Limited Enhancements

Limited Enhancements refers to the limitation on enhancement which restricts it, reducing its value as an enhancement without directly affecting the underlying ability.^[1]

FAQ[]

In http://www.sjgames.com/gurps/faq/FAQ4-5.html#SS5.3.6 someone posed a question about this, but the answerer did not really address it.

5.3.6. Should I also apply the Illusionary Form limitation to the Partial and the Affect Substantial Enhancements?

This is clearly referring to applying the limitations to the enhancements, rather than to the advantage as a whole. A lower discount, but a limitation which only limits instances when the enhancement is in use.

For example, this would mean you are NOT illusory, except when in the process of affecting substantial things, or when only turning part of yourself insubstantial.

The answer discusses other combinations:

That depends on what you want to do.

If you want your body to be partly solid and also partly able to affect the material world, then combine Illusory Form with Partial.
If you want to be a magical illusion that can be damaged by attacks but that can also wield magical powers in the material world, then combine Affect Substantial with Illusory Form.
Combine all three if you can affect the material world with your body *and* special powers, and the material world can somewhat affect you.

It only refers to modifiers coexisting, not modifiers modifying other modifiers.

Examples[]

GURPS Powers[]

Magical (limitation) (-10%)

GURPS Psionic Powers[]

Substantial Communication is "a weaker version of Affects Substantial". Since it is +40% compared to +100%, this is like applying "Only for Communication, -60%"

GURPS Powers: Divine Favor[]

Reduced Fatigue Cost 5, Disease Only
Reliable 8, Only to offset disease penalties

mimicking Controllable Disadvantage[]

Just as taking Temporary Disadvantage as a limitation on a switchable advantage allows one to toggle disadvantages...

taking TD as a limitation on an ENHANCEMENT on an advantage (which does NOT need to be switchable) would allow someone to toggle the disadvantage (alongside the enhancement it rides) using Selectivity

Quotes[]

bathawk[]

26 March 2018 http://forums.sjgames.com/showthread.php?t=156690

the initial ability looks like this:

4d fatigue innate attack (cosmic +300%, no effect against force fields -10%) (156pts.)

But using the "limited enhancements" sidebar for pg.111 of the basic book, it looks like this

4d fatigue innate attack (cosmic {not vs. force fields -10%} +270%) (148pts.)

Not only is the second option cheaper by 8 points, I can still use the attack against those protected by a forcefield, they just get the force fields full protection....while in the more expensive version, it's "all or nothing

RyanW suggests:

The discount you get for a limitation applied to an enhancement should probably be capped in the same way Temporary Disadvantage is. For simplicity, say that if the base enhancement is +80% or more, it subtracts 4/5 the limitation value directly from the enhancement cost instead of multiplying.

PK[]

22 August 2018 on Reddit, munin295 posted at https://www.reddit.com/r/gurps/comments/990i89/affliction_v_objects/e4mm1gd saying:

PK (name drop!) said something very similar to me in a 2011 private message:

Unfortunately, the rules for limiting enhancements do break when the enhancement tops 100%. … The way I handle it in my games is that a limitation applied to an enhancement cannot give more than 80% of its usual point break (much like Temporary Disadvantage).

I can't find this in the RAW yet (I spent a whole two minutes searching), so it's just a houserule but a good tested one.

References[]

↑ Basic Set: Characters pg 111

[1] Basic Set: Characters pg 111

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