Dragon Hatchling

Attribute Modifiers: IQ -1 [-20], HT +1 [10], Per +1 [5], SM 0 [0]
Advantages: Burning Attack 1d (Costs Fatigue 2, -20%; Jet, +0%) [4]; Claws (Sharp) [5]; Damage Resistance 1 (Tough Skin, -40%) [3]; Nictitating Membrane 2 [2]; Optional Quadruped [3]; Peripheral Vision [15]; Striker (Tail; Crushing: Clumbsy, -2 to hit, -40%) [3], Teeth (Sharp) [1].
Disadvantages: Disturbing Voice [-10]; Social Stigma (Monster) [-15].
Perks: Draconic Maturation.
Quirks: Naive, Strongly prefers walking on all fours
Features: Born Biter. Armor isn't interchangeable with humanoid armor (and not with Dragon-Blooded or Lizard Man armor either). Colorful Scales. Vestigial wings.
Notes: A classical quadrupedal dragon hatchling, out and about well before its parents would normally release it. Its wings are under-developed and the entire world is a new and interesting place! This interpretation makes dragon forepaws just as good as any humanoids hands, at least when they're small, and allows them to walk upright and use equipment like any other character, should they choose to. There's enough fantasy art that shows dragons acting like humans that I don't feel this is super-straining.

New Traits:
Perk: Draconic Maturation
You may purchase up to 30 points of Draconic advantages at character creation, and/or buy them in play, at their usual point costs.
Trait: Optional Quadruped, 3 points
You may freely choose to walk on four legs or two; walking on four legs is walking, not crawling, and subjects you to all the effects of the Extra Legs advantage, and the Horizontal disadvantage, and you may not use your hands as, well, hands. Getting upright from walking on four legs counts as getting up from Prone - you must first sit up before you stand up, unless you successfully execute an Acrobatic Stand.
Extra Legs (4 legs; Temporary Disadvantages: Horizontal, No Fine Manipulators, -45%), [3].

Lens: Unhandy Dragonet, [-7]
You don't have hands so much as clever fore-paws, and you are not adept at walking upright (although you can, in a pinch). You have a -2 on tasks that require a power grip, and -3 on tasks that require a delicate touch. You can walk at full Move on all fours rather than having to Crawl, or you can Sit or Kneel and use your hands (at the above penalties). If you need to walk with your hands full you can toddle along upright at 3/5ths your normal Move. If you have DX 14 or more, you can carry a small object or two while walking on all fours (this includes the penalty for Bad Grip).
Add ST +1, Bad Grip 1, Ham-Fisted 1, Semi-Upright. [total -5]
Remove Optional Quadruped and the Strongly prefers walking on all fours quirk. [total -2]

Precis – Why low/funky mana areas aren't (always) unfair. Nonstandard mana levels are sometimes regarded as the GM "screwing over the players", but only like any other hazard.
Ed Note: This post is based on previously posted material (by yours truely) which I have edited and expanded upon. If you get deja vu, that's why.

A cruel, bored or irritated GM can abuse their editorial powers to heap misery upon suffering on their players, up to and including terminating the game via horrible in-game events: Rocks Fall, Everyone Dies. This kind of adversarial play style is pretty unpopular these days, but sometimes I wonder if we've over-corrected for sins past. Making things more difficult for your players is not the same as using the magnifying glass of your GMly powers on their ant-like paper men.

This concern comes up quickest in GURPS when Low Mana zones, or other weird magic areas, are discussed - "-5 to all your spells" is a pretty purified "Here, lets make all the wizards lives difficult today" mechanic, and it only gets worse if you have something like Twisted Mana, where even succeeding can be worrying.

( Read more... )

Precis – This is a quick grab-n-go list of some Dungeon Fantasy ready gems with a little bit of description, sorted by some handy value tiers.
Dungeon Fantasy Exploits gives some rough ideas on relative value for gems, but is sparse on concrete details.

Here's a quick grab-n-go list of some gems with a little bit of description, sorted by some handy value tiers. As a reminder: gems are so trivially small that unless you're dealing with handfuls of them, you can ignore the weight. I've included weights anyways in case you want like, a pound of obsidian trade gems or something.

( Read the great big list... )By the by: that pound of obsidian rupees is 333 rupees, or $8 325. And now you know!