Enhanced Senses Adder "Rapid" Question

[Trebuchet]

I asked Steve Long a couple questions about the Enhanced Senses Adder "Rapid":


I'm a bit confused by the Enhanced Senses Adder "Rapid." When you say that "data is absorbed 10X faster," do you mean that a character with "Rapid" on his sight will see in 1 segment what most characters would see with a 10-segment long period of time? Would this thus qualify for the "Extra Time" modifier on a PER roll as if the character had taken several Phases (depending on SPD) to look around, and thus recieve a +2 (or better) to his sight PER roll?

Steve Long's reply:


Rapid is primarily meant for building things like scanners and other sensory devices, abilities like Speed Reading, and so on. Due to the ease with which it could be abused, I'd be highly reluctant to let a PC go around using it to get significant bonuses on PER Rolls. I'd say that while he can take in more information from whatever he sees, that ability doesn't necessarily make him more observant, or more aware of the significance of what he observes -- and that's more that a PER Roll is about in most cases, I think.

My followup question:


If "Rapid" cannot be used to allow a character a PER bonus, then exactly what bonus does it provide to the character paying the 3 points for it? I see no Enhanced Senses that take X time to use over Y area that Rapid can modify. Does it allow the use of multiple-sense scans within a single half-Phase?

I'm not trying to be argumentative, I'm just trying to learn just why anyone would buy "Rapid" instead of straight bonuses to a particular PER roll? What actual purpose does this Adder serve within HERO?

Steve's reply:


It lets you take in information more quickly. While there may not be specific rules for general information intake (we all like detailed rules, but I think that would be going well over the "ridiculousness" line), I think the GM can probably adjudicate its effects on a case-by-case basis..

As I said to Steve Long, I'm not trying to be argumentative here, but I'm at a complete loss as to what game effects my fellow GMs would think the "Rapid" adder provides. This strikes me as a natural Adder for speedsters or other quick characters, but I don't know what bonuses or other effects it would provide in game terms. Higher PER? Ability to examine large areas more quickly? Ability to see attacks such as bullets? What does a character get for his 3 points?

What do you think, Herodom Assembled? Let's have your ideas and comments. :D

[NuSoardGraphite]

I understand where you are coming from. The FREd doesn't give us much of a guideline for using this particular adder.

I see its use much the way Steve L explained in his answer. Mainly it is used to decrease the amount of time it takes to gather information (but not necesarily the amount of time it takes to process it). With the first level of Rapid on sight, things like Reading and observing would be affected. A magazine that would take an hour to read, would only take about 6 minutes, in this case.

I think you are on to something with reducing the base time to sense something when you use this adder. I would take each level of Rapid as reducing the amount of time it takes to sense something without incurring a penalty. You don't gain a bonus, it just kills the penalty for taking less time than required.

Ex: Speed Demon has Rapid(X100) on his vision and Hearing. He wants to search a room for a murder weapon he believes is hidden somewhere inside. The GM determines that this would normaly take 1 hour. Speed Demon, however can get the same result by merely taking 1 minute to search the room (2 steps on the Time chart lower than 1 hour) at no penalty. (instead of -2)

Now, this doesn't provide a bonus, so much as it gets rid of the penalty for taking less time. As far as I'm concerned, thats a game effect worthy of a 3pt add-on.

[BNakagawa]

An example of what Rapid is for:

You go to an airport and you're looking for the gate # for a specific flight to a specific city.

A normal has to scan the board and find the city and then select the proper flight (if you're looking for a very common flight, like LA to SF) At SPD 2, this could take a while. Go to an airport and put a timer on the amount of time the average person spends staring at those screens if you don't believe me.

You buy rapid and you get it in one glance. You will probably also be able to tell anybody else what they're looking for, too.

[MarkusDark]

I agree with BN's situation. I would use it more of a SFX situation. A suspect's desk is covered in papers, Rapid Sight will allow you to locate it in almost no time. Or searching through tomes to find the spell you need or rapid computer display of information. I always used a Per roll to locate the book and Rapid will help them find the information in the book quicker.

[Steve Long]

NuSoard's idea is an interesting one. In more concrete terms, you could compare Rapid to a Skill Level with All INT-Based Rolls (5 Active Points), Only For X Sense Group PER Rolls (-1/2 for Sight, -1 for others), Only To Counteract Quick Skill Performance Penalties (-2). The math gets hinky because the cost of Rapid varies for Senses and Sense Groups, but if you think of each level of Rapid as roughly +3 of the above Levels, it means that each purchase of Rapid (x10, x100, etc.) would let you perceive at one step up the Time Chart with no penalty. For example, a character with Rapid x10 could read or take in visual information in one Phase that other characters need 1 Turn to.

[Derek Hiemforth]

I would assume it would also cover things like being able to see and take in the scenery around you while moving extremely quickly. For example, a normal might be able to get a normal view of their surrounds while moving up to 15 or 20 MPH (running speed). A speedster who can run at 2000 MPH might buy Rapid for his Sight at the 100x level, and be able to make out as much of his surroundings at 2000 MPH as a normal can at 20 MPH.

[Seenar]

Could come in handy to scan the faces of a crowd too, I would think.

Or listen to several converstaions at once

[Trebuchet]

While I'm primarily interested in applying Rapid to my own 9 SPD/38 DEX martial artist Zl'f, I see the potential here for a "true" speedster as well. So I'll probably buy this Adder at the 10X level to augment her (already +3) Sight PER with some unspent XP. It just seems to fit with her "500% better than human" reflexes.

Thanks for the input, guys. :)

[Gary]

It's for stuff like speed reading. Not really combat stuff. Such as if there is a clue hidden in a 1200 page novel, the character could speed read the book and pick out the clue in minutes, not hours.

[Dust Raven]

I see it working like SPD relates to DEX. It's doesn't make you more accurate, it just means you can do more of it. Only in the case of Rapid, it only affects how quickly the information comes in. It seems to be primarily a speedster power, but I've found some other uses for it as well. I've put in on mentalists (Mental Sense Group) for Uber Mind LInk capability (which helps to simulate that "speed of thought" communication thing). I've put into a gadgeteer's radio for communications bursts as well. This might be stretching the adder a bit, but as far as I'm concerned, if the Sense Group (or Sense) also has the Transmit adder, you can transmit as fast as you can receive.

Which is why I put x10 Rapid on the "voice" Sense for all of my speedsters. :D

[NuSoardGraphite]

I use the Rapid adder for Laser based communication which simulates its ability to send and download information quickly (for Star Hero campaigns of course)

[Trebuchet]

Originally posted by Gary
It's for stuff like speed reading. Not really combat stuff. Such as if there is a clue hidden in a 1200 page novel, the character could speed read the book and pick out the clue in minutes, not hours. There is already a Speed Reading Talent, so I have to assume Rapid does something else.

Of course, forcing my Russian character to suffer through a 1200 page Russian novel would be only just deserts, even if it does violate several international conventions on torture.

(She much prefers Samuel Clemens.)

[NuSoardGraphite]

The Speed Reading talent is built using the Rapid sense adder, so yes, thats exactly what its for :)

[TedJMill]

Originally posted by Seenar
Could come in handy to scan the faces of a crowd too, I would think.

Or listen to several converstaions at once

Some other uses:
Watching hours of surveillance videos quickly.
Spotting a clue which appears in one frame of a film.
Identifying and resisting subliminal suggestions.
Looking through books of mug shots to identify someone.
Seeing through invisibility defined as rapid movement or vibration.

[MarkusDark]

This is the simplistic way I look at it:

Use Per roll to find a can of Diet Pepsi amongst a case of normal Pepsi

Use Rapid to scan each soda to find out which has the oldest expiration date.

[Super Squirrel]

Originally posted by MarkusDark
This is the simplistic way I look at it:

Use Per roll to find a can of Diet Pepsi amongst a case of normal Pepsi

Use Rapid to scan each soda to find out which has the oldest expiration date. Very Well Said