Lucius

Define kiGanga as a language. If you want to use the Language Family rules you can define it as unrelated to any other, costing 2 pts for the lowest level of fluency. Determine what level of fluency with kiGanga is a prerequisite for which Skills and at what rolls. Define Kimussu (engraving) and Ukashabu (beadwork) as Power Skills. Determine a few relatively low power "tricks" that can be done with the Power Skill alone, but to really make anything impressive, they must be combined with other Skills. Examples: No amount of Kimussu alone will turn a pile of rocks or logs into a house. But combine with PS: Stonemason or PS: Carpenter, and you can make a house that is sturdier (higher DEF) or more comfortable (perhaps regulated temperature at verbal commands) than otherwise possible. Combine Ukashabu and PS: Leatherworking to make armor. Combine either Power Skill with PS: Potter to make engraved or beaded pots that preserve food, or a chamberpot that instantly converts stools to a dry sterile fuel and makes urine evaporate quickly without odor. Lucius Alexander Combining both Power Skills and Animal Handler: Palindromedary

The Power to See Through Everything. We've all imagined being able to see through walls, but if everything opaque were perfectly transparent to you, then everything would be effectively invisible. You would have an unobstructed view of infinity - and be completely blind. Lucius Alexander The palindromedary claims that on a totally clear day you can see forever.

But they're hard to kill. If you have a low "birth" rate, and even lower "death" rate, the population of vampires will increase inexorably. Cancer's perception seems to be that the usual run of vampire fiction presents them in a way that implies exactly that - an inexorable, if not actually an exponential, increase in the proportion of vampires to Humans. I perceive the opposite implication. One of my favorite examples is in the movie Blade. Some High Council of Vampire Elders or somesuch holds a meeting about the movies Big Bad gathering vampires in great numbers and attracting Human attention thus threatening the "Agreement" they had with Human authorities. It wasn't clear to me what the "authorities" got out of the deal, but it was obvious that for the vampires it was about protection - they were afraid for their own survival. Another example is the game Vampire: The Masquerade. Vampires in that game like to refer to their prey as "cattle" but the very name of the game proves they are lying through their pointy little teeth. No one hides from cattle. As sinanju points out, it is an unusual vampire story that has more active vampires at large at the end than it does at the beginning. Lucius Alexander The palindromedary says Humans like to invent scary monsters but nothing they invent is as scary as themselves.

The thing is, from my point of view, Instant Change was one of those "pointless" Powers. I'm sure there are people to whom it is useful to have Gliding separate from Flight, or convenient to have Armor distinct from Force Field. To paraphrase Robert Pirsig, you can slice it in a way that's logical to you, but that doesn't mean other ways of slicing it aren't just as logical. I think you're right that "overall it's....the same game." To address the original question, if a group is using 5th edition and it's working for them, maybe the new edition isn't different ENOUGH to justify the change. I think there are some definite improvements and I'd summarize the best case for making the change this way: There is nothing I can think of (unless I'm missing something) that you can do under 5th edition that is not also possible in 6th. But the reverse is not true; there are things you can do in 6th edition that won't work in 5th. I'd summarize the second best case for making the change as: Since the change, the perennial arguments about Killing Attacks we used to see in the forums almost completely dried up. And that's just the most prominent example of problematic issues that were corrected. Lucius Alexander The palindromedary recalls that at the last GenCon I went to there was someone still using FIRST edition - he thought it was perfect already and didn't even care to look at anything that came later.

He needs to re-tire from the world and contemplate the car-ma he has to work out. Lucius Alexander The palindromedary suggests he can do that in custody

We're childishly attacking the crass objectification of women? Funny you should mention Cloacina, I owe Her an offering.... Lucius Alexander The palindromedary meanwhile owes one to Janus

Probably not for "combat drugs." Given they are probably a Focus anyway. Why would you have to use Aid? Other than that it may be more cost effective. You're right, Adjustment Powers get pretty clunky. And if it's not coming out of the points budget, the straight Characteristic as a Power buy is probably easier. Lucius Alexander I'm not sure if the palindromedary got this in the points budget or the equipment pool: Clue Bat AKA Clue by Four: (Total: 22 Active Cost, 5 Real Cost) +10 INT, Usable As Attack (+1 1/4) (22 Active Points); OAF (-1), Requires A Roll (Skill roll: Persuasion; Jammed; -1), Cannot Use Targeting (-1/2), Side Effects, Side Effect occurs automatically whenever Power is used (Side Effect only affects the recipient of the benefits of the Power; Inflict 1 BOD, 3 STUN, and a knot on the head; -1/2), Can Be Deflected (-1/4) (Real Cost: 5)

Point taken. I think in most settings with vampires, something like this is the answer to Cancer's concerns. Sure, IF every victim bitten becomes a vampire that goes out and indiscriminately bites more victims, vampirism will spread exponentially until everyone's a vampire and then they all starve. But I think stories in which every victim is automatically a vampire are the minority, and often a vampire has to deliberately want to make a new vampire and must do something specific to make it happen - and why would a vampire WANT lots of other vampires around? Count Dracula enjoyed having a gaggle of "brides" but he never turned the entire population of Transylvania into a tribe of vampires - he had no reason to do so, and good reasons not to. Lucius Alexander The palindromedary says vampires suck

Regeneration is back in 6th edition. Lucius Alexander The palindromedary says it seems appropriate for that Power to Regenerate itself.

I won't be using vampire bats - wrong climate - but Aspect of the Bat: Sonar Aspect of the Flea: Superleap Lucius Alexander And the palindromedary says, no shit!

I think writers of vampire fiction get a discount deal on bulk purchase of contrivances More fuel is appreciated although I am also working to make my nightmares more fuel efficient. Are you familiar with my players? While I'm challenging assumptions, why do you seem to think I'd create a unique version of vampires and then let my players continue to think they're the same generic vampires they've seen before? I don't think players should necessarily know everything about every monster they encounter but I definitely don't think they should be misled by assumptions their in-world characters wouldn't be making. Well, sticking with Hollywood rules is one way of thinking; there are others. I often like Markdoc's way of thinking; I've been known to ask him to do my thinking for me when I thought he might be better at it than I would be. Getting away from cookie cutter vampires is a thought I approve of. Lucius Alexander I don't even use cookie cutter taglines; each palindromedary tagline is handcrafted even if it follows a familiar design.

ReaperCheat: (Total: 62 Active Cost, 14 Real Cost) Simulate Death (+3 to roll), Trigger (Activating the Trigger is an Action that takes no time, Trigger requires a Half Phase Action to reset, Misfire, Trigger can expire (it has a time limit), Two activation conditions apply simultaneously; +1/4) (7 Active Points); No Conscious Control (Only Effects cannot be controlled; Cannot set waking conditions; -1), Side Effects (Side Effect always occurs whenever the character does some specific act; -3/4), IIF (-1/4), 1 Continuing Charge lasting 1 Day + which Recovers every 1 Week (-1/4), Unified Power (-1/4) (Real Cost: 2) <b>plus</b> Does Not Bleed, Trigger (Activating the Trigger is an Action that takes no time, Trigger requires a Half Phase Action to reset, Misfire, Trigger can expire (it has a time limit), Two activation conditions apply simultaneously; +1/4) (19 Active Points); No Conscious Control (Only Effects cannot be controlled; Cannot set waking conditions; -1), Extra Time (1 Turn (Post-Segment 12), Only to Activate, -3/4), Concentration (0 DCV; Character is totally unaware of nearby events; -3/4), Side Effects (Side Effect always occurs whenever the character does some specific act; -3/4), 1 Continuing Charge lasting 1 Day which Recovers every 1 Week (-1/4), IIF (-1/4), Requires A Roll (14- roll; -1/4), Unified Power (-1/4) (Real Cost: 4) <b>plus</b> Regeneration (1 BODY per Turn), Trigger (Activating the Trigger is an Action that takes no time, Trigger requires a Half Phase Action to reset, Misfire, Trigger can expire (it has a time limit), Two activation conditions apply simultaneously; +1/4) (20 Active Points); 1 Continuing Charge lasting 1 Minute which Recovers every 1 Week (-1 1/2), Concentration, Must Concentrate throughout use of Constant Power (0 DCV; Character is totally unaware of nearby events; -1 1/2), Unified Power (-1/4) (Real Cost: 5) <b>plus</b> Aid BOD 0 1/2d6 (standard effect: 1 point), Damage Over Time (5-6 damage increments, damage occurs every Turn, +2), Delayed Return Rate (points return at the rate of 5 per Week; +2 1/2) (16 Active Points); 1 Charge which Recovers every 1 Week (-2 1/2), One Use At A Time (-1), Only to Aid Self (-1), IIF (-1/4) (Real Cost: 3) The soldiers call this ReaperCheat, as in "To cheat the Grim Reaper." The injection may be triggered voluntarily, or will happen automatically if the soldier is below 0 BOD and unconscious. It also sometimes triggers when taking a disabling blow or when below 0 BOD and stunned. The soldier immediately falls unconscious (if not already so) and makes an EGO roll at +3 (I recommend abstracting that to a 14 or less in all cases.) If the roll is 18,that is a critical failure; the soldier remains unconscious for 1d6 hrs and must make a CON roll or start to lose 1 BOD per turn (if not already bleeding) and will die without prompt attention. This is also what will happen if more than one dose is taken in 7 days. If the roll is 15 to 17, the soldier recovers consciousness in 1d6 Turns with no other benefit. Because the drug was ineffective, if another dose is found and used it won't count as "second dose" - but the roll is only 11 or less not 14, and 15-18 is critical failure. A third try is still 11 or less, but any failure is critical. If the roll is 14 or lower, the drug takes full effect and the soldier slips into a deathlike coma for 24 plus 4d6 hrs (sometimes longer.) During this time bodily functions are slowed, so effects such as asphyxiation or the working of poison happen at 1/10 normal rate at the fastest. Starting in 1 turn the anti-shock and restorative properties take effect, and the soldier regains 1 BOD per Turn for 5 Turns. (I probably should have left off the "Does Not Bleed" Power, as once you're Regenerating bleeding should stop anyway.) For each point Regenerated, also gain 1 pt of "temporary" BODy that lasts for up to a week, or until taken as damage. Lucius Alexander The palindromedary offers words to live by: Sane, Oat, Hood, Rugs

Note: I'm assuming that these drugs are built into a power armor system or the like, thus using the -1/4 value for Focus. Blaze: (Total: 127 Active Cost, 41 Real Cost) +2 SPD (25 Active Points); Side Effects, Side Effect occurs automatically whenever Power is used (Side Effect occurs when character stops using power; See notes; -1 1/2), IIF (-1/4), Requires A Roll (14- roll; Burnout; -1/4), Unified Power (-1/4), 4 clips of 3 Boostable Continuing Charges lasting 1 Hour each (+1/4) (Real Cost: 8) <b>plus</b> +2 with All Combat (25 Active Points); Same Limitations as SPD (-2 1/4), 4 clips of 3 Boostable Continuing Charges lasting 1 Hour each (+1/4) (Real Cost: 8) <b>plus</b> +1 Overall (15 Active Points); Same Limitations as SPD (-2 1/4), 4 clips of 3 Boostable Continuing Charges lasting 1 Hour each (+1/4) (Real Cost: 5) <b>plus</b> +5 DEX (12 Active Points); Same Limitations as on SPD (-2 1/4), 4 clips of 3 Boostable Continuing Charges lasting 1 Hour each (+1/4) (Real Cost: 4) <b>plus</b> Combat Luck (3 PD/3 ED) (7 Active Points); Same Limitations as SPD (-2 1/4), 4 clips of 3 Boostable Continuing Charges lasting 1 Hour each which Recover every 1 Week (+1/4) (Real Cost: 2) <b>plus</b> Rapid ( x10) with Sight Group and Hearing Group (12 Active Points); Same Limitations as on SPD (-2 1/4), 4 clips of 3 Boostable Continuing Charges lasting 1 Hour each (+1/4) (Real Cost: 4) <b>plus</b> Discriminatory with Sight Group (12 Active Points); Same as SPD (-2 1/4), 4 clips of 3 Boostable Continuing Charges lasting 1 Hour each (+1/4) (Real Cost: 4) <b>plus</b> Lightning Calculator (4 Active Points); Same Limitations as SPD (-2 1/4), Limited Power Only to do mathematics the character could otherwise do ((the drug allows faster calculation, but doesn't teach the character anything); -1), 4 clips of 3 Boostable Continuing Charges lasting 1 Hour each which Recover every 1 Week (+1/4) (Real Cost: 1) <b>plus</b> Deadly Blow: +1d6 ([very limited circumstances - under influence of the drug)), Variable Special Effects (Limited Group of SFX; +1/4) (15 Active Points); 1 Recoverable Charge (-1 1/4), Extra Time (Full Phase, -1/2) (Real Cost: 5) The soldiers call it Blaze, as in "Blaze of Glory." A single does of Blaze will supercharge a Human nervous system for an hour, with the following benefits: +2 to SPD and corresponding increase in actions per Turn. +5 to DEX, increasing Skill rolls and initiative +2 Skill Levels with all combat and another +1 Skill Level with everything (combat included) +3 to Defenses (Combat Luck) unless there was no way the soldier could have predicted or mitigated the damage. Faster Information processing, details follow: Enhanced Communication. Soldiers can spit out words too fast for un-boosted Humans to understand but understand one another perfectly. Communications from automated systems, whether sound bursts or holographic projections, are also quickly comprehended and acted upon. A quick glance at a Heads Up Display can give a soldier a complete understanding of the tactical situation. Enhanced Awareness. The senses work ten times faster than normal, so details that would normally be overlooked are noticed. For example, two soldiers coming around a corner and confronting one another suddenly will instantly recognize each other rather than triggering a friendly fire incident. Passing through a room at dead run with head swiveling will get the same chance to spot someone or something concealed as if the soldier had stopped and looked around for a minute. A note on Deadly Blow: To get the bonus damage, the soldier must have spent a couple of phases studying the target or preparing in some way (this can include fighting on the defensive) and make some kind of applicable roll such as Tactics, Analyze, or Deduction to find a weakness, or else spend an entire turn and make an INT or perception roll. "Boosting:" Taking triple the normal dose gains these benefits (instead of, NOT in addition to): +3 to SPD and corresponding increase in actions per Turn. +10 to DEX, increasing Skill rolls and initiative +3 Skill Levels with all combat and another +2 Skill Levels with everything (combat included) +9! to Defenses Sight and Hearing are at X100 speed. There is only so fast a Human's lips and throat can move, but a computer can transmit a paragraph of information in a single "beep." Treat the soldier's sight as being Analytic as well as Discriminatory. First Exposure and permanent effects: The benefits described above only accrue to someone who has already experienced this drug at least once - first exposure, normally in basic training, is usually an unpleasant but not truly dangerous experience as the body adjusts. The pharmacological signature is indelible; while it takes 7 days for the body to purge the most dangerous compounds, the right tests can always detect that a person has been exposed to Blaze (or hasn't been; at least two clone imposters of veteran officers have been detected by the lack of biochemical traces of combat drugs.) The Catastrophic Cost: After an hour, make the Burnout roll (14, or 13 or less if using a triple dose.) Failure is immediate "Crash and Burn" otherwise the soldier has about 10 min at normal function to decide to take another dose (or three)or to go ahead and crash and burn anyway. After 12 doses, the crash and burn is automatic regardless of roll. Note that the severity of the crash depends on how many doses have been taken in the LAST SEVEN DAYS, unless the soldier has undergone biochemical purging treatment lasting 24 hrs or more at a military medical facility. Yes, you can take a dose, crash and burn, and take a dose a few days later and crash and burn even harder. The infamous crash is a Killing Attack with +6 to the STUN multiplier, and the burn is a Drain to REC that recovers at 10 pts per Week. 1 Doses: 1 PIP 2 Doses: 1/2 d6 3 Doses: 1d6 -1 4 Doses: 1d6 5 Doses: 1d6 +1 6 Doses: 1 1/2d6 7 Doses: 2d6 -1 8 Doses: 2d6 9 Doses: 2d6 +1 10 Doses: 2 1/2d6 11 Doses: 3d6 -1 12 Doses: 3d6 No one has ever survived a 13th dose. Since there is no defense against Side Effects and a soldier could be already injured when it hits, Using more than a single dose is sometimes called "Suicide Running." Such a soldier is called "dead man fighting" sometimes. Lucius Alexander The palindromedary says fortunately, there is a remedy.

The one is perceived as "updating" the story to make it more credible in a contemporary setting. There is a readily perceived reason for it. The other is seen as coming out of left field and the reason for it is less obvious. So there's a certain response of "what the heck?" Doesn't bother me either way, personally. Lucius Alexander Trying to explain it to a palindromedary

Wasn't aware of that. So they abandoned the one idea I liked. So if a vampire consistently preys upon innocent victims, does it become more innocent or more easily victimizable? Lucius Alexander If a vampire preys upon a palindromedary does it forget whether it was coming or going?

The one thing I liked in "Twilight" was the "sparkly vampires." I think a lot of the hate towards the idea is really about hating the story the idea appears in. I have to admire the originality of the twist on what is now the traditional vampire fear of sunlight - they fear it not because it harms them, but because it exposes them. My own vampires won't be harmed by sunlight (that's a 20th century idea anyway) but will be more powerful at night. Lucius Alexander Turning a vampire into a palindromedary

I may have only females take on Aspect of the Mosquito and only males take on Aspect of the Blood Moth, now I know that 1. There are bloodsucking lepidoptera, and 2. unlike with mosquitoes, it is male moths that suck. Same set of powers, different names and appearances. Lucius Alexander The palindromedary suggests Aspect of the Loan Shark

If anyone else has done something original with the idea of vampires, I'd be interested to see it. Lucius Alexander The palindromedary suggests sparkling vampires, but that's been done now

How can you possibly do something original with vampires? I decided to try. In my Turakian game, vampires are all deliberately created undead, brought into being by a particularly vile necromantic ritual. Vampires are created by an evil ritual in which the victim is deprived of food and water, repeatedly cursed, and then slowly bled by a combination of exposure to bloodsucking creatures such as leeches and mosquitoes which are force fed to the otherwise starved victim and of draining the victim's blood into a pottery vessel inscribed with curses, from which the victim must drink. When this ordeal finally ends in death, the victim will rise as an undead monster hating their tormentor but compelled to serve and obey. Every vampire has at least two forms; one resembling who they were when alive, and one obviously monstrous shape that is humanoid but reflects the form of one of the bloodsuckers used in their ordeal. Some vampiric powers can only manifest when in the latter form. The monstrous form will always include the head changing into a giant version of that of some parasite such as a mosquito, tick, leech, or spider (technically I know a spider isn't a bloodsucking parasite but it's close enough for necromancy ok?) Some examples of powers associated with specific bloodsuckers: Aspect of the Mosquito Swarm: vampire dissolves into a cloud of mosquitoes Aspect of the Leech Aquatic Ambush: Limited Invisibility if in water Aspect of the Spider Webs: An Entangle power There are ways a vampire thrall can win free, in particular, if the vampire's creator is destroyed. Free vampires can become powerful vampire lords- and once having undergone the hideous rite of transformation, any vampire knows how to inflict it on others.... Lucius Alexander I had more written up for these things but the palindromedary ate most of my work.

Since I've been invited... The Highway Robbers Lots of villain teams base themselves in big cities. But that's there the hero teams are! These villains are smart enough to go where the hero teams AREN'T - the wide open spaces of the rural United States and Canada. Valuable things have to move BETWEEN cities, and that's when they're vulnerable, on the highways or on the rails where a criminal only has to worry about thinly spread state or provincial police....(until the player characters show up) We need only four or five members. One should be a Mastermind, with abilities that let them know when and where to intercept valuable cargoes. (I can think of a LOT of ways that would work.) One should be a Transporter, able to move teammates plus the loot once they acquire it. The rest can be any villain who could be useful in this sort of crime. Lucius Alexander None of the members should be a palindromedary

Sounds good to me.... Lucius Alexander The palindromedary thinks it sounds boring though

What I got out of their sourcebook was an impression that Merry Andrew, at least, was very much interested in pranking with a purpose, and I distinctly remember they had a code of ethics. I suspect the negative impression of them stems more from how they were used in many games, not how they were originally written. Lucius Alexander The palindromedary says I should combine CLOWN and The Great Supervillain Contest

"Murder" she wrote. So let it be written; so let it be done. Please use this idea some time in the Superdraft. Lucius Alexander The palindromedary asks who else has a motive to kill Baldur...

Some things bear repeating especially when they were missed the first time. Lucius Alexander Neither I nor the palindromedary actually endorse Massey's decision, or even claim to understand it.

Samurai was covered under Knight, and Swordsman and Spearman are basically Weapons Specialists. Sniper might have possibilities to explore. Lucius Alexander The palindromedary thinks Lucius picked Sailor because he envies their ability to tie knots.