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Aberrant RPG - Mega-Dexterity 6+ Feats


Sprocket

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It's Sprocket here again, on behalf of the Development Team for the Mega-Physical project. We're still alive & working on the ebook, but we've hit yet another snag. Namely, we've run out of good ideas for the Mega-Dexterity feats for dot ratings of 6 & higher.

Some of you folks might have noticed, but the concept of superhuman agility/dexterity has been very ill-defined in the comics, which are a large section of our reference materials. We were able to find enough good examples for the first 5 dot ratings, and even dredged up a few for Mega-Dexterity 6 & 7. But after weeks of web-surfing & library-ransacking, we have found nothing for Mega-Dexterity 8, 9 or 10.

And that's why we're asking for some ideas from the rest of you lot here at EON. So don't be bashful - if you've got a concrete idea of what the upper ranges of Mega-Dexterity should be capable of without the use of enhancements, post them here! They won't be automatically accepted - they'll undergo peer review & all that - but you folks have got a shot.

BTW, here's what we've hammered out, peer reviewed & approved so far for the whole Mega-Dexterity Feats.

Mega-Dexterity 1

• Dodge machine gun fire at close range.

• Perfect 10 gymnastics routine.

• Run on the narrowest of supports as if it was a wide footpath.

• Shoot the wings off of a fly.

• Use a kitchen knife to julienne vegetables in midair without a cutting board.

Mega-Dexterity 2

• Climb on any surface that offers even the slightest of handholds.

• Disarm multiple opponents before they can react.

• Juggle angry badgers and not get bitten.

• May perform flips and dodges while in midair.

• Perform two different tasks, both delicate manipulations and/or violent movements simultaneously at full capacity.

Mega-Dexterity 3

• Ascend or descend buildings that are close together by bouncing between their walls.

• Ignore movement penalties caused by obstacles while moving at high speed, provided that there's enough of a gap in the obstacle for the swift to slip through.

• Perfect 10 gymnastics routine blindfolded with one hand tied behind your back.

• Remain in poses that baseline acrobats or contortionists would consider painful indefinitely.

• Use any surface - horizontal, vertical, stationary or mobile - capable of supporting the swift's weight as a perch or pivot point.

Mega-Dexterity 4

• Catch a bullet.

• Engage in combat on a nightingale floor without making it squeak.

• Juggle old dynamite without setting it off.

• Leap onto speeding vehicles with the ease of a baseline stepping onto a moving escalator.

• Move on unstable solid surfaces as if it they were an Olympic-grade running track.

Mega-Dexterity 5

• Dive through the spinning rotor blades of a helicopter in flight without getting hit.

• Juggle mercury fulminate without setting it off.

• Move on a violently-shaking surface - like the ground during earthquakes of up to 7.0 on the Richter scale - as if it was stable and still.

• Pluck flying shrapnel out of the air within a small area - such as the interior of an average-sized restaurant - before it can damage anything nearby.

• Assemble or disassemble complex machinery without using purely mechanical tools.

Mega-Dexterity 6

• Juggle liquid nitroglycerin without setting it off.

• Move on an extremely violently-shaking surface - like the ground during earthquakes of 7.0 on the Richter scale and higher - as if it was stable and still.

• Pluck flying shrapnel out of the air within a large area - like a small public park - before it can damage anything nearby.

• x.

• x.

Mega-Dexterity 7

• Dodge laser beams.

• Juggle nitrogen tri-iodide without setting it off.

• Move too fast to be seen with unaided baseline human vision.

• x.

• x.

Mega-Dexterity 8

• x.

• x.

• x.

• x.

• x.

Mega-Dexterity 9

• x.

• x.

• x.

• x.

• x.

Mega-Dexterity 10

• x.

• x.

• x.

• x.

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Mega Dexterity 6- Slice the face off a person currently in combat with you, without damaging the underlying bone.

That's a possibility, although I could also see that being done at Mega-Dexterity 4 or 5. If it's not used here, Reighnhell's sure to snap it up for use as a Melee special maneuver in Chapter 2.

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I'm thinking a 5 or 6 for this.

Dislocate and relocate any joint in your body without causing damage to the joint. Treat the nova as though they were triple-jointed.

Figuring that with this, a Mega-Dex person is far more limber, and can "stretch" the tendons and ligaments out of the way for the bones to shift.

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Cut someone's heart out in combat without them noticing?
I'd say, as a Mega-Dex 8, cut out someone's heart and hold it in front of their face before it stops beating. ::devil (Though it obviously assumes that you can deal enough damage to put them at "Dead" and that they don't have a comparable level of Mega-Dex.)

Cottus, the dislocation shouldn't be painful - the pain comes from the wrenching/tearing of the tendons and ligaments. It would probably be somewhat uncomfortable or maybe just odd, but not painful, because none of the connective tissue is damaged. It would also make the nova virtually immune to any kind of restraints or grappling maneuver that allow for any kind of movement; the only thing that wouldn't come off is the Directive's explosive collars (because they can't fit over the skull).

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I'm liking what's being posted here. I'll see about writing up these suggestions. ::thumbup1

For what it's worth, the first & fifth feats listed for Mega-Dex 5 could be shifted upwards to Mega-Dex 6 if (and that is a pretty big "if") they sound more plausible at that higher rating. Otherwise, the feats for Mega-Dex 5 & lower are pretty much finished.

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I'd say, as a Mega-Dex 8, cut out someone's heart and hold it in front of their face before it stops beating. ::devil (Though it obviously assumes that you can deal enough damage to put them at "Dead" and that they don't have a comparable level of Mega-Dex.)
M-Dex 4 or 5 is bullet speed or something close, that might be enough.

That Queen of the Dead thing where she pulls someone's heart out, shows it too him, then asks if it's his.

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I'd say, as a Mega-Dex 8, cut out someone's heart and hold it in front of their face before it stops beating. ::devil (Though it obviously assumes that you can deal enough damage to put them at "Dead" and that they don't have a comparable level of Mega-Dex.)

I think the original intent was: cut out someone's heart & show it to him before he notices (read: before the pain hits him). That would be plausible for Mega-Dex 8 AFAICT. What you're describing was done on a more-or-less daily basis by certain RL Aztec priests before the conquistadors shut them down.

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Aztec priests did cut hearts out on a daily basis, true. But AFAIK, they were not fast enough to sever the connective tissue, the arteries and veins, and remove the heart from the body, before it stopped beating, let alone hold it up for the victim to see/realize before said victim died or passed unconscious from shock.

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Re: Aztec cardioextraction speeds-

There was a documentary where they estimated the "rate of operation" (bad pun!) of the Aztec priests doing this, although they were mainly trying to establish how many sacrifices could one of those guys could do per ceremony. IIRC, their best time was something like 10-12 seconds. If that's quick enough for the victim to see his own heart before dying from shock, I don't know. But considering we're pegging Swifts with Mega-Dex 8 with having physical reaction times measured in zeptoseconds, their (the swifts, not the Aztec priests) performing the feat in question does sound plausible AFAICT.

I'll check my references & try to find info on that documentary.

EDIT: Found a transcript, my guess was close on the time required AFA baselines doing this butchery: 9-15 seconds. They weren't hacking through the ribcage though, they cut through the diaphragm to get to the heart.

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I doubt you'd even need that much. If you can perform the removal in a millisecond, that should be too quickly for the victim to really even start losing consciousness.

( and if the nova succeeded with some extra sux, I'd entirely let him have the 'procedure' be bloodless, painless, and a complete shocking surprise to the victim, who doesn't start dying until he realizes it. After all, super strong novas don't need leverage. . . )

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Now there's an idea... If the basic maneuver (rip out foe's heart before he goes into shock/loses consciousness) is pegged at Mega-Dex 5, then would the "bloodless, painless, and a complete shocking surprise" version previously mentioned be rated at Mega-Dex 6 or 7?

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Re: New feats & "Grey Man specials"-

Eh, feats of bloody mayhem & carnage are just as valid as the other stuff on the list so far. Pendaran's ideas also sound like the sort of thing Reighnhell might like to incorporate into Chapter 2. ::devil

Besides, AFAICT we'll be needing every idea we can get to fill the remaining slots for Mega-Dex 7 through 10. ::sly

Re: Decapitation feat-

If anything, this would be easier than the heart-extraction feat - Mega-Dex 4 perhaps.

Re: Mega-Dex 6 feats-

Here's the current (non-peer-reviewed) list:

Mega-Dexterity 6

• Dislocate and relocate any joint in the swift's body without damaging it, the swift is effectively triple-jointed.

• Juggle liquid nitroglycerin without setting it off.

• Move on an extremely violently-shaking surface - like the ground during earthquakes of 7.0 on the Richter scale and higher - as if it was stable and still.

• Pluck flying shrapnel out of the air within a large area - like a small public park - before it can damage anything nearby.

For the fifth feat, I think we've got a choice between the following pair:

• Use a blade to slice the face off a foe during combat without damaging the underlying bone.

>or<

• Use a blade to cut a foe's heart out in combat and show it to him for a bloodless, painless, and complete surprise before he can go into shock.

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Re: Mega-Dex 6 feats-

OK, the "heart feat" it is, then.

Re: Feat limits-

Yes, we're limiting the feats to a maximum of 5 for Mega-Dex 1 through 9, & a maximum of 4 for Mega-Dex 10, just as we did for the Mega-Strength feats. The reason for the prior restriction was to keep the feat listings at a reasonable size, & the latter was simply due to the extreme difficulty of coming up with plausible feats for the 10th dot of any Mega-Attribute.

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Re: Two more disturbing feat ideas-

As long as we're on a "spine-chilling" tack here, what about the following pair?

1- Pervy feat: Remove all the clothing from a person before he or she can notice, much less react.

2- Bloody feat: Use a blade to completely flay a victim (removal of the victim's entire skin in reasonably intact shape - suitable for transplant or tanning) before he can notice/react.

I can see swifts of a certain bent committing either of these acts. ::devil

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After thinking about it, I'm forced to admit that the "strip a victim" feat may not be suitable for the listings, but not for the expected reason (sexual perversion). Performing this feat on a victim wearing skimpy swimwear or light clothing would likely only require Mega-Dex 2 or 3; while doing the same to someone in Antarctica-caliber winter garb or body armor might take Mega-Dex 5 or 6. I'm dismissing this from consideration for the listings on account of being overly vague. ::shrug

As for the "instant flaying", could this be accomplished at Mega-Dex 7? I concur that a full-body skinning is much more of a job than a straight-up heart extraction, but is the difference between them large enough to justify the Mega-Dex 8 ranking?

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After thinking about it, I'm forced to admit that the "strip a victim" feat may not be suitable for the listings, but not for the expected reason (sexual perversion). Performing this feat on a victim wearing skimpy swimwear or light clothing would likely only require Mega-Dex 2 or 3; while doing the same to someone in Antarctica-caliber winter garb or body armor might take Mega-Dex 5 or 6. I'm dismissing this from consideration for the listings on account of being overly vague. ::shrug

As for the "instant flaying", could this be accomplished at Mega-Dex 7? I concur that a full-body skinning is much more of a job than a straight-up heart extraction, but is the difference between them large enough to justify the Mega-Dex 8 ranking?

As some one who's both gutted and skinned animals...heck yes. Especially with human skin, which is insanely easy to damage. Plus, if you're flaying someone without them noticing, that means you're also having to account for their position to cut the connections between the flesh and the skin without the luxury of a position you want. So, it's a much larger, much more delicate, and takes more time then simply cutting out a heart.

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As some one who's both gutted and skinned animals...heck yes. Especially with human skin, which is insanely easy to damage. Plus, if you're flaying someone without them noticing, that means you're also having to account for their position to cut the connections between the flesh and the skin without the luxury of a position you want. So, it's a much larger, much more delicate, and takes more time then simply cutting out a heart.

Fair enough, that's just the sort of the RL knowledge we are in need of here. I'll be adding this feat to the Mega-Dex 8 listings posthaste. Much thanks! ::biggrin

EDIT (02/22): OK, here's our first feat for Mega-Dex 8, spit-polished & all.

Mega-Dexterity 8

• Use a blade to completely flay a victim (removal of the victim's entire intact skin) for a complete surprise before he can notice and react. It's done so quickly that it's bloodless and painless until the victim notices what he's missing.

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In the interests of sparking some more ideas from you lot, here's another one of mine. In AB:WW Phase 2, pp. 148-150 they discuss the Orbital Kinetic Railguns used by the Directive. According to the writeup, the projectiles they fire travel at a speed of Mach 25.

What dot ratings of Mega-Dexterity would be required to dodge projectiles traveling at Mach speeds? How about catching them?

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That depends. Are you talking "total surprise attack" or a forewarned dodge effort?

Forewarned, I'd say it doesn't really require any particular level of Mega Dex, beyond say, 1-3 for dodging an aim point. Just like you don't need FTL reflexes to dodge a laser, you just need to be faster than whatever is aiming and firing it.

Presuming minimal warning and awareness? I'd say Mega Dex 6. A Mega Dex 5, Hypermovement 5 speedster travels about half that speed, and Q6 Mega Dex 6 easily allows you to exceed Mach 25 ( with Mastery ). This isn't a direct and necessary chain of conclusion, but I figure its a decent guestimate for the reflexes needed.

Of course, if all you have is Mega Dex 6, then you run into the problem of actually escaping the area effect involved, as opposed to merely dodging the actual projectiles. . .

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Well, absent anything else, I'd peg Mega Dex 10 as being the "Exalted style perfect defense" territory, in the sense that no matter how outrageously insane the situation, you can at least attempt to dodge, parry, or deflect it. So, ground zero at a gigaton nuclear blast, you can still avoid the whole thing ( and presumably be sitting in the middle of a continent-sized crater ) if you roll, say, 10 sux or so. Incoming laser beam a mile in diameter? Roll opposed against the attackers attack roll, and you can block it with your sword.

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That depends. Are you talking "total surprise attack" or a forewarned dodge effort?

Either way, actually. Thanks for giving answers for both, & apologies for not being more specific. ::laugh

Well, absent anything else, I'd peg Mega Dex 10 as being the "Exalted style perfect defense" territory, in the sense that no matter how outrageously insane the situation, you can at least attempt to dodge, parry, or deflect it. So, ground zero at a gigaton nuclear blast, you can still avoid the whole thing ( and presumably be sitting in the middle of a continent-sized crater ) if you roll, say, 10 sux or so. Incoming laser beam a mile in diameter? Roll opposed against the attackers attack roll, and you can block it with your sword.

Now that sounds interesting to the point where a minor rewrite of our established listing for Mega-Dex 10 may be in order. Question is, would using Mega-Dex 10 to do that kind of thing be plausible/logical AFA the in-game rubber physics? I love the sheer "over the top"-ness of the idea, but can we justify it in the game?

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Given Mega Dex 10 is literally as high as it goes, *I* certainly have no problem saying "at this level, the laws of physics go rather limp and accomodating at this level."
IMHO that's a statement more applicable to Q10... which admittedly you already have to have in order to have M-Dex 10.
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Here's another, unranked, example: "Walking or running along a stream of automatic gunfire, or similar projectiles."

Old-school anime flashback time! ::laugh In the first Project A-ko movie, the physically-superhuman heroine of the story manages to make her way up to an attacking alien battleship in midair by using the flurries of missiles it's firing in her direction like stepping (well, leaping) stones. Each of those missiles were larger than she was, but it might serve as a benchmark for the example you suggested.

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Re: M-Dex 7 & 8 feats-

Here's the current revisions for these listings.

Mega-Dexterity 7

• Dodge laser beams that have targeted the swift.

• Juggle nitrogen tri-iodide without setting it off.

• Move too fast to be seen with unaided baseline human vision.

• x.

• x.

Mega-Dexterity 8

• Use a blade to completely flay a victim (removal of the victim's entire intact skin) in combat for a complete surprise before he can notice and react. It's done so quickly that it's bloodless and painless until the victim notices what he's missing.

• Walk or run along a stream of automatic gunfire or similar projectiles.

• x.

• x.

• x.

Re: M-Dex 10 "Ultimate Dodge/Parry/Block"-

Took me a while to hammer out something suitable for this due to excessive RL interference.

The nova can dodge, parry or block even the largest area attacks, provided that the Storyteller deems it plausible and the nova scores a minimum of 10 successes on the Dexterity roll. Possibilities for this include dodging the most powerful thermonuclear blasts at ground zero, parrying an incoming asteroid and blocking kilometer-wide lasers with a sword.

If this looks OK to the rest of the Development Team, we'll be adding it to the expanded Mega-Dexterity dot rating listings in Chapter 4.

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