Post by wayne on Mar 2, 2004 11:27:47 GMT -5
I got the idea for this power from an old comic called, if I remember correctly, X-Nation (although it also cropped up recently in an anime series I watch.) I'm having trouble translating it into the game cleanly.
Your character literally generates a aura, limited to Close Combat range, within which they can alter reality and do... pretty much anything they want. Think Power Cosmic, Metamorphosis, and Phoenix Force (sans the free stones) combined.
The limitations are:
Now, the thing is, I was wanting the power to only allow you to do as much as you could with your stones. An Action Number of 1 should be twice as limiting as 2, etc. And that's where the difficulty starts popping up.
My problem is, how does one define reality-distortion using stones? Some things are fine. To fly with 1 stone of effort, spend one stone. But what about wanting to transmute a substance? Or change the laws of physics? How about the ultimate ability, just flat causing someone to drop dead (although the person comes back after you get far enough away.) We're not just talking specific effects here, I'm trying to find a mechanism to alter reality, and I'm not sure it can be done without requiring a healthy dose of GM intervention each time.
One thought I had was to allow one reality distortion per stone, no matter what it is. But that's rather loose... by wording it right, once could easily fit several (or more) distortions into one.
Another idea was to allow whatever distortion can be defined with 5 words per stone. (IOW, spend 2 stones, and you can use 10 words to define whatever reality distortion you want, such as "Cyclops is now stone, while Iceman has no mutation anymore." ) But this seems really arbitrary; I would think such a literary limitation much more suited for magic than a power.
Anyone else have any ideas, or am I just trying to quantify the impossible?
-Wayne
Your character literally generates a aura, limited to Close Combat range, within which they can alter reality and do... pretty much anything they want. Think Power Cosmic, Metamorphosis, and Phoenix Force (sans the free stones) combined.
The limitations are:
- You can only affect things within your range
- These effects, if directly caused by your power, disappear whenever the target is out of range
- You cannot affect space or in any way increase your range, ever
- No time travel
- No free stones, nor can you in any way increase your Action Number, Energy Reserves, or Energy Regeneration with the power
- You need to spend an appropriate amount of stones to perform a reality distortion (although each distortion can be maintained for 1 stone per panel)
- No Ability Bonus or Specialties allowed
- The power should cost AN+13, like the other cosmic-level powers
Now, the thing is, I was wanting the power to only allow you to do as much as you could with your stones. An Action Number of 1 should be twice as limiting as 2, etc. And that's where the difficulty starts popping up.
My problem is, how does one define reality-distortion using stones? Some things are fine. To fly with 1 stone of effort, spend one stone. But what about wanting to transmute a substance? Or change the laws of physics? How about the ultimate ability, just flat causing someone to drop dead (although the person comes back after you get far enough away.) We're not just talking specific effects here, I'm trying to find a mechanism to alter reality, and I'm not sure it can be done without requiring a healthy dose of GM intervention each time.
One thought I had was to allow one reality distortion per stone, no matter what it is. But that's rather loose... by wording it right, once could easily fit several (or more) distortions into one.
Another idea was to allow whatever distortion can be defined with 5 words per stone. (IOW, spend 2 stones, and you can use 10 words to define whatever reality distortion you want, such as "Cyclops is now stone, while Iceman has no mutation anymore." ) But this seems really arbitrary; I would think such a literary limitation much more suited for magic than a power.
Anyone else have any ideas, or am I just trying to quantify the impossible?
-Wayne