Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Example Powers 11: Intangibility

Kitty Pryde walking through walls, vampires turning into mist, sci-fi tech that makes things "out of phase" with the rest of the universe, and other powers that allow similar "here but not solid" abilities are covered by this power. 

Monday, June 20, 2011

Example Powers 10: Dispel ("I cast magic missile!" "Nuh-uh!")

The Dispel power is used to cancel another power. Classic examples include opening a magically sealed door by turning to the nearest magician and asking "Can't you wizard it open?" Or, turning to your Chief Engineer when faced with an enemy ship with powerful shields and asking "Can you re-modulate the frequency of our gigionic torpedoes to penetrate their plasmonic shields?" (The answer is yes because anything with that many made up technical words is bound to work!)

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Example Powers 9: Deflection ("Not in the Face! Not in the face!")

This power is called Deflection. It's a defensive power that makes it harder to attack a character. Like Armor, this power could be replicated with a more generic power to alter a character's traits (such as boosting Defense), but I'm setting it aside as a common application for ease of reference.

Monday, June 13, 2011

Example Powers 8: Armor

This example power is called Armor and, as you would expect, it makes it harder to hurt a character under its effect. This power is basically a specific form of another power that alters a character's attributes (in this case, Toughness), but I'm making it a separate power because I think it will be a common application in most settings so I'm separating it for ease of reference.

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Example Powers 7: Puppet

Today's power is called Puppet and represents a wide variety of ways to control another character through super hypnosis, telepathic suggestion, magical enchantment, or just physical force. 

Saturday, June 11, 2011

Example Powers 6: Push (a.k.a. "Get over here!")

This power is used to move a target from one Area to another. Some examples of this in action are Mortal Kombat's Scorpion using his whip to pull enemies to him, Jedi knights using the Force to telekinetically knock battle droids aside, or tractor beams in various sci-fi media.

Friday, June 10, 2011

Example Powers 5: Energy Drain

This is another example of a power and how it can be adapted to represent different things. This power is called Energy Drain and it inflict Strain damage. Strain is a more generalized form of damage that covers things like drowning, thirst, exposure, exhaustion, and other environmental penalties. If you're engaged in a sword fight in a sauna, your opponent's sword will deal normal damage to your Health, but the sauna will inflict Strain on you. I enjoy a nice sauna, but it's not a comfortable place for strenuous physical activity and I wouldn't want to live in one.

Friday, June 3, 2011

Example Powers 4

Here's another installment of specific implementations of a generic power. In this case, it's the classic "Fireball".



Blast: This power allows its user to deal 3D damage to every target in an area. Advantage can be spent to increase the damage by +1D or to exclude a target in the affected area (to avoid friendly fire or self-inflicted injury).
  • The Necromancers of Taj Neroth know two spells that use this power. The Western Rite necromancers use a Scene spell they call “The Dholian Maw”, which causes a black pool of oil to seep up from the ground and extend a swarm of gnashing black blade-like pseudopods that glisten like oily teeth. Anything on the ground (or within a few feet of it) will be repeatedly savaged by the blades that swirl and strike like a frenzied school of piranha. The Eastern Rite necromancers use a Focus spell called the “Convulsions of Rahng Nang”, which summons a cluster of greenish-brown spikes like giant porcupine quills that erupt from the earth then retract again. The quills randomly erupt from the ground every round the spell is maintained and are accompanied by the hellish tortured squealing of an apparently very large creature which is being wracked by spasms just below the surface of the ground. Perhaps it is fortunate that nobody has yet seen the body of “Rahng Nang” in its entirety.
  • Among the Elemental Mages, this power is very popular and comes in many varieties. Most of them are Instant powers that take the form of an explosion of elemental energy or shrapnel. The most popular spells include “Ball of Fire”, “Meteor Storm”, “Avalanche” (which actually causes the ground in an area to overturn rather than fall from above as the name implies), “Rain of Ice Daggers”, “Acid Deluge”, and “Wrath of Lightning”.
  • Aetheric Engineers and Hermetic Dynamicists use this power to create a wide variety of bombs, rockets, and grenades. Hermetic Dynamicists tend to focus on variations of thermal detonators and plasma grenades while Cryobionicists use this power to create frost flak cannon, flash freeze grenades, and bombs that project icy shrapnel. The so-called “void cannons” of Planet X that annihilate matter in a spherical area around the point of impact are also based on this power (Instant, 4D damage).
  • The most powerful Ma Quy sorcerers have been rumored to use this power to create “Storms of Hatred”, a wild wide-scale version of the “Fires of Hatred” power. “Storm of Hatred” is a Scene power that deals 5D damage (difficulty 5: Scene 3 +2 for extra damage) and continues to burn even if the caster is dead, unconscious, or leaves the area. It is not unheard of for casters to be destroyed in their own conflagrations.
  • The Tyrian Brotherhood use this power when facing many enemies single-handed. They call it “One Light Against the Darkness” or “Rage of Solitary Justice”. Their version of this power cannot be used at range: it can only be used against the Area the Tyrian Knight is in. Upon casting the power, the knight swirls through the area like a mad dervish cutting down every foe with broad weapon sweeps and swift strikes with elbows, knees, head, and feet.

Thursday, June 2, 2011

Example Powers 3

Here's an example of how our sample groups would use another power.



Strike: This power allows its user to deal 4D damage to a target in the user's Area. Advantage can be spent to boost the damage or to affect additional targets.
  • The Necromancers of Taj Neroth know two spells that use this power. The Western Rite necromancers use an Instant spell they call “Tsathic Flames”, which summons a fan-shaped spray of green flames from the caster's hands. The Eastern Rite necromancers use a Focus spell called the “Chant of Vajra Leng”, which summons a purplish-red streak of lightning that arcs from the caster's forehead and jumps from one target to another in a chain of electrical agony.
  • Among the Elemental Mages, this power is known as many different spells. Most of them are Instant powers that take the form of a fan- or cone-shaped spray of damaging energy. Some of the more common spells include “Dragon's Breath”, “Cone of Frost”, and “Acid Spray”. The earth elementalists have two common variations: “Gravel Burst” is an Instant spell that creates a shotgun like blast of jagged gravel; “Scouring Sands” is a Focus spell that can eventually strip flesh from bone or whittle trees to kindling.
  • Aetheric Engineers and Hermetic Dynamicists use this power to create plasmathrowers, directed-blast energy mines (labeled “This side toward enemy”), or even an irradiator with a nozzle choke to spread the beam. The effects of these weapons are generally horrific and diplomats are trying to limit their use in warfare by treaties such as the Luna Convention. The Cryobionicists use this power to generate blasts of icy shrapnel or rapid-fire frost needlers that can quickly spray an area with slivers of frozen death. The most hideous weapons to use this power are the close assault weapons of the Invaders from Planet X: they appear to use short range tractor/repulsor beams that alternate hundreds of times a second to shake targets apart. The gruesome effects of these weapons are evident from nicknames like “jelly guns” or “liquifiers”.
  • Templars usually use the Bolt power to telekinetically crush or pummel targets, but several Ma Quy have been known to use the Strike power to generate blasts of purplish flame called the “Fires of Hatred”. It is extremely rare for Dai Zha templars to use this power, but very few have been known to use the Astral Source to mimic the effects of “Fires of Hatred” without using negative emotions. The Astral version of this power is called “Luminescent Judgment” and manifests as white lightning.
  • The Tyrian Brotherhood use this power when faced with demons or undead. They call it “Glorious Light” because it summons a brightly shining aura that burns such creatures of unnatural evil. It has no damaging effects on living creatures, but the “damage” roll of the power can be used for Advantage on a Command roll (to rally allies) or Duel of Wits roll (to cow enemies).

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Example Powers 2

Here is another power with specific examples of how it can be used by different groups and power sources.

Bolt: This power allows its user to make a ranged attack for 3D damage with a basic success. Advantage can be spent to generate additional bolts or add +1D to a bolt's damage.
  • The Necromancers of Taj Neroth call this spell “The Breath of Choth Ka”. It is a Focus power (difficuly 2) that causes the caster to exhale a long tendril of greenish black smoke that lashes out to strike like a serpent each round for as long as the caster maintains the spell. The caster must make a Cunning roll to hit with it. Its touch burns like acid but no scientific analysis of the wounds has ever revealed the presence of any chemical agents.
  • Among the Elemental Mages, this power is known as many different spells. Most of them are Instant powers that create some sort of projectile: Pyre Lance, Frost Missile, Acid Jet, Lightning Bolt, and so on, but there are exceptions. The Stone Talons spell causes spikes to erupt from the ground to skewer its target. Chant of Ignition is a Focus power that allows the caster to burn targets within line of sight with a Shooting roll each round the chant is maintained. The Frost Scorpion spell is a difficulty 4 (Scene duration 3 +1 for extra damage die) power that generates a large cloud of shimmering ice crystals vaguely shaped like a siege engine; it floats around the caster, who can use it to deal 4D damage to a target every round with a Shooting roll.
  • Aetheric Engineers use this power to create a variety of death rays. The most common types are disintegrators that pervert tractor beam technology to rip targets apart on the molecular level, irradiators that bombard a target with highly energetic particle beams, or disruptors that use pulsing waves of energy to break down the atomic bonds in the target's molecules. Hermetic Dynamicists use this power to create lasers and heat rays and Cryobionicists from Neptune have been known to use it to give their war creatures the ability to extrude and launch ice missiles.
  • Ma Quy Templars use the Cthonic Source to focus their hatred and anger to telekinetically crush and choke their enemies. Dai Zha templars sometimes use this ability against inanimate objects or to indirectly strike a foe by telekinetically flinging an object as a projectile, but such things are usually frowned upon by their order. In either case, this "Telekinetic Bolt" is a Focus power that can be used with a Concentration roll every round that the power is maintained. 
  • The Tyrian Brotherhood does not use this power.