Designer’s Notes: Pointless Monster Hunting

As a poster pointed out in this thread, Pointless Monster Hunting was a huge piece with a large word count (though I admit – I just submit and let the editor decide what he wants to do). It was easily as large as Alternative Ritual Path Magic and as information dense. Luckily, I got to work off of a base (Sean Punch’s Pointless Looting and Slaying) which made it a ton easier than inventing this thing from whole cloth. While I was on a blogcation during the time this article was released I kind of expected a better reception since so many people wanted a pointless approach for GURPS Monster Hunters.

Regardless, I’m proud of my work (despite stand on the shoulders of giants) and I think gamers will find much use for it in the long run. It took me nearly 63 hours to write, another 30 to revise, and 20 to edit. A lot of the hassle in the design came from having to create an ability, remove the mechanics, and just explain it in words. That’s a heckuva lot harder than you’d think it is. That more than anything ate my time.

Under the Hood: New Aptitudes
I took a lot of what Sean had created (what I mentally tagged as “basic abilities”) and reformatted and tweaked what I needed to to make it work for GURPS Monster Hunters. I also created a bunch of new traits. Anyone curious about the “under the hood” mechanics can find the builds below:

• Ancient Scholar: As Linguist, except that it adds “Limited, Esoteric Languages only, -65%.”
• Connected: This should be fairly obvious – it’s just a packaged Contact.
• Consecrated Aura: Mana Enhancer (Place of Power) [20/level]. See I Am a Place of Power on p. 11 of Pyramid #3/66: The Laws of Magic.
• Consecrate Ground: This uses the rules for the Learned Prayer of the same name from GURPS Powers: Divine Favor (p. 12), with the notes from GURPS Monster Hunters 1 (p. 43)
• Deductive Mastery: Psychometry (Active, -20%; Cosmic, Works on the Living, +50%; Hypersensory, -50%; Sensitive, +30%; Short-Range, -10%; Reliable 2, +10%) [22].
• Grace of Heaven/Hell: This buys off Weakness from most templates and packages in an Unusual Background.
• Gun Fu Master: Each level is Cosmic Modular Abilities (Limited, Gun Fu perks, -20%; Reduced Time 1, +20%) [10].
• Like the Wind: This is simply the Disappear technique (GURPS Action 3, p. 16) maxed out.
• Magical Traditionalist: This is simply Higher Purpose (Tradition); see GURPS Thaumatology: Ritual Path Magic, p. 5)
• (Monster Type) Hunter: Higher Purpose 2 (Slay Specific Monster) [10] per level.
• (Monster Type) Specialist: This one was a bit tricky. This is a Racial Bonus to a Skill, made into a Wildcard and Language (specific monster tongue).
• Prophetic Dreams: As per GURPS Monster Hunters 1, p. 23, but adds Reliable to Precognition.
• Rebirth: This is Extra Life 1 (Mysticism, -10%) [23] + Dying Action [1] + Precognition (Can only see own death, -80%) [5].
• Seventh Son: Adds a general reaction bonus of +2 [10], Detect Supernatural (Vague, -50%) [15], +3 to DPL [15], and Unusual Background (Uncapped Serendipity and Fortune) [10].
• Skill Specialist: Adds five levels of a Racial Skill bonus.
• Slayer’s Strike: Affliction 1 (Fixed Duration, -0%; Follow-Up, Universal, +50%; Nuisance effect, Actual time is one second, -5%; Reduced Duration 1/60, -35%; Requires Will vs Will roll, -15%; Variable Enhancement (Accessibility, Only Negated Advantage enhancements that reduce supernatural fortitude, -50%) 150, +750%) [85]. Since it requires the expendature of one DP per use the overall cost is reduced by 1/5 or 17 points.
• Spirit Channeling: Adds Resistant to Possession +3 [5].
• Throwing Mastery: Each level is Super Throw 1 [10] (See GURPS Supers, p. 30).