Building a "Superhuman Scanalyzer"

[megaplayboy]

Had the idea the other day that, in order to detain metahumans, or to compile data on them, some enterprising gadgeteer/inventor might come up with a detection device capable of scanning and specifying their abilities in extensive detail.

 

Obviously it'd be built as a Detect, with Discriminatory and Analyze, but what groups or types of things would it have to include in order to give solid info on:

1. Physical stats--STR/DEX/CON, maybe also PD/ED and SPD?

2. various power categories--adjustment, mental, offensive, defensive, sensory, movement, size alteration, etc.?

3. various power sfx--mutation, bio-energy, fire, ice, magnetism, etc.?

4. vulnerabilities/susceptibilities?

 

Basically, it would be something akin to skimming the target's writeup.

[Jhamin]

Re: Building a "Superhuman Scanalyzer"

 

This is something that is so tightly tied to world setup that it isn't even funny. In Hero, and in fact in most narrative structures you have to work by the rules in your setting, not the rules of the medium. In hero that means you reason from effect, not game mechanics.

 

So you could probably not ever (or at least no player of mine will) build a detector that sensed "Someone's Hunted" or "A Player Character". And by the same logic you probably can't/shouldn't build a detector that senses "a superhuman". What you can do is build a detector that senses a specific SFX, and picks out folks that radiate that SFX.

 

In many "super" universes there are generally only 1-3 SFX for superhumans. (IE: Rising Stars had the comet). It would usually make sense for a detector to exist that could home in that particular SFX.

 

Other universes often have any SFX you can justify but rarely allow a detector to go beyond on SFX. For example, in the Marvel universe there are Mutant Scanners aplenty, but they don't usually show Peter Parker or Reed Richards as anything unusual. Meanwhile Dr. Strange picks werewolves out of a crowd easily but could never tell you which folks have taken Super Soldier Serum and which haven't.

 

As for Superheroic Hero games? Back in the days of 150 pts of disadvantages lots of my characters had "Detects as a Mutant" or "Mystic Aura". Now that we are much more limited in our complications I suspect that the SFX will just be implied.

[megaplayboy]

Re: Building a "Superhuman Scanalyzer"

 

Well, I also have in mind something that might give a rough idea of how strong, tough, agile, etc. someone is, how strong their force field or armor might be, how powerful their energy discharge is, etc.

 

I don't expect you'd get information like someone's hunteds or psych lims, but it seems like there some reasonable rationale/need to know fairly closely how strong a "brick" is, since you might have to build a cell to hold them.

[prestidigitator]

Re: Building a "Superhuman Scanalyzer"

 

(Skill) Analyze: Superhuman Abilities

 

Okay, some unusual senses or Detect might be good to gather input for the Skill....

[Ninja-Bear]

Re: Building a "Superhuman Scanalyzer"

 

Well how long are superhumans in your world and how much have they been studied? I ask this because depending on the answer will tell you how much information the scanner would give.

 

Example if bricks have been around for awhile, then scientists may have found a correlation between str and muscle density (also this would be good for PD). Note not the power dens6ity. Perhaps super muscles will give your scanner a different sesmic reading than normal person. Well at least the supers before gave a certain reading anyways.

 

For mutants, I've stated that the part of the brain which enables the mutate powers tend to have a different frequency than your typical normals, although readings can be wrong!

 

2 cents

[Sean Waters]

Re: Building a "Superhuman Scanalyzer"

 

I'm afraid I'd be sorely tempted to let a player have this. The comedy potential is enormous.

 

GM: OK, your Superhuman Scanalyzer goes off with a loud 'Ping'

 

The Astounding Analyser: Cool - who is it registering as superhuman?

 

GM: The nine foot green guy over the road, whose attention was attracted to you for some reason and who is now throwing a Fiat Panda at you...

 

The Astounding Analyser: Er...OK...what are his powers?

 

GM: Roll 3d6...OK...that wasn't very good, was it? According to your machine, he's superhumanly proficient in Ursine Apportation. Did you want to dodge?

 

The Astounding Analyser: Ursine what? Is that cows?

 

GM: No, it isn't: you take 38 stun and 11 Body...

[Naanomi]

Re: Building a "Superhuman Scanalyzer"

 

So... it will give you a number... like... over 9000?

 

Seriously though... Scanners can be a VPP of senses (and often are in the Sci Fi books). A Superhuman Scanner could be a limited for of that, if the GM were willing. This is not unheard of in comics worlds... Sentinals from Marvel could detect superhumans (not only mutants, at least in some portrayals). Cerebro could detect mutants and their powers.

[Ki-rin]

Re: Building a "Superhuman Scanalyzer"

 

I'm afraid I'd be sorely tempted to let a player have this. The comedy potential is enormous.

 

GM: OK, your Superhuman Scanalyzer goes off with a loud 'Ping'

 

The Astounding Analyser: Cool - who is it registering as superhuman?

 

GM: The nine foot green guy over the road, whose attention was attracted to you for some reason and who is now throwing a Fiat Panda at you...

 

According to your machine, he's superhumanly proficient in Ursine Apportation. Did you want to dodge?

 

The Astounding Analyser: Ursine what? Is that cows?

 

GM: No, it isn't: you take 38 stun and 11 Body...

...and evidently his ability to carry and transport bears includes things merely named after bears as well...

[bigbywolfe]

Re: Building a "Superhuman Scanalyzer"

 

So... it will give you a number... like... over 9000?

LOL! Repped!

[Sean Waters]

Re: Building a "Superhuman Scanalyzer"

 

...and evidently his ability to carry and transport bears includes things merely named after bears as well...

 

Well, it wasn't a very good roll

[megaplayboy]

Re: Building a "Superhuman Scanalyzer"

 

Well, what about, instead of an instant scan, something that records the superhuman in action for a turn/minute/whatever and then compiles a "best estimate" of what they can do? IOW, if somebody's super strong, do they have

a) low superhuman strength(30-40)

moderate superhuman strength(45-55)

c) high superhuman strength(60-70)--Ogre level

d) very high superhuman strength(75-85)

e) "peak" superhuman strength(90-100)--Grond or Ripper-level

You could similarly observe super-agile or super-fast metas for a short time to get a ballpark estimate of their level of agility/speed.

That doesn't seem like an unreasonable or imbalancing type of detect for a campaign, imo. Certainly "cosmic" type beings in the comics can get a vast amount of information about the capabilities of a superhuman with but a glance.

Perhaps an "extra time: 1 turn" limitation, with or without limits on what else the character can do in that time period, would be appropriate.

[Ninja-Bear]

Re: Building a "Superhuman Scanalyzer"

 

Well, what about, instead of an instant scan, something that records the superhuman in action for a turn/minute/whatever and then compiles a "best estimate" of what they can do? IOW, if somebody's super strong, do they have

a) low superhuman strength(30-40)

moderate superhuman strength(45-55)

c) high superhuman strength(60-70)--Ogre level

d) very high superhuman strength(75-85)

e) "peak" superhuman strength(90-100)--Grond or Ripper-level

You could similarly observe super-agile or super-fast metas for a short time to get a ballpark estimate of their level of agility/speed.

That doesn't seem like an unreasonable or imbalancing type of detect for a campaign, imo. Certainly "cosmic" type beings in the comics can get a vast amount of information about the capabilities of a superhuman with but a glance.

Perhaps an "extra time: 1 turn" limitation, with or without limits on what else the character can do in that time period, would be appropriate.

 

After I posted, this is some of the questions I was thinking. Are you looking at a hand held scanner or some type of booth ? Hand held I'm thinking may not give as much detailed info. Also though, this why I asked how long have supers been in your campaign and how much research done. I'm thinking that the role could be 'based" on the biometrics on the supers before and the computer give a prediciton based on how close the targets biometrics fit the known biometrics. This doesn't mean that you can't have someone with a different biometric reading. "Wow the scanner says he should be able to lift a car, he can't even lift the paper ! Is thing been caliberated ? "

[megaplayboy]

Re: Building a "Superhuman Scanalyzer"

 

Well, Detect Mass and Energy(with Disc. and Analyze), for example, will likely give you the mass of an object lifted by a brick, the general type of energy projected in a blast and its magnitude(in joules/volts/watts/units of heat/whatever (and in damage classes to the detector, with a skill roll)). Similarly, Detect Motion could give you info on movement speed and motor reflexes, Detect Life could give you a sense of a target's vitality(i.e., body/end/stun), Detect Material could give you the toughness of power armor or an armored hide, etc.

[Ninja-Bear]

Re: Building a "Superhuman Scanalyzer"

 

Well' date=' Detect Mass and Energy(with Disc. and Analyze), for example, will likely give you the mass of an object lifted by a brick, the general type of energy projected in a blast and its magnitude(in joules/volts/watts/units of heat/whatever (and in damage classes to the detector, with a skill roll)). Similarly, Detect Motion could give you info on movement speed and motor reflexes, Detect Life could give you a sense of a target's vitality(i.e., body/end/stun), Detect Material could give you the toughness of power armor or an armored hide, etc.[/quote']

 

Thats sounds perfectly logical to me. (Though some question my logic )

But since your buying analyze with it, then I think one sense would be enough. No need to make it anymore complicated than it should be.

[Wanderer]

Re: Building a "Superhuman Scanalyzer"

 

Other universes often have any SFX you can justify but rarely allow a detector to go beyond on SFX. For example, in the Marvel universe there are Mutant Scanners aplenty, but they don't usually show Peter Parker or Reed Richards as anything unusual. Meanwhile Dr. Strange picks werewolves out of a crowd easily but could never tell you which folks have taken Super Soldier Serum and which haven't.

 

As for Superheroic Hero games? Back in the days of 150 pts of disadvantages lots of my characters had "Detects as a Mutant" or "Mystic Aura". Now that we are much more limited in our complications I suspect that the SFX will just be implied.

 

Actually in most current comics settings (Marvel, DC, Ultimate Marvel, Wildstorm...), the overwhelming majority of guys with innate powers, be them mutants or mutates, get them because a special set of genes that bestow powers get activated. The only meaningful difference between the X-Men and Carol Danvers or Reed Richards, or Superman for that matter, is the means of activation, spontaneous vs. caused by an external cause. Therefore, it is wholly conceivable and actually rather easy to build a scanner that detects "activated superhuman genes in humanoids", and only guys with magic (Dr. Strange) or technological (Iron Man) powers or who are just glorified mundane martial artists would escape its notice. If your setting, like most, follows the X-gene convention, you can have a similar scanner. Moreover, it is far from unconceivable for super-science to build a scanner that detects "major concentration of magical energies in humanoids" and that would register all the guys with magical powers (Dr. Strange, Ghost Rider, Thor, Absorbing Man, Ares, Morgana, Hellstrom, etc.). Combine the two types of scanners (and SFX) and you have a scanner that can net the overwhelming majority of superhumans in all typical settings.

[Sean Waters]

Re: Building a "Superhuman Scanalyzer"

 

My problem with something like this is that it can impose strictures on the game world.

 

If all powers work the same way and have distinctive signatures which consistently relate to certain powers or manifestations, cool. If not...it can't really work in that particular game world.

 

As a GM I'd want to know what the Sense is actually detecting: 'superpowers' isn't normally an emission*. There are so many concepts that you could use to justify superpowers it is hard to see how a single detector could usefully cover them all.

 

 

 

*However, see 'The Spleen: pull my finger'

[Jagged]

Re: Building a "Superhuman Scanalyzer"

 

How about "Detect Active Points" ?

 

You could then freak out your players with characters with really powerful non-combat abilities.

[Sean Waters]

Re: Building a "Superhuman Scanalyzer"

 

How about "Detect Active Points" ?

 

You could then freak out your players with characters with really powerful non-combat abilities.

 

 

Like a massive detect....

[Jagged]

Re: Building a "Superhuman Scanalyzer"

 

Like a massive detect....

 

Perfect!

[megaplayboy]

Re: Building a "Superhuman Scanalyzer"

 

My problem with something like this is that it can impose strictures on the game world.

 

If all powers work the same way and have distinctive signatures which consistently relate to certain powers or manifestations, cool. If not...it can't really work in that particular game world.

 

As a GM I'd want to know what the Sense is actually detecting: 'superpowers' isn't normally an emission*. There are so many concepts that you could use to justify superpowers it is hard to see how a single detector could usefully cover them all.

 

 

 

*However, see 'The Spleen: pull my finger'

 

Aliens, magic, biological mutation, psionics, cybernetics, chi/ki, and cosmic energy probably cover about 90+ percent of non-focus-based superhumans.

 

But my primary interest was actually in something that would generally peg the rough stat and power level ranges and types for a meta, not something that would reliably reveal every metahuman regardless of whether they were exhibiting superhuman ability. After a turn or minute of observation of the target in action, and assuming a good systems op roll, it would basically give you a "Cliff's Notes" version of the target's combat-relevant stats, or at least be in the right ballpark.

[Sean Waters]

Re: Building a "Superhuman Scanalyzer"

 

Well building it is no problem: it is just a simple detect superpowers with analyse.

[Jhamin]

Re: Building a "Superhuman Scanalyzer"

 

Well building it is no problem: it is just a simple detect superpowers with analyse.

 

Absolutely.

 

But I'm still fuzzy on the Special Effect. This is Hero. Buying the power is the wacky thing that happens after you justify it.

[megaplayboy]

Re: Building a "Superhuman Scanalyzer"

 

Absolutely.

 

But I'm still fuzzy on the Special Effect. This is Hero. Buying the power is the wacky thing that happens after you justify it.

 

Well, presumably you could define Detect Superabilities as Detect Energy, Mass, Matter, Life, Magic, Psionics, Genetic Mutation, Chi/Ki, Motion, and Technology, Sense, Range, Discriminatory, Analyze, only to detect and analyze superabilities(-1/2?), Extra Time: must observe target for at least one turn(-1?), Requires a skill roll to interpret results(-1/2)

 

Something like that. Hey, I just answered my own original question! Yay.

 

If some new anomalous sfx pops up, then the inventor probably has to add that new group of things to the detect.

 

Sfx would be some sort of comprehensive scan, using a massive database, em spectrum, chemical/genetic "sniffers", motion detectors and high speed cameras, some sort of high tech "anomalous energy" detector, maybe a psi scanner, etc. Suffice to say it would be extremely time-consuming and expensive to build such a thing.

[torchwolf]

Re: Building a "Superhuman Scanalyzer"

 

Well, presumably you could define Detect Superabilities as Detect Energy, Mass, Matter, Life, Magic, Psionics, Genetic Mutation, Chi/Ki, Motion, and Technology, Sense, Range, Discriminatory, Analyze, only to detect and analyze superabilities(-1/2?), Extra Time: must observe target for at least one turn(-1?), Requires a skill roll to interpret results(-1/2)

 

Something like that. Hey, I just answered my own original question! Yay.

 

If some new anomalous sfx pops up, then the inventor probably has to add that new group of things to the detect.

 

Sfx would be some sort of comprehensive scan, using a massive database, em spectrum, chemical/genetic "sniffers", motion detectors and high speed cameras, some sort of high tech "anomalous energy" detector, maybe a psi scanner, etc. Suffice to say it would be extremely time-consuming and expensive to build such a thing.

 

This sounds like a pretty good summary of how it could work, and how different categories of Detects could be defined.

Ultimate Energy Projector does some detailing on what 10-point Increments of Active Points could represent in real-world terms.

Personally I would think that threat level categories (Alpha, Beta, Gamma etc up to Omega for off the scale) can feel more meaningful in game play than a strict description in Points; also, you might consider doing up a chart for the players to interpret the results. Finally, a superpower detector might not necessarily detect a higher power level than is actually used (Sapphire using less then her full EB, or pushing it, might give erroneous estimates on her actual level as purchased for the character).

This is an interesting subject.