Holographic Doctor

[Dust Raven]

I'm starting up my old Champions Campaign again and one of my players has suggested something.

 

They have this alien computer for their base, and a holographic projector so that she can project an image of her walking around and moving things (bought as Images and TK).

 

Well, how could they get her to walk out of the base and see the city? I'm thinking this would be kinda like the Holographic Doctor from Voyager. There would have to be a "remote projector" or something. She would most likely have the option of being solid or insubstantial (but the projector must always remain solid).

 

Also, how could I write this up as if she were a player character (might be getting a new player and this would kill two birds with one stone).

[Blue]

As an NPC, the base could buy a "Follower" to represent its avatar, with some kind of Mindlink to the base computer.

 

For a player character, I'd lose images. Build the character desolidified. Give clairsentience for knowing what is going on back at the base, teleport for instantly "rematerializing" back at the base (memorized location, megascale), and maybe TK for interacting with things back at the base while the character is away. (Character: "Did I leave the stove on?", Base hologram: [sensing back to the base and turning it off with TK] "No, it seems it is off."

[Chris Goodwin]

Perhaps Summon a slavishly loyal character with Mind Link back to the base.

[Bartman]

A decade ago I had a character with the ability to project an image of himself up to a couple hundred miles away. He could then act through this image.

 

I bought it as a big Clairsentience with sight, sound, smell and touch. To that I added Images, and Telekenesis with fine manipulation. These of course had to be bought with highly increased max ranges, no range mods, invisible, and indirect. It was a whole lot of points for not a lot of utility.

 

I'll see if I can find the writeup anywhere for you.

[Dust Raven]

I think maybe I'm a bit too flustered over this concept, and I forgot to mention the specifics about what I can't figure out.

 

How do I make a character than can't take "real" damage, or how can I define how damage can be applied to the body of a hologram?

 

According to concept, this character is effectively indestrucable. She can be hindered, "damaged" and such, but because her body is nothing but "hard light" she can just opt to project a "non damaged" image.

 

Of course, the remote projector is a real, physical object and can be damaged and even destroyed. But it's only a projector. If it's destroyed, the computer/mind of the character is safely back at base.

 

So how can I get around this, or use it, for the purposes of making a player character?

[Pattern Ghost]

Regen from Death? Since light should have a low BODY score, shouldn't take too much time to recreated a new holo. The thing that stops it is destroying the computer.

[Chris Goodwin]

Then do the Clairsentience/Images/Telekinesis thing. Do something like MegaScale on the range for all of those.

[BobGreenwade]

Originally posted by archer

Then do the Clairsentience/Images/Telekinesis thing. Do something like MegaScale on the range for all of those.

This is pretty close to my own thought on this.

 

If you want a fully-built example, head on over to the Spacer's Toolkit Online -- aw, heck, I'll just give you a direct link to the Holographic Assistant.

[Armitage]

Originally posted by Dust Raven

So how can I get around this, or use it, for the purposes of making a player character?

 

Give the computer Duplication to create the autonomous mobile body and (as Pattern Ghost mentioned) give the Duplicate Regeneration from death to be indestructible.

[Dust Raven]

Regen from death sounds cool. I'm looking more for how to damage a hologram in the first place though.

 

I like the idea of just using Desol, with the one thing that still affects the character being attacks to the transmitter. Combine that Affects Real World STR and you've got a walking hologram.

 

I'll check with the potential player and see if she'd prefer to have a "solid" hologram or one that stays Desol all the time.

[Farkling]

It could be affected by powers which manipulate light if it's a Hologram. High intensity light in the area would effectively "wash out" the definition. Solid Photon attacks a la Dazzler should affect it.

 

Also, consider how the Hologram is contained / modelled.

The energy field that holds the light together in a coherent pattern could be collapsed/dispersed/impacted by the appropriate psuedo science.

 

Also, an actual Darkness power (real darkness) field should break up the cohesion or dispell it altogether. A physical limitation or a Susceptibility(Power Drain Style)

 

Otherwise, as a simple observation, where's the drama in the invulnerable to harm character who cannot be injured? Not too mention how that could affect the morale of the other players. "You go first, you have nothing to lose, and no risks to take"

 

As an NPC/plot device, targetting the prohector would be acceptable, but as a PC/active NPC, the character needs to have some risk and there need to be attacks that will affect her...otherwise she overshadows the other players...much like the Doctor on Voyager.

[Pattern Ghost]

Instead of Desolid, you could always use Damage Reduction to model "semi-solid" and possibly add a limitation that it doesn't work against certain forms of attack that disrupt the field. Then buy a vulnerability or a suceptability to the same FX. You could also buy DCV only levels, and define the FX as the holo-PC neutralizing the attack by making that part of his body insubstantial.

 

I can't remember if the holodoc can walk through walls or not. I seem to recall him using the door, or being transmitted from the holodeck to the sick bay. That'd seem to indicate a solid body for the most part.

[BobGreenwade]

Why not just make the projector the "real" individual, and use Images and Telekinesis for the holographic projection?

[Dust Raven]

Originally posted by Farkling

It could be affected by powers which manipulate light if it's a Hologram. High intensity light in the area would effectively "wash out" the definition. Solid Photon attacks a la Dazzler should affect it.

 

Also, consider how the Hologram is contained / modelled.

The energy field that holds the light together in a coherent pattern could be collapsed/dispersed/impacted by the appropriate psuedo science.

 

Also, an actual Darkness power (real darkness) field should break up the cohesion or dispell it altogether. A physical limitation or a Susceptibility(Power Drain Style)

You are absolutely correct on all accounts, (except possibly the darkness, it may shut down the image but not necessarily the energy used to interact with the physical world, but in darkness, who can tell the difference?). Ultimately though, all of these things affect the hologram, not the actual character, which is actually inside the projector, or being transmitted from the base through the projector. So simplicity's sake, I'm willing to write up the hologram as the character, rather than the projector, but now I"m thinking it might be easier the other way.

 

Otherwise, as a simple observation, where's the drama in the invulnerable to harm character who cannot be injured? Not too mention how that could affect the morale of the other players. "You go first, you have nothing to lose, and no risks to take"

 

As an NPC/plot device, targetting the prohector would be acceptable, but as a PC/active NPC, the character needs to have some risk and there need to be attacks that will affect her...otherwise she overshadows the other players...much like the Doctor on Voyager.

 

Agreed. But until now, much like the Doctor, this character has been confined to the base and hasn't seen any real combat. For an NPC, this works just fine. It even works if the game is primarily drama based, rather than action. But now this NPC might become a PC, and I want to keep it balanced. That means (for a Champions game) the character need to have at least a reasonably obvious or common way to be threatened in combat.

[Zeropoint]

How many times has the Doctor had trouble with his mobile emitter? I seem to recall many episodes where it has been simply pulled off of him, shutting him down or transferring his program to the local holo-matrix, or deliberately attacked, shutting it down.

 

I'd say that having your physical existance in a fragile OAF would be enough of a vulnerability to keep you from overshadowing the other characters.

 

Oh, and as far as the Doctor walking through walls: IF he is in an environment with holo-emitters on both sides of the wall, I see no reason that he couldn't do so.

 

He could concievably move through a window even without a holo-emitter on the other side, although he might lose the force-field portion of his projection, rendering him desolid until he returns.

 

Zeropoint

 

"Don't anthropomorphize computers. They hate that."

[Farkling]

The emitter itself is a physical opbject...it cannot pass through a solid wall...so sayeth my Voyager expert.

 

The doctor can, if it is holographic or has emitters on both sides, as stated above.

 

My critique wasn't really focused on vulnerability...it's actually on drama and playability. This character will either be there or not, which works fine on Television, and is not so amusing in a gaming environment. Either the GM goes through a lot of finagling to keep the PC involoved, OR the PC is stuck on the sidelines as an observer. Most gamers prefer to interact with the game environment over sitting to the side and chattering witty observations.

[Dust Raven]

Originally posted by Farkling

My critique wasn't really focused on vulnerability...it's actually on drama and playability. This character will either be there or not, which works fine on Television, and is not so amusing in a gaming environment. Either the GM goes through a lot of finagling to keep the PC involoved, OR the PC is stuck on the sidelines as an observer. Most gamers prefer to interact with the game environment over sitting to the side and chattering witty observations.

 

Precicely what I'm trying to accomplish. As the NPC base computer, she's fine as she is. But as a Player Character she need to be mobile and capable of interacting with others outside the base. My goal is to do this and keep her from being an indistructable juggarnaut (which isn't even close to her conception anyways).