Leech

Cost: [21+4*lvl]

Leech is an advantage that heals HP based on HP drained from an enemy. Level = max HP/second.

The basic description of it is on P96 though it was adapted from Vampiric Bite on B96

Variability

P142 has two examples of powers which take the Variable enhancement, indicating that Leech (like Innate Attack) is not variable by default, so there is no way for high-injury leeching to do less damage without that enhancement.

The only exception would be the "vore" enhancements since one could avoid doing that damage by avoiding scaring/hurting someone.

Or: to apply certain limitations to extra levels which would prevent them applying in some circumstances.

Special Enhancements

• Ranged (special): Malediction 1 or 2 (+100% or +150%) on top of Ranged (+40%).
• Accelerated Healing (+25%): 1 HP gained from 1 HP drained
• Addictive Bite: +200%, or +400% for Uncontrollable Appetite (12)
• Doleovore (+20%): HP gained 2x for Low Pain Threshold, 1/2x for High Pain Threshold
• Hazard
• Heals FP (variable): 1 HP or 1 FP, +60%; 1 FP instead of 1 HP, +30%)
• Metuovore (+20%): Take HP from frightened people.
• Steal (Other Score) (variable): -25% for FP (or +50%, if HP drained when victim has 0 FP), +100% for ST or HT, or +300% for DX or IQ
• Steal Youth: +300% if youth regained on drainer's death or +450% if they don't

Special Limitations

• Contact Agent (-30%)
• Blood Agent (-40%)
• Only Heals FP (-20%)

Normal limitations

Senses

B109/B115 allows Sense-Based on attacks which normally ignore DR, which is true of Leech.

It would not be allowable with certain versions of Weaponized Leech though, since it's possible to allow DR to protect against it.

It's also unclear how it might work against Malediction DR or Cosmic DR.

TET

The way Takes Extra Time works with this ability is illustrated with:

1. Psychic Vampirism from pg 144 of GURPS Powers ("the rate of 1 FP per minute of concentration.")
2. Steal Energy from pg 51 of GURPS Psionic Powers.
3. Steal Vitality from pg 22 of GURPS Sorcery
4. the Succubus variant in Horror

Attacks normally take an attack maneuver to use, but taking the Malediction enhancement changes this to a Concentrate maneuver.

TET 1 normally puts 1 ready ahead of an Attack maneuver (as in Sorcery), but for something already using Readies/Concentrates (as in PP) it doubles this. The net effect is a 2-second activation time so the difference is not immediately apparent.

• TET 2 and beyond this becomes apparent: 1x2x2=4 concentrate maneuvers (four seconds) to launch a Malediction, while only 1x2 readies + 1 attack = 3 (three) seconds activation for attack.

SE begins (like Steal Vitality) using TET 5, requiring 2^5 or 32 concentrate maneuvers. Level 2 (TET 4) uses 15 (rather than 16) seconds, Level 3 (TET 3) uses 8, level 4 (TET 2) uses 4, level 5 (TET 1) uses 2, and level 6 (TET 0) uses 1.

This clarifies that activation time (Attack, Readies+Attack or Concentrates) is per each instance of draining, rather than just a one-time activation cost with an indefinite duration.

To avoid ongoing maneuvers might require some kind of application like Aura (free attacks) without taking the Melee Attack discount.

Rather than TET (which affects the time it takes to switch an aura on or off) the Exposure Time variant of Onset would be how you would slow down the Aura's rate of Leeching.

To do that at range would require AE+Persistent which would remain fixed (not follow attacker like Aura) unless Mobile was taken to create a Leech-field.

Powers Built From Leach

• Psychic Vampirism (+100%): Leech 1 (Accelerated Healing, +25%; Malediction 2, +150%; Only Heals FP, -20%; Ranged, +40%; Steal FP, -25%; Takes Extra Time 6, -60%; Temporary Disadvantages, -10%) [50].
• Steal Energy (-15%): Leech 2d+2 (Accelerated Healing, +25%; Only Heals FP, -20%; Steal FP, -25%; Variable, +5%) [49]
• Steal Life (+30%): Leech 1d (Accelerated Healing, +25%; Variable, +5%) [49]
• Vampiric Bite [31]: Leech (Heals FP, +60%; Blood Agent, -40%) [30]; Sharp Teeth [1]

Alternatives

• Innate Attack (Malediction)
• Affliction (Attribute Penalty)

Link and Leech

There are examples of Leech being given the +10% Link enhancement tying it to an Affliction (advantage) attack:

• H12's Gaudivore does this with a Disadvantage (enhancement) Affliction which has same Malediction range as the Leech
  • this has a unique mechanic of, while Leech 1 limiting this to 1 FP per second, only allowing FP/seconds equal to MoV at which point a new contest must be rolled to allow a new period
    • normally a Quick Contest is rolled EVERY SECOND for Malediction Leech, per P96's "Each victory lets you drain 1 HP per level" and MoV doesn't matter at all: this is a major benefit unaccounted for in the modifiers
• H65's Romantic Vampires do this with an Ecstacy Affliction that has no range limitations (operates at 100 yards per standard)
  • if the purpose of this is to mean that one must attempt to attack with Leech at any time one uses Affliction, it isn't exactly clear how that manifests, it's possible the author simply neglected to add Melee -35% as with the next two
• H93's Lilutu (left column) does this with a Choking Affliction which has Melee C range limitations
  • in the right column the Ardat-Lili swaps Choking with Ecstacy, reminiscient of the Romantic Vampire except still at -35% melee

H85's Arendians do this with two different Psionic Contact Agent Leeches: one stealing HT and the other stealing IQ

The benefit of Link (justifying it being an enhancement) is being able to use them simultaneously as a single ability, ie that a single "Attack" maneuver launches 2 attacks instead of 1, or a single "Ready" maneuver switches on two abilities instead of 1. Effectively it applies Reduced Time to the collective 2-second cost to make it 1 second.

• this actually makes the +20% version of Link somewhat pointless for 1-second switchable abilities, since both could take Reduced Time and be activated as 2 free actions instead of 1 ready
  • unless of course one is limited to 1 free action per turn
  • the primary benefit is for odd-numbered things that take a lot of time, since Reduced Time rounds fractions other than 0.5 upward: a 3-second ability with reduced time takes 2 seconds, so instead of applying 20% to reduce 6 seconds to 4 seconds, Link+20% would allow one to reduce it to 3, though that would give no speed benefit when activating them solo.

Link as an enhancement on a Free Action ability is something that would raise questions, if Leech is interpreted that way (in contradiction to Powers specifying it takes an Attack maneuver and can't ride other maneuvers as a free action as Joint Locks do)

Namely that this doesn't result in a time reduction for it at all: if it's already free to ride while doing other things, what is gained?

One possible explanation is if it somehow allows Affliction to be done without using an Attack maneuver: allowing Affliction as a free attack (riding the free action) so long as the conditions for Leech are fulfilled (maintained contact)

This would be a unique instance of breaking the rule which allows attacks like affliction to be made as free actions, which is banned explicitly under Reduced Time.

This still wouldn't answer what the purpose of linking two Leeches is though: if both were free then wouldn't they already be carried simultaneously by a grapple? Only by acknowledging they cost attacks and that Link+10 allows a single attack to trigger both, does the Arendian make sense.

ATTACK

In 2011 http://forums.sjgames.com/showpost.php?p=1251870&postcount=7 the Pyramid contributor Hiroshima incorrectly stated:

Now, Leech isn't an Attack (and does not require Attack maneuvers), last time I checked, and works as a free action, once you've got the conditions right. This means you could be in AoD, and Malediction-leeching

This misunderstanding was propogated in the 2012 thread http://forums.sjgames.com/showthread.php?t=96874 by PseudoFenton

it doesn't say that leech requires an action of any sort, which would infer that its a free action so long as the conditions are met (lengthy contact).

It clearly is an attack and thus would require attack maneuvers, benefit from extra attack / AOA double / dual-weapon attack, rapid strike, etc. based on the following cases of it being called an attack repeatedly in multiple books:

Quotes from Powers

Powers 11 mentions:

After switching to an attack (Affliction, Binding, Innate Attack, Leech, Neutralize, Obscure, Static, and anything else the GM views as an “attack”)

Powers 96 mentions:

Your attack doesn’t harm your victim any faster

Powers 97 mentions:

Talent adds to all rolls to affect the target– including attack rolls to touch victims and Will rolls to use Leech with Malediction.

• So: since is there no known actual attack roll (like Worrying) when sucking the HP (unless this is added as some kind of limitation, or via the Will roll required for Maledictions), the +1 is to the bite (or other form of contact) made beforehand. This means to use it with things like Rapid Strike or Dual-Weapon Attack it should be given some kind of attack roll, or else designed as some kind of technique where you buy off the to-hit penalties with some kind of drawbacks)

Powers 102 mentions:

an attack that normally ignores DR (e.g., Leech)

Powers 154 mentions:

Many transient abilities call for an Attack maneuver to activate. The most important of these are Affliction, Binding, Innate Attack, Leech, Neutralize, and any advantage with the Ranged enhancement.

(Exception: Malediction changes the maneuver needed from Attack to Concentrate.) If the user can’t make an Attack, he can’t use such abilities.

Powers 164 mentions:

Melee Attacks Includes: All normally ranged attacks modified with Melee Attack, as well as “touch only” abilities such as Leech and Neutralize

Powers 235 mentions:

attack ability: Any ability that can injure an opponent or compromise his capabilities – most often Affliction, Binding, Innate Attack, Leech, or Neutralize. Often shortened to “attack.”

quotes from Horror

Horror 21 mentions:

If you steal more than 1/3 of his HP with an unbroken series of attacks

This does not specify that an attack must be levied every single second, though.

Page 12 under Gaudivore gives an interesting case where Leech 1 with Ranged+Malediction, when activated, sucks at its rate (1/second) for a total number of seconds equal to Margin of Success without needing additional resistance rolls.

This can be explained by two possible approaches

Approach 1

using Extended Duration combined with Limited by Margin. With the baseline of 1 second, there are 2 options:

• 3x duration +20% which would give you a total of 3 damage over 3 seconds
• 10x duration +40% which would give you a total of 10 damage over 10 seconds.

As a 0% modifier, these would be offset by:

• Limited by Margin 4
• Limited by Margin 8

This would result in

• for +20/-20: 3 seconds with a margin of 4, 9/4 (2.25) with margin of 3, 6/4 (3/2 or 1.5) with margin of 2, 0.75s wih margin of 1
• for +40/-40:
  • 10 seconds with margin of 8
  • 8.75 seconds with margin of 7
  • 7.5 seconds with margin of 6
  • 6.25 seconds with margin of 5
  • 5 seconds with margin of 4
  • 3.75 seconds with margin of 3
  • 2.5 seconds with margin of 2
  • 1.25 seconds with margin of 1

The 2nd approach is closer, and has a benefit (higher seconds:margin ratio at 5+, even with downward rounding) and a drawback (a cap of 10 seconds)

Approach 2

GURPS Power-Ups 4 page 14 has the Fixed Duration enhancement worth 0% which changes a variable duration based on an actual margin of success to a duration based on a margin of success of 3.

The example of Affliction changes this from 1 second per margin (stun) or 1 minute per margin (other stuff) to 3 seconds or 3 minutes.

So basically, the margin-based durations are 1/3 the fixed rate multiplied by a margin.

Inverting this with a hypothetical Unfixed Duration, a 0% feature should actually be 1/3 a second per margin of victory. The benefits of a margin higher than 3 should be offset by lower duration if there is a margin less than 3.

Using this, the ability basically has a +20% extended duration equivalent built in for free, with nothing to offset it.

Damage as Dice

P142 gives the example of the 49 point abilities "Steal Energy" (-15%) doing 2d+2 and "Steal Life" (+30%) doing 1d.

B263's rule converts 7 to 2d and 3 to 1d so these could have been modified from Leech 9 and Leech 4, which would have cost 57 (85% is 48.45) and 37 (130% is 48.1) at base, both of which round up to the 49 point value assigned to them.

One major advantage in this design is there is a "max rollable" result for critical hits which would only apply there.

Plus that could also help in situations where you wanted to quickly injure someone. On the down side, the minimum effect is lessened.

Function

This indicates an 'attack' must be expended to use Leech, every single second that HP is sucked out. Someone could in theory do All Out Attack Double to do a Bite (which gives a free grapple in Martial Arts) and then use their 2nd attack to Leech.

The "per second" would limit spending 1 attack per second though. "Reduced Time" is not an option because that does not work on attack powers (B108)

However the 1/second (unless increased) could be interpreted as "per attack" so someone doing All Out Attack: Double to do Leech+Leech could in theory drain 2/second by using the ability twice. This would only be possible if they had already secured a grapple, of course.

The "per second" rather than meaning "most times you can use ability per second" is more like a built-in delay, meaning that you don't actually inflict the damage / receive the HP until 1 second after spending the attack, during which you must maintain your grapple (unless Ranged/Malediction enhanced) because if the victim breaks your grapple during that time it would violate the ability requirements.

So this would mean you could do an all-out attack double Grapple + Leech but you would not actually inflict the damage until your next turn.

Examples

H64:

Really creepy ones might drink blood through their rootlets! At the minimum, the latter would have Leech 1 with Malediction and Ranged.

This is a strange approach because it cannot be dodged and does not allow targetting the rootlets. Avoiding Ranged/Malediction and simply statting the Rootlets as Extra Arms with the "Long" enhancement would probably make more sense.

Modifiers

Modifiers in Powers

P96 had some special enhancements:

• Accelerated Healing
• Hazard
• Heals FP
  • the second version described here is named "Heals FP

after HP" on page 52 of GURPS Psionic Powers

• • there is no known opposite of "Heals HP after FP"
• Steal (Other Score)
• Steal Youth

And the special limitation:

• Only Heals FP

Although under that category they suggested the use of Contact Agent or Blood Agent. "Required Sense, Reversed" would also make sense for those who need to touch blood with their hands (Sense: Touch) or with their tongue (Sense: Taste) but this was not mentioned.

The Weird

• Requires Grapple for Innate Attacks seems similar to how Leech works
  • either might also perhaps be thought of as Exposure Time of 1 second
• page 40's "Withering" applies an unexplained Cosmic +50%.

Modifiers in Pyramid

At http://www.sjgames.com/pyramid/sample.html?id=5782 the Designer's Notes added "Boosts Abilities"

modifiers in GURPS Psionic Powers

• page 51 introduces "Nuisance Effect, Can transfer personality traits" limitation
• page 73 introduces "you don't grow younger while your subject ages" limitation

modifiers in Thaumatology

The Sorcery supplement, page 22, interprets Takes Extra Time 1 as "Every two seconds, he loses HP equal to the level". It has "the subject must be either willing or completely helpless", ignoring the grappling aspect.

Modifiers in Horror

Horror 12 mentions "Steal FP, +50%" under the Gaudivore, this is the version where at 0 FP, HP is stolen. More uniquely:

• Only Joy -50%, presumably meaning the ability only works on people who are experiencing joy.

Horror 20:

• Leech (below) can have “Heals ER” or “Only Heals ER” for the price of “Heals FP” or “Only Heals FP.”

Horror 21 introduces a larger list of modifiers than Powers:

• Accelerated Healing
• Addictive Bite
• Doleovore
• Hazard
• Heals FP
• Metuovore
• Steal (Other Score)
• Steal Youth
• Obligate Doleovore
• Obligate Metuovore
• Only Heals FP

modifiers in Creatures of the Night

volume 1 page 20's "slake hounds" have 2 Leeches linked, the weaker HT drain which takes extra time has "Extended Duration, Only when other Leech drains HP" which refers to the first having "Steal FP then HP"

Quotes

Christopher R. Rice quotes

from http://www.ravensnpennies.com/gurps101-leeches-vampires-and-succubi-oh-my/

Cyclic (Enhancement: GURPS Basic Set, p. 104): This requires Cosmic at the +100% level to add this trait in the first place as well as Ranged and Malediction. After the first attack, your ability continues to work draining your target at the interval your purchased. Cyclic on Leech is automatically resistible, if it’s not double the final price of this modifier. For example, if you drained 1 HP every 10 seconds for the next 60 seconds this modifier would be +400%. 6 intervals x 10 seconds (+50%) = +300% plus +100% for the Cosmic modifier. If your target cannot resist your draining him this would be worth +700% instead!

Reliable (Enhancement: GURPS Powers, p. 109) combined with Malediction allows you to win Quick Contests even without a high Will.

The problem with these approaches is that Reliable is not available on attacks (so no, it can't help willing Maledictions without a high Will) and that Leech is inherently Cyclic (it does damage per second, not a static damage per attack)

Kromm quotes

2006 http://forums.sjgames.com/showthread.php?p=313188

I think you could approximate it fairly well with Leech given Cosmic, +50% to let it ride on any attack, not just a grapple, and a small Accessibility limitation that restricts total HP healed to the damage delivered by the attack. You'll need other modifiers to get the timing, rate of return, etc., right, but those two should give you the necessary effects.

2010 http://forums.sjgames.com/showpost.php?p=1050064&postcount=16 "Not another shrubbery" said that Kromm told him the following:

The idea is that you can use Leech on things that have IQ. IQ 0 trees and grass shouldn't count.

But then said "Leech (Plants)" or "Leech (Mechanical)" could be good variants.

2013

2013 http://forums.sjgames.com/showpost.php?p=1573094&postcount=18

Leech can only process one HP stream at a time. To get around that, you would need Cosmic, +50%.

Even leaving off Ranged, look at the sheer expense of Leech with Area Effect 1, +50% (you can't add Emanation, -20% to get points back, as Leech without Ranged has no range in the first place)

continued http://forums.sjgames.com/showpost.php?p=1573111&postcount=21

Emanation is foremost a limitation that removes range from an area effect, not an enhancement that gives you immunity to that effect. If the ability already lacks range, then making it cheaper doesn't grant you immunity, but then again, you don't need immunity. The only reason this just about never matters is that almost no abilities have zero range yet allow Area Effect. Usually, you have to add Emanation to curtail range. Leech is odd in having no range to begin with yet being warpable into a form that affects an area . . . and Leech cannot affect the user.

http://forums.sjgames.com/showpost.php?p=1573226&postcount=37

Taking Area Effect or Ranged alone simply isn't an option – that's just how Leech is. What Malediction does is fairly price the "no grapple" angle by assessing a range-based modifier for not doing that. After that, Ranged can project the ability at a distance while Area Effect can surround you with it.

The range penalty is still distance-based . . . if your Area Effect gives you, say, an eight-yard circle, then Malediction 1 is at from 0 to -8, depending on where the target is in that circle.

pre-2016 regarding Hand Catch technique

19 January 2015 the_matrix_walker posted a response to this question:

2] If you have Leech and parry using Hand Catch (which initiates a grapple), can you start stealing HP on your turn following your Hand Catch, before the opponent has the opportunity to attempt to Break Free?

The response attributed to Kromm was:

Hand Catch is very clear: "On later turns, you can use any combat option that requires a grab or grapple to set up." Thus, you can use Leech as soon as your turn comes up, before your enemy can break free.

also to:

3] Does Leech require any action or concentration beyond maintaining contact (Can someone 'Leeching' still do everything a 'non-leech' can do in the same close combat situations)?

was this:

Leech is meant to be a result of contact, not action (beyond whatever is necessary to maintain contact, like not using a hand being used to maintain the grapple). If you grapple someone, you can use Leech while you punch him, fly away with him, or otherwise take your turn, subject to the limitations of keeping your victim grappled or pinned.

Leeching while punching isn't prohibited under the existing RAW as reinforced by Psionic Powers (use AOA:double, one attack to continue to leech, the other to punch) but some could take that as implying that continuing a leech is a "free action" much like damage from locks.

The problem with assuming it's a free action is the 44-point pricing of level 6 Steal Energy: 1 second of concentration per attack (1 maneuver per damage) not merely 1 maneuver to initiate and free indefinite maintenance.

If it was free indefinite maintenance you would need Requires Concentrate to add an ongoing maneuver-cost to maintaining the effect, which is not included in the pricing of Steal Energy.

PK quotes

on Area Effect

Pee Kitty mentioned in this 2006 post:

First re being able to take the Emanation limitation to reduce the cost of Area Effect.

That should work fine, except that you'll also need to add Malediction.

Then

The concept behind Leech is that you are limited by (A) having to make contact with a person and hold onto them tightly or (B) having to win a Quick Contest against them.

Since you have given your ability range (via AE instead of Ranged, which I think is certainly fair), you'll need to also add Malediction.

Indicating that Area Affect (minimum +50%) is a fair alternative to Ranged (+40%) but that Malediction would still be necessary.

on Cosmic Ranged without Malediction

http://forums.sjgames.com/showpost.php?p=388470&postcount=15

I'd be content to make the ruling that you can use Cosmic to justify adding Ranged to Leech without Malediction, but that means it is affected by DR. So even a simple leather jacket will totally block Leech 1 (Ranged). I also wouldn't allow No Signature to be added, as the subject should always have a chance to Dodge.

on Healing multipliers

in 2007:

My answer would have to be, "No, Leech isn't healing. It's transferrence." You're not recovering or being healed in any way, you're just taking the hit points away from them and putting them in you.

Otherwise you lead to craziness like two PCs with HP 40 using Leech as free Healing. One drains the other 10 HP (and heals 40), then the second drains the first 10 HP (and heals 40) -- both continue until one is only down 1 HP.

According to a post by blackseasofinfinity otherwise was said by Kromm:

I would say so. Anywhere the rules say you *heal* HP (specifically that verb!), "High HP and Healing" should apply.

I cannot see a good reason to allow Steal Vitality (explicitly allowed as "magical healing") but then to turn around and not allow Leech (Magical, -10%) . . . which is basically the same thing.

One could argue that two guys with Leech and 40 HP could then do cheesy things like get 4:1 healing effects, back and forth, until almost fully healed . . . but so what?

Assuming human-scale beings, they've paid c. 60 points for lots of HP -- or assuming ultra-strong critters, perhaps closer to 300 points for lots of ST.

It's no worse than Mage A missing 2 HP and Mage B missing 4 HP, and A burning 2 HP to cast Major Healing on B and heal 4 HP (A now missing 4 HP, B full), B doing the same for A (A now full, B missing 2 HP), A burning 1 HP to heal B (A now missing 1 HP, B full), thereby resulting in two wizards going from missing 6 HP to missing 1 HP *and* getting around penalties for casting on self, all for 1 point in Major Healing.

Given the examples set by the magic system, I think it's best to take a generous stance here.

on cumulative Malediction penalties

http://forums.sjgames.com/showpost.php?p=275835&postcount=3

an ability which steals from everyone around him simultaneously, at a penalty to the roll equal to the number of subjects minus 1 (e.g., if there are four people around, the Malediction Leech roll would be his Will-3 versus their Wills.) Add Independent, +70%, if you want to avoid this penalty.

This is probably derived from P100 under Area Effect:

If the advantage specifies a penalty to affect each victim after the first, the user has a penalty equal to the total number of potential victims, less one, on his roll for each subject

Combined with P108:

you’re exempt from penalties for simultaneous uses.

This refers to P158's "Multiple Feats" rule:

Leech is not an instant attack (it happens over time, the 1 damage and 1 HP happens exactly 1 second after it is triggered by expending an attack or concentrate) and this is why the "-1 per active ability already “on.”" applies.

Without malediction, this penalty would apply to normal Leech if it had a die roll and had Takes Extra Time on it. It is unbalanced to not allow basic Leech a die roll for that reason.

on Malediction's ranged penalties with Area Effect

http://forums.sjgames.com/showpost.php?p=1352610&postcount=1

The way I was understanding Malediction would interact with this is that the Will roll to activate the ability still suffers a -1 for every hex away from the PC.

However my player feels that the distance becomes irrelevant and that everyone in the area is effected at the same skill level.

http://forums.sjgames.com/showpost.php?p=1352626&postcount=2

Your player is right -- a power with Area Effect affects everyone in the area equally.

Think of it as analogous to damage. If you had Burning Attack 2d with Area Effect and Emanation, your attack would do 2d damage to everyone in the area equally, right? So if you have Affliction with Area Effect and Emanation, your attack affects everyone in the area equally.

The various forms of Malediction affect range -- and for an area effect, the range is always range from wielder to the center of the area. In this case, range is 0, because the wielder is the center of the area.

For your version, add Dissipation.

Discussions

• https://web.archive.org/web/20180103235457/http://forums.sjgames.com/showthread.php?t=26230
• https://web.archive.org/web/20180104060655/http://forums.sjgames.com/showthread.php?t=21970 transmetahuman points out it isn't clear whether this is Switchable or Transient by default, and whether it takes a free action or a maneuver to use
• cached discussion of Weakened Without Preparation

See Also

• Cancellation
• Requires Grapple
• For the monster, see leaping leeches!

References

• GURPS Powers pg 10, 96-97, 142-145