Altered Time Rate

Cost: 100 points/level

Altered Time Rate (sometimes nicknamed Accelerated Time Rate or Increased Time Rate) is a mental, exotic, advantage and referenced in GURPS Martial Arts. As expected, its price is high because it fundamentally alters your action economy. For the ability to detect and think at extreme speeds, see Enhanced Time Sense.

Bullet Catch[]

Supers 123 introduced a new rule which relates to this:

a hero with Basic Speed 25, 5 levels of Super Throw, or 4 levels of Altered Time Rate can catch bullets fired from handguns

one with Basic Speed 100, 9 levels of Super Throw, or 19 levels of Altered Time Rate can catch bullets fired from rifles

without DR by moving at the same speed as the bullet.

This many levels of Altered Time Rate allow parrying or catching bullets without Enhanced Time Rate.

There doesn't appear to be a graduated soft-cap system alternative to such hard caps.

Switchability[]

Celerity gives some interpretations as to how this ability works when made switchable via "Requires IQ roll":

"This ability can be used as a free action once per turn."
"You can use it after you performed your first maneuver of the turn to get the second maneuver.

Free actions normally need to be activated at the start of one's turn (not after having completed it) so this is a generous interpretation.

Under the Powers 154 rules "The user must switch these on or off at the start of his turn" applies to ALL switchable abilities.

The only things usable via free actions outside of the "start of turn" requirement are "zero-time transient abilities" like Rapier Wit. There is mention of "attacks with enough Reduced Time to work instantaneously" but that is actually illegal reading the definition of Reduced Time on B108: "you cannot add Reduced Time to attack powers"

Even a 0TTA like Rapier Wit will "work only on the user’s turn" though. The only listed exceptions are "Luck, Super Luck, or Wild Talent" likely so they could be used for spontaneous improvement of active defenses.

vs Waits[]

2007 http://forums.sjgames.com/showpost.php?p=343016&postcount=10

NineDaysDead: What happens if the target takes the wait maneuver? It seems the ATR guy sacrifices his defences if the target uses wait, since he can interrupt ATR guy during the all-out-attack, and then attack the defenceless (thanks to AOA) ATR guy.

Kromm Sure. Nobody said the tactic was perfect. :) But the ATR guy does know that a foe took a Wait (Wait, unlike Feint, isn't meant to be a secret or hard to detect) and can simply stay away from that one opponent. Or he can decide not to do an All-Out Attack.

Special modifiers[]

Warps Time

Special Enhancement[]

Super-Speed (+20%)

Special Limitation[]

Non-Combat Speed (-60%)
Same type of maneuvers -20%

Gun-Fu[]

pg 10 "That advantage warps time for the user and his gear"

FAQ[]

http://www.sjgames.com/gurps/faq/FAQ4-3.html#SS3.2.34

"you can convince your GM to let you use Abilities at Default (and substitute ATR for several levels of Enhanced Dodge). Yes, this will cost you some FP, but at high levels of ATR, the Dodge bonus will be really impressive."

Kromm Quotes[]

Sean Punch has commented on Altered Time Rate in the following posts to the SJG GURPS Forums:

On its immense power [1]
On it being the only way to get extra maneuvers, apart from spell effects that emulate it [2]
On the importance of adhering to the trait description, not the name [3]
ATR is "body", ETS is "mind" [4]
On its use for actions, not reactions [5]
On game balance influencing what it allows a character to do [6]
On its effect on a character's next defense [7], [8]
On its usefulness for Perception rolls [9]
On why feints are disallowed [10]
On its necessity for a speedster character [11]
On it optionally affecting carried objects [12]

PK quote[]

http://forums.sjgames.com/showpost.php?p=2144111&postcount=12

Altered Time Rate (Accessibility, Only to take All-Out Defense following your normal turn, -40%) [60]. Which, I'll note, is comparable to Defense Bonus 2 [60]. As a special effect, you would get the benefits of AOD even if someone interrupted your "normal" turn with a Wait -- but as a compensating drawback, you wouldn't get any benefit from this trait on a turn in which you made an All-Out Attack.

This difference from Defensive (limitation) in Dungeon Fantasy which is worth -50% and allows extra benefits.

References[]

Basic Set pg 38
GURPS Powers 41-2