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Cosmetic transform... on the universe?


Era Scarecrow

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I don't think the cosmetic transform would handle that on it's own... if for no other reason than the universe has infinite Body to overcome, so you'd need to find a way to scale the transform down to something more selective.

 

I think what you'd be looking for is a really weird targeting detect bought to sense with a universal range compounded with a small cosmetic transform line of sight fully indirect triggered attack.

 

Or a follower with such if the character doesn't want to know when their name is written down.

 

It sounds expensive and unwieldy, but may be possible.

 

Alternatively ....  Anonymity (3 points) played as this special effect with the GM's co-operation.

 

This kind of conversation is fun... and wanted to point out how it reflects on interpretation of the system.

 

The first part is a cool thought problem (cosmetic transform, blah blah blah)... the second is a solution (already defined effect with added cool SFX).

 

The first reflects the tendency to over-engineer things... the second is about creative interpretation of the axiom around special effects.

 

The more Hero is interpreted the second way, the more I think the system truly shines. The more I see it the over-engineered way, the sadder I become.

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It will occur a lot, it won't necessarily dominate... Consider...

 

---

"Let's order takeout... Yeah I want fried rice, and dinner #9... Arther Bell... yeah see you in 30..."

 

Arriving at the scene Arther goes to pick up his meal. "Huh? What do you mean I don't have an order? I just called it in..."

 

"Sorry sir, but we don't have an order with your name on it."

 

"Fine, I'll wait here. I want fried rice and Dinner #9..."

---

 

A major... inconvenience mostly... Real problems might appear when you start getting letters of final notices and banks can't cash your checks. Although I'm sure long before that point someone else would have picked up the tab temporarily and be doing the orders, letting the effect linger until it just goes away on it's own.

 

Although if it only occurs rarely then it could be reduced easily down to a mere 5-10 pts in that case. Could make a session by itself where they go to get it dispelled at a shady gypsy who can remove it... for a fee...

So, will the game this character is designed for be focused on ordering takeout and paying rent? The question is not "how inconvenient could this be in a real world context?", but "how much impact do I want it have in the cinematic reality of the game>?". For a 20 point complication, a major inconvenience or challenge that actually impacts the likelihood of success or failure in the objectives of the scenario every other game is about right.

 

So "your character cannot get transport to the adventure site as he cannot get ID to enable him to board a plane" or "your name is not on the guest list for the Royal Ball - guess you can't prevent the Vizier from cornering the Princess to work his evil spell" would be more reasonable consequences than "My lunch order was delayed" or "I have to move to a new apartment".

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So "your character cannot get transport to the adventure site as he cannot get ID to enable him to board a plane" or "your name is not on the guest list for the Royal Ball - guess you can't prevent the Vizier from cornering the Princess to work his evil spell" would be more reasonable consequences than "My lunch order was delayed" or "I have to move to a new apartment".

 

 Hopefully they have alternate forms of transportation. Really depends on the who and what and why. Maybe the barcodes work fine so tickets and cards work, just not reading the name, so while he can't verify his name he can verify something else, like a fingerprint, i don't know.

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Hopefully they have alternate forms of transportation. Really depends on the who and what and why. Maybe the barcodes work fine so tickets and cards work, just not reading the name, so while he can't verify his name he can verify something else, like a fingerprint, i don't know.

If the impact is so easily reduced, then it is not a 20 point complication, is it? The value of the limitation is based on how frequently it imposes a significant restriction on the character, and how severe the implications are. If it's a mild nuisance every dozen games, it's not a 20 point complication.

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If the impact is so easily reduced, then it is not a 20 point complication, is it? The value of the limitation is based on how frequently it imposes a significant restriction on the character, and how severe the implications are. If it's a mild nuisance every dozen games, it's not a 20 point complication.

 

There's severity, and how often it happens. almost all of that complication would be for it happening all the time, not because it's heavily debilitating. the 'barely' category is generally limiting the character less than 25%. But it happens ALL THE TIME.

 

But I suppose you could do oh I don't know, 5 points, because that totally shows something mildly annoying happening all the time is only worth 5 points... like, I don't know.. missing a hand... an eye... not being able to feel pain. Looking like Brad Pitt and people asking you all the time for your autograph...

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In my games, issues related to whether your name can be read are not relevant "all the time". Looking at examples in the rules, having no knowledge of Earth's culture is relevant "very frequently", while missing an eye is relevant "frequently". You are suggesting that an inability for someone to read the character's name is an issue about as often as having no hands (which makes it pretty tough to write his name, among several hundred more game-significant issues).

 

Looks like Brad Pitt? Sounds like Distinctive Features, not too tough to hide, not a major reaction, so 5 points. Of Social Complication: Famous, which is 10 points.

 

Not being able to feel pain is not "all the time" because he can never feel pain. It is "how frequent will this cause a problem" that dictates frequency. A character who is illiterate is unable to read all the time, but if he's gaming in Middle Earth, how often is that a problem?

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As an evil superhero GM (membership card is in the mail >:) ):

 

  1. Supervillains captured by the hero get set free.  Statement attributed that such and such hero stopped the villain would be inadmissable since the evidence can not be deemed untainted.
  2. The super would be held in jail pending trial with the villains, since calls to the government and embassies can't verify their identity.  (Captain Super, Dark Stalker, and ??? stop the crime in Paris. Captain Super and Dark Stalker are thanked by the French government while ??? is held in jail for "48 hours".  They would be released except the release orders for their name keep getting fouled up.)
  3. The faker assumes the identity of the hero and commits crimes using their name.  Since the faker's name is phonetically the same but doesn't have the "curse", it stays written around.  Attempt by the hero to change it will fail, as no normal complaint filed will have a signature that is admissible in court.
  4. The heroes are witness to an intergalactic peace accord.  As witnesses, they need to sign the document.  Later, intergalactic war breaks out as when trouble occurs, one side says the other altered the peace accord.
  5. As cops arrest the super villains, licensed heroes need to show their IDs otherwise they are just participants in fights.  Since the license of our hero has no signature (or constantly changing signature) he's booked with the villains.  Similar to 2, he gets stuck in jail since his paperwork gets fouled up.
  6. The government has special EVA suits made for the supers but they are one short because his name is illegible.  Since the form isn't correctly filled, his EVA suit isn't made.
  7. etc.
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What prevents the character (who is not known on Earth at the start of the campaign, I assume) using an alias? Superman's real name is not Clark Kent or Superman, but he's not getting paycheques to Kal-El, or testifying in court under that name.

According to the OP, its anything referencing him by name.  I assume that even means "aliases" as long as it refers to him and he thinks of it as his name or identity.  How it works is "magic".

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  • 3 weeks later...

I think that anything of that scale, no matter how you built it, would set off all kinds of clairsentiences or other detects or maybe even an danger sense or two depending on how they are built. You might have previously unknown alien races coming to check out the cause, lol. So don't forget to also add in the cost of some invisibility to the total power if anonymity is what you are searching for.

I rather fancy the anonymity PERK idea.

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