Low-Energy State Effects

[Black Rose]

What sort of effects could you get from having a stabilized low-energy state? Granted, I'm thinking of a yin/negative chi thing really - okay, I've got martial arts, and Ranma 1/2 especially, on the brain; sue me - but I wondered what y'all thought.

 

So far, the only ideas that have really stuck with me are a defensive field that works by diffusing the energy in an attack (Damage Reduction, y'think?) and a touch attack (ranged later) that effectively stills the energy in an object, rendering it weak and brittle (either Drain Armor or Body, only on inanimate objects).

 

Anybody?

[Super Squirrel]

Re: Low-Energy State Effects

 

Definitely give the character:

LS: Intense Heat

[nexus]

Re: Low-Energy State Effects

 

Hm...dispel or drain vs "High energy" powers like fire/heat sfx?

[Super Squirrel]

Re: Low-Energy State Effects

 

You want a VPP for Low Energy effects. I can think of lots of small powers that you would want but not powers you would normally spend the points on.

 

For example:

1d6 Transform Water to Ice, Gradual Effect (x? Maximum Effect)

[Super Squirrel]

Re: Low-Energy State Effects

 

+4 Concealment, Only vs. Hiding from Infrared Detection

[Roy_The_Ruthles]

Re: Low-Energy State Effects

 

Absorption Vs High Energy Attacksm, and armor linked to absorbtion

[Mister E]

Re: Low-Energy State Effects

 

Change Environment: (-)Temperature Levels.

 

Knockback Resistance.

 

Missile Deflection.

 

Desolidification.

[gojira]

Re: Low-Energy State Effects

 

What's the special effect? I'm having trouble visualizing what is happening. Where in Ranma is this power dispalyed? Is this the boulder shattering technique that Ryoga learned? Ranma snatching hot chestnuts from a fire?

 

I think I understand the general feel of your yin-yang idea, but I need more info! This could be almost anything, including a martial arts power stunt.

[Rapier]

Re: Low-Energy State Effects

 

So far' date=' the only ideas that have really stuck with me are a defensive field that works by diffusing the energy in an attack (Damage Reduction, y'think?) and a touch attack (ranged later) that effectively stills the energy in an object, rendering it weak and brittle (either Drain Armor or Body, only on inanimate objects).[/quote']

 

Depends on how you are defining "low energy." One of the way to "lower" energy is to change it to potential energy. This method would change the state of an object (gas to liquid to solid). These lower states would be denser and not at all brittle (necessarily).

 

It might might not be a bad idea to simply "lower" the energy by leeching it away from the target. This could brittle-ise some things (and be a nice Aid to an END Reserve).

[Mister E]

Re: Low-Energy State Effects

 

What sort of effects could you get from having a stabilized low-energy state? Granted' date=' I'm thinking of a yin/negative chi thing really - okay, I've got martial arts, and Ranma 1/2 especially, on the brain; sue me - but I wondered what y'all thought.[/quote']This is a beautiful concept for a special effect. I'm not familiar with Ranma 1/2, (I saw an episode once, but that's it), but I do have a visual image in my mind for what you are describing. Yin, as a force, is supposed to be cool and calm; it is that which completes, what the yang started. Equating that on a physical manifestation level... empowering a hero with the force of the yin... could be a lot of fun. It's like taking spirituality, and converting to physics. What do you do? Where do you start?

 

I'd check out the Ice/Cold and the Kinetic sections in the USDB, first. Any power that has the effect of stilling matter/momentum/or energy, would probably work well.

 

An idea: The ability to shut down machines, and electronics, with a light touch, would be properly thematic.

[Black Rose]

Re: Low-Energy State Effects

 

What's the special effect? I'm having trouble visualizing what is happening. Where in Ranma is this power dispalyed? Is this the boulder shattering technique that Ryoga learned? Ranma snatching hot chestnuts from a fire?

 

I think I understand the general feel of your yin-yang idea, but I need more info! This could be almost anything, including a martial arts power stunt.

 

Well, it's actually nowhere in Ranma, per se, at least not the manga or show. Unless you wanna count Saffron as a great example of unimpeded Yang, I guess....

 

I've been batting ideas around for a somewhat spooky Ranma setting; a bit more Inu Yasha and seriousness, and a little less total goofball (which probably means I should study IY more, huh?). My PoV is this; imagine you were being told what happened in Ranma, exactly as it did happen, by someone you knew to be easily excitable and a little prone to exaggeration. Downplay any mention of purely comedic hyperbole by a fair amount (no one gets knocked across Nerima by Air Akane), and any dramatic action by a little bit (Ranma's Katsu Tenshin Amiguriken hits several dozen times at absolute max, not several hundred). Some of the stuff they pull is still simply impossible, but no one is getting knocked into LEO by Akane Airways. Add someone who's as much a Supernatural Weirdness Magnet as Ranma is a Fiancee and Martial Arts Insanity Magnet. This is the kind of world where Gosunkugi might actually have a chance in heck of pulling some spells off; heck, he might even impress Akane doing it!

 

Okay, maybe not.

 

The character I've been focusing on is a rather dramatically altered Kuno Kodachi. She's become a bit of a chi vampire, with a little yuki-onna mixed in, and lost her memory and a fair bit of her physical health. I'm probably giving her too much to play with, but I love the character (what can I say, I like crazy women) and have this series of images in my head that I keep trying to translate into HEROese.

 

The first is her touching a boulder, and frost slowly creeps from her fingertips to cover the whole thing. When it's fully frosted, she lifts her hand and weakly raps it with her knuckles, and it falls apart like sand.

 

The second is her sparring with Ranma-chan, and moving nearly as fast as she is (sorry, I prefer to view Ranma as female when she has breasts, sue me), but only blocking, never able to get a strike in. Every leap Ranma-chan makes, Kodachi can almost make (not quite as high or as fast), but she seems to hang a little longer than Ranma, and moves as if the ground is a convenience.

 

Then standing before a trio of Furinkan boys, slipping into a Tai Chi stance (probably Horse) and gracefully bringing her hand up to press against each one's chest in turn, and them flying back as if hit with a battering ram.

 

Happosai telling the Fathers that Kodachi is his newest student, and that they have to train her in the school so she can learn his more... advanced... lessons, and Kodachi actually smiling.

 

Kodachi fighting against Ukyo, who mistakenly thinks Kodachi is interested in Ranma, and Kodachi grinning like a loon with every hit she takes.

 

There are more, but I'm not going to keep going. To be brief, Kodachi needs chi to survive, and starts out feeding off the local chi, but later learns some techniques to draw the chi from attacks and by touch (she's too old to learn the Happo Go-en Satsu and steal it at range). Potentially, she has a lot of chi to throw around, enough to make a master like Happosai or Cologne stare in envy, but she doesn't have a lot of experience in using it, so it'll be a while before she starts throwing around chi blasts. She's going to pick up basic physical boosts pretty quickly, even if she's a bit wasteful in doing it. I just want some nifty yin chi tricks that fit well with the stuff you see in shows like Ranma.

[Black Rose]

Re: Low-Energy State Effects

 

Depends on how you are defining "low energy." One of the way to "lower" energy is to change it to potential energy. This method would change the state of an object (gas to liquid to solid). These lower states would be denser and not at all brittle (necessarily).

 

It might might not be a bad idea to simply "lower" the energy by leeching it away from the target. This could brittle-ise some things (and be a nice Aid to an END Reserve).

 

I actually plan, once she learns the trick to doing it, on having her do a lot of this. Most of her tricks will be either leeching (leading to cold and still and dark... lots of fun) or leeching the impediments away (leading to a quick overflow of power).

[Black Rose]

Re: Low-Energy State Effects

 

This is a beautiful concept for a special effect. I'm not familiar with Ranma 1/2, (I saw an episode once, but that's it), but I do have a visual image in my mind for what you are describing. Yin, as a force, is supposed to be cool and calm; it is that which completes, what the yang started. Equating that on a physical manifestation level... empowering a hero with the force of the yin... could be a lot of fun. It's like taking spirituality, and converting to physics. What do you do? Where do you start?

 

I'd check out the Ice/Cold and the Kinetic sections in the USDB, first. Any power that has the effect of stilling matter/momentum/or energy, would probably work well.

 

An idea: The ability to shut down machines, and electronics, with a light touch, would be properly thematic.

 

Already hit the Ice/Cold (and why isn't it Cold/Ice, hmm?) and Kinetic sections, plus Darkness. I actually found a disgustingly simple solution to a problem I'd been having figuring out how to do the "more powerful the more chi is in the area" trick - it's Energy Conversion, in the back of the book. So much wasted time.

 

I really like the electronics-killing touch; hadn't thought of that.

[gojira]

Re: Low-Energy State Effects

 

I've been batting ideas around for a somewhat spooky Ranma setting; a bit more Inu Yasha and seriousness' date=' and a little less total goofball (which probably means I should study IY more, huh?). My PoV is this;[/quote']

 

Wow, you think Ranma is too high powered, so you're going to Inuyasha?

 

I view Ranma and Inuyasha as the same. It's all chi powered martial arts. Just Ranma is modern day and Inuyasha is medieval fantasy. That's what makes Ranma fun, IMHO.

 

The character I've been focusing on is a rather dramatically altered Kuno Kodachi. She's become a bit of a chi vampire, with a little yuki-onna mixed in, and lost her memory and a fair bit of her physical health. ...

 

The first is her touching a boulder, and frost slowly creeps from her fingertips to cover the whole thing. When it's fully frosted, she lifts her hand and weakly raps it with her knuckles, and it falls apart like sand...

 

Just an attack with Cumultive advantage. Frost and goes crumbly is a special effect. Maybe NND with Does Body, with the defense being that the target isn't unconscious or isn't inanimate. Maybe linked to power transfer too.

 

The second is her sparring with Ranma-chan, and moving nearly as fast as she is (sorry, I prefer to view Ranma as female when she has breasts, sue me), but only blocking, never able to get a strike in. Every leap Ranma-chan makes, Kodachi can almost make (not quite as high or as fast), but she seems to hang a little longer than Ranma, and moves as if the ground is a convenience.

 

Martial Arts, putting all skill levels into defence, maybe constantly dodging too. She's just not as skilled as Ranma (who is?), and one blow would do her in, so she's taking no chances. "Floating slowly to the ground" is just a special effect of a martial arts super leap. You could add flying or gliding to the leap if you are looking for more than just a leap. The floating part might be worth a Lim if it would give an opponent a clue as to the nature of her powers.

 

...Then standing before a trio of Furinkan boys, slipping into a Tai Chi stance (probably Horse) and gracefully bringing her hand up to press against each one's chest in turn, and them flying back as if hit with a battering ram.

 

An attack with high knock-back. The graceful touch part is just the special effect.

 

Happosai telling the Fathers that Kodachi is his newest student, and that they have to train her in the school so she can learn his more... advanced... lessons, and Kodachi actually smiling.

 

Uh, Psych Lim: Likes dirty old men?

 

Kodachi fighting against Ukyo, who mistakenly thinks Kodachi is interested in Ranma, and Kodachi grinning like a loon with every hit she takes.

 

Does Absorption work here? My book says "Energy Apsorption" but I'm sure it's been generalized to include PD by now. It also sounds like the absorption powers an END battery that powers her more esoteric powers.

 

 

Overall, it sounds like she has serveral differnt powers related by a common special effect. This is an excellent concept for a Chi Vampire EC or Multipower! Just buy up those slots (maybe as ultra slots if multipower) and you're there. You might have a lot of powers in mind, and I'll let you define how many points you want to spend.

 

It sounds to me like she has martial arts at a high cinematic level (to nearly match Ranma), notably low defenses (PD, ED) for a cinematic martial artist (doesn't want to get hit by Ranma), Absorption, and at least one MP or EC with some really odd powers.

 

(Kinda like the original Chesire Cat had some really odd powers strung together with a "bitten by a radioactive ninja" SFX).

 

Her major advancement will be gaining skill levels (from Hap!) so she doesn't have to dodge Ranma all the time, and increasing that Absorption power so she can better power her esoteric powers. She should be getting tougher too, but your character concept (physically weak and frail) may prevent that. Being sickly might be worth a Phys Lim if it keeps your PD far below the campaign average.

 

 

I dunno if I said anything that wasn't obvious, but there you go. Good luck!!

[Black Rose]

Re: Low-Energy State Effects

 

Originally Posted by Black Rose:

I've been batting ideas around for a somewhat spooky Ranma setting; a bit more Inu Yasha and seriousness, and a little less total goofball (which probably means I should study IY more, huh?). My PoV is this;

Wow, you think Ranma is too high powered, so you're going to Inuyasha?

 

I view Ranma and Inuyasha as the same. It's all chi powered martial arts. Just Ranma is modern day and Inuyasha is medieval fantasy. That's what makes Ranma fun, IMHO.

Oh absolutely. And I know IY is way overpowered. Then again, you start with supernatural beasties and ramp up from there, unlike Ranma, where you start with martial arts and ramp up from there. Or Urusei Yatsura, where you start with extraterrestrial weirdness and ramp up from there. I think I see a trend in Takahashi-sama's work....

 

Acutally I was mostly refering to the supernatural stuff when I mentioned IY. There's the occasional mention of the supernatural in Ranma, but it's still mostly weird martial arts techniques and funky Chinese magic.

 

 

Originally Posted by Black Rose:

The character I've been focusing on is a rather dramatically altered Kuno Kodachi. She's become a bit of a chi vampire, with a little yuki-onna mixed in, and lost her memory and a fair bit of her physical health. ...

 

The first is her touching a boulder, and frost slowly creeps from her fingertips to cover the whole thing. When it's fully frosted, she lifts her hand and weakly raps it with her knuckles, and it falls apart like sand...

Just an attack with Cumultive advantage. Frost and goes crumbly is a special effect. Maybe NND with Does Body, with the defense being that the target isn't unconscious or isn't inanimate. Maybe linked to power transfer too.

I was thinking a HKA, Penetrating, STR does not add. Or maybe Continuous. Or possibly a DEF and BODY Drain, only vs. inanimate objects. If I've read the book right, a Drain would allow me to take an object down to zero DEF and BODY and any hit would disrupt the object.

 

Originally Posted by Black Rose:

The second is her sparring with Ranma-chan, and moving nearly as fast as she is (sorry, I prefer to view Ranma as female when she has breasts, sue me), but only blocking, never able to get a strike in. Every leap Ranma-chan makes, Kodachi can almost make (not quite as high or as fast), but she seems to hang a little longer than Ranma, and moves as if the ground is a convenience.

Martial Arts, putting all skill levels into defence, maybe constantly dodging too. She's just not as skilled as Ranma (who is?), and one blow would do her in, so she's taking no chances. "Floating slowly to the ground" is just a special effect of a martial arts super leap. You could add flying or gliding to the leap if you are looking for more than just a leap. The floating part might be worth a Lim if it would give an opponent a clue as to the nature of her powers.

I'm planning on Kodachi having a primarily defensive martial art style, with only a couple CSLs usable as OCV and the rest in DCV. Added to a Dodge she ought to be able to stay unhittable if she keeps to the defensive. Either that or I use Desolidification as an Ultimate Dodge.

 

Originally Posted by Black Rose:

...Then standing before a trio of Furinkan boys, slipping into a Tai Chi stance (probably Horse) and gracefully bringing her hand up to press against each one's chest in turn, and them flying back as if hit with a battering ram.

An attack with high knock-back. The graceful touch part is just the special effect.

Yeah, I know. I'm leaning toward that, maybe with some dice only to add to the knockback, or using TK/Flight UAA to Shove them away. Since I don't picture it being all that damaging in and of itself, I might just go with that.

 

Originally Posted by Black Rose:

Happosai telling the Fathers that Kodachi is his newest student, and that they have to train her in the school so she can learn his more... advanced... lessons, and Kodachi actually smiling.

Uh, Psych Lim: Likes dirty old men?

Not so much a power writeup there. I've this idea of the "new" Kodachi having a personality a little bit like Kasumi's; polite and trying to be helpful. Unlike most of the cast, she doesn't react with aggression to everything, and, after all, Happosai is the eldest of the house; he deserves respect for that.

 

Originally Posted by Black Rose:

Kodachi fighting against Ukyo, who mistakenly thinks Kodachi is interested in Ranma, and Kodachi grinning like a loon with every hit she takes.

Does Absorption work here? My book says "Energy Apsorption" but I'm sure it's been generalized to include PD by now. It also sounds like the absorption powers an END battery that powers her more esoteric powers.

You're reading my mail, aren't you? I actually have it written up as a low-end Physical and Energy Absorption of Chi-based attacks, feeding into the Reserve. I'm still having trouble getting the END Reserve just as I want it, but I'm getting closer.

 

Overall, it sounds like she has serveral differnt powers related by a common special effect. This is an excellent concept for a Chi Vampire EC or Multipower! Just buy up those slots (maybe as ultra slots if multipower) and you're there. You might have a lot of powers in mind, and I'll let you define how many points you want to spend.

 

It sounds to me like she has martial arts at a high cinematic level (to nearly match Ranma), notably low defenses (PD, ED) for a cinematic martial artist (doesn't want to get hit by Ranma), Absorption, and at least one MP or EC with some really odd powers.

 

(Kinda like the original Chesire Cat had some really odd powers strung together with a "bitten by a radioactive ninja" SFX).

You've got it pretty much. Most of her martial arts are summed up in defensive moves (Block, Dodge) with some Joint Grabs and Root and Shove for flavor. Her only attack maneuvers are Nerve and Defensive Strike, since I want her to stay on the lower end of the offensive spectrum when it comes to straight martial arts. Her time comes when the weird-ass techniques come out.

 

Her major advancement will be gaining skill levels (from Hap!) so she doesn't have to dodge Ranma all the time, and increasing that Absorption power so she can better power her esoteric powers. She should be getting tougher too, but your character concept (physically weak and frail) may prevent that. Being sickly might be worth a Phys Lim if it keeps your PD far below the campaign average.

 

I dunno if I said anything that wasn't obvious, but there you go. Good luck!!

 

-stares- My god, I hadn't even thought about how virtually unstoppable she'd get once Happosai starts in on her. That's almost disgusting. I had really only planned on her learning some chi draining techniques, but it totally makes sense that he would want her to be at least as capable as the rest of "his students".

 

Like I said before, she'll have a lot of chi, more than any of the other cast (except Happi and the ghoul) but her technique isn't refined at first, so she's wasteful with it. I'm either going for Increased END Cost or a Side Effect that drains some END if the roll isn't made by at least three (or some such).

[Sean Waters]

Re: Low-Energy State Effects

 

I built an 'inertialess hero' and the principle could be applied here.

 

He had a force wall, personal and invisible, with the sfx that anything hitting it, but not breaking it, just stopped without taking damage, so basically you could do a move through on him and just stop as soon as you touched him - all your inertia/momentum drained away. He had indirect (+1/4) on STR so he was not hindered by the force wall. Of course, if the momentum was too much for the force wall it couldn't drain it all away (the wall came down), some damage got through, normal effects ensued and it all had to be reinstated at the next opportunity.

 

Strikes me that a low-energy effect could work much the same way.

 

Anyway, might give you some ideas.