Waxillium Ladrian, from Mistborn Era 2, has the ability to “burn” steel to push metallic objects directly away from himself. Unlike most “Coinshots,” he is able to create a “bubble” around himself that pushes bullets just enough to make himself difficult to hit. The “steel bubble” causes free, small metal objects in its range to pushed away and larger ones to move slightly. Wax’s “bubble” does not affect any metals on his person or bullets from his gun.

In today’s post I create a similar, generic ability in GURPS and then use it to create a Divine Favor miracle, a Psionic ability and a Sorcery spell.

Steel Bubble as a Generic Ability

You can create a two yard radius area around yourself that throws off the aim of metallic projectile weapons. Each level of this ability gives a -1 penalty to hit with any metallic missile weapon that passes through it.

Statistics: Obscure (Physical Projectiles; Anti-Targeting, -20%; Stealthy, +100%; PM, -10%) [3.4 points/level]

Additional Options

  • For an additional point/level, you are unaffected by your own bubble
    • For an additional 0.4 points/level, you can exclude other known projectiles from your bubble
  • For an additional point/level, you can use the ability at range
  • For an additional point/level/doubling, you can increase the radius of your bubble

Notes

Waxillium’s level may be limited to 2 or 4. It is also part of the Allomancy power and Steel Pushing sub power, so his version would only work on metals, would not affect aluminum and would have a reduced effect on invested metals.

The GM may decide that this ability has reduced or no effect against some large or massive projectiles.

Steel Bubble as a Divine Favor Miracle

Protection from Stones and Arrows

Minimum Reaction: Neutral

Learned Prerequisite: Divine Favor 4

Learned Prayer Cost: 2

As long as you refrain from hostile actions or threats of hostility, you are protected from missile weapons which mysteriously seem to barely avoid hitting you. Missile weapon attacks made against you are at a -5 penalty to hit. As a general or specific prayer, this bonus lasts for one hour until it has protected you once, whichever is longer.

You may end this miracle’s protection prematurely and give warning that you are about to take hostile actions. If you forgo this warning, the miracle’s effects end immediately anyway, and you cannot invoke it again for 1dx5 minutes, even as a learned prayer!

This is a subtle miracle.

Statistics: Obscure 5 (Physical Projectiles; Accessibility, Only while not Hostile, -20%; Anti-Targeting, -20%; No Area Effect, -50%; Stealthy, +100%; Divine, -10%) [10]

Protection from Stones and Arrows (Enhanced)

Minimum Reaction: Very Good

Learned Prerequisite: Divine Favor 10

Learned Prayer Cost: 12

As with Protection from Stones and Arrows except that the area extends an 8 yard radius around you, and the protection the miracle provides is much more absolute. You and anyone withing the area who is not engaged in any hostile activity are at -12 to hit with projectile weapons. This ability only protects from attacks to individuals within the area. It has no effect on any attacks simply made through the area. The GM may rule that projectile weapons are totally ineffective without at least +3 in aiming, rapid fire or other bonuses.

Anyone under your protection who engages in hostility is automatically excluded from your protection and cannot be placed under your protection again for another 1dx5 minutes. Anyone within the area is at -12 to make any projectile attack. If you knowingly shelter someone who will engage in hostility to get around your restrictions, the effect ends immediately as if you were the one who was hostile.

This is a blatant miracle.

Statistics: Obscure 12 (Physical Projectiles; Accessibility, only while not Hostile, -20%; Anti-Targeting, -20%; Area Effect 2, +100%; Stealthy, +100%; Divine, -10%) [60]

Steel Bubble as a Psionic Ability

Missile Deflection Field [3.4 points/level]

You project a telekinetic field with a two yard radius around yourself that pushes missiles off course. Physical projectiles that pass through the field are at -1/level to hit their targets.

Statistics: Obscure (Physical Projectiles; Anti-Targeting, -20%; Stealthy, +100%; Telekinesis, -10%) [3.4 points/level]

Defensive

Hard

Default: Missile Deflection Field-5; cannot exceed Missile Deflection Field

If you succeed with this technique, your own projectiles are not affected by your field. For an additional -2 penalty which can be bought off, you can exclude other projectiles you know about.

Expansion

Hard

Default: Missile Deflection Field-5; cannot exceed Missile Deflection Field

If you succeed, your field’s radius is doubled to four yards. For each 5 points by which you succeed, your field’s radius is doubled again.

Steel (Actually Iron) Bubble as a Sorcery Spell

Missile Magnet

Keywords: Resisted (HT).

Full Cost: 28 points.

Casting Roll: Will

Range: Unlimited

Duration: 3 minutes.

You can make a subject draw missiles into himself making him easier to hit with projectiles. If he fails to resist, attackers get +4 to target him with physical projectiles. The target is always the subject of Hitting the Wrong Target (B389); don’t bother rolling. Additionally, the target may be subject to additional inconveniences and other general bad luck related to projectiles.

Statistics: Affliction (Disadvantage, Fixed Duration, +0%, Malediction 2, +150%; Missile Magnet, +20%; No Signature, +20%; Sorcery, -15%) [28] Note: “Missile Magnet” is Obscure 4 (Physical Projectiles; Anti-Targeting, -20%; No Area Effect, -50%; Reversed, -0%; Stealthy, +100%; Magical, -10%) [10] + Unluckiness [10]

You could use Cursed (Projectiles Only, -80%) [15], but it wouldn’t have any meaningful impact on the total cost, and the restrictions on the Unluckiness aspect are fairly balanced with causing real harm.

Designer Notes

I did not attempt to implement the “Steel Bubble” directly since it is highly specific and because Allomancy has too many minor details that I didn’t want to address. Does it require a Trigger? The metal reserve is really a type of Energy Reserve for a specific type of investiture that is recharged instantly by ingesting particular metals, but what about burn rates, unkeyed investiture, poor quality alloys, compounding, etc.?

GURPS doesn’t have an advantage for creating attack penalties. It has Affliction, but that is resisted and afflicts the user rather than affecting attacks. Control could work, but it is messy (see below). To solve the problem, I decided to modify Obscure. Obscure normally obscures a sense rather than an attack type. When using this variant, be sure to use a sufficiently limited attack type. It also rarely makes sense to not have the Anti-Targeting limitation.

Some implementations of this sort of ability use Enhanced Defenses, but this is often wrong since this ability provides protection even if the target is unable to defend.

Besides the “generic” version of the ability, the Psionic version was the most straightforward. It is simply the base ability with some techniques.

For the Divine Favor miracle, I decided to go with a subtle and blatant version. The restrictions on taking hostile actions seemed fitting for a miracle, so I added that limitation for flavor reasons. I wanted both a subtle and blatant miracle.

For the Sorcery variant, I could have gone with a Buff, but I though that reversing the effect was an interesting concept and made it an “iron well” instead. I added Unluckiness to make the effect act a bit more like a magnet. Making a “steel” version is simple and is left as an exercise for the reader.

And, yes, I know that -10% isn’t the only value for power modifiers. I chose it because it is a common one and as a reminder that it should have some power modifier (even a -0% one) as part of a power.

Alternate Implementations

If you don’t like the Obscure variant, there are two additional variants below. I only provide an outline. Recreating the abilities using these variants is left as an exercise for the reader.

Control

If you must have a RAW ability and don’t believe in creating new advantages (despite the rules on pp. B117-118), you can use a somewhat convoluted Control advantage. Below is partial example of a modified Control advantage suitable for the “steel bubble.”

Statistics: Control (Suitable Element; Collective, +100%; Independent, +40%; Limited to Imposing Attack Penalties, -60%; PM -10%) [varies]

Note that you may need a very broad element or take Control multiple times to get what you want.

Enhanced Dodge Variant

Normal Enhanced Dodge is not suitable for the ability because the ability provides protection even if the defender is unable to make an active defense. This variant is based on the idea that ±1 to active defense is often equated to ±2 to attack. Treat each level of Enhanced Dodge Variant as -2 to a ranged attack.

This is essentially a new advantage anyway, but you can add Enhanced Block and Parry or state that block and parry are at -1/level against projectiles due to the chaotic movement of the projectile or whatever if you really want to be strict.

The material presented here is my original creation, intended for use with the GURPS system from Steve Jackson Games. This material is not official and is not endorsed by Steve Jackson Games.