Rapid Sensing

[Agent X]

Other than for reading books, how do you come up with a clear standard for how much time it takes to take in something with your senses?

 

I have yet to figure out how to use this with any precision for understanding your environment and the like.

[BoneDaddy]

perception and understanding take different amounts of time. To react to a familiar stimulus with a conditioned response (flinch, duck, catch, martial strike, break, stear, accellerate, etc.) takes a few hundredths of a second. To understand what you are looking at (a genuine surprise, like an alien, or a grenade coming through the window, or reading a clock when you have no idea what time it is) takes anywhere from 3 to 8 seconds.

 

It takes more time to understand that you are looking at a live grenade than you have to react to one.

 

Is that what you mean?

[Monolith]

I don't believe there is a "clear standard." All I think we can do is wing it.

 

I allow 1 level of Rapid Sense to offset velocity-based PER and DCV pentalties up to -4. 2 levels to -8, etc. So if something has a DCV of 10 due to velocity the character with 2 levels of Rapid sight will see it as its base 3, and be able to attack it at its base 3.

 

I also allow each level of Rapid Sense to offset +2 DCV Levels if based on a speed SFX. So two speedsters, if they have rapid sense, are not as easily affected by the SPD-based DCV Levels purchased by the characters.

[Agent X]

Originally posted by BoneDaddy

perception and understanding take different amounts of time. To react to a familiar stimulus with a conditioned response (flinch, duck, catch, martial strike, break, stear, accellerate, etc.) takes a few hundredths of a second. To understand what you are looking at (a genuine surprise, like an alien, or a grenade coming through the window, or reading a clock when you have no idea what time it is) takes anywhere from 3 to 8 seconds.

 

It takes more time to understand that you are looking at a live grenade than you have to react to one.

 

Is that what you mean?

I'm asking how to implement it in the game with any consistency.

[Agent X]

Originally posted by Monolith

I don't believe there is a "clear standard." All I think we can do is wing it.

 

I allow 1 level of Rapid Sense to offset velocity-based PER and DCV pentalties up to -4. 2 levels to -8, etc. So if something has a DCV of 10 due to velocity the character with 2 levels of Rapid sight will see it as its base 3, and be able to attack it at its base 3.

 

I also allow each level of Rapid Sense to offset +2 DCV Levels if based on a speed SFX. So two speedsters, if they have rapid sense, are not as easily affected by the SPD-based DCV Levels purchased by the characters.

That's interesting. I'll have to talk to the group to see what they think of rapid sense and its combat applications.

[BoneDaddy]

Originally posted by Agent X

I'm asking how to implement it in the game with any consistency.

Oh. Sorry. Nevermind. I thought you were trying to find real world info to which you could apply game world rules.

[Bengal]

I always imagined it being useful when you were looking for a concealed object in an area hiding in plain sight, or in conjunction with a telescopic sense, like when Superman listens to everyone in the world from the edge of the ionosphere, searching for signs of trouble. It can also be useful to sift through a lot of incoming information (such as over a mind link or mind scan) to find the piece of data or thing you are looking for. But on its basic level, it should help to decipher a complex situation, such as for instance, the play a football team is running, or for that matter, the strategy of a team of supervillains. It perhaps should let people make multiple perception checks with a sense if it's important they spot something.

[Victim]

I tend to think of rapid sensing as reflecting target tracking ability, like in radar systems. Normally, you can casually watch quite a few targets but can only really track one. On the other hand, an AWACs or AEGIS will track like all enemies, all friendlies, and all the missiles.

 

I'd probably let Rapid counter multiple attackers and work to reduce noise penalties.

[Dust Raven]

Rapid is good for any form of speedy info gathering. A character could watch/listen to speeded up recordings or transmissions without missing any data for instance. There's also that quick scanning of a room. I forget the movie's title, but I saw a preview of some guy training so walks into a convience store and is told to close his eyes and state what he saw after only a second of walking in (and did a good job too). I'd say something like that would require a PER roll for most characters, but a character with Rapid could do it without one, or simply get for information in the same amount of time.

[Farkling]

My views on Applications

Basic Compensation with Rapid senses should allow for an offset of time requirements built into rolls. If the PER roll you have set up CANNOT be made in less than 10 minutes, the character in question should be allowed to roll in 1 minute...his senses work waaaay faster. If the scenario has no time resttriction, the character should be allowed to notice more in less time. It is VERY hard to guage how much though. But if your character has hypersenses and they are consistently held to the same "speed" of perception as every other character, they WIlL wonder why they spent the points.

Comparison:: Rapid costs 10x per multiple, correct? You can purchase +2 or +3 to all PER rolls for the same price. For the price of a x100 sense, you could be buying danger sense and getting more use out of it. There's an equivalent value. Admittedly, I do not think there should be a wide variety of combat effects, but a Rapid Sensed character should be allowed to use his rapid senses IN combat as if he were out of combat.

 

GM:: "PER rolls everyone. You hear a faint whistle on the wind. Oracle, that's an incoming object of at least missile size."

 

Rapid Sight:: Reading Speed. Watching accelerated transmission. Searching an entire room with one PER roll. At the x100-x1000 level you could allow for the character to percieve subliminals in a visual object. Reading the front page of a newspaper in a combat phase. Searching a villain for visible foci in a single combat phase. Watching multiple targets simultaneously. Trailing a target visually and remaining completely cognizant of surroundings.

 

Rapid Hearing:: Listening to speeded tape playback as if it were normal conversation. Listening to a normal playback and picking out background noise (CSI, Sneakers) after one or two passes. (Analyze covers that better, having both would be one pass). Standing in a cocktail party and following multiple conversations.

 

Rapid Smell/Taste:: Well...Wolverine can sort out a ton of odors, but that may be Analyze. I can't think of much for rapid smell that doesn't overlap with Anzalyze. Single phase Anazlye rolls would not be unheard of. Rule of thumb, just allow for 1/10 (100th, 1000th) normal processing time.

 

Rapid Touch:: Read Braille at 10x normal speed? High speed typing? I haven't had extensve thoughts on this yet. Hmmm. Faast and thorough pat downs. Quick analysis of touched objects...

 

Rapid Radio:: x10, rapid search for specific frequencies. Monitoring multiple bands. At x100 you should be able to actively hack cell modems. That shoud be enough to actively penetrate computer networks over direct access, if the login protocols are available. At x1000 I'd allow for actively processing/decoding broadcast information.

 

Rapid Mental:: instant mind reading. High speed telepathic searches and mind scans. x100 should be enough for single phase psychological profiles and city wide searches. In the case of a detect minds power, a single phase should allow for "There are over x people in that building"

 

Rapid Unusual:: Gm's option.

Photonics would allow for fiberoptic processing. Analysis of color/structural pictures/media/broadcasts.

Nuclear:: Tacking stability of a nuclear pile. Observation of local radiation levels at a glance.

 

 

Raven's changed his outlook since the last time I played HERO with him. Good job.