New Paranormal game coming up!

[Lucius]

Re: New Paranormal game coming up!

 

A very good question, and the answer is, frankly: because the character doesn't merit it, and shtick preservation.

 

I hardly see someone with a 3 pt skill as intruding on someone with an invisibility power, nor have I ever felt that "schtick preservation" meant that two characters could not both have the same skill.

 

 

Hm... you know, I had a very specific reason for assigning this Disad... reasons that go along the lines of "Well, yes, a normal human doesn't get a Disad like that... but he could take one that said something like that if it required that he be willing to kill friends in order to cannibalize them." I just wanted to indicate that the robosquirrel doesn't actually exhibit any LOYALTY to the character... it's just a matter or programing, which can be manipulated by anyone with the right skills and equipment. So, how do I model an Automation that is usually obedient to its master but can theoretically be hijacked? Mind Control's not enough... since the "loyalty swap" would remain in effect until the player managed to reverse it. Or Does 0 EGO effectively mean that the Automation would never be able to break out of it until someone else counter-Mind Controlled it?

 

Well, first of all, even though it shows up that way on the character sheet, it's important to remember that an automaton does not have 0 EGO. An automaton has NO EGO.

 

But now that I know what you're trying to do with the Disad, I don't have a problem with it. Maybe do it as a Physical Limitation (Can be reprogrammed and turned against creator) instead, but what matters is that you and the player are clear on what it means.

 

Lucius Alexander

 

The palindromedary snidely cracks that Lucius Alexander is nothing BUT EGO.

[Ragnarok]

Re: New Paranormal game coming up!

 

I have a couple questions that popped into my head last night.

 

1) With Clinging, do I just need to maintain 3 points of contact? In other words, could I pull and fire my pistol with one hand while Clinging?

 

2) This one is probably more for Manic. Does the +4 with Rifles apply to all rifles (assault rifles included) or just sniper rifles?

 

Thanks

[Casper]

Re: New Paranormal game coming up!

 

1) With Clinging, do I just need to maintain 3 points of contact? In other words, could I pull and fire my pistol with one hand while Clinging?

 

Well looking at the 5th Ed. Book I see nothing that would prohibit it. I haven't looked at your sheet so I really don't know about your contact points part (nothing in the The Ed. Book mentions contact points). However I would expect that there may be situational modifiers if they are applicable (but thats Manic's call not mine).

[Lucius]

Re: New Paranormal game coming up!

 

I have a couple questions that popped into my head last night.

 

1) With Clinging, do I just need to maintain 3 points of contact? In other words, could I pull and fire my pistol with one hand while Clinging?

 

Thanks

 

Well, this is part of why I didn't think Clinging was a good fit for your character in the first place, based on how it's written.

 

If the SFX is "clawed hands" (and only hands, not feet?) then if you let go with both hands, you're definitely falling. But you might be able to hold on with one hand. But one thing I really don't see is crawling across a ceiling. I'm sorry, but if the claws are what's doing it, what you're doing is hanging from the ceiling by your hands. Of course you can say the feet are clawed too, and then you're tearing up a lot of shoes and boots....

 

Lucius Alexander

 

The palindromedary sees claws for concern

[Casper]

Re: New Paranormal game coming up!

 

 

 

A very good question, and the answer is, frankly: because the character doesn't merit it, and shtick preservation.

 

I hardly see someone with a 3 pt skill as intruding on someone with an invisibility power, nor have I ever felt that "schtick preservation" meant that two characters could not both have the same skill.

 

 

I believe it is less about "schtick preservation" and more about how his history (which we have to write before Manic makes our characters) doesn't merit the same base roll. What I mean is that he never stated that its his specialty or that the people he was working against were even remotly competent (haven't seen his history as he's a tightwad about that).

 

Now I'm assuming the skill in question is Concealment (haven't gotten permission to see his sheet yet). It is most likely that our Dex's are rather close and therefor with the Dex bonus added in that our base rolls are the same. And if thats the case I could see Manic changing it to an 8- instead.

 

I believe its good to have some character overlap (as I'm sure Cypher is not the only character with steath) but when its somebody's apparent specialty then well there should be a difference between his roll and your part time amature's.

[Manic Typist]

Re: New Paranormal game coming up!

 

I hardly see someone with a 3 pt skill as intruding on someone with an invisibility power, nor have I ever felt that "schtick preservation" meant that two characters could not both have the same skill.

 

Oh, of course not! That'd just be silly. All three have Stealth, for instance. But with only three players, and considering the anticipated play dynamics, and my instincts... I'm really trying to encourage a tight, powerful focus for each character. Cypher is a master of stealth, subterfuge, and infiltration. He should stand far and above the other characters in these areas in almost every way. Nothing in Mr. Scientist's background calls for significant stealth skills, and beyond a reference to some amateur bugging (as in untrained, although he is incredibly intelligent) he has no real call for a developed Concealment skill. Most people he'd be using it against wouldn't even think that they're being bugged, so there just seems like less and less call for it (as more than an Everyman skill) the more I think about it...

 

So, yes, shtick preservation. Mr. Kill It has the highest OCV and DCV as well as other weapons abilities, Mr. Stealth has sneakiness out the wazoo plus an Autofire skill to help give him a nudge towards support combat role for now and later when he has XP, and Mr. Science has a ridiculous amount of Science Skills and access to advanced technology. I'd have given him the Wealth perk, but his backstory indicates a preference for information as opposed to material gains.

 

Ragnarok and Lucius' comment touches upon something that's been nagging at me throughout the Clinging build process. At one point, I really wanted to just build it as a limited form of Flight and model it as his creepy, preternatural ability to just crawl across the wall in complete defiance of physics as you in exorcism scenes. Moving across the walls and ceilings more lightly than we could crawl across the floor, all that jazz. But the player really liked the imagery of claws (I'd asked about feet claws but never got an answer that I can recall), and they'd tie into later power developments later if he felt like buying what he couldn't afford at character creation... so I figured if I was willing to ignore physics THAT much, why not ignore it regarding the feet for the sake of giving the player what he wants visually? I'm cool with the mechanical benefits (which is what's most important) after all. I'd LIKE it if a cohesive reason could be worked out rather than half claws/half preternatural physics...but that's not so important that I'm going to insist on changing the SFX of the power.

 

 

Ragnarok- I believe I was feeling generous when I designed that +4, and thus specifically chose to say "rifles" instead of "sniper rifles" so that you could use it with essentially all rifle-like weapons. Also, going the clawed route or no, I'm going to require three points of contact or some sort of significant bracing (i.e. wrapping your legs around a pipe, say).

[bubba smith]

Re: New Paranormal game coming up!

 

Oh, of course not! That'd just be silly. All three have Stealth, for instance. But with only three players, and considering the anticipated play dynamics, and my instincts... I'm really trying to encourage a tight, powerful focus for each character. Cypher is a master of stealth, subterfuge, and infiltration. He should stand far and above the other characters in these areas in almost every way. Nothing in Mr. Scientist's background calls for significant stealth skills, and beyond a reference to some amateur bugging (as in untrained, although he is incredibly intelligent) he has no real call for a developed Concealment skill. Most people he'd be using it against wouldn't even think that they're being bugged, so there just seems like less and less call for it (as more than an Everyman skill) the more I think about it...

 

So, yes, shtick preservation. Mr. Kill It has the highest OCV and DCV as well as other weapons abilities, Mr. Stealth has sneakiness out the wazoo plus an Autofire skill to help give him a nudge towards support combat role for now and later when he has XP, and Mr. Science has a ridiculous amount of Science Skills and access to advanced technology. I'd have given him the Wealth perk, but his backstory indicates a preference for information as opposed to material gains.

 

Ragnarok and Lucius' comment touches upon something that's been nagging at me throughout the Clinging build process. At one point, I really wanted to just build it as a limited form of Flight and model it as his creepy, preternatural ability to just crawl across the wall in complete defiance of physics as you in exorcism scenes. Moving across the walls and ceilings more lightly than we could crawl across the floor, all that jazz. But the player really liked the imagery of claws (I'd asked about feet claws but never got an answer that I can recall), and they'd tie into later power developments later if he felt like buying what he couldn't afford at character creation... so I figured if I was willing to ignore physics THAT much, why not ignore it regarding the feet for the sake of giving the player what he wants visually? I'm cool with the mechanical benefits (which is what's most important) after all. I'd LIKE it if a cohesive reason could be worked out rather than half claws/half preternatural physics...but that's not so important that I'm going to insist on changing the SFX of the power.

 

 

Ragnarok- I believe I was feeling generous when I designed that +4, and thus specifically chose to say "rifles" instead of "sniper rifles" so that you could use it with essentially all rifle-like weapons. Also, going the clawed route or no, I'm going to require three points of contact or some sort of significant bracing (i.e. wrapping your legs around a pipe, say).

try using the hero rules to simulate spider-mans wall crawling that should help