Character special abilities

[War Cry]

I am working on a viking type of culture for my world and I am pretty satisfied with what I have so far. However there are a few things that still cause me to raise an eyebrow and think "Did I do this right? Does this make sense?" Knowing this board is populated by genre gurus and hero rules mechanic monsters, I am turning to you for a little aid.

 

A couple of powers specific to Shamans

 

Weapon blunting - it is said that a shaman can blunt the edges of weapons merely by looking at them, rendering herself completely immune to bladed weapons of iron. This does not affect weapons of silver or steel and can only be used 3 times per day.

 

Weapon blunting

8rpd armor, hardened, only vs iron edged weapons, 3 charges, must see weapon to affect it, requires a perception roll, concentrate 1/2 DCV

 

Questions regarding this power - Does the current write up cover the fact that the blunted weapons cannot harm her for the entire duration of the day, or will she need to make a roll every time someone takes a swing at her?

 

Another ability attributed to shamans is the death curse - it is said that some shamans can curse their killers with their dying gaze or breath.

 

Death curse

6D6 unluck, usable against others, ranged, uncontrolled, 1 non recoverable charge, can only be cast as shamans dying deed, only vs shaman's killer, must make eye contact with victim, activation 11-, concentrate 0 DCV

 

I dunno, this one seems a bit "clunky" to me. I am almost positive there is smething wrong with the way this is written up, but my mind is coming up blank. As it stands, it is a 13 point power that can only be used when a character dies. I may need to knock the cost down some more.

 

I had questions on rune magic, but those were resolved easily enough by a liberal amount of borrowing from Killer Shrike's website. Great stuff and it has proven most useful. I hope you don't mind.

 

Next post - the special abilities of the Valkyrie

[War Cry]

Re: Character special abilities

 

The special abilities of valkyries reflect their status as holy warriors.

 

Before going into battle, it is the valkyries duty to pray for the souls of her jarl's warriors. Some she will bless, some she will fate, but all will be consecrated to Ulfgar.

 

Chooser of the slain

1D6 luck, usable against others, 3 charges, only before battle, only vs friends and allies who are lucky, concentrate 0 dcv, extra time 1 turn, incantations

1D6 unluck, usable against others, 3 charges, only before battle, only vs

friends and allies who are unlucky, concentrate 0 dcv, extra time 1 turn,

incantations, linked to luck

 

Note - these people believe strongly in luck and every character from this culture is required to take a minimum of 1d6 luck or unluck.

 

The idea behind this is that she prays for the gathered army, enhancing 3 people with luck and fating 3 people with unluck. Has the potentialto be very beneficial or very devastating, depending on the aura of luck that the recipient already has. Does this power need continuous to keep affecting its target throughout the battle? Anything that I'm missing? Or does it look workable as is?

 

The 2nd battle ability of the valkyrie is her battle song. The holy warrior of Ulfgar can always be found in the thick of the fighting, her clear voice an inspiration to her fellow warriors and a source of dread to her foes.

 

Battle Song

1d6 presence aid, AOE 16" radius, selective, continuous, 1 charge, incantations throughout, only in battle, requires a skill roll, linked to drain

1d6 presence drain, AOE 16" radius, selective, continuous, 1 charge, incantations throughout, only in battle, requires a skill roll

 

The effect I'm going for is as long as she keeps singing, her allies get braver and braver and her enemies get more and more scared. The selective reflects the friends getting aid and the enemies getting drained. Is this a workable write up or is it in need of change?

 

Gah! I used to be pretty confident writing up little things like this. I am so rusty now.

[Outsider]

Re: Character special abilities

 

On the weapon blunting :

 

Is the idea that the blunted blade does absolutely no harm to the shaman, or that it simply doesnt actually cut him, but is still akin to being beaten with a metal rod?

 

If the Shaman is supposed to be truly immune (no damage) then the 8 PD doesnt really do it. The STUN damage done will almost certainly exceed that, and that an enemy with a large iron weapon and/or a lot of STR to back it up

can do more than 8 BODY.

 

Also, technically, a non-continuous or constant power that has charges lasts no longer than the character's phase. To make a charge last longer, you need to use the continuous charges option.

[sbarron]

Re: Character special abilities

 

Weapon blunting

8rpd armor, hardened, only vs iron edged weapons, 3 charges, must see weapon to affect it, requires a perception roll, concentrate 1/2 DCV

I agree with outsiders point about the armor power not totally stopping attacks. If your intention is that the attack can do no damage, then I'd suggest a forcewall, self only, type defense. Of course, your narrative write-up could just as easily be the legend of the ability, and the reality is slightly different.

 

Also, rather than making the defense require a perception roll, I'd just go with "Must be aware of attack." If the object is to merely "see" the blade, then it really should be pretty easy to do. This reflects that better than a perception roll, IMHO.

 

Death curse

6D6 unluck, usable against others, ranged, uncontrolled, 1 non recoverable charge, can only be cast as shamans dying deed, only vs shaman's killer, must make eye contact with victim, activation 11-, concentrate 0 DCV

 

I dunno, this one seems a bit "clunky" to me. I am almost positive there is smething wrong with the way this is written up, but my mind is coming up blank. As it stands, it is a 13 point power that can only be used when a character dies. I may need to knock the cost down some more.

I think anything intended to have a permanent effect on another character needs to be done with Transform. I'd look into going that route and see if you like it better. It's going to be more expensive, though. Rather than having characters buy it as a power, you might just give it to Shamans as a sfx of thier character type. Since it will only come into play when a character dies, it's not like it will get used overly-much.

[War Cry]

Re: Character special abilities

 

I agree with outsiders point about the armor power not totally stopping attacks. If your intention is that the attack can do no damage, then I'd suggest a forcewall, self only, type defense. Of course, your narrative write-up could just as easily be the legend of the ability, and the reality is slightly different.

 

Also, rather than making the defense require a perception roll, I'd just go with "Must be aware of attack." If the object is to merely "see" the blade, then it really should be pretty easy to do. This reflects that better than a perception roll, IMHO.

 

Ok, I haven't considered the option of a forcewall. Seems simple enough to do. The perception thing was a weak attempt to cut the cost of the power down. I am leaning heavily towards 125pt characters and am trying to keep the cost of the ability appealing and still maintain balance.

 

How's this look -

18 rpd forcewall, self only, must be aware of attack, 3 continuous charges, only vs. iron edged weapons, concentrate 1/2 dvc

 

Doubles the cost, but makes the weapon blunting much more effective against high strength baddies, berserkers, and two handed sword weilding barbarians. Still a potential to take damage, but it will require an above average roll to do so. I'll keep the smaller level power with the same changes for those shamans who are capable, but have not honed their ability to a high degree.

 

I think anything intended to have a permanent effect on another character needs to be done with Transform. I'd look into going that route and see if you like it better. It's going to be more expensive, though. Rather than having characters buy it as a power, you might just give it to Shamans as a sfx of thier character type. Since it will only come into play when a character dies, it's not like it will get used overly-much.

 

Transform was the original power I looked at but the cost made it so unappealing. I like the idea of it being an SFX of the shaman. I might set it up so that a shaman character automatically gains this ability based on age, experience, and devotion to their goddess.

 

Thanks Outsider and Sbarron.

[Robyn]

Re: Character special abilities

 

Battle Song

1d6 presence aid, AOE 16" radius, selective, continuous, 1 charge, incantations throughout, only in battle, requires a skill roll, linked to drain

1d6 presence drain, AOE 16" radius, selective, continuous, 1 charge, incantations throughout, only in battle, requires a skill roll

 

The effect I'm going for is as long as she keeps singing, her allies get braver and braver and her enemies get more and more scared. The selective reflects the friends getting aid and the enemies getting drained. Is this a workable write up or is it in need of change?

 

As I understand it the Selective Targeting means that you would need to roll against each target individually, within the Area of Effect. I don't like that, but I also don't see any other way of doing it. Still, would other GM's let a character take "only affects goblins" as a Limitation on the power, without having to roll an attack against each individual goblin within the AOE? If so, you should be able to justify a "only for allies / against enemies" Limitation to reflect that you can't choose who will be affected. The usual effect of Selective Targeting is that you can decide, person by person, which will be affected each time you use the power. Since you're not going for that, I think a lesser Advantage than Selective Targeting would be needed.

 

I would also move the Recovery from Drain and Aid several entries down on the Time chart, if you want it to affect the combatants over the long term. And, if you want them to only continue being afraid or courageous for as long as you're singing, take "suddenly wears off" as a Limitation for when you stop using the power (this sounds more like a reversion condition for a Transform, though).

[War Cry]

Re: Character special abilities

 

As I understand it the Selective Targeting means that you would need to roll against each target individually' date=' within the Area of Effect. I don't like that, but I also don't see any other way of doing it. Still, would other GM's let a character take "only affects goblins" as a Limitation on the power, without having to roll an attack against each individual goblin within the AOE? If so, you should be able to justify a "only for allies / against enemies" Limitation to reflect that you can't choose who will be affected. The usual effect of Selective Targeting is that you can decide, person by person, which will be affected [i']each time[/i] you use the power. Since you're not going for that, I think a lesser Advantage than Selective Targeting would be needed.

 

Well, it didn't quite feel right so that's why I posted it - so others could catch what I was missing. The original write up I had used "only affects friends and allies" for the aid and "only affects enemies" for the drain. I was also going to center it on the character using it but as drains and aids are not ranged, I don't feel it is necessary. Looks like I'm going back to the original.

 

I would also move the Recovery from Drain and Aid several entries down on the Time chart, if you want it to affect the combatants over the long term. And, if you want them to only continue being afraid or courageous for as long as you're singing, take "suddenly wears off" as a Limitation for when you stop using the power (this sounds more like a reversion condition for a Transform, though).

 

Something to consider. I really don't see it having a long term effect - more or less for as long as the valkyrie can keep her battle song going, hence the incantations throughout. I may move it done the chart a step or two. I should probably set up a couple of "standard" characters and run a mock fight to get a feel for what it does. The suddenly wears off limitation is tempting, but is it really a viable limitation in this instance? To represent that she must sing and her voice heard, I have incantations throughout. Shut her up, and the power stops and wears off. If she is stunned, knocked out, killed, or chooses to stop because the battle is done, it would start to wear off because the incantations have ceased, making the "suddenly wears off" limitation a sort of double for the incantations throughout. (My POV, but that should have nothing to do with the mechanics) Or am I missing what you have said entirely?

 

Thanks for the input.

[Ockham's Spoon]

Re: Character special abilities

 

I know you are thinking "death" curse as being done at the point of death, but how about if it causes death? Isn't that what the shaman would want anyway? Then you can limit the effect and buy it like this:

 

2d6 RKA Trigger - whenever victim is in a potentially dangerous situation, 1 charge, never recovers, and other limitations...

 

Now if the cursed person is in combat that blow that just nicked him becomes fatal. Maybe he gets impaled by a pitchfork on a runaway cart, or perhaps a stone gargoyle falls from a church and decapitates him. Whatever seems appropriate.

 

__________________________________________________

"The rich scare me. They can already evade taxes." - Grim Reaper

[War Cry]

Re: Character special abilities

 

I know you are thinking "death" curse as being done at the point of death, but how about if it causes death? Isn't that what the shaman would want anyway? Then you can limit the effect and buy it like this:

 

2d6 RKA Trigger - whenever victim is in a potentially dangerous situation, 1 charge, never recovers, and other limitations...

 

Now if the cursed person is in combat that blow that just nicked him becomes fatal. Maybe he gets impaled by a pitchfork on a runaway cart, or perhaps a stone gargoyle falls from a church and decapitates him. Whatever seems appropriate.

 

Oh dear lord.........that is so evil.

And fitting.

And consider it stolen.

[Robyn]

Re: Character special abilities

 

The suddenly wears off limitation is tempting' date=' but is it really a viable limitation in this instance?[/quote']

 

If it normally wears off more slowly, yes - "Instant Reversion".

 

To represent that she must sing and her voice heard' date=' I have incantations throughout.[/quote']

 

Actually, that's more than Incantations, which only states that you must be chanting - you can also take another Limitation for "only affects those who can hear you" (not versus, for instance, deaf people or those who have stuffed cotton in their ears), which will be an effective Limit on range too. I think you could do this as an Advantage instead, though, not that it would help with the attack rolls in Selective Targeting, and state "No Normal Defense: deafness, cotton in ears, etcetera". This costs points instead of saving you them, though, and NND is really expensive, so I recommend taking it as a Limitation unless lots of people in your world have Power Defense versus Presence Drains

 

Shut her up' date=' and the power stops and wears off. If she is stunned, knocked out, killed, or chooses to stop because the battle is done, it would start to wear off because the incantations have ceased, making the "suddenly wears off" limitation a sort of double for the incantations throughout. (My POV, but that should have nothing to do with the mechanics) Or am I missing what you have said entirely?[/quote']

 

Let me try an analogy:

 

Sikitsu, female ninja, wants the ability to neutralize guards without having to kill them, during infiltration missions. She takes this as "strangling", since a replacement garrotte can be easily improvised if lost. The mechanics are a Darkness (Hearing Sense Group) 1-hex Linked to a Continuous 1d6 (strangulation takes a long time to render someone unconscious) Stun Drain, No Normal Defense (defense is a neck collar or Life Support: does not need to breathe), 0 DCV (since she cannot move while strangling the guard) but no Concentration (since she can still pay attention to whether other guards are approaching), No Hands (since she must hold them still or the taut garrotte will either loosen enough to let them breathe or tighten enough to cut through their neck, killing them, or snap, releasing them), and the standard rules for Stun recovery (-31 Stun or more: characters gets Recovery less often than once per minute, the -21 to -30 entry, defined as "GM's option (a long time)"). She also buys down the Recovery from this Drain several times on the Time Chart, so the victim doesn't recover from the Drain as fast as she is applying it, or even fast enough to make her take any longer than she needs to when knocking them out.

 

Sikitsu must maintain the pressure on her victim's neck the entire time she is using this ability, or they will be able to breathe, and very rapidly return to a point of health where she will have to start the strangulation process all over again should she be in that position once more. Once she starts putting them into negative Stun, though, the natural rules account for their much longer recovery time. In both cases the Recovery, however long it takes, begins once she has released them from the stranglehold.

 

Sikitsu's continued use of her "can't move, can't use hands" Stun Drain is the equivalent of your "Gestures, must be audible" Presence Drain. She doesn't automatically Suppress anyone's Recovery factor while she's Draining them; the way I would model that is to slow down their Rate of Recovery (of course, my understanding of Recovery and Drain may be vitally flawed). Not taking the "instant recovery" Limitation for your power would, in Sikitsu's, be the equivalent of "once she releases the guard, his health and vitality is immediately restored, so he can leap to his feet and cry the alarm or begin punching her".

 

What I want to do, though I'm not sure quite how to accomplish this, is give your Power "reduced Return rate of Drained Presence, only when singing". This would make it effectively Suppress all Recovery for the duration of her song, but let it wear off at normal speeds (5 Active Points per turn) when she took a rest break or had to interrupt for talking or giving orders. If it hadn't fully recovered, she could resume singing without having to start over from the beginning.

[Thia Halmades]

Re: Character special abilities

 

Gah. I have to plot to write, but I'm on the boards. Figures.

 

On Shamanistic Death Curses: this really ... okay, let's back up. My view of Shamanism is much more holistic; you could certainly have evil shaman who are focused on causing harm, but you're talking about Voudoun more than you are any sort of Shamanism I'm familiar with (although a Serpent Shaman could do this, but then we're in a whole new discussion as to Totemic Magic and special effects thereof. Don't get me started).

 

So, Death Curse: I'm not entirely certain what you want to do with it; if it's simply make someone unlucky, that IS a Major Transform (you into you with appropriate amount of Unluck). I think you placed too many limitations on it, personally; eye contact AND an Activation Roll? Eek. I mean if you're going to give them "**** you for killing me, you bastard" then make it appropriate.

 

24 Armor of the Unseen Dispel 15d6, Constant (+1/2), Inherent (+1/4); Only vs. Steel Melee Weapons (-3/4), Only when used against the Shaman (If the weapon is used against anyone else, it functions normally, -1/2), Shaman Must be Aware of the Attack (-1/2), Requires a Shamanism Roll (-1/2)

 

14 Shamanic Death Curse: Major Transform 6d6 (target into target with 6d6 Unluck); One Charge which Never Recovers (-2), Only With Dying Breath (-2), Never-Resting Spirit (A Shaman who exerts his last energies to curse another is considered to be haunting him with his totemic form, causing the Unluck; if the Shaman can be driven away or lain to rest, the curse ends, -1/2), No Range (Killer must be in same or adjacent hex for Shaman to fix them in his mind, -1/2), Incantation (-1/4).

 

Your Battlecry ability ... the simplest is probably as you drew it up; you build the +Luck effect for everyone, and then buy PLUS +Unluck for everyone else. You need to purchase selective, but because the power is an AOE SFX that doesn't require a to-hit roll to my knowledge, you can likely do the same thing. What I don't know off the top of my head is if, in fact, you have to build it with a 'to hit' roll attached; near as I know, if someone is in the zone, and WILLING, then you're okay, but you'd still need Selective to represent that you can opt whom you affect.

 

I think.

[Thia Halmades]

Re: Character special abilities

 

I may have to roll in the cure condition, IIRC that's a condition of a Major Transform, you need to be able to cure it. For example, "kissed by a princess." I'm not going to edit it right now, but I will when I'm more focused.

[Zeropoint]

Re: Character special abilities

 

A garrote is NOT a non-lethal weapon.

 

Under normal circumstances.

[Robyn]

Re: Character special abilities

 

Only when used against the Shaman (If the weapon is used against anyone else' date=' it functions normally, -1/2)[/quote']

 

Would this still be a Limitation for an AOE attack? Suppress only against your friend's AOE attack, to let you go into melee while they're hurling fireballs.

[Robyn]

Re: Character special abilities

 

A garrote is NOT a non-lethal weapon.

 

Under normal circumstances.

 

Technically, strangulation for more than 15 seconds always carries a risk of permanent damage, every single time. But considering the risk of accidental brain damage or death goes directly against the purpose the hero paid points for, I would probably handwave that away

[Thia Halmades]

Re: Character special abilities

 

/bonk Robyn, you can't handwave a special effect, you nitwit. You BUILD special effects, it's just a matter of what you want them to do. If you want the garrotte to deal non-lethal damage, you can do that. You can also build it as a Drain STUN, limitation: "does not work against armored target or those w/LS: no need to breathe." In this case you aren't buying it as an NND, because it isn't an Attack, per se. It's a Drain. You can also add No Range (-1/4), OAF Garrotte (-1), Delayed Return Rate (your call), gestures (Strangulation, -1/4), Side Effect (0 DCV, -1/2).

[Robyn]

Re: Character special abilities

 

/bonk Robyn' date=' you can't handwave a special effect, you nitwit. You BUILD special effects, it's just a matter of what you want them to do. If you want the garrotte to deal non-lethal damage, you can do that.[/quote']

 

Permanent brain damage, while it would make realistic sense, would also come out to a power, I would think, rather than a special effect. I would "handwave away" the idea of putting that as an extra consequence, since the ninja is paying points to have it not kill people.

 

You can also build it as a Drain STUN' date=' limitation: "does not work against armored target or those w/LS: no need to breathe." In this case you aren't buying it as an NND, because it isn't an Attack, per se.[/quote']

 

Fair point. This is the second time I've made that particular build too complex

 

Gas attack is one of the NND examples in the book, but it does say attack.

[Thia Halmades]

Re: Character special abilities

 

Oh, and if you didn't pay points for the HA bonus when you bought the weapon, you can do one of a few things;

 

- But it as a Naked Power Advantage (NPA) OAF Pistol (-1), Only STUN (-1?), and... OIF Salt, I suppose (-1/2) although I have no clue what the salt is actually for.

[Thia Halmades]

Re: Character special abilities

 

And I'm simply taking NND and turning it on its head; generally the defense against a Drain is Power Defense; I suppose, with that thinking, you COULD build it as NND, but I would point out that most people don't have Power Defense to begin with, hence, having it NOT apply to certain defenses is actually a lim, although NND means it's All or Nothing, which also changes the nature of the attack proper.

[Robyn]

Re: Character special abilities

 

Oh, and if you didn't pay points for the HA bonus when you bought the weapon, you can do one of a few things;

 

- But it as a Naked Power Advantage (NPA) OAF Pistol (-1), Only STUN (-1?), and... OIF Salt, I suppose (-1/2) although I have no clue what the salt is actually for.

 

The salt was for the earlier question, I left it in to show that I'm after a template that can apply to all such powers.

 

The thing I want is to be able to do it, or give it to my players, even when they haven't paid points for that power:

 

Archer: "I sneak into their camp, disguised as one of them."

GM: "Okay, you're in the middle of the invading army's camp. There are enough of them that, even though they don't recognize you, they assume you're just someone they don't know. You also realize that there's so many of them, you can't hope to take them all on at once."

Archer: "I don't plan on it. I look for an unattended hammer or an axe."

GM: "You find an axe lying on a chopping block."

Archer: "Good, I pick it up and casually begin walking back towards the edge of the camp."

GM: "You're stealing one of their axes? You could have just asked one of the farmers from the village for those, you know. They'd be happy to supply equipment to the person who's saving their village from the army by delaying the vanguard's advancement long enough for them to evacuate."

Archer: "When I was scouting you said that there were barrels of oil for the catapaults being used as a temporary barricade, right? Well, on my way out, I wait until I'm just passing by them, and then I turn and pass in front (so I'm out of the direct line of sight of the soldiers in the camp) to buy me a few seconds, before I use the axe to chop open one of the barrels."

GM: "Okay . . . you manage to open one up pretty nicely before the guards who can still hear you doing something step out in front of the wall and start shouting "Hey, you! What do you think you're doing?". They've drawn their weapons and they look like they're about to charge."

Archer: "I drop the axe and run for it, back to the treeline."

GM: "They're chasing you, and more soldiers are boiling out of their tents like ants from an anthill."

Archer: "I elude them once I get to the trees, and climb one as soon as I'm out of their sight and can do so without being seen. I then quickly make my way back over the treetops, to the special tree where I cached my bow and arrows earlier."

GM: "Allright, you can hear the soldiers stumbling about clumsily in the forest, calling to each other, but they're behind you now. On the other hand, you're in between them and the camp, surrounded on all sides."

Archer: "What are the soldiers in the camp doing?"

GM: "They're taking up defensive positions along the barricade. Some of them have started to reinforce the barrel you partially destroyed, probably because it would take too much time to remove the ones on top and replace everything. They look ready for an attack."

Archer: "Have they cleaned up the oil spill yet?"

GM: "No, they have more important things to do! Besides, these are soldiers, not Greenpeace. They don't care about causing rampant destruction to the environment as they pass through it. They have spiked soles that puncture the turf and provide better traction, so they won't slip on things like oil or ice."

Archer: "I send one of my fire arrows arcing into the pool of oil, right by the soldiers."

GM: "Okay, roll . . . you hit, there is now a fire arrow burning merrily away in the midst of a pool of oil, surrounded by soldiers. They were all trying to locate some sign of their attackers, so about half of them point in the general direction of your tree, and they're now shouting out commands for the group that's already in the treeline to return to base and target your position."

Archer: "So the burning doesn't bother them?"

GM: "What do they care? You didn't hit any of them with the fire arrow."

Archer: "Time-out, what about the oil? My entire plan centered around spreading some oil so I could use a fire arrow to light it up and make the whole set of barrels explode, destroying their barricade, causing them to have to call a halt to their advancement while they sent down the line for some more catapault ammunition, and possibly setting fire to part of their camp."

GM: "I don't see how it's at all reasonable for you to expect that you would suddenly be able to do all this with just a fire arrow. You didn't pay for the AOE Explosion, so why did you think that your character would suddenly be able to use such a power?"

[sbarron]

Re: Character special abilities

 

How about this for a Death Curse?

 

Death Curse:

 

Drain BODY 4d6, Delayed Return Rate (points return at the rate of 5 per Month; +2) (120 Active Points); 1 Charge which Never Recovers (-4), Side Effects: Causes Character Death, Side Effect occurs automatically whenever Power is used (-2), Extra Time (Full Phase, -1/2), Concentration (0 DCV; -1/2) AP: 120, RC: 15

 

While it wouldn't kill most characters outright (unless they were pretty beat up), it would greatly increase the likelyhood of them dying from insignificant wounds for the next season or so. Seems like a decent way to represent a "curse."

 

 

Alt. Version:

 

Death Curse: Drain BODY 3d6, Delayed Return Rate (points return at the rate of 5 per Month; +2) (90 Active Points); 1 Charge which Never Recovers (-4), Side Effects: Causes Character Death, Side Effect occurs automatically whenever Power is used (-2), Extra Time (Full Phase, -1/2), Concentration (0 DCV; -1/2) AP: 90, RC: 11

[Thia Halmades]

Re: Character special abilities

 

Welcome to the land of disconnect.

 

What you're looking for, Robyn, is a reasonable GM. The power doesn't exist in YOU to cause the explosion, it exists in the OIL to be explosive. Vulnerability, Fire (-1), Side Effect, Explosion 2d6. The example you give is, tragically, probably something that could happen. But you don't buy the power "light oil on fire." The oil lights; it's what it does. To treat it otherwise means it wasn't oil.

 

So either you're doing that log-headed thing again, or you're missing the point of "reasoning from effect." Oil burns; so you build oil to explode.

[Robyn]

Re: Character special abilities

 

Welcome to the land of disconnect.

 

What you're looking for, Robyn, is a reasonable GM. The power doesn't exist in YOU to cause the explosion, it exists in the OIL to be explosive.

 

Thank you. This is exactly what I've been saying in the "Irksome players" thread all this time; that permitting effects like this is a reasonable act by the GM (with the corresponding "it is reasonable for the player to assume it will happen because their character could think that it would"), and that the power doesn't need to be paid for by the character because it's part of the game world.

 

Vulnerability' date=' Fire (-1), Side Effect, Explosion 2d6.[/quote']

 

To continue my exposition, a "flaming arrow" SFX equates to the concept of "Fire". In other words, "Fire" is not a game mechanic, and does not need to be statted out in order to cause appropriate reactions.

 

The example you give is' date=' tragically, probably something that could happen.[/quote']

 

I hope to encourage as many other players and Gamemasters as I can into avoiding it

 

So either you're doing that log-headed thing again' date=' or you're missing the point of "reasoning from effect."[/quote']

 

Log-headed only for the sake of exaggeration, to make a good analogy

[sbarron]

Re: Character special abilities

 

More about the Death Curse.

 

If you really want this to be a pain in the booty, you could make it a END Drain instead of a BOD drain. An INT drain would probably cripple most characters. So would a PRE drain. A CON drain wouldn't have as much impact, because CON is so expensive. DEX is even more so. But an END drain, even at the 3d6 level, would surely become cause for PCs and NPCs alike to rethink killing Shamans.

 

Death Curse: Drain END 3d6, Delayed Return Rate (points return at the rate of 5 per Month; +2) (90 Active Points); 1 Charge which Never Recovers (-4), Side Effects: Causes Character Death, Side Effect occurs automatically whenever Power is used (-2), Extra Time (Full Phase, -1/2), Concentration (0 DCV; -1/2) AP: 90, RC: 11

 

So for 11 pts, a shaman's death curse will on average reduce his killers END by 22 pts for a month, 17 pts for 2 months, etc. For most PCs, that would take them down to single digit END, which I have to think would be very problamatic. Most normals would end up with 0 END, which would simple make them useless...any action using END would cause them to take stun! Talk about a curse.

 

I like the END drain better than the PRE or INT drain simple because the effect is easier to quantify. And I like it better than the BOD curse because it's not actually "killing" them. It's just making their life difficult.

[War Cry]

Re: Character special abilities

 

Good stuff.

 

I think I'll just take a few of these ideas and run whith them. I don't mind giving my players options. Several versions of a death curse will let the player tailor the shaman to fit their character concept better. Keeping players happy is a always a good thing.

 

Still need to work on the battle song, but I should be able to figure that one out.

 

Thia Halmades -

The shamanism I am going for isn't holistic for these particular people. I am using an old ICE productions Viking supplement for Rolemaster and old school Hero as my source. While it may not be accurate or fully informative, I really like the way Viking shamans differ from their counterparts. What I am going for is a shaman who recieves her magic from the gods. She enters a trance and makes contact with the spirit world to work her magic which consist of divination, blessings, and curses for the most part. I have made changes to suit my wants and needs, of course. I will be using the more "traditional" sort of shamanism elsewhere. Hope that helps some.

 

Y'all can keep posting stuff here - I'm more than happy to take anything you're willing to give.