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Post by Neros on Nov 9, 2007 15:03:03 GMT -5
Just a thought, would it work like this: "Beam Man Attacks Bubble Boy, who has a reflective force field of 5, with a 4 stone beam... The beam is reflected back at Beam Man (it dosent get through his defense). Beam Man however, has a Reflexive Dodge of +2 and a Armor of +2, so the returning beam narrowly misses him..."
Is that more or less how the power works?? If so, i would say the price is right (or at least close to...) Absorb/Reflect gives you extra energy stones (and more or less a free attack)... Reflective Force Field simply gives you a free attack, which can attack limitless targets (as long someone attacks you, they are attacked)... "Dr. Terribles 100 henchmen fire at you with their weapons... Within seconds, they all drop dead due to the rebouncing bullets and laser beams"
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Post by metalbones on Nov 9, 2007 15:48:23 GMT -5
Quick little input here: Dashing and Unstoppable could be combined pretty effectively, I think.
Thank you for your time.
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Post by Kaimontfendo on Nov 9, 2007 16:00:50 GMT -5
Yeah, that reflective force field seems to work pretty well. (I hope I haven't already mentioned this but, ) In a Star Wars game a while back, I had a character with just about the same thing. The GM and I agreed that a +3 or +4 seemed about right, however, this particular character could only reflect energy attacks, (not that that's much of a limitation in Star Wars).
Overall, I think it seems fair, but I'd like to be able to choose my target, at least for ranged attacks. If Darth Vader shows up with a bunch of Stormtroopers, of course the Stormtroopers are going to shoot at me, but being able to deflect their shots at Vader is more important than getting rid of the Stormtroopers who are easilt dealt with anyway.
In the context of the Marvel Universe, since many characters are immune to their own element, (or worse yet, able to absorb it,) the ability to direct that energy at someone else would be helpful. Perhaps this could also be an option?
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Post by malice on Nov 14, 2008 17:37:57 GMT -5
Hahahaha, a year after the fact! I'm surprised I missed this second page, I think I was around when these responses happened. Quick little input here: Dashing and Unstoppable could be combined pretty effectively, I think. Thank you for your time. That would be awesome. I didn't even think of that. It would be aesthetically similar to blasting, but simultaneously less cost-efficient and more potentially damaging Yeah, that reflective force field seems to work pretty well. (I hope I haven't already mentioned this but, ) In a Star Wars game a while back, I had a character with just about the same thing. The GM and I agreed that a +3 or +4 seemed about right, however, this particular character could only reflect energy attacks, (not that that's much of a limitation in Star Wars). Overall, I think it seems fair, but I'd like to be able to choose my target, at least for ranged attacks. If Darth Vader shows up with a bunch of Stormtroopers, of course the Stormtroopers are going to shoot at me, but being able to deflect their shots at Vader is more important than getting rid of the Stormtroopers who are easilt dealt with anyway. In the context of the Marvel Universe, since many characters are immune to their own element, (or worse yet, able to absorb it,) the ability to direct that energy at someone else would be helpful. Perhaps this could also be an option? I can see making the choosing of targets an option. In fact I'll do that now.
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Post by malice on Jan 31, 2011 10:48:55 GMT -5
Terribly sorry for the double post. This is lifted from the MURPG 2.0 thread. I put too much time into this simple resource, so I moved it here because it's easier to find and utilize, and I actually use it in my home games. I recently sent a player searching for this post in the MURPG 2.0 thread, and it was more trouble than a player should have to go through. I didn't edit it into the first post because it's way too long and complex for a simple edit. Here are some of my ideas for pre-designed Force Blasts and Force Fields for Masteries. The problem with pre-built is power differences and lack of self-expression for players. The advantage is they have the opportunity to gain unique advantages and options on their powers that would be a pain to customize into another action, and if made correctly pre-built concepts can be balanced well. I have tried to balance these against each other as much as possible, occasionally allowing more powerful masteries a more powerful Force Field or Force Blast. Keep in mind that some options are better for some Masteries than for others. Fire always has a decent Force Blast, while I can't figure out how to give water a decent one. That's because Water gains more power from its unlimited manipulation option. (Its Force Field is pretty nice too) The lesson here is that a force blast is not always the ideal way to attack or threaten someone with your element. If some of them seem complicated, it could be because they are. Players taking a mastery action will learn what their powers do though, and will therefore be familiar and proficient with them. So what seems complicated becomes simple by limitation. Players and GMs only need to understand the Masteries in that game, not all of them. The two measurements I use most often are the player's action number, which will of course stay the same all the time, and the amount of stones they're spending in the Mastery that panel. Measuring by AN is more powerful, so it doesn't happen as often. If a Master is in the process of Accumulating Energy and has already exceeded their action number then they're considered to have at least their Action Number's worth of stones in the Mastery Action box for the purposes of determining the power of their Force Blasts and Force Fields regardless of how many stones they've put into their Mastery this panel. <-- All one sentence! Yuck!! Force Blasts: These Force Blasts represent a Master’s best efforts to harvest the most destructive raw aspects of their element and inflict them on a foe. That being said, some of them are the same as their previously-existing counterparts because they matched the more imaginative ones in power already and I couldn’t imagine a better version. [glow=orange,2,300] Fire:[/glow] Normal Damage, but the target catches fire and suffers the damage again over multiple panels. The damage decreases by 1 every panel after the first. The fire persists for an amount of panels equal to the Master’s Mastery of Fire action number, or until it dwindles to zero damage, whichever happens first. The victim can decrease the fire’s damage (And therefore its duration) by putting stones into Agility or an appropriate action to do so (Each stone decreases the fire’s damage by 1, any effect that completely removes the air from the fire, such as dousing it in water, extinguishes it completely). Consecutive successful attacks on the same flaming target do not stack their damage or duration, but replace them. If the later attack damage exceeds the earlier attack damage then it replaces the earlier attack damage. [glow=blue,2,300] Electricity:[/glow] 2x damage or stun Gravity: 3x damage (I like the simplicity of it. I always imagined it as a mega-slam that simulated falling damage or just a full body crush. Normal defenses apply because the Master has to focus their power in a small area to make it so destructive, so a dodge can get you out of the AoE while a tough body can help you withstand its effects) [glow=white,2,300] Water:[/glow] A Master of Water's Force Blast drains energy from a target as Improved Drain Energy with a Range of 2. The target must be a creature that needs water to function. Thus a machine or self-contained life form would likely be immune (although not always, depending on each creature's physiology). If all energy is drained then the target begins losing white stones as normal. All normal defenses apply (Armor and Reflexive Dodge protect against this attack). [glow=green,2,300] Earth:[/glow] Whatever rules apply to projectiles in MURPG 2.0 should apply to this. In MURPG 1 projectiles got 2x damage for free, so that’s what this would’ve had. Air: Stun from suffocation created by a vacuum or a powerful gust that knocks foes away or into something. Damage from suffocation is stun while damage from blast is based on collision. [glow=orange,2,300]Microwaves:[/glow] Armor Penetration or 2x damage against foes without armor bonuses to defense [shadow=black,left,300] Light:[/shadow] Armor Penetration or attack vs. speed to blind for as many panels as stones that overcame speed. Why AP? Because it's an effing LASER. [glow=gray,2,300] Darkness:[/glow] Target is plunged into darkness equal to Master’s AN for as many panels as stones that penetrated defense Magnetism: Attack vs. Durability to stun only, however if the targets wear a lot of metal or are made partly or completely of metal then they suffer a situational penalty equal to stones that overcame their durability. The penalty applies to all attempts to resist or defend against the Master of Magnetism Plasma: 2x damage. Too common in the books to mess with, and 2x damage isn't a bad deal. Sonic: Attack vs. Durability; normal damage or stun [glow=green,2,300]Plants:[/glow] LOL, normal damage or attack vs. agility to entangle I suppose, but really, lol Pama: Wtf. Ranged Heal? Cosmic Energy: 2x Damage, attack vs. abilty Vibrations: 3x damage against objects, ineffective against living creatures Time: Untyped Damage (Not Physical, Magical, Mental, or Energy), but continues to damage for a duration equal to stones that got through defense. Force Fields:For these I tried to imagine what defenses an element would afford someone who was shrouded in intense amounts of it. I remember there was some confusion about what I meant by "Stones placed in action." Baffled though I was that someone failed to understand the concept, I will explain it. The advantage in the X-Men book says the Force Field is free, so any time you have stones in your Mastery Action Box you get its effects. You don't have to allocate to defense to gain these effects, you just have to allocate in the Mastery Action Box for any purpose. If you allocate to defense those stones count toward defense AND these effects. [glow=orange,2,300] Fire:[/glow] Stones of dodge defense equal to Master’s AN. Creatures and objects within Range 1 suffer damage equal to stones spent on action [glow=blue,2,300] Electricity:[/glow] Stones of defense equal to stones spent on action. Gain Electrification at AN; If you already have Electrification it gains 2x damage. Gravity: Stones of dodge defense equal to AN. Creatures and objects within Range 1 are repulsed away as if by telekinesis equal to stones spent in Mastery [glow=white,2,300] Water:[/glow] Gain defense equal to 2x AN. Creatures and objects within Range 1 suffer a penalty to physical actions equal to stones spent in Mastery of Water. This force field also adds the advantage "Nullifies 2x damage from firearms or projectiles" to the Master of Water's defense when active. [glow=green,2,300] Earth:[/glow] A Master of Earth may gain Toughness equal to their Mastery AN or increase their existing Toughness by an amount of levels equal to their AN (Max: 10 all options). Instead of gaining Toughness they can choose to create a Fortress (Area 1, Force field defense equal to 2x stones spent in Mastery, collateral damage, can’t see out of it, and it can’t be created off the ground) Air: As Gravity [glow=orange,2,300]Microwaves:[/glow] Stones of dodge defense equal to stones spent in Mastery. Creatures within Range 1 take damage equal to Master’s AN. [shadow=black,left,300] Light:[/shadow] Dodge bonus to defense equal to stones spent in Mastery x2. [glow=gray,2,300] Darkness:[/glow] Dodge bonus to defense equal to stones spent in Mastery x2. Range 1 around Master is plunged into Darkness equal to the Master’s AN. Magnetism: Force Field defense equal to stones spent in action. Force Field equal to 2x AN against metal attacks (such as bullets) and characters sporting a lot of metal in their bodies within Range 1 of the Master Sonic: Sonic Force Field equal to AN. Stun only attack stones (vs. durability, damage taken from energy reserve only) at Range 1 around the Master equal to stones placed in Mastery. Plasma: Stones in Defense = AN. All I got. [glow=green,2,300]Plants:[/glow] Either gain Toughness equal to stones spent in action or increase existing Toughness by as many stones as spent in Mastery (Max 10 toughness). They also gain cover defense equal to the amount of stones spent in the action. Pama: Wtf Cosmic Energy: Force Field at 2x Action Number Vibrations: Stones in defense equal to stones spent on action. Enemies in contact with a solid object within Range 1 of the Master also have their Initiative decreased by as much as the Master spends stones in the action, to a minimum of 1. Edits since original post: -Added water's force blast according to Brainstem's (XRob 64) suggestion. Thanks for the suggestion and feedback! -Also added to water's force field. Thanks to an episode of Mythbusters I know that water is very good at destroying the effectiveness of bullets. Turns out Masters of Water get a good force field.
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Post by Brainstem on Jan 31, 2011 18:53:34 GMT -5
For Air, I would say that the character's natural connection to air simply causes an unconscious deflection of attacks. Same kind of thing could apply to Plants, but with roots and whatnot shooting from the ground.
Vibration could be a Force Field that is 2x effective against physical attacks?
Also remember that maybe some elements just get lame Options. There are different advantages to the different elements, so just know that each Option doesn't have to balance out.
A Master of Water, for example, should be able to get Drain Energy at a -1 CL because the character would be able to suck water from his/her opponent and use it to fuel him/herself.
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Post by malice on Jan 31, 2011 23:59:59 GMT -5
For Air, I would say that the character's natural connection to air simply causes an unconscious deflection of attacks. Same kind of thing could apply to Plants, but with roots and whatnot shooting from the ground. Air already kinda works like that, you get stones of defense = AN that represent air deflecting attacks and anything that gets close to you gets repulsed if you're spending enough energy in the mastery. For plants I also already give them cover defense (Which can be described as the player chooses). The plant forcefield is actually pretty good, they get effectively 2x stones spent in mastery to defense. It's not quite as good as a normal force field though, since half of it can be ignored one way and the other half another way. Vibration could be a Force Field that is 2x effective against physical attacks? Thanks for mentioning it. I didn't do quite what you suggest and instead made a disorienting effect available for people who get close enough. It is to represent that if you get too close to a Master of Vibration who bought the Free Defense option then anything solid enough you're touching will vibrate in a crippling fashion. So if you're standing on the ground or are carrying a gun (common) or adamantium/vibranium shield... Also remember that maybe some elements just get lame Options. There are different advantages to the different elements, so just know that each Option doesn't have to balance out. Yeah, I actually mentioned this in the post. The best way to use your Mastery isn't always the same way that someone else uses theirs. Not all masteries have good force blasts. Getting set on fire is a lot more damaging than getting blasted with air, but a Master of Air will probably be better at flight than a Master of Fire (Flight gets -2 when you have Mastery of Air, because there's the mastery discount and the "fits with main power" discount. If someone disagrees that's their right, I'm talking about when I GM). A Master of Water, for example, should be able to get Drain Energy at a -1 CL because the character would be able to suck water from his/her opponent and use it to fuel him/herself. I really like this idea. Thanks to your suggestion, I've been considering making Water's Force Blast into a Range 2 Drain Energy (Perhaps prohibit the Improved Drain Option). Not sure if that's too good though. Previously I just left water with a crappy force blast because I figured people wanted it to be a fire hose (Neat for knocking down hippies, not so good for fighting superhumans). Also, thank you for commenting
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Post by Brainstem on Feb 1, 2011 0:29:16 GMT -5
Well, Water is one of those masteries that I really enjoy because it can just do so much. I've really wanted to play a Master of Water in a high stone count game so I can build a sheet that takes the mastery to intense degrees.
You'd have a Master of Water with a Healing Factor based on absorbing water in the air and rebuilding himself, Reflexive Dodge in that his body can instinctively turn to water in spots to avoid taking damage, Teleportation through vaporizing and reappearing elsewhere, Drain Energy as above, Close Combat at Range (buying up the Range on CC, basically) to tie in with Teleportation, and maybe even stuff like Stretching or Growth. Some of these things can be done within the Mastery itself (Unlimited Create Manipulate), but most of them would require separate Action Boxes, I'd say. I like the idea of a Master that uses the Mastery beyond just the Action itself and extends this into all of his Actions, creating a more diverse character. A game made entirely of creatively constructed Masters would be a blast to play in, since players can start getting really clever with power usage.
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Post by Brainstem on Feb 1, 2011 0:32:33 GMT -5
Also, what I'd be interested in seeing is some rules drafted up for the advantages of transforming into an element.
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Post by malice on Feb 1, 2011 8:45:01 GMT -5
Well normally the way I run "transform into element" or "exist only as" is just to offer a couple of discounts that are only in effect when you are in elemental form. That way the player is still required to invest if they want the benefits (Since "transform" is only +1 if I remember right and "exist only as" is -1). Otherwise it's a bit too good to get a bunch of free stuff just because you paid +1 to cost level, which translates to a maximum of 5 stones (Likely even less at character creation).
So Johnny Storm would've bought his Toughness of 3 at -1 to cost level and the name of the disadvantage he applied is "Only when in flame form."
However since you mentioned it and atm I have nothing better to occupy myself, I can explore some of the potential options. I am away from my books at the moment and will be all week, which may lead to my making a mistake or two.
As I stated in my previous post, you gain a bit more measurable power with predetermined options on Masteries. The problem with predetermining the options is it limits how much a player can personalize their action, and Masteries are very personal. Keep that in mind any time you offer a pre-designed series of choices.
There are three ways I can think to do this:
1. Offer a predetermined series of discounts based on the Mastery. For example a Master of Earth might have the choice of buying Toughness at a discount, while a Master of Electricity can buy Electrification at a discount. All Masters can already buy flight or another movement-related power at a discount, and it's that kind of discount I'm talking about.
2. In a higher-powered or Mastery-themed game you can start giving stuff to players for free. This is a good way to control how much power your players have while also making it affordable to build well-rounded characters. Many of the characters in the books are worth far more stones than average while being no more powerful because making your character function believably is often unaffordable. For example characters with high Toughness are a staple of comic books, but Toughness is an expensive modifier so most 40 stone characters can't make an investment that allows them to play like a comic book character.
3. Offer discounts and such on a case-by-case basis. This is easily the way to achieve the best result, but to do it right players and GMs need to have the time together outside the game to make it work. This is also pretty much how the book does it, and finding that time together isn't prohibitively challenging.
An exceptionally well-prepared GM is actually going to mix all three methods. They will work with the player to create the Mastery the player wants but they will also bring a few options to the table since many players don't know what they want to play until they've played it. Most GMs I know have a small library of synergistic builds in their head that they can suggest to new or indecisive players.
I'm only exploring options 1 and 2, the array of discounts and the package of free stuff, since that was what was requested. The best result will of course come from the GM and player working together to customize the Mastery.
Upcoming triple post.
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Post by malice on Feb 1, 2011 9:12:40 GMT -5
Option 1: Here are a series of suggested discounts for different Masteries using the "transform into element" or "exist only as element" options. These discounts are merely suggestions for where to put existing disadvantages such as "Works only with other action/modifier," "Weaker away from power source," etc. Applying those disadvantages again would be applying them twice.
All suggestions below are limited to Masters who can either transform into their element or exist only as their element. Assume that they should only be in full effect while the Master is in elemental form (So the Master of Electricity might have Flight 8 when not in Electricity form, but Flight 10 when they choose to transform into Electricity). Finally, where specific costs are given, if you play with different costs on your actions and modifiers (For example many people think Prescience and Physical Invulnerability are too cheap so they play with them at higher costs) you should of course adapt your costs accordingly. Unless I state otherwise, I assume costs as they're presented in the books.
First off, all Masters of Elements can choose to buy actions or modifiers that only work when they are immersed in their element at -2 to cost level. Some suggested actions and modifiers include: any Healing Factor, Growth, Healing, Rapid Recovery, Self-Contained Life Form, Immortality, Deep Reserves, Sonar Senses, Radar Senses. This is the "weaker away from power source disadvantage."
Masters may also buy Prescience for 4 stones, but Prescience bought with this discount only works when immersed in their element and only as far as their element extends (So if someone wants to mental bolt you from well outside your element, you are SoL). Potential Option: Some extremely common elements like Gravity or Air do not gain this benefit in any normal environment; they must be in a place in which their element is abnormally concentrated.
Masters may also by Reconstitute Self and Limb Regrowth for 2 fewer stones when immersed in their element and in elemental form. If they buy Instant Reconstitute Self with these restrictions then they may buy it for 3 fewer stones.
Masteries with an asterisk* in their entry can buy Physical Invulnerability for 17 stones rather than 20. This Invulnerability is only in effect when they are in elemental form. It's also worth noting that Physical Invulnerability is usually way more valuable than 20 stones, so if you like the idea of the discount but use a higher cost in your games, you can of course adapt accordingly.
[glow=orange,2,300]Fire:[/glow]* Masters of Fire can buy Toughness at -1 to cost level because Johnny Storm has Toughness. Really though, I would say Masters of Fire can buy Electrification at -1 to cost level with no stun option and Fire as the source of damage rather than Electricity (Call it whatever you want as long as you clearly state its pricing source). They can also sup on burnable objects rather than food – by burning the objects.
[glow=blue,2,300]Electricity:[/glow]* Masters of Electricity gain an additional -1 to Flight if they buy it at AN 10. They can also buy Electrification at -1 to cost level. A Master of Electricity who enters conductive materials (Like a network of wires or a body of water) can travel at Flight speeds at half resistance rounded down.
Gravity:* I don't see people transforming into Gravity. Sorry. However, I'll try my hand at it: A Master of Gravity can buy Shrinking at -1 cost level. They can also buy Area Effect Drain Energy at -1 to cost level.
[glow=white,2,300]Water:[/glow] Masters of Water can choose to buy Reflexive Dodge OR Toughness (Not both) at -1 to cost level. If you want something that looks more like water and you don't mind using my homebrew, Masters of Water may choose to purchase Damage Reduction at -2 to cost level (Damage Reduction is found at the start of this thread). They may also buy Swimming and Stretching at -1 to cost level.
[glow=green,2,300]Earth:[/glow] Masters of Earth may buy Toughness at -1 to cost level. They may also buy Burrowing at -1 to cost level. Burrowing is just Swimming but in earth rather than water and works more like Phase Shifting into the earth (Burrowing is also therefore eligible for an additional disadvantage: -1 to cost level if you actually burrow, leaving a clear trail of displaced earth... aka collateral damage). A Master of Earth who buys Toughness may also purchase additional damage to their melee attacks. This damage is purchased at MN and is applied to damage stones after overcoming defense.
Air:* Masters of Air can choose to remain aloft indefinitely without any energy investment. They do not need to be conscious to do this. If they didn't purchase the flight action they gain it at an AN equal to their speed or Mastery of Air AN, whichever is lower (Allowing them to move rather than just float about). If they have no free action boxes, their speed ability becomes their flight action (So they invest stones in speed to fly as if they'd invested stones in the Flight action) They may also purchase Reflexive Dodge at -1 to cost level.
[glow=orange,2,300]Microwaves:[/glow]* Like Gravity, I have trouble wrapping my head around someone transforming into Microwaves. I believe Firestar has Phase Shift with collateral damage, which works for me. She also has AP on her Force Blast if I remember right, which also works for me. So I suppose my suggested discounts for someone transforming into Microwaves are: Masters of Microwaves can purchase the armor penetration advantage on their melee combat actions for +2 to cost level instead of the normal +3. Also, when moving through materials via Phase Shift or Manipulate Body Density, a Master of Microwaves can move at a speed equal to the material's density on the D&R.
[shadow=black,left,300]Light:[/shadow]* Masters of Light may buy Flight at an additional -1 to cost level if they buy it at AN 10. They may also buy Illusions and Invisibility at -1 to cost level each.
[glow=gray,2,300]Darkness:[/glow]* Masters of Darkness may buy any action or modifier that grants concealment at -1 to cost level. They may also buy Teleportation between shadows at -1 to cost level.
Magnetism:* As with Gravity and Microwaves, magnetism is such a very invisible force it's hard to imagine anyone transforming into it. As with Gravity and Microwaves, I'll try it anyway: Masters of Magnetism can buy the Inter-Dimensional Travel modifier for 6 fewer stones (I can't remember its original cost, I think it's either 9, 12, or 15. If it's 15 then it should be 9 fewer stones for a Master of Magnetism), and they don't travel to another dimension. Instead they can inhabit any material that can be magnetized and transport themselves through it as though using the Inter-Dimensional Travel modifier with the material as their alternate dimension. This lets the master hide inside different objects, undetectable unless something else vulnerable to magnetism comes near enough.
Plasma:* I know enough about plasma to know how it hurts people, but I do not know enough about it to imagine how a creature made of plasma would behave in MURPG. I could research it to find out, but I'm not going to because I have several elements left to do that feel less foreign and less like work. This one always kinda bored me because it's popular among comic books like ninjas are among geeks: they don't know about it enough to appreciate it for the right reasons, they just think it sounds cool and don't know what else to worship.
Sonic:* Masters of Sonic can purchase Flight and/or Speed at an additional -1 to cost level if they buy it at the first AN that achieves Mach 1 on the D&R (I think this is Flight 5 and Speed 7, but without my books I can't be sure). Masters of Sonic can also buy the advantage "Attack vs. Ability" at +5 instead of the normal +6 so long as they make the Ability they attack against Durability. The same discount applies the the "Attack vs. Ability and Defense" advantage, but I can't recall its cost (I believe it's +3, which means a Master of Sonic can purchase it for +2). Masters of Sonic are bad at concealing themselves when in Sound form, play this however you like.
Pama: Wtf is this crap? I refuse to trouble myself with anything but ridicule for this Mastery.
Cosmic Energy:* Masters of Cosmic Energy have as many -1 cost level discounts as their AN or 8, whichever is less. They can use these -1 cost level discounts on any actions, abilities, or modifiers they choose. They cannot apply more than one of these -1 discounts to any action, ability, or modifier and they cannot apply any at all to their Mastery of Cosmic Energy. Chances are if you are buying this Mastery then you are not a 40 stone character or even a character with a stone limit. Due to the unique method by which Durability is purchased, it is not eligible for any of these discounts.
So a Master of Cosmic Energy with an AN of 6 could buy Strength, Agility, Ninja, Biocomputing, Teleportation, and Toughness all at -1 to cost level because the total number of discounts is 6. If the Master's mastery AN was 8 or higher, they would gain no more than 8 discounts.
When applying these discounts they are simply listed as being bought with a Mastery of Cosmic Energy discount.
Vibrations:* Yet another Mastery where transforming into is difficult for me to imagine. I imagine it would be a useful Mastery in bed though. Here is my effort: Masters of Vibration can buy the Inter-Dimensional Travel modifier for 6 fewer stones (I can't remember its original cost, I think it's either 9, 12, or 15. If it's 15 then it should be 9 fewer stones for a Master of Vibrations), and they don't travel to another dimension. Instead they can inhabit any material that can vibrate and transport themselves through it as though using the Inter-Dimensional Travel modifier with the material as their alternate dimension. This lets the master hide inside different objects, although they are far easier to detect than a Master of Magnetism since the object will be vibrating.
Energy: Same as Cosmic Energy.
[glow=green,2,300]Plants:[/glow] Masters of Plants may buy Toughness at -1 to cost level. Since the power sources for plants are light, water, and good soil, their "immersion" condition is met by ample light, contact with earth, and enough moisture to keep a normal human alive. So a Master of Plants in plant form can flex more on "Weaker away from power source" discounts.
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Post by malice on Feb 1, 2011 10:21:35 GMT -5
Option 2: This is the high-powered route. Below I list a series of potential free advantages available to Masters of Elements when in elemental form. Keep in mind this is an alternate rule set only, and not the way I believe standard MURPG works. A lot of people felt this is the way the "Transform into" option on Masteries should have worked from the start, but the amount of advantage you gain from that attitude is seriously disproportionate for a +1 to cost level advantage, even on Masteries.
You mentioned a Mastery-themed game where all players have Masteries. That's pretty much the only environment I can see this interpretation being viable. Since I've already said that this attitude grants you way more than you should get for a measly +1 to cost level, I'm going to aim for more powerful options rather than shy away from them. My hope is that - if using this approach - you could still play a 40 stone Mastery-themed game where the high cost of masteries doesn't leave the characters weak in other departments. I'm aiming to encourage players to focus their stones and their fluff on their masteries.
Most of the suggestions below are specific to when the Master is in elemental form.
Some rules that apply to all of them:
Masteries with an asterisk* in their entry are Physically Invulnerable while in elemental form (Eat that gun-wielders!).
Many of the Masteries grant a free action and/or modifier in elemental form. If a player would prefer a higher AN or MN or simply to apply advantages, they can buy it at a discounted cost level. The discount in cost levels is equal to whatever originally determined the free AN or MN. It's usually the Mastery AN or half the Mastery AN rounded down.
[glow=orange,2,300]Fire:[/glow]* Masters of Fire have Toughness equal to half their Mastery AN for free because Johnny Storm has Toughness. If they choose instead to buy Toughness, they may buy it with a decrease in cost level equal to half their Mastery AN (So if your Mastery AN is 6 then you can buy Toughness at -3 to cost level). You may benefit from either the free Toughness or the discounted Toughness, not both. All because Johnny Storm has Toughness. Masters of Fire also have Electrification for free equal to their Mastery AN, but it does not stun and it isn't electricity doing the damage, it's fire. If they buy the Free Force Field advantage and use my brainstormed Force Fields from a few posts back, they don't get Electrification twice it just does 2x damage. They can also sup on burnable objects rather than food – by burning the objects.
[glow=blue,2,300]Electricity:[/glow]* Masters of Electricity gain Flight at AN 10. They also have Electrification equal to their Mastery AN for free (or buy it at a discount equal to their Mastery AN). A Master of Electricity who enters conductive materials (Like a network of wires or a body of water) can travel at Flight speeds without investing more than 1 stone of effort to direct themselves.
Gravity:* I still don't see people transforming into Gravity. I suppose they could get Shrinking at half or full AN for free, Manipulate Body Density at half AN for free, and Area Effect Drain Energy at half AN for free.
[glow=white,2,300]Water:[/glow] Masters of Water can choose to gain Reflexive Dodge OR Toughness at their Mastery AN for free. You may instead choose to gain both Reflexive Dodge AND Toughness at half the Mastery AN for free.
If you want something that looks more like water and you don't mind using my homebrew, Masters of Water may instead gain Damage Reduction equal to their AN for free (Damage Reduction is found at the start of this thread), while also gaining either Reflexive Dodge or Toughness at half their AN for free. They may also have Swimming for free up to their AN, and Stretching for free at half AN.
[glow=green,2,300]Earth:[/glow] Masters of Earth gain Toughness with no 2x damage at their Mastery AN for free. They may also have Burrowing for free up to their AN. Burrowing is just Swimming but in earth rather than water and works more like Phase Shifting into the earth (Burrowing is also therefore eligible for an additional disadvantage: +1 to Burrowing AN you actually burrow, leaving a clear trail of displaced earth... aka collateral damage). A Master of Earth also gains additional damage on their melee attacks equal to half their AN. This is a modifier that is normally purchased at MN. The damage is applied after overcoming defense.
Air:* Masters of Air can choose to remain aloft indefinitely without any energy investment. They do not need to be conscious to do this. If they didn't purchase the flight action they gain it at an AN equal to their speed or Mastery of Air AN, whichever is higher (Allowing them to move rather than just float about). If they have no free action boxes or if they prefer not to use one, their speed ability becomes their flight action (So they invest stones in speed to fly as if they'd invested stones in the Flight action) They also gain Reflexive Dodge at AN for free.
[glow=orange,2,300]Microwaves:[/glow]* I'm still mostly stuck on this one and have limited interest in it. Masters of Microwaves can purchase the armor penetration advantage on their melee combat actions for free. Also, when moving through materials via Phase Shift or Manipulate Body Density, a Master of Microwaves can move at a speed equal to the material's density on the D&R without investing more than 1 stone to direct themselves.
[shadow=black,left,300]Light:[/shadow]* Masters of Light gains flight at AN 10 for free, or may have Speed 10 (flying) for free (Which uses your speed ability like the Flight action). A character with Speed 10 (flying) and the special speed-for-initiative rule goes before a character with normal Speed 10 and the special speed-for-initiative rule. They may also gain Illusions at AN for free, and Invisibility at half AN for free. Masters of Light also gain Reflexive Dodge at have their Mastery AN for free.
[glow=gray,2,300]Darkness:[/glow]* Not sure where to go with this one. Masters of Darkness may still buy any action or modifier that grants concealment at -1 to cost level. They may also gain Teleportation between shadows at half AN for free.
Magnetism:* As with Gravity and Microwaves, magnetism is such a very invisible force it's hard to imagine anyone transforming into it. As with Gravity and Microwaves, I'll try it anyway: Masters of Magnetism can gain the Inter-Dimensional Travel modifier for free, and they don't travel to another dimension. Instead they can inhabit any material that can be magnetized and transport themselves through it as though using the Inter-Dimensional Travel modifier with the material as their alternate dimension. This lets the master hide inside different objects, undetectable unless something else vulnerable to magnetism comes near enough.
Plasma:* Whatever you like, I still don't care about plasma.
Sonic:* Masters of Sonic gain Flight and/or Speed at the AN that achieves Mach 1 on the D&R (I think this is Flight 5 and Speed 7, but without my books I can't be sure). Masters of Sonic can also buy the advantage "Attack vs. Ability" at a discounted rate equal to half their AN (So a Master of Sonic with a mastery AN of 10 could buy Attack vs. ability for +1 to cost level because it is normally +6 and 10/2 = 5 and 6-5 = 1) so long as they make the Ability they attack against Durability. The same discount applies the the "Attack vs. Ability and Defense" advantage. The mastery discount cannot make the advantage cheaper than +0 to cost level. Masters of Sonic are bad at concealing themselves when in Sound form, play this however you like.
Pama: Y'know I actually thought of something for this but then I forgot it, and trying to remember it is more trouble than this element is worth.
Cosmic Energy:* Masters of Cosmic Energy have as many -1 cost level discounts as their AN. They can use these -1 cost level discounts on any actions, abilities, or modifiers of their choice. They can apply more than one of these -1 discounts to any action, ability, or modifier but they cannot apply any at all to their Mastery of Cosmic Energy. Chances are if you are buying this Mastery then you are not a 40 stone character or even a character with a stone limit. Due to the unique method by which Durability is purchased, more than one -1 discount cannot be applied to it and applying a single -1 discount does not adjust the cost but increases your Durability by 1 for free.
So a Master of Cosmic Energy with an AN of 6 could buy Strength, Agility, Ninja, Biocomputing, Teleportation, and Toughness all at -1 to cost level because the total number of discounts is 6. They could also buy Ninja at -5 to cost level and Biocomputing at -1 because the total number of discounts is still 6 but they can choose to apply them however they choose. These discounts are not subject to the rule that you may only decrease the cost of an action to half its total cost levels. You can decrease the cost of an action, ability, or modifier to 0 by applying these discounts.
When applying these discounts they are simply listed as being bought with a Mastery of Cosmic Energy discount.
Vibrations:* Masters of Vibration can buy the Inter-Dimensional Travel modifier for free, but they don't travel to another dimension. Instead they can inhabit any material that can vibrate and transport themselves through it as though using the Inter-Dimensional Travel modifier with the material as their alternate dimension. This lets the master hide inside different objects, although they are far easier to detect than a Master of Magnetism since the object will be vibrating.
[glow=green,2,300]Plants:[/glow]: Masters of Plants gain Toughness at AN for free. They also have an easier time meeting the Immersion condition (See above post), and gain Healing at half AN for free.
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Post by malice on Feb 2, 2011 9:16:22 GMT -5
I am experimenting with the idea of taking more actions in a round if you are fast enough. This is primarily due to my interest in creating an MURPG version of Shadowrun. While I prefer to keep the rules I create resembling MURPG as much as possible, for me Shadowrun wouldn't be the same without characters being capable of certain things that they can't do in MURPG.
I'm working on the concept of initiative passes, wherein a particularly fast character is capable of acting more than once in a panel, effectively allowing them to allocate more times in a panel.
The current version is deliberately expensive. For now getting the mechanics right is more important to me than the cost.
So I present the following modifiers:
Two Initiative Passes Cost = 2 x Your Initiative (Either Speed, Agility, or a combination of one of those and Fast Draw) white stones.
So if your Agility is 4 and you have no initiative-modifying modifiers or the special speed rule, this modifier costs 8 white stones.
Before you can take this modifier you must have a minimum 4 Initiative (Either 4 Agility, 4 Speed with the special speed rule, or a combination of Agility or Speed and Fast Draw that adds up to at least 4)
By buying this modifier, you gain the ability to allocate a second time in the panel and therefore take two more actions, but only with a penalty. Your second set of actions takes place at a later time than your first allocation (Since you must have executed your first allocation in order to make a second). For the purposes of determining the order in which actions occur, your second allocation occurs as if your Initiative were 2 points lower than it is (So if your Agility is 4 with no modifiers, your first allocation occurs on 4 while your second allocation occurs on 2).
You still only regenerate energy at the beginning of the next panel, but your non-defensive modifiers refresh for the second allocation allowing you to benefit from them a second time (So if you have Claws +2, you get their 2 free stones to Close Combat in your first allocation, and you get the same 2 again for your second allocation).
Stones you place in defense in your first allocation are still applied at the beginning of the panel but stones you place in defense during your second allocation are applied at the same time you take your second set of actions.
This modifier does not allow robots or powered armor to take more actions than their A.I. or S.I. in a panel.
Characters who buy this modifier can purchase Reflexive Dodge at -1 to cost level.
Three Initiative Passes Cost: 3 x Your Initiative white stones
So if you have 6 initiative this modifier costs 18 white stones.
Before you can take this modifier you must have a minimum of 6 Initiative. If you already possessed Two Initiative Passes you may deduct its original cost from the cost of this modifier. It is subsumed within this modifier.
By buying this modifier, you gain the ability to allocate two more times in the panel and therefore take four more actions, but only with a penalty. Your second and third set of actions take place at a later time than each allocation before them. For the purposes of determining the order in which actions occur, your second and third allocations occur as if your Initiative were 2 and 4 points lower respectively.
So if you have an Agility of 6 with nothing modifying your initiative, you make your first allocation on Initiative 6, your second allocation on Initiative 4, and your third allocation on Initiative 2.
You may choose to forgo any of your allocations to immediately regenerate 1 energy, but at a price. If you do this, your energy recovery in the following panel is decreased by 2 for every 1 energy you regenerated in this way. If that decreases your energy recovery below zero, you must either take the stones below zero as red stones of damage or panels of stun. This damage or stun happens at the start of the panel in which you would've recovered energy. Normally this is your choice, but your GM may choose damage or stun for you.
Your non-defensive modifiers refresh for the second and third allocation allowing you to benefit from them again (So if you have Claws +2, you get their 2 free stones to Close Combat in your first allocation, then you get the same 2 again for your second allocation, and the same 2 again for your third allocation).
Stones you place in defense in your first allocation are still applied at the beginning of the panel but stones you place in defense during your second and third allocation are applied at the same time you take your those sets of actions.
This modifier does not allow robots or powered armor to take more actions than their A.I. or S.I. in a panel.
Characters who buy this modifier can purchase Reflexive Dodge at -2 to cost level.
Four Initiative Passes Cost: 4 x Your Initiative white stones
So if you have 10 initiative this modifier costs 40 white stones
Before you can take this modifier you must have a minimum of 8 Initiative. If you already possessed Two Initiative Passes or Three Initiative Passes you may deduct their original cost from the cost of this modifier. They are both subsumed within this modifier.
When you by this modifier you gain the ability to allocate three more times in the panel and therefore take six more actions, but only with a penalty. Every set of actions after the first takes place at a later time than the set of actions before them. For the purposes of determining the order in which actions occur, your second, third, and fourth allocations occur as if your Initiative were 2, 4, and 6 points lower respectively (So your initiative decreases by 2 for each new allocation).
So if you have an Agility of 9 with nothing modifying your initiative, you make your first allocation on Initiative 9, your second allocation on Initiative 7, your third allocation on Initiative 5, and your fourth allocation on Initiative 3.
Immediately before your second, third, and fourth allocations you can choose to regenerate 1 energy. You may also choose to forgo any of your allocations to immediately regenerate 1 energy (For a total of 2 energy regenerated). Doing this carries a price though. For every stone of energy prematurely regenerated you decrease your energy recovery for the following panel by the same amount. If this drops your energy recovery below zero you must either take the stones below zero as red stones of damage or panels of stun. This damage or stun happens at the start of the next panel when you would've normally recovered energy. Normally you choose whether you want to take damage or be stunned, but your GM may choose to damage or stun for you if they prefer.
Your non-defensive modifiers refresh for each allocation after your first. So if you have Targeting +2, you can benefit fully from the 2 free stones from Targeting on your first, second, third, and fourth allocations (For a total of 8 free stones!).
Stones you place in defense in your first allocation are still applied at the beginning of the panel but stones you place in defense during your subsequent allocations are applied at the same time you take your those sets of actions.
This modifier does not allow robots or powered armor to take more actions than their A.I. or S.I. in a panel.
Characters who buy this modifier can purchase Reflexive Dodge at MN.
EDIT: Writing these gave me another idea for a modifier.
Recover Cost = 2 white stones
You may forgo either or both of your two actions per panel to immediately regenerate 1 red stone of energy per action forgone. So instead of taking two actions in one panel you could take one and regenerate 1 energy or take none and regenerate 2 energy. You cannot benefit from this modifier more than twice per panel (I.e. you cannot regenerate more than 2 energy from its use per panel).
Powered Armor and Robots are not eligible for this modifier.
...hmm, not sure about the cost, it might be too expensive. I can think of several different energy-regeneration-enhancers to compare it to but most of them are just different enough to make this one feel like it requires different criteria.
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Post by malice on Feb 2, 2011 11:34:41 GMT -5
There are at least 2 threads for this in the Rules Discussion thread. Rather than necro some stranger's dead thread I'll just take my shot at creating a Mastery of Time. Most people back off the idea but I'm interested in fleshing it out and seeing how good it looks. Sadly this one is of extraordinary power or scope +8. I suppose you could justify a lesser cost, but the concept is broken before it hits the page. Most people suggest just re-flavoring a bunch of normal actions - which works for a lot of things (It's all stones vs. stones), but whenever possible I'd rather build something that looks like it's worth the +8 to cost level (The garbage in the Avengers Guide is not worth +8 the way they present it. You have to read comics to know how to make that stuff worth it, and not everyone who enjoys this game is a comic-reader). Obviously this Mastery would only ever be affordable in a high-stone game or for someone who ate it at character creation to slowly nurse it with lines, but either you're playing a game where you define what you're doing with rules or you're not. This is for the games where you define what you're doing. I know it's "ridiculously powerful" and "pointless to stat out" but I wanted to do it so here it is. I don't have my books with me so this isn't as complete as I'd like. Mastery of Time:+8 Extraordinary Power and Scope. Not as bad as it sounds, it just means your cost levels are going to be 5 stones/level sooner. It simplifies things really. +1 white stone to use your Mastery AN in place of Agility for determining order of actions in a panel +1 Cost Level for Force Blast. Hunt/Seek. Stones that get through defense damage again every panel for a duration on the D&R equal to the stones that got through defense. The duration effect is only triggered once per Force Blast, so if a Master of Time is badgering someone with his Hunt/Seek advantage the Duration damage only applies the first time the target allows stones through defense. Only immunity to time allows immunity to this damage. -If you really want to beef this up make it attack vs. the target's lowest ability score. In this case I also recommend prohibiting an ability bonus on Mastery of Time (Which may be a good idea even if you don't beef the Force Blast). Immortals could defend with their highest ability score instead. +1 Cost level for Immunity to effects. This of course includes the Immortality modifier for free, but provides protection beyond that, like against your own force blast. Thus if you buy this option, write "Immortal" in your modifiers, unless you don't want to be. +4 to Cost level for Duplicate Self. No impact is required and your duplicates are actually just versions of yourself from alternate timelines or from your personal future or past. If they die you do not lose a white stone, but instead reduce your Mastery of Time AN by 1 permanently. You receive no stone refund for this loss, but you can still raise your AN with lines or stones. +1 to cost level for Prescience +2 to cost level for Defense = 2x AN any time you have stones in the Mastery Action box. There are tons of reason someone with power over Time will be VERY difficult to hit. +1 to cost level: Substitute Mastery AN for any single ability score (Pick one). +3 to cost level: Substitute Mastery AN for any Ability Score other than Durability (That's any of them at any time you like) +2 to cost level: Substitute Mastery AN for Durability +2 to combine with Close or Ranged Combat: A Master of Time may devote stones to decreasing an enemy's initiative as low as 1. +1 Create/Manipulate -Barriers: Barriers of Time are uncrossable and last for Duration equal to stones of effect. -Objects: Objects created from time last for Duration equal to stones of effect +1 to gain Mutant/Magical Healing. Either back up time to before they were injured or speed it up so they heal faster +5 for Unlimited Create/Manipulate. Obviously awesome, and probably subsumes a lot of the other options. No point in trying to say what it does, it's unlimited. +1 to cost level to teleport with Mastery of Time Action just as if it were the Teleportation Action. Alternatively you can choose to buy Teleportation at -1 to cost level. You fold time to transmit yourself to another location of your choice. +1 to cost level to use your Mastery of Time action as Leadership. If you buy this option you may also spend stones to move your allies forward in the order of actions by spending stones (1 stone spent = one ally acts 1 stone earlier). This reflects you slightly adjusting the timing of everyone's actions to be most effective, as well as looking forward and knowing how things will turn out best. +1 to cost level for Phase Shift. Rather than slide your molecules through objects you simply move at a time before or after they existed. This form of Phase Shift does not disrupt electronics, nor does it allow for the Phase Attack or Phase Stun options. +2 to cost level for Cosmic Awareness. +1 Cost Level for Reconstitute Self. "HA! You only killed a version of me from an alternate timeline!" +2 Cost Levels for Instant Reconstitute Self. "HA! You only killed a decoy clone that I stole from some ridiculous future timeline!" I obviously didn't include the fluff I imagined with each advantage, but I definitely based all this stuff on Time-related fluff. The Free Force Field advantage, for example, can be the Master of Time slowing things down or speeding them up or whatever you want, but at the end of the day it MUST be stones of defense. I've started including fluff because it occurred to me that might be what is most entertaining about making this Mastery. "But Malice, what about Time Travel and stuff?" It's pretty pointless. Marvel has shown that every time you try to screw with a timeline, you pretty much just create an alternate reality or do something you were going to do anyway. No going back in Time to kill someone before they were born because you may or may not succeed but you won't kill the one you want to kill. You'll kill an alternate reality version blah blah. It's fine as a plot device, but if ever you're playing in a game where you can afford to try some of this crap I recommend either saving the stones and leaving it to an NPC/plot device, or spending them just to be your GM's plot device. You CAN just go back or forward in Time just to screw around. In almost every case you'll just be doing something pre-woven anyway. As long as you don't attempt to interfere with things, you can treat History and the Future as one badass theme park. Finally, if you want to travel through time there's an option on teleportation for that already. It's actually the least difficult and least interesting aspect of a Mastery of Time, because it's been done for us and it barely works anyway. "What about existing outside of time?" It sounds really boring. Once again, that crap is for NPCs. Immunity to Time may mean that you CAN avoid everything plot-related, but I assume that if you possess that kind of god-like power you are either deliberately subjecting yourself to the plot or you're no fun to play with and therefore irrelevant to me. Also while a Master of Time can manipulate Time in a lot of ways, no Mastery grants a character control over every bit of their element everywhere ever. A Master of Fire is not in control of every flame in the universe or even aware of most of them. People, and therefore characters, are simply small and limited by definition. So while you may think you can use your Mastery of Time to do whatever you want, you are making the mistake of thinking what you want is somehow grander than what anyone has ever wanted. You could rule the world and 99% of its population could have no idea who you were. It's better to embrace your irrelevance and play the same game everyone else is playing. I've gotten the options that were in my head out of the way. I'll return to this later.
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Post by malice on Feb 4, 2011 4:42:39 GMT -5
I've discussed the advantage "Artificially Intelligent" in no less than two threads recently and both times I felt like an ass because I was the guy who kept harping "It doesn't do anything according to the rules, so everything you say is wrong!"
So I tried to think of how this undefined +3 advantage that can only apply to modifiers could ever be worth the painful +3. Most modifiers are actually pretty effing good as they are, and so they really don't need some +3 advantage to make them work better. In order to make an advantage worthwhile you have to make sure it can apply in a useful way to almost everything to which it is applied. So I've set out to do that, and I explain with lots of examples rather than a vague sentence or two (So I'm breaking from the MURPG format).
Artificially Intelligent (Modifiers Only) +3 Cost Levels
Synopsis: When you put A.I. on a modifier, your GM adds something to your modifier that lets it be as perfect as possible for every situation in which it can apply - within the limits of the stones you spent on the modifier. A.I. doesn't let a modifier do a job different than what it was intended for, it just makes it do that job in the best mathematical way possible.
Long Version:
When you apply the Artificially Intelligent advantage to a modifier, you make that modifier "smart", allowing it to adapt itself to best fit the situation and improve your character's chances.
This advantage allows you to change how your modifiers work within the limits of the stones you paid for them. A.I. adds or removes advantages and modifier numbers from your modifiers on the fly so that you always get the most bang for your buck. A modifier with this advantage can immediately restructure itself to give you the most ideal modifier for the situation.
A.I. cannot drop your MN below +1, it cannot change itself into a different modifier (A.I. Toughness 4 cannot become A.I. Mental Defense 7), and it cannot change the role of your modifier (An artificially intelligent defensive modifier like Toughness or Reflexive Dodge cannot learn ways to add their stones to attack. They always focus on defending you).
If you tell them to, Artificially Intelligent modifiers other than Targeting can raise your MN up to three levels in a panel. The price for this is that the modifier is completely deactivated for as many panels afterward as levels you raised. So if you told your A.I. Reflexive Dodge 2 to raise its MN up to 4 this panel, you would have no Reflexive Dodge for the next two panels.
Everything A.I. can do you can tell it to do first. The advantage makes your modifier react and adapt all the time, but if you KNOW you're going to need something you can tell the advantage to do it ahead of time.
A.I. never acts against you. Any adaptation it makes it does in the most ideal way possible, and if it isn't sure it asks you.
An Artificially Intelligent modifier can be improved by adding Lines of Experience just as if it were an action.
Examples:
Say you have Toughness 4 with the Artificially Intelligent advantage and no other advantages. This cost you 15 stones.
Normally your Toughness modifier is +4, but say you fight against someone with Armor Penetrating attacks? Rather than have all 4 stones of Toughness ignored, Artificially Intelligent decreases your modifier to 3 and adds the "Nullifies Armor Penetration" advantage. Now you have 3 free defense stone against that enemy. Your Toughness still cost 15 stones, but now that 15 stones is harder to ignore.
After you are no longer threatened by the enemy using AP attacks, Artificially Intelligent returns your Toughness modifier to +4 by removing the No AP advantage.
Against enemies wielding firearms which do 2x damage, A.I. once again drops your modifier to 3 and adds the "Nullifies 2x damage from firearms and projectiles" advantage any time more than 1 stone gets through your defense. It makes the difference between taking 2 white stones of damage and 1.
But "That's a bad example," you say, "because A.I. is a +3 advantage and the character could have bought both the No AP and No 2x damage modifier on their Toughness for less."
This is where Artificially Intelligent behaves most uniquely. Your A.I. modifiers, while intelligent, are still not smart or mature enough to know that they should share with other modifiers and actions.
Tired of being shown up by "Action to Modifier" Force Fields, the A.I. Toughness steals advantages from other sections of the books whenever it can.
So if you are under assault by a telepath, A.I. Toughness +4 knows it can't help if it restricts itself to the written options for Toughness, so it drops your Toughness to 3 to add the "Works against mental attacks" advantage from the Force Field entry.
When you are attacked by someone who uses attacks vs. abilities, A.I. Toughness steals the "Substitute Mastery AN for ability" advantage from Masteries, adding its decreased MN to the ability score under attack.
If you have an ability that likes it when you get hit a little, like Energy Absorption/Reflection, A.I. modifiers like Toughness and Energy Defense lower themselves just enough to give you the most juice without letting anything hit your white stones, if possible.
Other Examples:
How does A.I. interact with other modifiers, like...
Claws?
Once they've tasted blood, A.I. Claws quickly devise the best way to taste more. Artificially Intelligent Claws add or remove attack advantages like AP, 2x Damage, and 3x damage assuming you have a Claws MN high enough to incorporate them. Assuming a MN of 5, A.I. Claws know when they've gotten enough stones through defense that dropping the MN would add just one more white stone of damage.
Targeting?
Ranged Combatants attack with more stones than almost anyone but the Phoenix Force. They're usually already doing 2x damage, and it's arguable that you can even apply attack advantages to Targeting.
Instead A.I. Targeting just lets you know the defense of of your targets. It can tell you the defense of as many targets as your MN. You know how easily you can make certain shots just like any good marksman knows an easy shot versus an impossible one. If that explanation doesn't work for you, imagine Terminator vision.
How does Artificially Intelligent apply to perception modifiers like Animal Senses and Radar Senses?
It makes them better at identifying things and gives them a memory. It's the difference between a computer program that just displays a PDF to the user and one that can actually pick out text and categorize what's shown so that the user can interact with the PDF in useful ways.
That "lump" that your Artificially Intelligent sonar senses picked up is OBVIOUSLY a crouching enemy, in fact it's Sabretooth; that familiar perfume is obviously Mystique's and you don't have to spend any stones in intelligence to remember that, because that silly girl can't bring herself to sacrifice her perfume no matter how important her mission is.
Really though, the idea of making perception modifiers MORE useful is almost silly to me. Most of the characters I make nowadays have some level of enhanced senses because awareness wins battles.
The other thing is that GMs have been going without this advantage forever, so the niche it MIGHT HAVE filled has been sanded down so that it hardly feels necessary on perception modifiers.
Hmm, I still don't like it as much. How lame that an advantage that SEEMS like it would have a lot of potential would have no definition in the books. The idea of having Artificially Intelligent adaptive skin is cool, the idea of having eyes that pick out the best targets for you is cool. All that stuff is cool, but since they included no explanation we're stuck with no advantage. I've never seen ANYONE'S house rule for this make sense AND be worth +3 (Very painful on modifiers). If I had I wouldn't have tried to make my own.
I was considering an "adaptation" panel where A.I. needed to experience something to adapt to it (So you'd have to have your Toughness ignored once before A.I. added No AP to it), so you would tell your modifiers what to do at the start of an allocation but if they experienced things differently they would adjust and ask for your approval. If I did this I was going to allow the panel of experience to be ignored if you had Prescience, letting your modifiers morph immediately to the most ideal structure rather than doing so after being overcome. I decided this wasn't worth the work it would create.
I'll improve it if I think of how to do so.
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