Post by takewithfood on Sept 18, 2009 11:54:02 GMT -5
Hey gang,
So, the subject of Invisibility came up in one of DK's retread games (X-Men: Heirs to the Atom; if ever a slot opens up to join this game, you are a FOOL if you don't scramble for it) and it reminded me that I've always wanted to make a subtle edit to Invisibility.
The purpose is this: in a standard fight, a character should probably gain some kind of advantage for turning invisible. In comics, invisible characters typically beat the snot out of their visible opponents, at least until their invisibility is somehow negated (by heightened senses, turning on a sprinkler system, etc).
The question is: how should this be represented. More importantly, how can it be done simply, effectively, and yet without being game-breakingly advantageous.
[/u]: Invisibility still works as normal: spend 2 stones to become invisible, 1 stone/panel to maintain. However, you get an edge over your opponent in combat. You may ignore a number of your opponents shifted stones of defense equal to your Invisibility Action Number on any attack made while invisible.
Example: Sue Storm, who has Invisibility 6, finds herself in a deadly close combat fight with Taskmaster. She quickly puts 2 stones into Invisibility to disappear from view, and places 6 stones into Close Combat as an attack. Taskmaster is cautious initially, and shifts 7 stones of his own Close Combat to defense, plus he adds 1 stone from personal armor and 2 stones of Reflexive Dodge. Ordinarily Taskmaster would be able to repel Sue's attack, but because she is invisible, he has difficulty anticipating and defending against her blows. Sue's attack ignores 6 of the 7 stones that Taskmaster shifted to defense, and lands a solid blow for a total of 1 white stone of health.
Defenders who have some kind of heightened senses that can negate Invisibility have an easier time defending themselves. They can subtract the appropriate MN from their attacker's Invisibility AN for the purposes of determining the number of stones of shifted defense that are ignored.
Example: Sue Storm, who still has Invisibility 6, is trying to disable a couple of sentry robots guarding the front door of a secret Oscorp facility. The sentry robots have Cybernetic Senses 4: not enough to negate her Invisibility, but still handy when it comes to defending themselves against her attacks. Sue can only ignore a maximum of 2 stones of shifted defense against these drones.
Some forms of shifted defense that function like armor or toughness can ignore this rule (e.g., Force Fields).[/size][/quote]
Perhaps this should be an option of some sort, as its rather powerful. If it comes for free, maybe the per-panel upkeep cost should be raised to 2 stones/panel.
ALSO: I've also thought about distinguishing common Reflexive Dodge vs "prescient" reflexes, such as Spidey's spidersense. In theory, prescience would be a +1 CL option for Reflexive Dodge, and your RD would always apply; without it, you could lose it against attacks that you can't see coming, such as the attacks of an invisible character (you can't flinch away from what you can't perceive). Essentially RD would count as shifted stones.
~TWF
So, the subject of Invisibility came up in one of DK's retread games (X-Men: Heirs to the Atom; if ever a slot opens up to join this game, you are a FOOL if you don't scramble for it) and it reminded me that I've always wanted to make a subtle edit to Invisibility.
The purpose is this: in a standard fight, a character should probably gain some kind of advantage for turning invisible. In comics, invisible characters typically beat the snot out of their visible opponents, at least until their invisibility is somehow negated (by heightened senses, turning on a sprinkler system, etc).
The question is: how should this be represented. More importantly, how can it be done simply, effectively, and yet without being game-breakingly advantageous.
The Concept
Example: Sue Storm, who has Invisibility 6, finds herself in a deadly close combat fight with Taskmaster. She quickly puts 2 stones into Invisibility to disappear from view, and places 6 stones into Close Combat as an attack. Taskmaster is cautious initially, and shifts 7 stones of his own Close Combat to defense, plus he adds 1 stone from personal armor and 2 stones of Reflexive Dodge. Ordinarily Taskmaster would be able to repel Sue's attack, but because she is invisible, he has difficulty anticipating and defending against her blows. Sue's attack ignores 6 of the 7 stones that Taskmaster shifted to defense, and lands a solid blow for a total of 1 white stone of health.
Defenders who have some kind of heightened senses that can negate Invisibility have an easier time defending themselves. They can subtract the appropriate MN from their attacker's Invisibility AN for the purposes of determining the number of stones of shifted defense that are ignored.
Example: Sue Storm, who still has Invisibility 6, is trying to disable a couple of sentry robots guarding the front door of a secret Oscorp facility. The sentry robots have Cybernetic Senses 4: not enough to negate her Invisibility, but still handy when it comes to defending themselves against her attacks. Sue can only ignore a maximum of 2 stones of shifted defense against these drones.
Some forms of shifted defense that function like armor or toughness can ignore this rule (e.g., Force Fields).[/size][/quote]
Perhaps this should be an option of some sort, as its rather powerful. If it comes for free, maybe the per-panel upkeep cost should be raised to 2 stones/panel.
ALSO: I've also thought about distinguishing common Reflexive Dodge vs "prescient" reflexes, such as Spidey's spidersense. In theory, prescience would be a +1 CL option for Reflexive Dodge, and your RD would always apply; without it, you could lose it against attacks that you can't see coming, such as the attacks of an invisible character (you can't flinch away from what you can't perceive). Essentially RD would count as shifted stones.
~TWF