So, poking around and looking, and also consulting with AI to ensure I'm not overlooking options, this is what we've come up with for Mallory I based this on what I know Mallory can do, mimicking the effect of a snake eating its prey whole.
Snake-Jaw Swallowing [55 points]
- Binding 15 (Engulfing, +60%; Unbreakable, +40%; Limited Use, 2/day, -20%) [36]
- Innate Attack 1d (Corrosive; Follow-Up: Binding, +0%) [5]
- Stretching 2 (Only Mouth/Jaw, -80%) [4]
- Elastic Skin [20]
- Payload 5 (Internal, -20%) [4]
- Temporary Disadvantage: Cannot Speak (While Swallowing) [-10]
Binding (2 points/level)
You have an attack that can hold your target in place. Specify how this works when you buy the advantage: entangling your victim in vines, tying him up with webs, freezing him inside a block of ice, turning the ground to quicksand beneath his feet, etc. Binding is a ranged attack with 1/2D –, Max 100, Acc 3, RoF 1, Shots N/A, and Recoil 1. You can add modifiers to change these statistics (see pp. 101-116).
On a hit, your victim is grappled (see p. 370) and rooted in place. He cannot select the Move or Change Posture maneuvers or change facing, and is at -4 to DX. The ST of this effect is equal to your Binding level, but you can layer additional attacks on a successfully bound victim. Each extra layer gives +1 to ST.
To break free, the victim must win a Quick Contest of ST or Escape skill against the ST of your Binding. Each attempt takes one second. If the victim fails to break free, he loses 1 FP but may try again. Alternatively, he may try to destroy the Binding. Innate Attacks hit automatically; other attacks are at -4. External attacks on the Binding take no penalty, but risk hitting the victim on a miss (see Striking Into a Close Combat, p. 392). The Binding has DR equal to 1/3 your level (rounded down). Each point of damage reduces ST by one. At ST 0, the Binding is destroyed and the victim is freed. To simulate vines, webs, and so forth, add one or more of Area Effect (p. 102), Persistent (p. 107), and Wall (p. 109) – and possibly some of the special modifiers below.
Special Enhancements
- Engulfing: Your attack pins the target. He cannot move his limbs or speak; his only options are to use purely mental abilities, to attack the Binding with an Innate Attack, or to try to break free using ST (not Escape skill). If he tries to break free and fails, he is only allowed a repeated attempt every 10 seconds – and on a 17 or 18, he becomes so entangled that he cannot escape on his own! +60%.
- Only Damaged By X: Only specific damage types can damage your Binding. +30% for one of burning, corrosion, crushing, or cutting; +20% for any two; +10% for any three.
- Sticky: Your Binding is treated as Persistent (p. 107), but only affects those who actually touch the original target of your attack. +20%.
- Unbreakable: Your Binding cannot be destroyed. The only way to escape is to break free. +40%.
Innate Attack (Variable)
You have a natural or built-in attack with which you can inflict physical damage (for nondamaging attacks, see Affliction, p. 35, and Binding, p. 40). Examples include a dragon’s fiery breath, a robot’s built-in blaster, and a god’s ability to hurl lightning bolts. By default, this is a ranged attack with 1/2D 10, Max 100, Acc 3, RoF 1, Shots N/A, and Recoil 1, although you can apply modifiers to change these statistics (see pp. 101-116). An Innate Attack inflicts 1d damage per level. Its cost per level depends on the type of damage it inflicts:
- Burning (burn)
- Your attack inflicts damage using flame, an energy beam, or localized electrical burns. It may ignite fires! 5 points/level.
- Corrosion (cor)
- Your attack involves acid, disintegration, or something similar. For every 5 points of basic damage you inflict, reduce the target’s DR by 1, in addition to regular damage. (Living beings heal natural DR at the same rate as HP.) 10 points/level.
- Crushing (cr)
- Your attack inflicts damage through blunt impact, like a bludgeoning weapon or an explosive blast. It is likely to cause knockback (p. 378), and is more effective at inflicting blunt trauma (p. 379) than other types of damage. 5 points/level.
- Cutting (cut)
- Your attack inflicts lacerations, like those caused by an axe or broken glass. Multiply penetrating damage by 1.5. Cutting attacks can inflict blunt trauma and cause knockback. 7 points/level.
- Fatigue (fat)
- Your attack is nonlethal. It might involve a low-amperage electric shock or a “mind blast,” or even inflict a weakening effect such as hypothermia or starvation. It reduces FP, not HP, and cannot affect machines. 10 points/level.
- Impaling (imp)
- Your attack inflicts stab wounds, like a spear or an arrow. Double penetrating damage in flesh! Impaling attacks can target the eyes and vital organs, can inflict blunt trauma, and may slip through high-tech flexible armor. 8 points/level.
- Piercing
- Your attack involves a fast, blunt projectile, such as a bullet, or is sharp but too small to qualify as impaling, like a dart or a stinger. It may inflict blunt trauma, and can target the eyes and vital organs. There are four sub-classes of piercing attack
- Small Piercing (pi-): Use this for very low-energy projectiles (e.g., blowgun darts), or for attacks that tend to punch through the target and leave a small wound channel (e.g., armor- piercing bullets). Against flesh, halve damage that penetrates DR. 3 points/level.
- Piercing (pi): Use this for most rifle and pistol bullets. 5 points/level. Large Piercing (pi+): Use this for attacks similar to large-caliber solid bullets, or for smaller projectiles that create large wound channels (e.g., hollow-point bullets). Multiply penetrating damage in flesh by 1.5. 6 points/level.
- Huge Piercing (pi++): Use this for attacks that leave an even larger wound channel than large piercing. Double penetrating damage in flesh! 8 points/level.
- Toxic (tox)
- Your attack inflicts cellular damage, in the manner of disease, poison, or radiation. It cannot normally affect machines. The modifiers Cyclic (p. 103), Onset (p. 113), and Resistible (p. 115) are usual, but not required. 4 points/level.
- Partial Dice
- You do not have to buy whole-numbered dice of damage. Each ±1 to damage counts as ±0.3 dice. Round the final cost up. For instance, an Innate Attack that does 1d+2 damage counts as 1.6 dice. If it were crushing (5 points/die), it would cost 1.6 ¥ 5 = 8 points. Some attacks do only 1 point of damage. This counts as 0.25 dice. Once again, round cost up. Such attacks can still be deadly – especially if they involve the Follow-Up (p. 105) or Cyclic (p. 103) enhancement!
Special Modifiers
Many special modifiers for Innate Attack appear under Attack Enhancements and Limitations (p. 102). You can use these to create almost any attack – built-in guns, lasers, jets of liquid fire, gale-force winds, etc. – and to duplicate the capabilities of weapons listed in GURPS books.
Fatigue and toxic attacks intended to simulate poison or disease require modifiers. Noxious agents on Claws (p. 42), Teeth (p. 91), darts, etc. use Follow-Up (p. 105). Gases and sprays use Respiratory Agent (p. 108) or Contact Agent (p. 103), often with Area Effect (p. 102), Cone (p. 103), or Jet (p. 106). Attacks that depend on touch or on skin contact use Blood Agent (p. 102) or Contact Agent, plus one of Aura (p. 102) or Melee Attack (p. 112).
Regardless of other modifiers, Innate Attacks are treated as ranged attacks unless given the Melee Attack limitation; then they’re considered melee weapons.
Description
After applying all relevant modifiers, name and describe the attack. You can be as general as “dragon fire” or as specific as “9mm machine pistol cybernetically implanted in right arm.” At the GM’s discretion, the description can imply additional noncombat abilities; for instance, a jet of high-pressure water could put out fires. The GM has the final say as to whether your description fits the campaign setting, and may modify the attack if necessary.
Stretching (6 points/level)
You can stretch your body in any direction. Each level of Stretching lets you increase your effective SM by +1 with any body part without increasing your overall SM. You can elongate your arms to increase reach (but not swinging damage, as Stretching gives no extra mass or muscle), your legs to negotiate obstacles, your neck to see over barriers, etc. For more information, see Size Modifier and Reach (p. 402). Your body parts grow or shrink at the rate of ±1 SM per second.
By itself, Stretching is ideal for machines with telescoping manipulators. A super with a “rubber body” should add some combination of
Elastic Skin (p. 51), Double-Jointed (p. 56), Morph (p. 84), and Super Jump (p. 89).
Elastic Skin (20 points)
You can alter your skin and facial features (but not clothing or makeup) to duplicate those of another member of your race or a very similar race. This takes 10 seconds, and requires a Disguise roll if you try to duplicate a particular individual. It takes three seconds to return to your original form. This ability gives +4 to all Disguise rolls.
Payload (1 point/level)
You can carry cargo or occupants inside your body! This might be a superficial feature (e.g., a surgically implanted “flesh pocket” or a natural pouch like that of a kangaroo) or an actual internal compartment. The latter is not just for machines – a zombie might have a colony of spiders or snakes living in its body, for example.
Each level of Payload lets you carry up to Basic Lift/10 lbs. inside you. Those without Injury Tolerance (Homogenous) (p. 60) or the Machine meta-trait (p. 263) should ask the GM’s permission before taking more than five levels of Payload. You must allocate your Payload between cargo
and occupants when you buy the advantage:
- Cargo: 20 lbs. of cargo space is roughly equal to one cubic foot of capacity. A typical car has about 10-20 cubic feet of storage space; a semi- trailer has about 2,400 cf.
- Occupants: A human-sized being requires about 200 lbs. of capacity. For others, take average racial weight and increase it by 1/3. An actual cabin requires 10 times that weight. Your defensive advantages (DR, Sealed, etc.) also protect your occupants. If your occupants can control you, buy Controls separately – see Compartmentalized Mind (p. 43).
Treat your Payload as part of your body, not as encumbrance or carried weight, when calculating Move and using advantages with limited carrying capacity, such as Invisibility, Jumper, and Warp.
Machines that can push or pull large external loads – or pick them up and carry them with arms, cranes, etc. – have Lifting ST (p. 65), not Payload. Ordinary cars and trucks have Payload, but forklifts, tugboats, and the like should buy Lifting ST to represent their abilities.
Special Limitations
Exposed: Your Payload cannot be concealed and is not protected by your defensive advantages. You can apply this to any portion of your Payload. The main use of this limitation is to create motorcycles and similar unenclosed vehicles. -50%.
Cannot Speak (-15 or -25 points)
You have a limited capacity for speech. This trait comes in two levels:
- Cannot Speak: You can make vocal sounds (bark, growl, trill, etc., as appropriate), but your speech organs are incapable of the subtle modulations required for language. You may still have the Mimicry or Voice advantage, or the Disturbing Voice disadvantage (but not Stuttering). Most animals have this trait. -15 points.
- Mute: You cannot vocalize at all. All communications with others must be nonverbal: writing, sign language, Morse code, telepathy, etc. Time spent communicating this way counts at full value for study of the related skills (see Chapter 9). No roll is required (or allowed!) when you try to communicate with PCs who don’t know your sign language – roleplay this on your own! You cannot have any other voice-related traits. -25 points.
