GURPS Ballance, characters with allies

[Darius Rae]

The Ally attribute in GURPS seems really over powered. Assuming one wanted an ally that was around all the time and worth 100% of the character's cost, as I read it, that ally only costs 5 * 4 points, resulting in the player controlling twice as many points worth of characters as the rest of the group.

Am I misreading this, a logical fix would be to say that you have to split your character creation points with your ally. I fell that this would make the attribute more balanced for the rest of the party.

[The Big Dice]

Why would the player control his NPC ally?

And I don't know if things have changed in 4th ed GURPS, but in 3rd, an NPC Ally had to pay points to have his PC buddy as an Ally. 3rd ed also said that the Ally isn't a puppet of the PC, and can disagree with him. And that a PC should receive no Character Points for a session in which he needlessly endangers or betrays his Ally.

Plus the Ally should come from a similar background to the PC.

So it's not that the player gets to control the equivalent of twice the points anyone else gets. The GM gets to control the Ally. The GM also gets to create the Ally. The player can suggest, but the final word belongs to the GM.

[Darius Rae]

That explains it then.

Lets say that my character had an AI implant in his brain, how would you represent that while allowing me to control the actions of both characters? Maybe something like a split personality and extra attack to represent them both acting at the same time?

[houlio]

An extra attack for having an AI implanted in your brain? I would think crazy knowledge skills to be more appropriate.

I don't have the books in front of me, but I think you could represent it as digital and the physical disadvantages that negate body stuff (no arms, no legs etc.), also no strength or dexterity. Give it high intelligence and will though, and I'm not sure what to do about health or hit points. Then I would recommend things like eidetic memory and absolute direction and lightning calculator for advantages that would serve extremely intelligent computers very well, if it has a personality, you might give it some mental disadvantages.

Otherwise, you could I think make your character aspect-ed and not use an ally, but I don't know how to do that without my books.

EDIT: Just remembered that you could aspect your character to have different personality traits and quirks and mental advantages.disadvantages for when you or the AI are in control, I cant remember the special limitations or enhancers for that though.

[Darius Rae]

I am going over my books now. I want them to be one character so I will take compartmentalized mind, with one half of it having the computer traits. He is going to be a telepath and a telekenetic, while the computer is a ergokinetisist.

[houlio]

Yeah, compartmentalized mind was what I was thinking of, I think you can load it up with the appropriate limitations and enhancers to make it represent what you want.

[Ragitsu]

Even if the Frequency of Appearance is high, keep in mind an Ally still chafes at abuse and conflict of principles (unless the Minion Enhancement is applied, of course).