E List (Brick) [20]
- Constriction Attack [15]
- Nictating Membrane 5 [5]
D List (Brick) [50]
- DR 10 [50]
- DR 8 (Force field, +20%) [50]
- DR 8 (Hardened, +20%) [50]
- IT:DR /2 [50] • Log ST +5 [50]
- Unkillable 1 [50]
- Extra HP +25 [50]
- Regrowth [40]
- Regeneration (Regular) [25]
- Regeneration (Fast) [50]
C List (Brick) [100]
- DR 20 [100]
- DR 16 (Force field, +20%) [100]
- DR 8 (Hardened, +20%) [50]
- IT:DR /4 [100]
- Log ST +10 (About 3d) [100]
- Growth 3 (Requires Log ST 21; 21’ tall and lbs, N HP) [30]
- Regeneration (Very Fast) [100]
B List (Brick) [250]
- DR 50 [250]
- IT:DR /10 (Cosmic, No Minimum Damage, +50%) [225]
- Log ST +20 [200] + Striking ST 50 [50] (About 18d) [250]
- Growth 6 (Requires Log ST 34; 60’ tall, 250, 75 tons, N HP) [60]
- Regeneration (Extreme) [150]
A List (Brick) [500]
- DR 100 [500]
- IT:DR /150 (Cosmic, No Minimum Damage, +50%) [488]
- Log ST +30 [300] + Striking ST 200 [200] (About 57d) [500]
A+ List (Brick) [1,000]
- DR 100 [500]
- IT:DR /10,000 (Cosmic, No Minimum Damage, +50%) [900]
- Log ST +40 [400] + Striking ST 600 [600] (About d) [1,000]
- Additional Striking ST + 500 (+125d) [1000]
The High Cost of ST
Researching comics we can see that supers range from puny to able
to juggle planets! Comparing examples from various teams (and their foes) with
other archetypes we get some useful ranges for a guide. The ranges (Bench Press) are 1 ton, 10 tons,
20 tons, 50 tons and finally at the upper limit for all but the most powerful,
100 tons. So let us compare builds using GURPS
Basic ST, GURPS Supers ST (GURPS Supers, p. 00), and finally Log
ST from “Knowing Your Own Strength”, Pyramid
3/83 by Sean Punch.
ST 36 (4d-1/6d+1) BL 259, press 1 ton [260]
Super ST 25/35 (4d-1/6d+1) BL 245, press 1 ton [300]
Log ST 21 (3d+1/4d-1) BL 250, press 1 ton [110]
ST 112 (12d/14d) BL 2.5 tons, press 10 ton [1020]
Super ST 30/120 (13d/15d) BL 2,880, press 11.5 tons [500]
Log ST 34 (6d+2/7d) BL 2.5 tons, press 10 ton [240]
ST 360 (37d/39d) BL 12.96 tons, press 103 ton [3500]
Super ST 33/320 (33d/35d) BL 10 tons, press 80 tons [1020]
Log ST 41 (7d+1/8d-1) BL 12.5 tons, press 103 ton [310]
So Log ST is the cheapest per BL but does the lowest damage.
Super ST is more expensive at lower levels but quickly becomes significantly
cheaper than Basic ST at higher levels and does more damage than Log ST but
less than Basic ST. Because of the cost we will use Log ST for this article.
Dealing Damage
Comparing the cost of Log ST to Innate Attack we find strength is
not an efficient way to do massive damage. This makes sense since ST is good
for a variety of tasks. Knowing Your Own Strength suggests changing the cost of Striker ST to
[1/level], Lifting ST to [7/level], and HP remains [2/level] but starting HP
are based on weight not ST for the same standard cost, you just adjust
the base HP by [2/level]. How does that compare to Basic ST? Log ST 21 upgraded
to 4d (Basic ST 36) costs 114 points, Log ST 34 upgraded to 12d (Basic ST 112)
costs 262 points, and Log ST 41 upgraded to 37d (Basic ST 360) costs about 420
points. Checking recommended damage cap for C Scale (Supers, p.00) for pretty much the ultimate number gives us 1,500d
and able to lift a million tons! That is approximately Log ST 81 (17d+1)
[710] + Striking ST 5,932 [5,932] totaling 6,642 points. This would give us
1,328d with Innate Attack, so Log ST is more efficient at this extreme. We can
see that for most of the range Innate Attack is cheaper then Log ST for doing
damage but not as extreme as the other types, and it gets better as power level
increases.
Withstanding Damage
The other part of being a Brick is the ability to shrug off
massive attacks. This is typically though DR and HP but GURPS Powers gave us
(IT:DR) Injury Tolerance: Damage Reduction (see Powers p.00 and p.00). It costs
about *4 as much per die for DR as it does for Innate Attack and you may need
to Harden it as well. IT:DR effectively multiplies your HP but you need
the Cosmic “No Minimum Damage” or lots of weak attacks will wipe you out. Log
ST makes your base HP based on your weight not your ST so the bigger and
heavier you are, the tougher you are. This also fits the archetype!
Supers with Size and Density Powers
Some Supers can change their size, density, or both. Smaller,
lighter supers are more mobile, but not as tough as giants or large hunks of
rock or metal who may have problems getting into vehicles or buildings. Over n
lbs and they are not able to use most elevators! For Bricks that can’t alter
their size and density just figure out their stats once; for those who can,
figure out multiple stages and adjust
for the new HP. This is similar to how default Shrinking works. For Growth or
Shrinking every two levels changes weight by a factor of 10 with odd levels
adjusting the prior step by *3.
Brick Tactics
The Brick is a generalist and able to both take and dish out
damage. He is not able to do as much damage or move as fast as those who
specialize in those areas but his rounded abilities make him the anchor of the
team. Try to encourage foes to attack you rather than your more fragile
teammates while giving your side a chance to flank the enemy. You have several
options in combat so use what fits the situation!
Punching: You
may not do as much damage as the Blaster, but few have the defenses to
withstand your attacks. Your foes will have difficulty parrying you as they can
not parry anything heavier then BL (2*BL with a two-handed weapon). Blocking
may result in damage to their shield (B. p. 484) or Overpenetration (B. p. 408) and even if that stops the blow it may
still knock them back or down.
Throwing: If you can lift it you can throw it, and
you can lift some big stuff! A Brick can throw anything he can lift, which is
up to 8*BL. The optimum object is BL for Thrust, +1 per die, Range ST * 0.6 yards. See Throwing Things (B.
p355) for details. For very heavy objects, consider the Slam rules instead (B.
p.00). Bricks can throw some pretty heavy stuff if it is available so you may
throw things too heavy to Parry or Block and even do Area attacks! Bulky
objects can also pin (or bury!) someone who is smaller than they are.
Grappling: Can’t (or won’t) punch through your
target? Then Grapple him! Grappling lets you immobilize a foe without hurting
them, keeps them from using most attacks, holds them in place for target
practice for your blaster friend (and you can shrug it off if he misses), and
lets you move them around. While you are at it learn the Choke Hold! Vehicles
are even more vulnerable to
grappling. That car can’t get away if
you are holding the tires off the ground, and that tank is pretty helpless
lying on its side or back. For double your pleasure you can also throw your foe
at another foe. Heavily armored vehicles may stop bullets or rockets but they
are not designed against someone pulling off things (tires, tracks, axles, gun
barrels, turrets, etc). An option to
represent this is to allow Targeting
Chinks in Armor (B. p. 400) if you have grappled your foe and are just
pulling it apart. Wrench Limb is good too! Note that to use a Choke Hold you
must be able to overcome the targets DR (neck) and IT:DR is not a defense.
However, if you can cover some ones nose and mouth you can suffocate them (B. p.00).
Exotic Attacks: You can buy Strikers
or Natural Weapons (Pyramid) or use Modifying Existing Damage (GURPS Power Ups 4 Enhancements, pp.
9-11). None of these are based off your points in ST so no change to them is
needed.
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