Alverant Posted December 28, 2014 Report Share Posted December 28, 2014 I had a flash of inspiration on why vampires in fiction don't show up in mirrors. They're always invisible but part of the nature of a vampire is to put a projection of themselves into the living mind of everyone around them. Since people only see a mental projection it won't appear in mirrors and other devices. In a superhero setting anyone with enough Mental Defense would be able to block this projection making the vampire effectively invisible to them while the normal people around them would still see it. So my question is, would it be allowed that the "only vs" limitation include having a power at a certain level? In this case it would be Invisibility to Sight Group only vs non-living devices and with 10 pts Mental Defense *. This wouldn't prevent the vampire being detected by other means (radar, spacial awareness, spreading garlic powder on the floor and watching for foot prints, etc) just that the vampire can't project their image into a sentient mind. So it's like a reverse NND in that if you have a defense then you're affected by the power. * I'd say that other vampires/magical creatures, those with magical site, and those who have something like KS Vampires 11- would also be able to see vampires even if they have lots of Mental Defense because they'd be aware of the projection. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
massey Posted December 28, 2014 Report Share Posted December 28, 2014 I believe it was Hero Almanac 1 that had the old Spirit rules in it. There was a writeup for a vampire that followed that train of logic. The creature was naturally invisible (because of the way the spirit rules worked) but it had Mental Illusions that it used to make people "see" it. It didn't reflect in a mirror because the Mental Illusion didn't cover that. I'd allow the limitation, but I'm not sure what value I'd give it. 10+ points of mental defense isn't exactly common. But the only people you're likely to run into with it would be PCs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grailknight Posted December 28, 2014 Report Share Posted December 28, 2014 This seems like one of those great ideas that don't translate well to a game. I can see it being part of vampire background that these are the the most succulent prey but in game: It's not really a disadvantage. Unless vampires are a known thing, NPCs(or even PCs) who can't see the vampire will be written off as crazy by everyone around them. I think it would be hard to convince everyone else present that the person they've been interacting with isn't really there especially when that person is supernaturally charming while you are obviously on edge/near hysterical. Secondly, even if the vampire can't turn off the projection, the ability to passively identify potential threats to your secrecy and the most vulnerable victims(they can't see you coming) is too good to warrant much of a disadvantage beyond the usual of not showing in mirrors et al. Third, invisible creatures have a hard time making you "look into their eyes", This really more of a trope objection than a mechanical one though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beast Posted December 28, 2014 Report Share Posted December 28, 2014 I would not say they are invisible but simply have images up to conceal their true form your 10 pts of mental def and no image in mirrors would be a -1/2 limitation Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pinecone Posted December 28, 2014 Report Share Posted December 28, 2014 I would not say they are invisible but simply have images up to conceal their true form your 10 pts of mental def and no image in mirrors would be a -1/2 limitation I like the sound of that...striking appearance, not vs mental Dec -1/2? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
massey Posted December 29, 2014 Report Share Posted December 29, 2014 See, it really depends upon how you want to use it. Now that I've had time to think about it, I really don't like it. Is a PC buying this, or is it an NPC villain? Why are you buying it that way? Is this just a thought exercise or are you looking at achieving a specific effect in the game? Is there a reason this power should behave differently than a more standard method of writing up the effect? The big question I ask myself when I'm looking at how to construct a power, or what sort of limitation to assign, is "how do I want this to play out when it makes an appearance in the game?" Think about that. I'm assuming this is for an NPC villain. So your players are gathered in a room. They're at a cocktail party or something. And the hostess of the party walks up and tells everyone (in a snooty voice) "Everyone, I'd like to introduce you to, Duke Vlad Von Alucard". And your players all turn and look. And the guy with 10 points of mental defense wonders what the hell everyone else is doing when they stand up and start pretending to shake hands with an invisible guy. Is that what you want to happen? Because basically it sounds like you're spending points to make it easier for people to figure out that you're a vampire. And that's not the way it's supposed to work. In this instance, Invisibility is not really something that you're able to use voluntarily. Unless you're planning on preying on only the Society of High Mental Defense, it's gonna be a big giveaway. And it just seems backwards to me that you're paying points for something that pretty much only hurts you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IndianaJoe3 Posted January 2, 2015 Report Share Posted January 2, 2015 If you tweak it a bit (the character is barely visible instead of fully invisible), it makes a neat Distinctive Feature. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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