special modifier is available for cam- for recovering SP. paigns that use Stability Points. In a cinematic game, the GM may allow those with cer- New Special Limitation tain training or abilities (Empathy, high Leadership or Psy- chology, some forms of Esoteric Medicine, etc.) to engage in Mental Resilience: Whenever you suffer SP loss, subtract “mental” First Aid. By taking a minute to interact with the your level of DR before you multiply for the type of SP loss subject (the exact circumstances could be anything from a (see below). It also adds to any DR you have for the purposes brief pressure-point massage to a rousing speech, or similar) of purely mental attacks such as those from psychic powers and rolling against the relevant skill you can restore a single (e.g., Mental Stab) or spells (e.g., Terror). The GM sets the SP and immediately end any temporary condition resulting upper limit for this advantage or if it’s even available in the from, e.g., a failed Will roll when at 0 SP or less, side effect of first place. +100%. Stability Attacks (see Innate Attack, below), etc. This time may be reduced using the standard rules for Time Spent (p. B346); Healing an instantaneous (and cinematic) example might be a well- see p. B59 placed slap in the face! If you take an extra 30 minutes to fur- Those with Healing can restore SP instead of HP with the ther communicate with the subject in depth – a short session following enhancement. of psychoanalysis or guided meditation, violent exercise, or numerous other possibilities – you can restore an extra 1d SP. New Special Enhancement Psychiatric Healing: You can temporarily alleviate someone’s mental maladies. This requires an IQ roll at a penalty equal to the cost of the disadvantage(s) “healed” For another way of dealing divided by 5. Success indicates that the person can ignore the effects of the illness for one hour per point by which with stressful situations, you succeed your margin; afterward, the sickness affects see Hysteria, Fainting, and the the person normally. Extended Duration (p. B105) can be added to Healing to increase this time. If the GM allows, Vapors in GURPS Steampunk Permanent Durations may be possible. When combined with the rules in this article, every point of FP spent 1: Settings and Style. restores 1 SP (if 0 or above). For SP levels in the negatives, add an additional required FP to heal 1 SP per multiple or fraction thereof (e.g., if you were at -3¥SP it would take 4 FP per SP healed). Healing LSP requires 5 FP per point restored. Add Empathic (-50%) if you take on your target’s SP n a eW dvantages instead of healing it. Add Cure Affliction (+60%) if you can restore traits lost to negative SP loss. +100%. The following new advantages use the rules for Stability Points. New Special Limitation Psychiatric Healing Only: You can only temporarily allevi- Grounded ate someone’s mental maladies. +0%. 5 or 15 points Your resistance to mental stress is much greater than your Innate Attack Will would otherwise indicate. This trait comes in two levels. see p. B66 Grounded: Your penalties from low SP (see Less Than 1/3 The GM may allow a “Stability Attack” that is priced SP to 1 SP, p. 7) are reduced by -1; this never gives a net bonus. with (and uses the rules for) Innate Attacks that sap Fatigue. You also recover SP at twice the normal rate. Finally, you get Among other things, this means that normal DR applies to the +5 to your effective Will when rolling to see if you shed Long- attack! Other modifiers that are applicable to Fatigue Attacks Term Stability Points. Prerequisite: Will 10+. 5 points. that also make sense for Stability Attacks may be taken as Very Grounded: As above, but the penalties are reduced by well. For example, “Stability Attack 1d (Hazard, Missed Sleep, -2. In addition, you lose SP at only half the normal rate. When +50%) [15]” would cause 1d of SP loss, which could only be you roll to recover from Long-Term Stability Point loss, a suc- regained through sleep after figuring in any applicable Mental cessful Will roll means you recover two points, not one. Prereq- Resilience! This is similar to Terror, but represents a direct uisite: Will 12+. 15 points. attack on the sanity of the subject! P m 8 m 2017 yramid agazine ay New Special Enhancements SP loss from Mental Disturbance (p. 6) is increased by your Maddening: You double the SP loss after accounting for Destabilizing level. This is worth +20% per level, or +0% if Mental Resilience and other protective traits. For example, if your Destabilizing level also adds to your SP regained when you target had Mental Resilience 3 and you inflicted 7 SP dam- voluntarily giving into this disadvantage. age on your target, you’d cause him to lose 8 SP, not 4. +50%. Advantages that drain SP or inflict LSP should instead add Mental Defense Only: Your Stability Attack ignores armor; Costs Fatigue or Costs Hit Points, per Fueling Supernatural only DR with the Mental Resilience enhancement protects. Powers and Defending Against Attacks (p. 6). However, the target’s Mind Shield (if any) provides additional DR equal to its level. +250% e a xamPle Bilities Sanity-Blasting: Instead of just losing SP, your target gains LSP (which indirectly causes SP loss as well). +300%. Some creatures can directly attack a target’s mind, reduc- ing their Stability Point total. Here are just a few ways they Resistant could do that. see p. B80 Aura of Madness (+460%): Stability Attack 1d (Always On, -40%; Area Effect, 16 yards, +200%; Aura, +80%; Melee Attack, Resistant to Mental Stress is a Very Common category and Reach C, -30%; Mental Defense Only, +250%) [56]. Notes: is on par with Resistant to Metabolic Hazards. This advan- Everyone within 16 yards of suffers 1d points of SP damage tage’s bonus adds when making Will rolls to determine SP per second; this is reduced only by DR with Mental Resilience loss, rolls to see what happens when you go into negative and Mind Shield. 31 points. SP, and so on. Unfazeable is effectively “Resistant to Mental Breath of the Elder One (+1,040%): Stability Attack 3d Stress (+8).” (Cosmic, No Die Roll Required, +100%; Cosmic, No Active Defense Allowed, +300%; Cosmic, Irresistible Attack, +300%; Terror Increased Range, LOS, +40%; Sanity-Blasting, +300%) [114]. see p. B93 Notes: Inflicts 3d SP and LSP that requires no roll to hit as Terror causes an immediate Will roll to resist fear (pp. 5-6), long as effective skill is 3 or higher, allows no active defense, with each -1 to normal Fright Checks translating as -1 to Will ignores Mental Resilience, and lost SP is doubled after the rolls. The Maddening and Sanity-Blasting modifiers (see damage is rolled. 342 points. Innate Attack, p. 8) can be added to increase the amount of SP lost to this ability. a a Bout the uthor Christopher R. Rice remembers hearing the phrase n d eW isadvantage “mad as bones” from his grandmother as a child (and hasn’t The following new disadvantages use the rules for Stability heard it since). This article is dedicated to her; may she rest Points. in peace. Consider donating to the Alzheimer’s Association, alz.org, to help against a rapidly growing epidemic). From Unhinged Portsmouth, Virginia, he’s spinning words and whimsy into gold. Of course, if he’s not writing about GURPS, -5/level he’s blogging about it. Visit his site “Ravens N’ Pennies” Your resistance to mental stress is much less than your Will (www.ravensnpennies.com) for more GURPS goodies. He would otherwise indicate. Each level (maximum three levels) wishes to thank L.A., his own personal muse, as well as the shifts the time period to regain SP (pp. 7-8) one step: minutes rest of his gaming group (the Headhunters); Beth “Archangel” become hours, hours become days, days become weeks, and McCoy, the “Sith Editrix”; Blake Chapman; Scott “Rocket Man” weeks become months. For example, Unhinged 2 would result Rochat; and Douglas Cole for being most excellent sounding in you gaining 1 SP per day even if your SP was above 0. boards. A special thanks to Patrick “Celti” Burroughs who Each level also doubles the time allowed between Psychol- helped to make this system what it is – thank you, Patrick. ogy rolls when under the care of a competent psy- chologist for the purposes of regaining SP or LSP (pp. 7-8). Dave: What do you think it’s like, Father? Father Shellnut: What’s what like? n m eW odifier Dave: Being crazy, mentally ill. The following new modifier uses the rules for Father Shellnut: Well, they never know Stability Points. they’re ill, do they? I mean, you can’t diagnose yourself with the same organ that has the disease, Destabilizing just like you can’t see your own eyeball. I suppose +20%/level or +0%/level you just feel regular, and the rest of the world This modifier is only for disadvantages with a self-control roll or, at the GM’s discretion, those with seems to go crazy around you. a similar “control” roll such as Chronic Pain. When – John Dies at the End you fail a self-control roll for this disadvantage, your P m 9 m 2017 yramid agazine ay P m 10 m 2017 yramid agazine ay