Energy Reserve

Base Cost: 3 per point

Energy Reserve, introduced in GURPS Powers, is a way of buying Fatigue Points which regenerated independently (at the standard 1 point every 10 minutes), did not fatigue the user, and with limitations to reduce cost based on slower regeneration rates. This makes it an optional Secondary Characteristic.

Special Enhancements

• Triggered Recharge
• Perpetual Regeneration (±0%): Resting not required for regeneration. Dungeon Fantasy settings have this built-in.

Special Limitations

• Abilities Only (-10%): Your ER can only pay the basic FP costs of your abilities.
• Drains Familiar (-50%)
  • an add-on to B38's Granted by Familiar
• One Power (-50%): ER works with just one of your powers if it can
• Power can draw on ER only: (-5%)
• Slow Recharge (-20% for one point/hour; -60% for one point/day): Your ER recharges slowly.
• Special Recharge (-70%; -80% if the energy bleeds away at the rate of one point/second: ER doesn’t recharge over time. It only recharges via DR with Absorption, Leech, the Steal Energy spell, etc. Incompatible with Slow Recharge.
• Stunts Only (-10%): ER is only useful for extra effort and stunts. It can’t pay the FP costs for normal ability use. Incompatible with Abilities Only
• Energy Discharge

DF

pg 20 of DF5 allies:

external events that drain FP never deplete ER

Magic

The recovery rate of ER (Magic) is improved by Recover Energy.

Following the November 2005 publication of powers, GURPS Magic was published in February 2006, with page 15 (Designing Wizard characters box on lower right) introducing the limitation for Fatigue Only called Usable only for spellcasting.

That provides a cheaper way to provide FP for magic but unlike ER comes with the usual problems:

• require rest to regain
• loss can slow a character down

A -10% limitation is also available on ER called Abilities Only which this might be meant to represent, since spellcasting does not involve Extra Effort or Stunts.

As part of the Mana Reserve Stat

In a Ritual Path Magic setting Mana Reserve = (3xMagery)+(Energy Reserve).

Thaumatology

pg 50

The Lend Energy spell and similar means can also recharge the ER.

Enhancements

Kromm supports the use of Affects Others and Area Effect in his use of it in the Improved Zombie template in pyramid 3/1

How this works is in a rigid way:

The zombie lending him energy must take a Ready maneuver to do so.

He can only draw on one zombie’s energy at a time –

so he gets 3 energy per turn, once per zombie,

and not (3 x number of zombies) all at once

One thing worth noting here: P154 specifies that a Ready maneuver isn't just required to turn AO enhancement on, but ALSO to turn it off.

This is revisited in A Familiar Path which suggests:

Energy Reserve (Affects Others (Master only, -80%), +10%; Area of Effect, 2 yards +50%)

The way +10% is acquired there is by using the Limited Enhancements rule. Master Only is applied to the cost of AO enhancement, not the overall ability.

The Improved Zombie in Necromantic Tools by contrast does NOT have it's "Affects Others" discounted in this fashion. This should mean that the zombie is capable of allowing ANYONE to tap into its Energy Reserve, not just it's master. Thus the generalized description "to share with a wizard"

The benefit of IZ would be that a necromancer might allow them to share energy with a pupil fighting on the front lines, though since they a Reprogrammable they would need to be given explicit orders through some fashion to cause them to take the required Ready maneuver to do so.

It's unclear whether or not there is a way to avoid that maneuver cost (for example Reduced Time) for using 'Affects Others'.

Duration is not entirely clear: like if a Necromancer wanted constant access to an IZ's ER if the IZ would need to be taking a Ready EVERY second during that time, or it's a 1-time cost and then lasts indefinitely.

• P154 does seem to imply that transient abilities don't call for ready maneuvers unless they're attacks with TET, and ER w/ AO appears to be "switchable" INSTEAD of "transient" (unless modified with something like Limited Use pr Maximum Duration)

If AO being non-transient is considered too powerful, one possibly house rule (to make it transient by default) is to go with the default 10-second duration for undefined abilities, forcing the zombie to take a Ready every 10 seconds to renew the ability.

• Possibly lasting longer if the zombie takes "increased duration" enhancements. Reduced Duration limitations should obviously never apply to discount the entire ability (Energy Reserve has no default duration) but might be reasonable to apply to the "Affects Others" enhancement to reduce a 10-second default time to force the IZs to take ready maneuvers more regularly to keep their ER accessible.
  • The same logic would apply with Takes Extra Time limitations: only to the enhancement, NOT to the ability.

The IZ writeup however does clarify that even if you have two IZs who both want to take Readys to share their ER with you, the necromancer "can only draw on one zom- bie’s energy at a time"

The basis for that ruling is somewhat unclear, but if wanting to introduce some mechanic for bypassing it (to allow a necromancer with an army of 100 Improved Zombies to simultaneously tap all their energy for a massive spell), some ideas might be:

• to have the IZ buy the +400% "cumulative" enhancement from Affliction
• have the Improved Zombies use the Combining Powers rules for Stunts on P170

sharing

2012 discussion http://forums.sjgames.com/showthread.php?t=94422

Jerander references "Kromm's Improved Zombies from Pyramid...3/4...?"

He initially talks about that in 2011 http://forums.sjgames.com/showthread.php?t=79275

quotes

PK

2008 http://forums.sjgames.com/showpost.php?p=628192&postcount=5

• Make her ER fuel mundane extra effort, not just boost 'powers'.

+20% to the cost of the ER, much as for the Extended enhancements for various advantages.

Christopher R. Rice

2014 http://forums.sjgames.com/showpost.php?p=1833072&postcount=8

you can have any number of Energy Reserves as long as the GM allows.

discussions

January 2008 tdctaz points out an interesting exploit http://forums.sjgames.com/showpost.php?p=519964&postcount=21

Does that mean that you can use the “Slow Recharge” and still get the benefits of the “Recovery Energy” spell, sins the slow recharge still have recharge over time?

If so how is the recovered fatigue calculated with for example “Slow Recharge: -60% for one point/day.” and Recovery Energy 20. - Does the character then gain 1 ER for each 2 minutes of resting (Recover Energy 20) plus 1 ER each day regardless of rest (Energy Reserve with Slow Recharge: -60% for one point/day)?

March 2011 good questions http://forums.sjgames.com/showthread.php?t=78335&page=3 including this claim by SunrunnersFire:

Kromm's ruling is that (Special Recharge) on Energy Reserve prohibits Regeneration (ER) without appropriate limitations on Regeneration.

Guess I have a new house rule. *grins*

Kromm then replied affirming the post shared:

To qualify for Special Recharge, the Energy Reserve must require external charging, which means "external from the user."

The usual methods of gathering energy from outside are DR (Absorption) and Leech, and spells such as Steal Energy.

With an Accessibility limitation such as "Only during mass" or "Only in a nuclear reactor," suitably modified Regeneration also counts.

Regeneration without such a limitation does not count, as there's nothing "special" about the recharge – it effectively comes from within.

Bruno points out

It seems that (for example) a mana-sensitive Regeneration would be acceptable then - if it's drawing mana from the external environment and shuts down at Low Mana, it seems to fit the bill entirely.

See Also

• Essence Control
• Limited Energy Reserve
• Mana Reserve
• Manastone
• Powerstone
• Slow Recharge
• Vitality Reserve

References

• Dungeon Fantasy 3: The Next Level pg 39
• GURPS Dungeon Fantasy 5: Allies pg 29