making Edietic Memory Worth More

[AnotherSkip]

Allright the everywhere I look Edietic memory is only "worth" five points.

 

I know why, that isn 't the point the point (Or should I say points?) Is What would you do to make the Edietic Memory worth 10 points?

 

 

there are rules to this game however.

 

the rules are:

 

the ability must be minor, not worth much more than five (but as close as possible to five points ) and it must be something that can

1. cover a wide range of SFX's

2. not be easily duplicated by exisiting effects

3. fit in with the memory concept

4. not be an easy gamebreaker

 

 

 

My Idea is :

Edietic Memory allows a character who has purchased it to use 5 point or greater Relevant Skill levels with 8- Knowledge Skills.

[Blue Jogger]

My idea is:

Eidetic Memory gives up to +2 where obscure but simple facts are needed to use an INT-based skill. Players are encouraged to roleplay this.

 

"Hmm.... Chocolate! We can seal this reactor leak if we only had some chocolate. The phosophorine bromide in the chocolate will react with the free ions in the gas, forming a rubber-like seal."

(Remembered from MacGver episode from long, long ago)

 

Roll 1D6

1 -- Gives -1 (doesn't quite work in current situation)

2 -- Gives 0

3 -- Gives +1

4 -- Gives +1

5 -- Gives +1

6 -- Gives +2 (wow, really useful fact remembered)

 

[Chris Goodwin]

In Danger International, Eidetic Memory gave the character an effective KS at 8- on the material covered in any book he could reasonably say he's read.

[Pattern Ghost]

One thing I like to do with EM is to allow the player to recall off the wall facts and trivia that might be useful in a situation with an unmodified INT roll. Some people seem to play it as more of an ability to recall just things that happened in game. I think it should apply to any odd bits of info the character may have rattling around in their head, with the INT roll representing the ability to see the relevence of the info. Basically, if someone has a character with EM, they get some more clues to think over. I don't know if that makes it worth more than five pts. though.

[KA.]

Well,

The same way that, in any discussion of Disadvantages, someone always says:

"It is the GM's job to make sure that a 20 point Disad causes the character 20 points worth of problems!"

 

I will say that it is the GM's job to either:

1) Tell people that a given ability is not worth buying in this campaign.

or

2) Make the ability worth the points!

 

If anyone has read the Nero Wolfe novels (and if you haven't, do so, immediately:)), you may remember Archie Goodwin.

For those of you who are not familiar:

Nero Wolfe is a fat, lazy, brilliant detective, who has a firm policy of never leaving his house for a case, and rarely leaving it at all.

Archie Goodwin is his assistant.

Archie has Eidetic Memory, at least to some degree. Archie can remember, verbatim, a conversation between 4-5 people that lasts for an hour, without taking any notes.

Another Detective that works with them from time to time, Saul Panzer, can remember a face, even if he only sees it for a brief moment, well enough to recognize it, disguised, much later.

At one point, a person made a phone call in Archie's presence, while he was carrying on a conversation, and he remembered the sound of the phone dialing well enough to determine that the number the person claimed to have dialed, was not actually the number they dialed.

 

If you combine Archie and Saul, you can see the possibilities.

 

Send Saul to take a look at the mug shots at police headquarters. He will recognize anyone who is a known criminal, anywhere he goes, from then on.

Send him to Until headquarters to look at pictures of known Viper agents, unmasked Supervillains, etc. etc. You get the idea.

Send Archie to hang around the local bar where villains hang out.

Later in the adventure, when you are dropping clues, have a stoolie say something about Maple St.

Archies character makes an INT roll, and you pass him a note that says:

"In the bar, someone said something about the Federal Depository on Maple St. Thursday at Midnight"

 

Of course you wouldn't just hand this character everything on a silver platter, it is only 10 points after all, but the above are some ways to make it worth buying.

 

Also,

Dr. Evil quickly keys in the code sequence to launch his missles.

The Heroes escape the deathtrap, but Dr. Evil is long gone.

The guy with Systems Operation makes his roll and says, "I could stop the missles, but I have to have the access code."

Mr. Memory goes to the console:

"Well, he hit this, this this, that, and this!"

 

"Code Accepted"

 

 

KA.

[Caped Crusader]

You have to be careful, though. In GURPS, Eidetic Memory can be extremely unbalancing to a game. In that system, it makes all points spent on Mental skills worth more (either x2 or x4, depending on the level bought - level 1 costs 30 points and level 2 costs 60 points). In a campaign where there are going to be 100 experience points received throughout the game, a character with this Advantage who spends 75% of his experience points on Mental Skills has the equivalent of 175-xp for a 30-pt investment or 325-xp for a 60-pt investment. Even spending only 50% of the Experience on Mental Skills yields 150-xp (for 30 pts spent) or 250-xp (for 60 pts spent). The longer a campaign is, the more unbalancing it can be.

[Pattern Ghost]

Originally posted by Caped Crusader

You have to be careful, though. In GURPS,

 

 

Whew! That was a close one! Good thing we're not playing GURPS.

[Caped Crusader]

:: grin :: Just wanted to give an example of how it can go too far...