InVinoVeritas

Re: Stigmata or other manifestations of divinity Palmate: See the "What Comes Next" campaign thread. Basically, it's a normal world, but suddenly, a number of people inexplicably receive powers. Think Heroes, Fringe, The 4400, that sort of thing. Typically the powers themselves come with some sort of drawback (one NPC can sense all the powered people in the world, but needs a special pineal gland preparation to see normally; another can enter one door and leave another, but must pay someone--it doesn't matter who--$10 each time). So, this NPC is powered, definitely. But is it actually divine or not? No one knows. Part of the idea is that there really are lots of theories but no answers as to why this happened, along the backdrop of everyone dealing with the rapidly shifting balance of power. So, if I make the Side Effects a 3d6 NND Blast, no Knockback, always activated, how much of a Limitation would that be?

Re: Stigmata or other manifestations of divinity It's a "modern era suddenly receives powers" campaign world. I've posted all the players would need to know here. Basically think Heroes, Fringe, The 4400, stuff like that. So, the character is definitely powered. His amassing of followers is his power. Is he really divine or prophetic? Maybe. No one knows why the powers suddenly appeared. For the Side Effect, I think I might make it a 3d6 NND Blast to him (the opening of the stigmata), always occuring, for a -1 Limitation. Does that sound about right?

For my What Comes Next campaign, I'm going to include an NPC whose power is the gathering of followers to him, convinced of his divine/prophetic nature. I'm trying to determine how to build that. At first, I thought about a Mind Control or Transform power, but I started wondering if this would be more like a Presence Attack. The basic idea is that he activates his power, he manifests stigmata (causing painful damage to him in the process) and those nearby who witness it become convinced of his divine nature. Any thoughts?

Re: What Comes Next: Champions variant Here's another NPC, just for ideas' sake: Portia Ling is a 21-year-old Chinese-American woman just starting out in life. Never a great achiever, she flitted from job to job, not doing a great job as a waitress, or whatever. But she loved to rollerblade, and tried to join a roller derby. They kicked her out when she kept missing practice. Whatever. However, she was able to get a job as a courier. Navigating the hills of San Francisco can be exhausting on a pair of skates, but she can run down them super-fast, hitch rides on cable cars (though they hate it when she does it) and actually started doing something she liked. She's just gotten a temp job in the mailroom at Peach Technologies, and they welcome her quirky, bubblegum-pop sense of style and said she was welcome to wear her rollerblades everywhere throughout the Peach Palace--the name of the company's HQ. Today is her first day at her new job. But, once again, she slept through her alarm. Realizing at the last moment what time it was, she jumped out of bed, dressed as fast as possible, and positive she would be late and fired again, bolted out of her apartment... ...into the front lobby at the Peach Palace. She was stunned! She had somehow went straight from one door to another. Then, she realized, she had to pay the fare. Just had to. She reached into her pocket, pulled out a $10 bill, and handed it to the receptionist. She skated to the mailroom, upset that she just lost her lunch money. But that wasn't the only crazy thing that day. She showed up at the mailroom, where her new boss had a note for her. The CEO, Clinton Newmark, asked for her presence in his office for a very special matter. It came with a package: a stack of $10 bills. Totally not whatever. Portia Ling STR 10, DEX 15, CON 13, BODY 13, INT 10, EGO 10, PRE 23: 16 pts. PD 3, ED 2, SPD 3, REC 5, END 30, STUN 26 Run 15m, Swim 4m, Leap 6m OCV 4, DCV 5, OMCV 2, DMCV 2: 29 pts. Skills: Language (English) 4, Language (Mandarin) 2. AK: Bay Area 13-, PS: Courier 11-, Combat Rollerblading 13-, Breakfall 12-, Contortionist 12-, Acrobatics 12-, Combat Skill Level: Move By attacks (Numbers reflect Modern Everyman skills.) 20 pts. Powers: Teleportation 30m, MegaScale 100km, 0 END Spend, Only Between Doors (-1/2). 60 pts. 10 Floating Fixed Locations. 50 pts. Complications: Psychological Complication (Give $10 to someone else every time power is used, Common, Total). -20 pts. Psychological Complication (Easily Distracted, Very Common, Moderate). -15 pts. Physical Complication (Heavy Sleeper). -5 pts. Negative Reputation (Unreliable). -5 pts. Distinctive Features (Eclectic Style, easily disguised). -5 pts.

Re: What Comes Next: Champions variant Exactly, I want this to be person and personality driven. I want PCs that have powers but can't necessarily afford to depend on them. Some of this is going to depend on who the PCs themselves are, and what they choose to do; Clinton Newmark is posted because he'll be one of the first people/forces encountered, but he might be friend or foe depending on the PCs. By the way, we were in Brock's Rules Cyclopedia game together about a year ago... I might have room for another, if you're inclined to join.

Here's the basic premise for a new campaign I'm working on: For the last couple years, there has been a sense that something big, something important is going to happen. There has been the financial crisis. There have been natural disasters. Interest in the end of the Maya calendar is increasing. The date: January 11, 2010. The place: San Francisco, California. In the past 24 hours, something just happened. I'm designing a campaign in the vein of Heroes, Fringe, FastForward, and Darker Than Black. Character creation: Make either a Standard Normal, Skilled Normal, or Competent Normal. Then, boost that character up to a Standard Heroic character. 175 points, 50 pts Complications. Powers are available, but the scale is Heroic (Normal Human Maxima, etc.) Thoughts? Does anyone have ideas for NPCs? I'll need a bunch... Here's one NPC to start: Clinton Newmark is the eccentric yet brilliant CEO of Peach Technologies, a big mobile technology and research software firm. His popular devices have made their way into the pockets of people worldwide, and everyone knows their slogan, Life's a Peach. He is well known for his secretive nature, and people have accused him and his firm of various nefarious search-based activities, even though none are apparent. Mr. Newmark, of course, does not confirm or deny any rumors, and is constantly defending against governments, hackers, and the like, trying to learn whatever he's up to, whether it's to uncover some dark scheme, or just to learn about the next generation of awesome product. It is rumored that he has a giant database that stores information from all around the web. Earlier this week, Mr. Newmark awoke with a start. His mind filled with names, places, distances... and associated powers. The cacophony was so great, he stumbled about, no longer able to process what was in front of him. Assuming it to be some form of hysterical blindness brought on from the stress of his job, his doctors rushed him through MRI, and noted that his pineal gland was producing a large amount of sympathetic activity on its own. The hysterical blindness was brought under control with exceptionally high doses of melatonin, and a preparation of pineal tissue allowed him to regain control of his senses. That is when he realized the he now knew that some other people (he estimates the rate at 1 person per 500,000) are experiencing a sudden change in their physiology, resulting in new powers. He realized he knew where they are, and what powers they had. He knows that people are going to be searching for these people. Companies, governments, organizations, religions... the future will depend on the actions of these people. And he aims to hold the monopoly on their services, given first mover advantage. He has had to accept a drug pump that constantly pours pineal tissue preparation into his system, but he considers this a small price compared to his advantage. Clinton Newmark STR 10, DEX 10, CON 10, BODY 10, INT 20, EGO 18, PRE 20: 28 pts. PD 2, ED 2, SPD 2, REC 4, END 20, STUN 20 Run 12m, Swim 4m, Leap 4m OCV 3, DCV 3, OMCV 3, DMCV 6: 9 pts. Skills: Bureaucratics 14-, Computer Programming 13-, Oratory 14-, High Society 14-, Trading 14-, Persuasion 14-, Conversation 14-, Deduction 13-, KS: Management 13-, AK: Bay Area 13-, Language (English) 4, Language (Mandarin) 4. (Numbers reflect Modern Everyman skills and Skill Level in Interaction Skills.) 36 pts. Perks: Well-Connected, 4 Favors, 5 Contacts 11-, Filthy Rich, Worldwide Computer Link. 35 pts. Talents: Speed Reading x10, Eidetic Memory, Lightning Calculator. 12 pts. Powers: Enhanced Sense: Detect Powered individuals (Unusual Sense), Passive, Sense, Discriminatory, Analyze, 360-deg Arc of Perception, Fully Penetrative (blocked by lead, gold), Range, Telescopic +24, Rapid x10, Tracking, PER +1. 55pts. Complications: Hunted (Multiple sources want his secrets) 11-. -20 pts. Psychological Complication (Secretive to eccentricity, Mild). -5 pts. Dependence (Pineal tissue, Incompetence effect every minute, uncommon substance) -25 pts.