Lanith

Re: What blocks senses and powers?

For years, Iris Slate worked as a gardener before discovering that she was, in fact, part water elemental. One of the powers she has is the ability to sense water. So, detect water (very common, 10 points), sense (2 points), discriminatory (5 points), range (5 points), targeting (10 points), total 32 points – basically the same cost as normal sight, built as a power.

 

Now Iris can detect water and say quite a lot about it. She can detect people (70%+ water) but she can’t detect walls (unless they are wet). Does this mean she can ignore walls and ‘see right through’ to the guard standing on the other side? If she infiltrates the villain’s base she can detect the waters pipes, the personnel and so on, their relative positions, movement and approximate composition…in other words she has N-Ray vision?

 

...

 

Well,

 

1. I think we need to define enhanced senses better to either make it clear that all of them have to have a reasonably common way to stop them (the default being opaque physical objects for sight, airtight environments or other smells for scent and so on) OR we need a new adder of some sort to see through solid objects.

2. We have to think about similar things for powers. If I fire a microwave beam as my EB, it probably would not be stopped by a normal brick wall or noticeably attenuated, but would heat up water or metal. How do I build that, and how can I use it? Do I need to purchase indirect or can I get away with it in some other way (NND, AVLD or just sfx)?

I'll do my best to answer just the questions. I'll put my opinions at the end.

1. The enhanced sense you've discribed is bought with the range advantage, but sight by it's nature is a ranged sense, but it gets stopped by trees, people, rain, fog, hazy air and plain old walls. IMO, this power should have some limiting factors to it. Sensing water through dirt is one thing, sensing it through layers of rock may be a complete other. (I can also see Air Conditioning being a huge PITA for this sense)

2. The microwave EBeam is a fun little toy. But like all toys it needs to be paid for fairly. Invisible to sight, is a must; AVLD or NND, player or GM's choice; and if you want it to effect anything beyond a wall, Indirect. The heating metal and water are just a "color effect" of the description of the power.

I think the "sense water" power is kinda nice, it fits a character and I'd allow it, but if a player of mine used it in the ways described I'd have to take them out behind the woodshed for a little talk.

Re: Environmental Movement vs. Personal Immunity

IAn ice character can create a layer of ice on the ground (CE, -4 DEX to those moving through the area). He also has Environmental Movement - ice. So he can freely move through icy environs...

 

Do you think he needs to buy Personal Immunity for his Change Environment?

 

I can see both sides, so I was looking for rationale in addition to "yes" or "no".

If the GM, indepentantly, is the one applying the -4 Dex penlaty to this CE than I would say Environmental Movement is acceptable. If the player is the one who talked the GM into making the penalty that large then the player would need to buy PI. The sword, she cuts on both sides.

Last but not least, if it is accepted by GM and players that the E-Movement skill buys off the penalty, then anyone else who has that skill (players or NPC's) is not effected by that CE.

Re: Do as you are told

The other point of the post is this...MC allows you to issue a command which has to be obeyed. Some commands have far more utility 'do what you are told by me or the attractive blond over there, and don't do anything else', for example. This would allow you to make a single MC attempt that would enable you, and the attractive blond, to issue any number of commands without another MC attempt.

 

That seems abusive: is it, and if so, how do you deal with it?

Personally if someone made "a command which has to be obeyed" like that, it's like wishing for more wishes with the genie in the lamp. You can get away with it once, you try it again and you'll wish you never saw that lamp.

On to your questions: Is it abusive? In the right, or wrong, hands it can be.

How do you deal with it? The GM steps up with his spine in hand and says "That command is too vague", just doesn't allow players with Mind Control, or makes this so difficult that the player will be lucky if it happens.

If the player is successful, well the GM is just going to have to deal with it and hope that Mesmer doesn't get too abusive.

Re: Do as you are told

If I'm reading this correctly, and I hope I am, Mesmer tells Super J "Do as you are told" while placing no limits on what she can do. As a GM I don't see this being too bad, a bit vague for my tastes, but not everyone is as picky as me.

The +30 difficulty seems fair enough, she may not want to do the things she's told.

Here's where it starts to get fun though. "Stop fighting!" I would personally make Mesmer make a new roll, most likely with a higher difficulty, and spend the END for his MC. The reasons I would propose this are: 1. Mesmer has changed his command to Super J from "Do what you are told" to "Stop fighting"; 2. Super J is surely fighting this with every ounce of her energy to NOT do what he tells her to.

Mind Control is a very powerful thing. But I think some people may be thinking of mind control in a different way than I do. Mental Illusions, Telepathy, etc etc can be used as a "limited form" of many other powers. I see Mind Control as not so much, "I can project thoughts into your head" as "I stick a remote control on your skull and start driving."

If a player wants to use this power as Mental Illusions or Telepathy he should have bought those powers instead of or in addition to his Mind Control.

Re: Monty Haul DnD vets: need your help for NPC villain team

You can always have the "Holy Warrior" running around with a pair of horse-blinders on so he can't see what the rest of his party is doing behind his back.

The dark-elf ranger with twin scimitars is very cliche and I think would work well. Other favorites are the dwarf with an Irish or Scotish accent; the Half-Orc moron who can't put his fingers together to make a fist; the halfling rogue who steals everything that isn't nailed down (and a few things that are); etc etc.

Re: Telekinetic Martial Arts.

Tim, it may seem "cheap" but why not just buy extra limbs with invisible power effects?

Back to the subject though... I wouldn't object too hard to MA's used with TK, but I'd make you buy Fine Manip for all TK. (I doubt you'd get the No Range mods though) Martial Arts are not just about the use of force, they also require the correct and precise use of force.

Re: Invalid Disads: should disads not be worth more than if bought it as a 'neg' power?

Personally it seems like a munchkin way to get cheap stats. If a player wants to "feel his age", buy the age Disadvantage and don't spend points on the statistics. I would make the player "buy back" the figured characteristics, if they wanted them higher.

Re: Exotic Methods for Executions?

Stoning was always an old favorite of mine. Everyone in town gets rocks of various sizes to throw at the victim, escape if you can.

I once read about a man who was sentenced by a raj to carry a stone slab from the palace to a deserted place outside of town, lie down the convict was covered with the stone and an elephant stood on the stone.

Re: Appropriateness of "Automaton" advantages for a PC

Most of the points brought up by everyone else are valid and are all reasons I would argue to not have this advantage in my game. I'm not sure if this is true or not, but I believe that any attack that does body past an Automaton's defenses begins destroying powers.

I don't have a copy of a book handy to look at, so I could just be talking out of my behind.

Don Price

"Is ignorance really bliss, or do they just not know any better?"

Re: The big arcade competition

Personally, the player who has PS: Defender 8- should have the best chance.

IMO, everyone rolls against the PS: Defender skill first, only one player having the skill he/she would roll. If the player succeeds, no more rolls are needed. If the player fails, then anyone with "video game skills" purchased would roll. If any of those players succeed then you have a winner. Last but not least, if no one succeeds a PS: Defender roll or a "video game" roll, then Dex rolls.

If no players succeed at Dex rolls, load it up some Defender and skool em!

Don

EDIT: me spelley good