New Action: Animate Objects

[piratespice]

Updated - 9/19/03

ANIMATE OBJECTS
Cost Level = Action Number + 1 Level

Description
This Action seemingly brings inanimate objects to life, causing them to move in ways they were not intended to move. The stones spent in Animate Objects represent the actions of the object itself. To attack with an object simply allocate stones of attack to Animate Objects. Certain objects may gain Situational Modifiers based on construction (e.g. a bookshelf might get a +1 modifier due to its size and hardness). Aside from movement, objects are not capable of any action for which they were not designed (e.g. a fire hose can project water, but a statue cannot throw lightning bolts). Despite warping to move, objects retain the same basic shape and proportions they had previously. The mass of an object limits the number of stones that can be allocated to it for attack. Refer to the Weight row of the D&R chart to determine the maximum number of stones (not including Situational Modifiers) that can a single object can use for attack. For example, a single fork could only attack with 1 stone (and probably no Situational Modifier). But five hundred forks could use 2 stones, and probably receive 2 or 3 free stones for sharpness and sheer numbers.

Options
[/li][li] (No Additional Cost) Animate Drawings: Instead of animating objects, you can animate drawings, pulling them from the page and bringing them to life. Animated drawings are generally only capable of any special power they are performing in the drawing, unless the subject's special qualities are a part of public consciousness (e.g. a dragon breathing fire).
[/li][li] +3 to Cost Level to animate drawings in addition to objects.
[/li][li] -1 to Cost Level if you much touch the object to be animated.
[/li][li] -2 to Cost Level if you can only animate objects/drawings that you created yourself
[/li][li] -1 to Cost Level if you can only animate specific materials or types of objects/drawings (e.g. statues, wood, TV images, Tarot cards, etc.)

Comments
This is one of the weirder powers out there. Nonetheless, it can be subtle. Who's to say you made that chair throw the Senator to the floor?

Rules for Action Box:
[/li][li] Spend stones to act through animated objects
[/li][li] Max stones determined by Weight row of D&R
[/li][li] Objects may get Situational Modifiers based on construction
[/li][li] Range: 2
[/b]

[beyonder]

Man, Pirate, you are all OVER this forum with the new rules and ideas! Keep up the good work.
This is a cool, classic, bizarre power. My first thought is that it would fit best with a mage character (like Diablo, who is sort of a mage), but then there's the Mutant angle (a la Tarot of the Hellions), and a Mutagenic with this power would likely have a pretty strange and cool Origin story!
You might consider mentioning that this is a viable +1 Option for certain solid-object Masteries (like, I dunno, Toast). Also, cost-break Options that come to mind are:

• -2 to Cost Level if you can only animate objects (/drawings) that you created yourself
  
• -1 to Cost Level if you can only animate specific materials or types of objects(/drawings): statues, wooden objects, TV images, Tarot cards, Toast, etc.
  

Lastly, you might wanna mention that smaller and less durable objects will individually be capable of less. That is, if you are animating, um, silverware, candlesticks, teakettles and shelf clocks , your power would need to animate several of these objects at once, rather than, say, making a single spoon attack with 8 Stones. I don't know how to word that, but I hope you get the gist.

[piratespice]

Hmm...excellent feedback, Beyonder. Consider your two Option suggestions to be officially part of the power! I'll add them in soon (if you don't mind, that is). You're also right about the issue of small objects. I'll give it some thought. It'll probably just be an issue of applying a maximum number of stones to an object's attack equal to its weight on the D&R, or something like that.

[wayne]

Wow, not bad! At first, I was thinking, "this is just Telekinesis with a weapons mod", but your options show that it's quite different. Plus, there's the subtle distinction your fork example illustrated... you aren't *launching* the fork, you're *telling it* to attack, so the most it can attack with is 1 stone. Clever.

(Ugh, now I've got decade-old images from "Beauty and the Beast" stuck in my head... forks bouncing everywhere... I hate that movie...)

-Wayne

[torment]

Cool!, does that mean if something ways 3 on the DR Chart you put 3 stones into it and then the most it can attack with his 3 stones (+ acceptable mods)

Duration? Do you keep stones in the item to keep it under control and animated?

[piratespice]

Torment said:

Cool!, does that mean if something ways 3 on the DR Chart you put 3 stones into it and then the most it can attack with his 3 stones (+ acceptable mods)

Yes. Bear in mind, though, that this is mere for attack stones. If you want to allocate more stones for additional effects, or difficult actions, go right ahead. They just can't count toward the actual stones of attack/damage.

Duration? Do you keep stones in the item to keep it under control and animated?

Duration is instantaneous. It is under your control as long as you're still spending stones on it. Since animated objects don't have a will of their own, you don't need to maintain control, such as with mind control.

[Brainstem]

Oh man... just imagine a character that runs around with a deck of Magic the Gathering cards or something like that and brings 'em all to life. That'd be pretty nifty, actually.

You have a good eye for powers, Mr. Spice.

[piratespice]

Thanks, Brainstem. I can't really claim originality for the ideas. I usually create powers when I'm trying to stat-up a character, and no existing Action will serve my purposes. In this case, Animate Objects originally came from wanted more solid rules for Tarot's powers. Then, when trying to make rules for an obscure character named Sleepwalker (well, obscure to a lot of current-day readers), I realized the full application it could be used for, and expanded it to make the base power objects, and drawings just an option.