Questions

I need the GM to answer a question about Possession.

The default Possession says you're effectively immortal if you continue traveling from host to host without staying in one as it dies of old age, but you can't survive without a host, and you die if your host dies.

The Parasitic modifier states that you physically enter the hosts body. I'm not taking that.

The spiritual modifier states that you're a spirit that can possess hosts. I'm probably not taking that.

The telecontrol modifier says that you never physically leave your own body, you simply control your host remotely.

That doesn't seem to leave anything for someone who has the Possession advantage without any of the above modifiers. So I need to know how the advantage functions for a human without those modifiers.

Hmm, best explain what you intend to do. It's easier to go from there.

I want to know if it's possible to just melt away while possessing another and then reform as Reia again when I'm finished committing Grand Theft Me. I'm wondering if that's how an unmodified Possession would work for a human.

GURPS Powers, as usual, offers a few more options for Possession, including "Telecontrol 2" (+100%) which allows simultaneous but limited control over both the "home" body and the possessed one (basically, whichever one is given priority acts normally and the other gets a -4). The description mentions that Compartmentalized Mind makes that superfluous, though; wasn't Reia going to have that?

On a different note, I'm reading about Shapeshifting for Rose, and found something that may affect both her build and Howahkan's. GURPS Powers states quite clearly that "When designing Alternate Forms, apply enhancements and limitations to the basic 15-point cost per form but not to the form-specific cost (that is, 90 percent of the difference in template costs)." So a -50 percent limitation reduces the 15-point cost to 8, but doesn't do a thing for the 180 points that buys the 200-point template you shift into. Once I thought about it, that seems pretty fair, but it does make abilities for the major alternate form almost as expensive as just having them yourself (though, since you only pay the 90 percent for the most expensive template, it strongly encourages multiple forms!)

Powers also offers a number of very useful enhancements and examples for shapeshifting (as for many other abilities).

EDIT: EvilRoeSlade, sounds like Insubstantiality linked (+10% both ways) to Possession, probably with a mess of limitations since you won't be using it independently at all.

I've read the options in powers. I have to figure out what Possession does before I can decide which other advantages I want, Compartmentalized Mind being a prime example. All I know now is that CM can easily be both cheaper and more effective than Telecontrol 2.

That would imply that Possession doesn't do that automatically, if so then what does it do?

No, unmodified possession works like this: your conciousness leaves your old body, leaving your old body in a catatonic state, open to any other entity trying to possess it.

If you want your body to "melt" you need to take Insubstantiality (only while possessing) and Possession (Spiritual, -20%). I'd suggest you also take the limitations Mindlink Required -40% and Puppet Only -30% as well as the enhancement Assimilation +10%. And you might need a power to make others your puppets (preferably with voluntary targets only .

Insubstantiability (only while possessing -25%) [60]
Possession ( Spiritual -20%, Mindlink Required -40%, Puppet Only -30%, Assimilation +10%) [20]

An easier way is possession with Telecontrol 2. Given that you have Compartmentalized mind, this shouldn't be to difficult. Of course that leaves your own body more or less vulnerable.

No that's what Telecontrol 1 does.

Nope. The enhancement in telecontrol 1 is, that your consciousness DOESN'T move to the new host. It stays in your body, but telecontrols the new host.

Imagine a sensory deprivation tank, where a soldier is placed in. He is drugged, so that he can't use his own body. And then he is given input and control over a drone. That's telecontrol 1. His consciousness still remains in his body, and can't be damaged by anything that happens with the drone. But he still gets to control the drone only.

Normal possession isn't that "good". The whole consciousness is moved to the new body, and if that new body dies, the consciousness dies as well ... and the old body stays a vegetable.

By default, you simply abandon your last body. If it's your "real" body, it isn't spelled out whether it dies or simply goes into a coma. It probably dies though, since there aren't any rules for repossessing your unconscious body.

Simplest way to do this: Permeation (Flesh) with Meld 1 for 15 points + Possession with Telecontrol 1. Once you're inside, use possession, and leave your real body melded. The only problem is that your real body is going to take all the injury that the possessed body takes

Expensive Alternative: An Alternate Form (Mind Stealing Ghost), which has Possession with the Spiritual limitation. The only problem is that the Spirit meta-trait is incredibly expensive if all you plan to do is steal minds with it.

Connington Permeation would have been my answer as well, but ERS doesn't want to take the damage I assume. AND: the host body has to be greater than the hosted body. Do you realy think Reia would like to run around as a 200 lbs goth girl?