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Aberrant RPG - Teleportation option questions


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Instead of getting off into too much game mechanics on my own, let me tell what I want my character to do.

His power concept revolves around Teleportation. I'm thinking of building his power as a wierd form of Elemental Mastery, but am not sure how to do it. Basically, here's a rough outline of his power's abilities. Is it too strong, not strong enough, etc.? Basically, I'm looking for advice and constructive criticism.

His Techniques will be:

Teleport - he can teleport himself (and whatever is covered by the Attunement background) both short distances (like Combat Telep) and long distances (requiring that whole 1 turn delay thing)

Teleport Other(ranged) - He can Teleport people and objects he can see to and from himself. He can also teleport people and object that he can't see, but only if he knows exactly where they are within 1 meter or so. This effect can be resisted by WP.

Stun/EMP: By "jiggling" a target's molecules, he can inflict Stun effects on living beings and an EMP attack on electronics. Purely mechanical items are immune.

Disperse: As per the Molecular Manipulation power, he can disintegrate non-living items.

Molecular Alteration: By "blinking" a non-living thing and "leaving behind" certain particles, he can alter the molecular structure of an items. Unfortunately, he can only do this from more to less. So, he could transform gold to oxygen, but not the other way around. Also, he can affect the state of matter (solid, liquid or gas), but not the shape (no changing a tree into a motorcycle). Also, once the duration of the alteration expires, the object decays into various harmless particles and fades away.

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Greets an' well met, John.

If the power set you listed is still able to do everything the related powers can, then I'd say this power suite is far too powerful (let me put it another way -- far too powerful) to be a part of Elemental Mastery.

That said, it seems you've got your character worked out already. You've got Combat Teleport, Warp, Stun Attack, Disintegrate, and one of the Molecular Manipulation abilities. Unfortunately, all but one of the abilities listed is a level three power. This, you see, is the reason why there is no Elemental Mastery; Space. Your characters' proposed mastery of the spacial flux makes him powerful above and beyond what most novas ever get to.

My advice? Baby steps, man. Don't try to be all things all at once. Start with Quantum 5, pick up some Stun Attack, Teleport, maybe some Disintegration. The Teleport extra can come next, and then some Warp and Molecular Manipulation. Stock up on your Mega-Stamina and Mega-Perception -- you'll need them.

Hope I could be of some help. Good fortune in getting this ironed out.

-- Avenger

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Quote:
JohnTFS wanted to say:
Instead of getting off into too much game mechanics on my own, let me tell what I want my character to do.


Hello, JohnTFS. Welcome to N!Prime and our somewhat ecletic group but creative little group.

As someone noted, baby steps are in order but the question is which ones. I think the first question is what level are you playing at? If you're putting together a Quantum 5 +, Level 4 Power / Elemental Mastery then what you're attempting is quite easy since, as Avenger noted, most of these are level 3 powers.

If we're talking about Quantum 5> and a Level 3 Power /Elemental Mastery then this becomes more difficult but not flat out impossible. Please let me know which way we're going with this and I should have a little feedback for you.
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I think I've gotten closer to what I want to do, while still using the concept of a Teleport EM. Essentially, what I'm trying to do, now that I've thought it through a little better, is build a Nova version of Psi Teleportation.

So, here's what I've got so far for techniques:

JUMP

Dice: Per + TM(Teleport Mastery)

Range: Self (or Touch if using Attunement)

Area: NA

Dur: Instant

Multiactions: Y

Effect: This is essentially the Teleport power with the Combat Teleport Extra. Unlike the normal power, this technique has no "long-range" capability and can move the user (and whatever he carries) a maximum of (TM * 25m) in a single Jump. A living, aware person may resist being "carried" along with a WP roll. If the resisting person's successes equal or exceed the Teleporter's, then the resister stays behind.

TRAVEL

Dice: Per + TM

Range: Self

Area: NA

Dur: Instant

Multiactions: No

Effect: This power can move its user up to 10 raised to the (Quantum + Die roll success - 1) in kilometers. So, if Quantum + Successes equaled 6, the Nova could Teleport up to 10,000 Km. For the less math-inclined, just take the "long-range" tables for Telepathy, Teleport or Warp and divide by 2. 1 Success = 1 Km, 2 = 10 Km, etc. If the user doesn't get enough successes to make the distance, he ends up short of his destination and in a random area. (IE, A guy wants to go 10,000 km (needing 5 successes) and winds up with 4 successes. This means he's up to 9,000 km short of his goal at whatever random point he pops out.

An unwilling person may resist this power as well as with JUMP. In this case, the resistor's WP successes cancel out those of the Teleporter regarding distance. If the resistor cancels out all the successes, the TRAVEL attempt fails. If the resister cancels out only part of the successes, the effect goes off, but lands the user and his "friend" short of his destination as outlined above.

TELEPORT OTHER

Dice: Wits + TM

Range: (Quan + Successes) * 10m

Area: NA

Dur: Instant

Multiactions: Y

Effect: With this Technique, the user can Teleport objects (and even people) he can see (or otherwise clearly sense) a variable distance. Before trying the technique, the user first states what he wishes to accomplish ("I want to teleport that guy's gun (which is 40m away) from his belt to my hand.") Then he makes a Wits + TM roll and adds it to his Quantum to determine how much effect he had. Both mass and distance are factors in this situation, by the way. The Attunement chart determines how many success are needed to move a certain amount of mass (in the case of the gun, only 1 success is needed). If the success required do not exceed the mass, the attempt fails. Assuming sufficient successes remain for movement, that's resolved next. Assuming that the user got 5 total successes (1 for weight and 4 for distance) the effect succeeds. Unless the gun's owner resists with a WP roll. Each WP success cancels a TELEPORT OTHER success, reducing the potential distance travelled. So, if the resistor cancelled 2 of the user's successes, the gun would pop into being somewhere around 20m away from each them. Let the race begin!

NOTE: One cannot use this power to Teleport a person or object into solid rock, etc.(unlike the first two, which allow you to accidentally mess yourself (and cargo) up royally). Any mass appearing inside another mass will either a) have that mass give way to his own (air, water, whipped cream(don't ask) etc. or B) be "squirted" into the nearest space open enough to accomodate his mass.

SUMMON

Dice: Per + TM

Range: Special

Area: NA

Dur: Instant

Multiactions: No

Effect: This technique lets one bring something (or someone) to himself from a long way off. But it's hard. First off: The "summoner" must know exactly where on object is within 1 meter or less (using ESP or video survellience counts in this regard) "It's in my room, somewhere." doesn't work. "It's in my room, on the bookshelf, third shelf from the top between my "Evil Dead II DVD and my Alanais Morisette retrospective CD-ROM" will work. Second: Determine how "attuned" the user is to the object. If it's personal property of the user or is otherwise very familiar or if the user has used Attumement on the object/person within Quantum hours of making the SUMMON attempt, then roll Per + TM and add the successes to his base Quantum score. Apply weight as per Attumement and distance as per TRAVEL. A person can resist the effect as in the previous techniques if the person is either targeted by the SUMMON or his holding/using/wearing an item being targeted.

NOTE: If the "familiarty" or Attunement is NOT present, the SUMMONing attempt can still go forward, it's just much harder. In that case, make the die roll, and the success to base Quantum, and then divide the total by 2, rounding down.

Second Note: Failure (or successful resistence of) these technique prevents them from being used on the same targets until a scene or combat has passed.

FLICKER

Dice: Stam + TM

Range: Self

Area: NA

Dur: Main

Multiactions: Y

Effect: This technique mimics the power of Density Control. To activate it, spend Quantum and roll Stam+TM to determine the "level" of Density Reduction. (Ie, 3 sux would give up to 3 "dots" of Density Reduction). The maximum achieveable degree of Density Reduction is limited to the level of TM possessed(a Nova with 2 dots in TM and this technique, couldn't have more than Density Reduction 2 through this technique). Extra successes beyond the number required to activate the power go to duration, adding to the number of turns that can pass before the maintainence cost must be paid. Note that a user failing to reach a specfic level of Density Reduction may try again, but the effect is not cumulative. He must start from scratch.

How do these sound so far?

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Quote:
Originally posted by JohnTFS:
How do these sound so far?


Like a Quantum 6, Level 4 EM combining level 3 teleport variation with some aspects of spatial manipulations into techniques. VEry heady stuff here overall. Are you really gaming at this level or are you the ST building a god to harass players?
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Gonna have to agree with da Wiz on this one. It's the teleport other that puts it over the edge for me.

A suite power is at least a level three, and since you have access to a level three power within the suite (the combat teleport knockoff) it's a guaranteed Q minimum of 5. So, lets crunch some numbers. Captain Blinky the Blinking Blinker has three dots of Teleportation Masters, Perception 4 with MegaPerception 2, Wits 5 and MegaWits 2 (Not unreasonable I think.) Now, Capt. happens upon his arch nemesis, the Atomic Schwantz and decides to bust open an economy sized can of premium ass whooping. So, first thing he decides to do is teleport away ol' A.S.'s Fully Nuclear Blue Veined Porridge Gun so as to disarm him. Now, in the proper tradition of the modern, angst driven world of comics, said boom stick is the size of a medium sized child and weighs fifty pounds. So, four successes are required for attunement, but hell, you're guaranteed five because of the quantum kick in. The dice involved you get another five successes on average. Say A.S. has a remarkable willpower of 10, he, on average, only reduces Capt. Blinky to a total of six successes, more than enough to teleport his gun away. It just seems unbalanced, there is very little likelihood that a target will ever be able to effectively protect themselves.

You also have the ability to very easily (only needing eight net successes) start laying out ten dice of lethal damage to anyone you want to and get the added bonus of halving their soak.

No, this power isn't in the realm of the ridiculous like the near proverbial usage of warp in trying to warp someone to the sun. But, it really should be a Q6 level 4 power, though honestly, making it Q6 just guarantees a more difficult time for anyone to not be smacked around by it at will.

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Quote:
Originally posted by James 'Prodigy' Meehan:
Gonna have to agree with da Wiz on this one. It's the teleport other that puts it over the edge for me.

A suite power is at least a level three, and since you have access to a level three power within the suite (the combat teleport knockoff) it's a guaranteed Q minimum of 5.


I'd figured that I'd compensated for the "combat teleport" by dividing up long and short range parts of the abilities.

So, lets crunch some numbers. Captain Blinky the Blinking Blinker has three dots of Teleportation Masters, Perception 4 with MegaPerception 2, Wits 5 and MegaWits 2 (Not unreasonable I think.) Now, Capt. happens upon his arch nemesis, the Atomic Schwantz and decides to bust open an economy sized can of premium ass whooping. So, first thing he decides to do is teleport away ol' A.S.'s Fully Nuclear Blue Veined Porridge Gun so as to disarm him. Now, in the proper tradition of the modern, angst driven world of comics, said boom stick is the size of a medium sized child and weighs fifty pounds. So, four successes are required for attunement, but hell, you're guaranteed five because of the quantum kick in. The dice involved you get another five successes on average. Say A.S. has a remarkable willpower of 10, he, on average, only reduces Capt. Blinky to a total of six successes, more than enough to teleport his gun away. It just seems unbalanced, there is very little likelihood that a target will ever be able to effectively protect themselves.

What if I do the (Quan + Successes)/2 thing I did for Summon? Also, consider that in the above example Cap'n Blinky only Teleports A.S's gun 20 meters away (4 sux for the Attunement, the other 2 sux give a total of 20m distance). So, unless A.S. has a pretty low Init or movement, he just lopes over to the gun, grabs it and THOOOMS the Cap,n's ass into the next time zone.

You also have the ability to very easily (only needing eight net successes) start laying out ten dice of lethal damage to anyone you want to and get the added bonus of halving their soak.

How? I specifically stated that you cannot use the power to deliberately teleport a person or object into another object. Also, while I didn't specifically state it (and I probably should've) you also can't teleport part of a person or object. So, no teleporting A.S.'s head off his body.

No, this power isn't in the realm of the ridiculous like the near proverbial usage of warp in trying to warp someone to the sun. But, it really should be a Q6 level 4 power, though honestly, making it Q6 just guarantees a more difficult time for anyone to not be smacked around by it at will.


I got inspired by the Modes for the psion power, Teleportation and wanted to put together an EM based on it.
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Division by two may take care of it. Not too sure though. The damage factor comes in to the simple use of teleporting someone straight up by 30 meters, only three successes. Per the rulebook, if you fall thirty meters you achieve terminal velocity (I have no physics background with which to challenge this) and in doing so you take ten dice of lethal damage and all soak versus this is cut in half.

If you want a good comparison look at Elemental Mastery versus comparable powers.

Both the Blast and Lethal Blast options do significantly less damage than Q Bolt. Q Bolts range is also greater.

Immobilize versus the Imprison option also wins out. Imprison is an all or nothing kind of thing, you can't achieve partial successes and is absolutely useless versus anyone with MegaStrength while Immobilize has some chance. Immobilize also has a superior duration.

Crush versus Telekinesis wins out in sheer damage effect, but is significantly less usefull for non-combat related tasks. Again, the power's maintenence when compared to Telekinesis is inferior.

Flight beats Propel hands down for speed and Flight also gives a character a chance in situations requiring combat style flight. Propel doesn't even suggest the possibility.

Force Field beats Shield for protection purposes.

Sphere and Storm are just unusual and admitedly usefull forms of the Blast power.

So, with suite powers it seems that a good rule of thumb is that the powers available be varied in function but when individually compared to a like stand alone power the effect should be significantly less.

Dividing the range of the Long Range Teleport doesn't qualify. The power is a minimum of a Q 5 and that gets you an automatic 10,000 kilometers. One single rolled success and you can get anywhere on earth.

Summon is not really comparable to any other power I can currently think of so a comparison isn't available. I would have to see how it would work in game play, but it strikes me as something that would just be begging for some serious twinking.

Flicker is way too strong for my tastes. The limitation of dots of effect to dots of TM is a nice touch, but I don't think it is enough. Especially with the added duration that successes throw in. It is nearly the equivilent of Density Control;Decrease with the extended duration extra. This nearly being the case, the limitation of effect is basically a given.

In my opinion (and hell, thats all this is) the powers that are part of your suite are too close to being level three abilities all on their own in order to be part of a level three suite power.

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Stheno --

Spacial Manipulation includes the techniques Askew (this acts much like Disorient), Ripple Shield (Force Field), Spatial Shock Wave (Q-Bolt), Flatform (allows the nova to go 2-D) and Warp Body (a la Mr. Fantastic). None of the above powers fit what John had in mind, which is why I didn't bring it up.

JohnTFS --

Frankly, it was 'Travel' that killed it for me. The techs that followed were just beating a dead horse.

I have a reputation -- both here and among my players -- as being a hard-ass. So you'll forgive me for being a little iron-fisted.

That said, I could not and would not have allowed this power out the gate. Why? Well, for the prices of dots in Combat Teleport (Teleport with one extra), you instead get the ability to Teleport short distances instantly (as if there is any other reason to travel in Planck Time) and long distances in a full three seconds. Given the option, why the hell would you bother with picking up any Teleport extras? The subsequent three powers make this ability too much in seven or eight kinds of ways. No matter how much you water down these abilities, the fact remains that you've got some of the most powerful abilities in the game lined up under one suite.

-- Avenger

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Yeah, you guys are right. I was hoping to create a kind of Elemental Mastery linking the techniques together because they're similar themeatically, but it won't work as a Level 3 power. It's really more of a Level 4 capability.

So, I figure I'll do it another way So, how about:

Teleport: (Combat Teleport Extra, 1 Str pt. to raise Range to Touch, Ranged Extra) with Dependency: Hi-End EM Scan(Enhancement) and Link/Dependency: Quantum Attunement to pay for the Extras.

As for why those powers: Well, he activates the Hi-End EM to have a full, molecular picture of his target(and thus be able to direct the Teleport energies) and Quantum Attunement to sense (and open himself to) those energies.

I figure to Add Stun Attack, Density Control, Disintegrate and Force Field (impervious) linked to and dependent on Immolate (aggravated) to simulate a "teleport" field that scatters the atoms and energies of anything coming into contact with it.

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