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Aberrant RPG - What is Energy? Is Time Energy?


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The White Rat: What about Q-bolt: Poison...would its effects be like the poison power? Would it behave more like acid than Botulism?

And what about Poison with the extra: Range? is it like the Q-Bolt. Adaptablility stops that power from working effectively.
OK, we already have a "Poison + Ranged" power so there is no need for a Q-Bolt equiv.

It's important we not confuse specific powers with the theme behind those powers. Q-Bolt(Acid) may have the same theme, and thus be buyable by a nova with, Poison. However, Q-Bolt and Poison are very different powers with very different game mechanics and effects.

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Dr. Raphael Bradford: Maybe not blow up a rock but certainly put a hole in a wall. Time would have different effects on different materials... Sure it loses some of the uses of a normal "Q-Bolt: Plasma Blast", but it gains the ability to permanently age a target or construct. [/QB]
You aren't describing the power Q-Bolt. You are describing a technique from the power Temporal Manipulation.
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As Dr. Troll said, let's not confuse the issue, which is:

A Quantum Bolt is a bolt made of quantum energy. When you complicate that, you end up with the issues we've had above, where you leave room for a Q-bolt that can't be soaked normally. No matter what the bolt looks like, it's still quantum, and it's still pure damage. Anything else is a special effect that has no affect on the game mechanics.

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A attack power does damage.

That damage is either bashing, lethal or aggravated.

That damage is either energy, physical or mental (only two powers have this option).

Anything else is roleplaying flavor. I do not denigrate roleplaying flavor, in fact I love it when someone takes the time to make their power seem neat, unique and wonderful. I get goosebumps when someone goes so far as to it a kick-ass little name like "Dolorous Cry". Heck, I'm tempted to create someone just so they can have a "Squamus" something or other.

But roleplaying is roleplay, mechanics are mechanics. It's pretty simple.

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The White Rat: My point is that Poison: Ranged is a level 3 power, whereas Q-Bolt: Poison would only be level two. So obviously there has to be distinction in mechanics between the two...
Poison ignores soak. It is also an effect where you can zap someone, walk away, and have them fall over dead later. That's a lot right there.
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Originally posted by Hugin:
A attack power does damage.

That damage is either bashing, lethal or aggravated.

That damage is either energy, physical or mental (only two powers have this option).

Anything else is roleplaying flavor. I do not denigrate roleplaying flavor, in fact I love it when someone takes the time to make their power seem neat, unique and wonderful. I get goosebumps when someone goes so far as to it a kick-ass little name like "Dolorous Cry". Heck, I'm tempted to create someone just so they can have a "Squamus" something or other.

But roleplaying is roleplay, mechanics are mechanics. It's pretty simple.
Agreed. That's what I've been trying to say. Thanks for getting it out better than I could.

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Originally posted by David 'Dr. Troll' Smith:
Poison ignores soak. It is also an effect where you can zap someone, walk away, and have them fall over dead later. That's a lot right there.
Yes. With a player coming to me with Q-bolt: Poison, my first concern would be that they'd expect to ignore soak. If they just wanted it for flavor, then go for it. But that Q-bolt is a quantum attack, and soaks should apply as normal.
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well, the flavour does have some effect, as in if your Invulnerability applies to it or not.

If you have Invulnerability: Fire and you are hit with a Q-Bolt defined as fire, then your Invulnerability applies. The damage is still 'energy' but the type of energy matters somewhat for Invulnerability (which is the only power I can think of where this would matter).

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Originally posted by Erin 'Stellar' Donovan:
well, the flavour does have some effect, as in if your Invulnerability applies to it or not.

If you have Invulnerability: Fire and you are hit with a Q-Bolt defined as fire, then your Invulnerability applies. The damage is still 'energy' but the type of energy matters somewhat for Invulnerability (which is the only power I can think of where this would matter).
Yes, I'm primarly concerned with the specific abuse mentioned above. smile The Invulnerabilities are kinda different, as they provide "soak" to things that can't normally be soaked, such as temporal effects.
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Originally posted by Carver:
Yes, I'm primarly concerned with the specific abuse mentioned above. smile The Invulnerabilities are kinda different, as they provide "soak" to things that can't normally be soaked, such as temporal effects.
With that in mind, couldn't you take something like "Invulnerability: Quantum Effects" to gain extra resistance to things like Q-Leech, Q-Vampire, Q-Imprint, Aberration Transfer, or even Q-Authority or Q-Supremacy? I can sort of see it thematically, as a nova with an unusually compact aura, but rules-wise it registers on my Munchin-o-meter.
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Originally posted by BlueNinja:
With that in mind, couldn't you take something like "Invulnerability: Quantum Effects" to gain extra resistance to things like Q-Leech, Q-Vampire, Q-Imprint, Aberration Transfer, or even Q-Authority or Q-Supremacy? I can sort of see it thematically, as a nova with an unusually compact aura, but rules-wise it registers on my Munchin-o-meter.
There is some debate on this; I am firmly in the camp of "No, you cannot take a version of that Invulnerability as a Level 2 or Level 3 power." There are three reasons I feel are obvious for this viewpoint:
  • Game balance, as you touched on regarding "Munchin-o-meter"
  • The phrase "quantum powers" is specifically outlawed both for standard Invulnerability and Broad Category Invulnerability, giving us a hint at the intent of the developers to not allow such a use of the power
  • Not a single NPC has this version of Invulnerability, including Divis Mal himself; while his list of powers in Phase I might not have been exhaustive, methinks it the developers would've included an explicit mention of said power for their Plot Stick NPC
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Originally posted by Singularity:
</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Originally posted by BlueNinja:
<strong>With that in mind, couldn't you take something like "Invulnerability: Quantum Effects" to gain extra resistance to things like Q-Leech, Q-Vampire, Q-Imprint, Aberration Transfer, or even Q-Authority or Q-Supremacy? I can sort of see it thematically, as a nova with an unusually compact aura, but rules-wise it registers on my Munchin-o-meter.
There is some debate on this; I am firmly in the camp of "No, you cannot take a version of that Invulnerability as a Level 2 or Level 3 power." There are three reasons I feel are obvious for this viewpoint:
  • Game balance, as you touched on regarding "Munchin-o-meter"
  • The phrase "quantum powers" is specifically outlawed both for standard Invulnerability and Broad Category Invulnerability, giving us a hint at the intent of the developers to not allow such a use of the power</font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">If you note, I didn't say "Quantum Powers" but rather "Quantum Effects" though it's still rather vague.
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  • Not a single NPC has this version of Invulnerability, including Divis Mal himself; while his list of powers in Phase I might not have been exhaustive, methinks it the developers would've included an explicit mention of said power for their Plot Stick NPC
    </strong>Then how is a nova to gain resistance to such attacks? Even with maxed out Willpower, the odds are against the defender for blocking against anything except Q-Vamping Health levels.
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Originally posted by BlueNinja:
If you note, I didn't say "Quantum Powers" but rather "Quantum Effects" though it's still rather vague.
Indeed it's vague, but I'm applying my statutory interpretation/author's intent/lawyer-bullshit skills to the situation. It's second nature to us shysters so bear with me. shocked:P
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Originally posted by BlueNinja:
Then how is a nova to gain resistance to such attacks? Even with maxed out Willpower, the odds are against the defender for blocking against anything except Q-Vamping Health levels.
You don't, not when you're below a Quantum of 6 (assuming there is a Level 4 person of Invulnerability that would allow for what you want). Without the use of Invulnerability, it seems evident that you would need Quantum Authority or Quantum Supremacy to combat such powers.
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Originally posted by Singularity:
Quote:
Originally posted by BlueNinja:
If you note, I didn't say "Quantum Powers" but rather "Quantum Effects" though it's still rather vague.
Indeed it's vague, but I'm applying my statutory interpretation/author's intent/lawyer-bullshit skills to the situation. It's second nature to us shysters so bear with me. shocked:P
Oh yes; I took five levels of Munchkin in the d20 system. wink
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Originally posted by BlueNinja:
Then how is a nova to gain resistance to such attacks? Even with maxed out Willpower, the odds are against the defender for blocking against anything except Q-Vamping Health levels.
You don't, not when you're below a Quantum of 6 (assuming there is a Level 4 person of Invulnerability that would allow for what you want). Without the use of Invulnerability, it seems evident that you would need Quantum Authority or Quantum Supremacy to combat such powers.
To put it simply ... that blows. Everything else I can think of in the game has at least one defense that, when maxed, will usually outclass the maxed offense. (even Iron Will for mega-Social enhancements, and it's one of the lamer defenses IMO, since as written there's nothing to stop them from simply dropping another QP to reactivate whatever power it is.)
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Originally posted by BlueNinja:
Oh yes; I took five levels of Munchkin in the d20 system. wink
Yes, but us real lawyers dislike rules lawyers. :P
Quote:
Originally posted by BlueNinja:
To put it simply ... that blows. Everything else I can think of in the game has at least one defense that, when maxed, will usually outclass the maxed offense. (even Iron Will for mega-Social enhancements, and it's one of the lamer defenses IMO, since as written there's nothing to stop them from simply dropping another QP to reactivate whatever power it is.)
Disorient has a Willpower only defense, Gravitational Field has no real resisting roll, an Immobilize based on Willpower is almost unstoppable once it's "hit," Shroud removes Perception dice unopposed, Askew (from Spatial Manipulation), Dilate Time (from Temporal Manipulation) is unopposed, and Stop Time (from Temporal Manipulation) is Willpower only opposed Those are seven powers lacking a significant defense that I took off the top of my head and none of them are of the Quantum Manipulation type. This isn't something unusual within the system.
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First of all, the phrase shouldn't be "Quantum Powers" or "Quantum effects", it should be something like "Quantum (or Stat) Adjusting Effects".

Second of all, if "INV:BC:Willpower Resisted Effects" exists then this counters many of those but not all of them.

After that we run into problems. Disrupt is reisted by "node+Quantum", so getting Willpower auto succ (or soak) against it doesn't help... and I see no evidence to support INV giving auto-succ-dice for non-willpower stuff.

As for some of the others:

Disorient is resisted by Sensory Shield.

1) Shroud is resisted by Sensory Shield and/or 2) Blindfighting (and yes, I know SS doesn't make much sense on this).

3) Gravitational Field is resisted by Willpower.

4) An Immobilize based on Willpower is horribly broken and (worse) undefined. We don't even start to have rules on how to deal with this. I.e. what the effects would be and/or the counter for it so it should just be banned outright. This is also true for the other attributes.

5) Dilate Time is unopposed but is fairly trival.

6) Askew is also countered by Sensory Shield.

7) Stop Time functions at a +2 Diff and is then resisted by willpower on top of that with ties going to the defender.

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Originally posted by David 'Dr. Troll' Smith:
As for some of the others:
Disorient is resisted by Sensory Shield.
1) Shroud is resisted by Sensory Shield and/or 2) Blindfighting (and yes, I know SS doesn't make much sense on this).
3) Gravitational Field is resisted by Willpower.
4) An Immobilize based on Willpower is horribly broken and (worse) undefined. We don't even start to have rules on how to deal with this. I.e. what the effects would be and/or the counter for it so it should just be banned outright. This is also true for the other attributes.
5) Dilate Time is unopposed but is fairly trival.
6) Askew is also countered by Sensory Shield.
7) Stop Time functions at a +2 Diff and is then resisted by willpower on top of that with ties going to the defender.
Regarding 1 and 1 (well, 2, really), the text of Sensory Shield says nothing about protecting against Disorient or Shroud, only Strobe and "successes from attacks such as tear gas." I think it would be a little expansive to include Disorient and Shroud into that description; Strobe and Sensory Shield appear to sit in their own little world, especially considering that Sensory Shield is the only defense to Strobe, eh?

As for 3 and 7, these are powers with Mega Attributes being resisted by Willpower; you tell me who has the true advantage (much like the Quantum Manipulating powers). What's a +2 difficulty to someone with Mega-Intelligence?

As for 4, the book explicitly states that Immobilize can work against other stats for the purposes of breaking the immobilize. Hence, there is still Dex+Immobilize resisted by Dex with the net successes reducing the target's Dex on a one for one basis; once the target's Dex is reduced to zero, then the attribute that breaks the immobilization varies (such as Wits and Willpower mentioned explicitly in the book).

As for 5, being driven into a state of only acting once every other turn doesn't sound like fun.

As for 6, a relationship between Askew and Sensory Shield seems to be more logical but we're lacking anything definitive. Also, Sensory Shield is handy but a Mega-Manipulation heavy character isn't necessarily out of the game.
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Singularity:
Regarding 1 and 1 (well, 2, really), the text of Sensory Shield says nothing about protecting against Disorient or Shroud, only Strobe and "successes from attacks such as tear gas." I think it would be a little expansive to include Disorient and Shroud into that description...
Yes, Tear gas is in there. But it doesn't stop there.

(Page 220) "...Sensory Shield provides novas with protection against Strobe attacks and other phenomena that might interfere with their senses."

Disorient is a sensory attack (overwelming smell or some such).
Shroud is also something that interferes with someones senses.
Granted, it makes little sense for some match ups (although if that Shroud is defined as a blinding field of light it makes for sense) but there you go, that's the defense and we have other examples of odd match ups (Hardbody vs Mental Blast + AGG).

Or if you find that really absurd you could house rule it to Blindfighting.

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Singularity:
As for 3 and 7, these are powers with Mega Attributes being resisted by Willpower; you tell me who has the true advantage (much like the Quantum Manipulating powers). What's a +2 difficulty to someone with Mega-Intelligence?
It depends on how extreme an character we are talking about. Mega-Int 2? Now it could be an even roll off with ties going to the defender. But it's also important to point out TS doesn't hose a character totally by itself. It isn't like Dominate where you make them kill themselves or their friends.

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Singularity:
As for 4, the book explicitly states that Immobilize can work against other stats for the purposes of breaking the immobilize. Hence, there is still Dex+Immobilize resisted by Dex with the net successes reducing the target's Dex on a one for one basis; once the target's Dex is reduced to zero, then the attribute that breaks the immobilization varies (such as Wits and Willpower mentioned explicitly in the book).
And the effect still has soak and health levels. So in theory, a character (a friend if you wish) with a Q-Bolt could still blast it. Or the victim could blast it himself. Most of the effects which could do this are better represented by the Mental powers or Poison.

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Singularity:
As for 5, being driven into a state of only acting once every other turn doesn't sound like fun.
It's a wits roll for a power that's mostly Int or Manip. The real counter is having more Init. Looking at extreme match ups (i.e. someone maxed out on TM and Mega-Wits) he could reduce someone's init by 8.5 every round... to put that in perspective, Totentanz has a 37 init. So it takes 5 rounds. A less extreme set of characters still probably results in the TM guy needing at least two and probably more rounds.

And it's important to point out what this effect is NOT doing. It isn't doing damage, and that's kind of important in combat, which in Abby tends to be brutal and quick. For most PCs I'll take an effect like this over a Mega-Str 5 punch any day.

Quote:
Singularity:
As for 6, a relationship between Askew and Sensory Shield seems to be more logical but we're lacking anything definitive.
If you were ST, would you allow it?
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Originally posted by David 'Dr. Troll' Smith:
(Page 220) "...Sensory Shield provides novas with protection against Strobe attacks and other phenomena that might interfere with their senses."

Disorient is a sensory attack (overwelming smell or some such)
Shroud is also something that interferes with someones senses.
Granted, it makes little sense for some match ups (although if that Shroud is defined as a blinding field of light it makes for sense) but there you go, that's the defense and we have other examples of odd match ups (Hardbody vs Mental Blast + AGG).

Or if you find that really absurd you could house rule it to Blindfighting.
That's a rather expansive reading of the text you referenced and I would argue you're reaching for absured results.

In the case of Disorient, that power isn't always defined as something that affects the target's senses (it could just be straight nausea or even "scrambling brains") but the "end result is the same." Your reading of Disorient and Sensory Shield would lead to inconsistent results; taking a common sense reading of the two powers along with an interest in consistency would indicate that Disorient and Sensory Shield are not related.

In the case of Shroud, I will reiterate what I told you in the chat room: a Shroud works by denying sensory input to the target; Sensory Shield protects a nova from sensory overloads. More specifically, Sensory Sheild protects senses, it does not enhance senses. Consider someone wearing extremely dark sunglasses: while the glasses would provide protection from a flare of light (such as a Strobe attack), they would be useless in a room lacking any light as well as preternaturally thick fog (both examples of Shroud).

From where I stand, I feel that your reading of Sensory Shield would lead to absured results.

Quote:
Originally posted by David 'Dr. Troll' Smith:
It depends on how extreme an character we are talking about. Mega-Int 2? Now it could be an even roll off with ties going to the defender. But it's also important to point out TS doesn't hose a character totally by itself. It isn't like Dominate where you make them kill themselves or their friends.
Any power that knocks out a potential combatant is a nice thing, especially if the combatant removed is a tank protecting a particularly crunchy target.

Quote:
Originally posted by David 'Dr. Troll' Smith:
And the effect still has soak and health levels. So in theory, a character (a friend if you wish) with a Q-Bolt could still blast it. Or the victim could blast it himself. Most of the effects which could do this are better represented by the Mental powers or Poison.
A straight up Immobilize, yes, but an Immobilize with Intangible Immobilize would prevent a friend from destroying it.

Additionally, if a target has been reduced to a Dex pool of zero then I would argue the target would be unable to use Quantum Blast to attack the Immobilization or any other power/attack other than the specified Attribute for the Immobilize.

Quote:
Originally posted by David 'Dr. Troll' Smith:
It's a wits roll for a power that's mostly Int or Manip. The real counter is having more Init. Looking at extreme match ups (i.e. someone maxed out on TM and Mega-Wits) he could reduce someone's init by 8.5 every round... to put that in perspective, Totentanz has a 37 init. So it takes 5 rounds. A less extreme set of characters still probably results in the TM guy needing at least two and probably more rounds.

And it's important to point out what this effect is NOT doing. It isn't doing damage, and that's kind of important in combat, which in Abby tends to be brutal and quick. For most PCs I'll take an effect like this over a Mega-Str 5 punch any day.
Actually, you inadvertently found a typo in the Dilate Time; the Dice Pool says it's a Wits + Temporal Manipulation roll but the text states it's an Intelligence + Temporal Manipulation roll. Further, Totentanz would be an extreme example as well; if you want to do that, consider the attacking nova getting the incredibly unlikely success level of all 10s. That's 25 successes; unless the target is a speed demon, the target is moving quite slowly.

And, yes, combat can be quite quick in Aberrant; all the more reason to use Stop Time, Gravational Field, and other powers to remove destructive opponents so you can mop up the more breakable opponents first. wink

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Originally posted by David 'Dr. Troll' Smith:
Quote:
Singularity:
As for 6, a relationship between Askew and Sensory Shield seems to be more logical but we're lacking anything definitive.
If you were ST, would you allow it?
It's a hard call; is Askew only affecting direct senses by overloading them (hence reaching Sensory Shield's purview) or is Askew affecting the inner ear and other spatial qualities within the target's body without overloading the senses (hence not reaching Sensory Sheild's purview)? If I was sitting at a gaming table right now, I would rule "No" with the caveat that I would spend more time in the future to review the decision and leave it open that I could change my mind for future situations; and that's only because I would need to have a decision right then and there, something that is not the case for us right now. wink
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Regarding a Willpower based Immobilize and Psychic Shield... that's not incredibly clear either.

The first sentence of the power indicates that it might apply:

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Psychic Shield is a potent defense against powers that directly affect a nova's mind (Domination, Hypnosis, Mental Blast, Mirage or Telepathy).
But if you'll note, there is an explicit list of powers and it does not include Immobilize (nor Disorient (another potentially "mind scrambling" power) for that matter).

The last sentence/paragraph of the description also raises some doubt on Psychic Shield protecting against a Willpower based Immobilize:

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Psychic Shield does not work against emotion-controlling powers (Empathic Manipulation, many of the Mega-Social enhancements), only direct mind control.
(emphasis added) While there could be some argument as to whether a Willpower based Immobilize is direct mind control, I would find that to be a hard argument to make (especially considering the explicit list of powers given in the other quotation).
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I would ask how the Willpower based immobilization works, mechanically. If it works by forcing the mind to do anything it wishes not to, then yes, PS would most certainly apply. In this instance, it would be a 'mind control' power. If is sought to instill paralysis by controlling the actions of neurons in the brain, then it would be controlling its workings.

Scramble is different than control..one is simply throwing a wrench into the machinery, and the other is turning the knobs and switches for a desired effect. I think it needs to taken on a case-by-case basis. Your a lawyer, you should understand that.

If it works by altering emotions, then no, it would not.

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The specific text within the core book in regards to Willpower (or Wits) based Immobilize is "locking up the victim's mind." If we are considering an Immobilize that is Intangible, that could go beyond simply "locking up the victim's mind"; it could include interference with the target's entire nervous system or perhaps the target's muscular system (neither of which would be "mind control").

Not to be simplistic, but consider the rather explicit list given within Psychic Shield; going beyond such a clear definition of a power seems to be unnecessary, wasteful, and (frankly) quite abusive.

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Singularity: As for 6, a relationship between Askew and Sensory Shield seems to be more logical but we're lacking anything definitive. … It's a hard call; is Askew only affecting direct senses by overloading them (hence reaching Sensory Shield's purview) or is Askew affecting the inner ear and other spatial qualities within the target's body without overloading the senses (hence not reaching Sensory Shield's purview)?...

Sensory Shield doesn’t claim it only protects against overload. Askew appears to be purely a sensory attack on your sense of balance.

Singularity: In the case of Disorient, that power isn't always defined as something that affects the target's senses (it could just be straight nausea or even "scrambling brains") but the "end result is the same." Your reading of Disorient and Sensory Shield would lead to inconsistent results; taking a common sense reading of the two powers along with an interest in consistency would indicate that Disorient and Sensory Shield are not related.

Disorient, regardless of how it is defined, is ultimately an attack on someone’s sense of orientation. The big sense in that group is the sense of Balance, mostly governed by that organ in your inner ear. And yes, it is a sense. Another sense which is part of all this is the sense (name?) which lets you determine where your hand is when your eyes are closed. In RL, how do you disorient someone? You feed them misleading information into their senses, or you overwhelm their senses some how. The classic example is children spinning around in place until they stop and the world spins around them and they fall. Another example is zero gravity where your inability to tell where “down” is becomes disorienting.

Singularity: In the case of Shroud, I will reiterate what I told you in the chat room: a Shroud works by denying sensory input to the target; Sensory Shield protects a nova from sensory overloads. More specifically, Sensory Sheild protects senses, it does not enhance senses. Consider someone wearing extremely dark sunglasses: while the glasses would provide protection from a flare of light (such as a Strobe attack), they would be useless in a room lacking any light as well as preternaturally thick fog (both examples of Shroud).

From where I stand, I feel that your reading of Sensory Shield would lead to absured results.

I agree Shroud seems silly, and to be totally clear, if I were ST I’d use Blindfighting. However if the ST wanted to use Sensory Shield I couldn’t disagree with him because the plain reading of the rules supports it and I’d rather see an absurd counter than no counter at all…. But we still come back to Blindfighting as a superior solution.

Singularity: A straight up Immobilize, yes, but an Immobilize with Intangible Immobilize would prevent a friend from destroying it

(Book not here but…) Actually, I don’t think so. Intangible just means the captive can be targeted without damaging the Immobilize. That doesn’t mean the Immobilize itself can’t be targeted. For example you can handcuff someone and then beat them up, but the handcuffs themselves can still be damaged if attacked directly.

And we still have the problem that Immobilize against other attributes doesn’t have to be intangible.

Singularity: Additionally, if a target has been reduced to a Dex pool of zero then I would argue the target would be unable to use Quantum Blast to attack the Immobilization or any other power/attack other than the specified Attribute for the Immobilize.

If we need to make up rules about this, it kind of proves my point that the rules are lacking on this issue. And I don’t understand the logic in this. If I use a standard Immobilize on someone (encasing them in a block of ice), would they normally be unable to Q-Bolt?

How is soak dealt with? If I put a Immobilize vs Willpower on someone that has a soak of 5 and 5 health levels, do they really need to roll 6 succ on their willpower before starting to break out? And what effect could it describe? If I lock up someone’s mind, how is it that his friend can just q-bolt the Immobilize? Why would the effect shatter against an Immolation? And if you need Willpower to break out of the effect, why is it resisted by Dex?

I can think of ways to deal with it, for example Willpower Immobilize could have all their soak converted into Health Levels instead, but the written rules are a mess on this point.

Singularity: Any power that knocks out a potential combatant is a nice thing, especially if the combatant removed is a tank protecting a particularly crunchy target.

Agreed. But it’s what you said, “nice”. It can break up the other sides coordination, and it’s not bad in combination with some other things, Warp being the most obvious (to flee or push the Stopped member through), but there are real limits. In general you’re probably better off with Dominate. Fighting a dozen mitoids you are probably better off with Q-Bolt, which has a “shock and awe” effect that TS IMHO, doesn’t. You might be able to nail Pax with a Time Stop, but in many cases that just postpones the problem.

It’s a very nice thing to have, but I don’t consider it decisive.

Singularity: And, yes, combat can be quite quick in Aberrant; all the more reason to use Stop Time, Gravational Field, and other powers to remove destructive opponents so you can mop up the more breakable opponents first.

That’s a point, but I’m not sure if it works tactically. While you are trying to Time Stop them, they are trying to Q-Bolt (or otherwise kill) you. Granted, there are people that simply can’t be dealt with normally (Pax comes to mind), but for most situations god tends to favor the biggest Q-Bolt.

Another consideration is the same points that created a Mega-Int 5 guy with Temporal Manip 5 (resulting in 6.5 succ vs. Willpower to halt someone in time) can also create a Mega-Strength 5, Armor 5 Brick. Who zaps who largely depends on who goes first, but if the Brick loses he’s just halted, not dead.

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If it is defined as 'locking up the victims mind', then a Wits roll would then be used for defense. In some cases, you would get 1 or more Mega-die to defend such an attack.

As for the Intangible extra, if it involves locking up a victims muscles, then it would be still be opposed by a Resistance or Strength roll.

Nervous system based Immobilize, it could be argued, would be opposed by Sensory Shield. Sensory shield protects from not only Strobe, but any thing that might interfere with the senses. Touch(a nerve impulse to and from the brain) is considered one of the senses. If the Sensory Shield is defined as extra thick myelin sheaths around the nerves, then it could work.

Also, in order to disrupt the neurons in the body, you need to do it electrically or chemically. Electrical would disrupt the neurons by overloading the action potential in nerve cells. Chemical disruption of the nervous system, would work by blocking (via binding with, or inhibiting re-uptake of) the acetylcholine in synaptic junctions between nerve cells. This is how Curare and organophosphates (nerve agents) work.

We know from Brainwaves, that high Mega-Stamina levels block the action of nerve agents.

What I'm trying to say is that if someone seeks to use a power like Immobilize, that there will always be some comparable defense. You can't increase the strength of a power by defining it in such way that the opponents defenses are limited.

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Quote:
Originally posted by David 'Dr. Troll' Smith:
Sensory Shield doesn&#146;t claim it only protects against overload. Askew appears to be purely a sensory attack on your sense of balance.
Not to be overly simplisitc, but the word "shield" is a a protective thing; not an enhancing thing. I could be wrong, but it seems to me that the only thing that "attacks" one's senses are the overload of said senses (the physical destruction of the sensory organs notwithstanding). As for Askew, it goes towards more than the target's sense of balance, it attacks the target's "immediate senses (hearing, sight, and touch)."

Quote:
Originally posted by David 'Dr. Troll' Smith:
Disorient, regardless of how it is defined, is ultimately an attack on someone&#146;s sense of orientation.
That's an inaccurate description of the power. Here's the first paragraph of the power:
Quote:
A nova with Disorient can cause another character to become confused, weakened, disoriented and unable to take action effectively. The effect can be physical (including nausea) or mental (creating hallucinations), depending on how the power is defined, but the end result is the same.
(emphasis added) Not to be pedantic or obsessive with semantics, but that goes beyond affecting the target's orientation. Heck, even common sense leads to that conclusion. While I appreciate the effort you put regarding Disorient, I think you built on an erroneous foundation, hence your description isn't quite applicable. shocked:P

Quote:
Originally posted by David 'Dr. Troll' Smith:
I agree Shroud seems silly, and to be totally clear, if I were ST I&#146;d use Blindfighting. However if the ST wanted to use Sensory Shield I couldn&#146;t disagree with him because the plain reading of the rules supports it and I&#146;d rather see an absurd counter than no counter at all&#133;. But we still come back to Blindfighting as a superior solution.
I would wholeheartedly disagree about the "plain reading of the rule supporting" the use of Sensory Shield against Shroud considering the degree of debate of the topic. However, I do agree that Blindfighting is an excellent way to deal with a Shroud. However, I would also note that a Sensory Deprivation Field Shroud could (potentially) remove every conceivable sense (aside a "node ping") that Blindfighting would use in place of normal sight. To give a contemporary example, Timeslip put up a double digit (or nearly double digit) Sensory Deprivation Field in The Chase; I would think that she could remove almost every conceivable sense a nova would use for Blindfighting.

Quote:
Originally posted by David 'Dr. Troll' Smith:
(Book not here but&#133;) Actually, I don&#146;t think so. Intangible just means the captive can be targeted without damaging the Immobilize. That doesn&#146;t mean the Immobilize itself can&#146;t be targeted. For example you can handcuff someone and then beat them up, but the handcuffs themselves can still be damaged if attacked directly.
...
If we need to make up rules about this, it kind of proves my point that the rules are lacking on this issue. And I don’t understand the logic in this. If I use a standard Immobilize on someone (encasing them in a block of ice), would they normally be unable to Q-Bolt?

How is soak dealt with? If I put a Immobilize vs Willpower on someone that has a soak of 5 and 5 health levels, do they really need to roll 6 succ on their willpower before starting to break out? And what effect could it describe? If I lock up someone’s mind, how is it that his friend can just q-bolt the Immobilize? Why would the effect shatter against an Immolation? And if you need Willpower to break out of the effect, why is it resisted by Dex?

I can think of ways to deal with it, for example Willpower Immobilize could have all their soak converted into Health Levels instead, but the written rules are a mess on this point.
I would argue you're reading the power incompletely and reaching an absured result. With a standard Immobilize, the target is struggling to escape from some sort of object/force/energy/whatnot, but since it has encased the target the Immobilize protects the target so long it exists; that's all the power talks about in regards to third-parties interacting with the Immobilize (also bear in mind that if my buddy starts shooting a gun at me to break me out of an ice block, I won't be happy later, especially considering the bullets might penetrate and kill me :P ). More plainly, you never target the Immobilize, you only target the frozen victim of the Immobilize. With the Intangible extra, the Immobilize no longer protects the target, hence third-parties lose their sole method to interact with the Immobilize. Also, a handcuffs Immobilize wouldn't be Intangible unless the handcuffs were intangible, hence being something outside of interaction by third-parties.

Further, I would argue that some instances of Immobilize would necessitate the use of the Intangible extra (such as Willpower or Wits based Immobilizes). Combined with the observation above regarding Intangible Immobilize(s?), that would solve your issue of using Quantum Bolt to free someone who is suffering a "frozen mind." Again, this appears to be common sense, balanced, and something that fits within the very basic Aberrant framework of extras contributing to describing/defining powers. Sometimes you need to get an extra for a power to work the way you've described it, eh?

Also, the contested Dex-Immobilize/Dex roll clearly appears to be a mechanical resolution of the power targeting the victim. To make an analogy, it seems akin to the Touch Attack component of Finger of Death from D&D; hitting the target and what follows aren't necessarily linked.

Quote:
Originally posted by David 'Dr. Troll' Smith:
Agreed. But it&#146;s what you said, &#147;nice&#148;. It can break up the other sides coordination, and it&#146;s not bad in combination with some other things, Warp being the most obvious (to flee or push the Stopped member through), but there are real limits. In general you&#146;re probably better off with Dominate. Fighting a dozen mitoids you are probably better off with Q-Bolt, which has a &#147;shock and awe&#148; effect that TS IMHO, doesn&#146;t. You might be able to nail Pax with a Time Stop, but in many cases that just postpones the problem.

It&#146;s a very nice thing to have, but I don&#146;t consider it decisive.

...

That&#146;s a point, but I&#146;m not sure if it works tactically. While you are trying to Time Stop them, they are trying to Q-Bolt (or otherwise kill) you. Granted, there are people that simply can&#146;t be dealt with normally (Pax comes to mind), but for most situations god tends to favor the biggest Q-Bolt.

Another consideration is the same points that created a Mega-Int 5 guy with Temporal Manip 5 (resulting in 6.5 succ vs. Willpower to halt someone in time) can also create a Mega-Strength 5, Armor 5 Brick. Who zaps who largely depends on who goes first, but if the Brick loses he&#146;s just halted, not dead.
Hey, if you prefer the "brute force, smash through it" tactic that's your choice and taste; I prefer (and experienced with) a "divide and conquer"/"fight on my terms" method of cooperative combat. wink Comes from having to deal with too many "unstoppable tank" opponents. :P
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Quote:
Originally posted by The White Rat:
What I'm trying to say is that if someone seeks to use a power like Immobilize, that there will always be some comparable defense. You can't increase the strength of a power by defining it in such way that the opponents defenses are limited.
Indeed and that's something I agree with completely. Hence, the simplest solution here would be to eliminate the Willpower based Immobilizes; those Mega-Dice make a big difference in contested rolls. With that in mind, every single instance of the power would be balanced.
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Singularity: That's an inaccurate description of the power.

OK.

:Sigh: Some of this I’m going to have to go back and double (and triple check the rules)… Immobilize in particular I haven’t used often enough to be sure of the fine points.

Singularity: Not to be overly simplistic, but the word "shield" is a protective thing; not an enhancing thing. I could be wrong, but it seems to me that the only thing that "attacks" one's senses are the overload of said senses... As for Askew, it goes towards more than the target's sense of balance, it attacks the target's "immediate senses (hearing, sight, and touch)."

As I recall, attacks on your senses is what Sensory Shield is designed to halt. Askew doesn’t even have the claim that it’s halting input.

On a side note, Sensory Shield is pretty weak. Even if it is an expansion for it to cover other phenomena that might interfere with their senses i.e. have it defend against sensory attacks (like tear gas) and not just sensory overloads, then it is still a weak power. And those sensory attacks are badly in need of a counter, so it sounds like a good match.

Singularity: Here's the first paragraph of the power: A nova with Disorient can cause another character to become confused, weakened, disoriented and unable to take action effectively. The effect can be physical (including nausea) or mental (creating hallucinations), depending on how the power is defined, but the end result is the same.

Sounds like either Sensory Shield would work (if it’s a sensory attack), or Psi-Shield would work (if it’s a mental attack).

I don’t think we should simply make Disorient unresisted by anything, especially since we have those Shields available. If there are other options then I’m open to them.

Singularity: ...I would also note that a Sensory Deprivation Field Shroud could (potentially) remove every conceivable sense... that Blindfighting would use in place of normal sight. To give a contemporary example, Timeslip put up a double digit (or nearly double digit) Sensory Deprivation Field in The Chase; I would think that she could remove almost every conceivable sense a nova would use for Blindfighting.

My book isn’t here, but I don’t think there is anything about a nova with Blindfighting needing a compensating sense. That’s the whole point of the power isn’t it? You can't see and it doesn't matter.

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Quote:
Originally posted by David 'Dr. Troll' Smith:
:Sigh: Some of this I&#146;m going to have to go back and double (and triple check the rules)&#133; Immobilize in particular I haven&#146;t used often enough to be sure of the fine points.
Awww, but those powers are so much fun. :P

Quote:
Originally posted by David 'Dr. Troll' Smith:
As I recall, attacks on your senses is what Sensory Shield is designed to halt. Askew doesn&#146;t even have the claim that it&#146;s halting input.
Right, which is why my quick overview of the power without time to consider included a caveat of "Hmm, I need to consider this more to be sure." If there was something Sensory Shield protected against other than Strobe and tear gas, Askew would be it. I don't know if I would allow it in all cases though (depending on the game's dynamic, the players, and plenty of other variables not applicable here).

Quote:
Originally posted by David 'Dr. Troll' Smith:
On a side note, Sensory Shield is pretty weak. Even if it is an expansion for it to cover other phenomena that might interfere with their senses i.e. have it defend against sensory attacks (like tear gas) and not just sensory overloads, then it is still a weak power. And those sensory attacks are badly in need of a counter, so it sounds like a good match.
Sensory Shield already explicitly protects from tear gas and I would argue that tear gas still works on a relative sensory overload basis.

Quote:
Originally posted by David 'Dr. Troll' Smith:
Sounds like either Sensory Shield would work (if it&#146;s a sensory attack), or Psi-Shield would work (if it&#146;s a mental attack).

I don&#146;t think we should simply make Disorient unresisted by anything, especially since we have those Shields available. If there are other options then I&#146;m open to them.
Right, but I don't believe that Sensory Shield protects from a target getting nauseous if the Disorient directly affect's the target's body as opposed to their sensory input; I don't need to have vertigo to feel like I'm going to puke, eh?

As for resisting Disorient, it is directly opposed by Willpower and a single Willpower Point can negate the attack, hence it's not an unresisted power.

Quote:
Originally posted by David 'Dr. Troll' Smith:
My book isn&#146;t here, but I don&#146;t think there is anything about a nova with Blindfighting needing a compensating sense. That&#146;s the whole point of the power isn&#146;t it? You can't see and it doesn't matter.
Hmm, that is a good question in some ways. The description of the enhancement makes no references what other specific senses Blindfighting uses; it simply says that the "[nova] is not subject to the difficulty penalty for fighting blind." This doesn't mean that a nova with Blindfighting can see every detail in a dark room, only that the nova doesn't suffer combat penalties; that seems quite narrow to me.

Further, if Blindfighting is independent of other senses (since it could be defined as focusing on the other four senses), it could be argued that it is a sense in and of itself, hence being a sense that could be diminished by a Sensory Deprivation Field. Granted, that could create conflict when considering that Blindfighting is quite limited in its usefulness.
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Singularity: Sensory Shield already explicitly protects from tear gas and I would argue that tear gas still works on a relative sensory overload basis.

Tear Gas doesn’t work by overloading the senses (I assume you mean the nose). Tear gas works by irritating the eyes and throat, making it difficult to see and inducing vomiting.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tear_gas

http://science.howstuffworks.com/question340.htm

Singularity: The description of the enhancement makes no references what other specific senses Blindfighting uses; it simply says that the "[nova] is not subject to the difficulty penalty for fighting blind." This doesn't mean that a nova with Blindfighting can see every detail in a dark room, only that the nova doesn't suffer combat penalties; that seems quite narrow to me.

Yes. It could even be argued that it “isn’t” a sense (although this is getting way too philosophical for me).

Singularity: Further, if Blindfighting is independent of other senses (since it could be defined as focusing on the other four senses), it could be argued that it is a sense in and of itself, hence being a sense that could be diminished by a Sensory Deprivation Field. Granted, that could create conflict when considering that Blindfighting is quite limited in its usefulness.

We could call it “other”, but I dislike the idea that Invisibility’s “Other” would then make you invisible to Blindfighting.

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Quote:
Originally posted by David 'Dr. Troll' Smith:
Tear Gas doesn&#146;t work by overloading the senses (I assume you mean the nose). Tear gas works by irritating the eyes and throat, making it difficult to see and inducing vomiting.
Right, I've had how it works described to me numerous times by those who've undergone it, hence why I used the qualifier of relative. The general way tear gas works (as noted by you, the sites, and the friends and family who've bitched about it to no end) is one reason why Askew met my "needs consideration" threshold in considering whether Sensory Shield would protect against it. wink

Quote:
Originally posted by David 'Dr. Troll' Smith:
Yes. It could even be argued that it &#147;isn&#146;t&#148; a sense (although this is getting way too philosophical for me).

...

We could call it “other”, but I dislike the idea that Invisibility’s “Other” would then make you invisible to Blindfighting.
Yea, this is another area that isn't totally clear to me. If Blindfighting only provides a combat bonus then it could be excessive to deny its use if someone gets a single extra success in a Sensory Deprivation Field Shroud roll; this is definitely a ST/series specific question IMHO.
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Actually, tear gas is a mild nerve agent. While classified as an irritant, its mechanism is that of a nerve agent.

As an Army Medic, I received extensive Chemical and Biological weapons training. CS gas was one of the agents we studied. All nerve agents are characterized by similar effects on the body. Lacrimation and excessive drooling are some of the side effects of a nerve agent. CS gas is just a non-lethal nerve agent. You drool and tear because you lose control of the nerves which affect the tear ducts and salivary glands.

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RE: Immobilize

(page 204) Extras:... Intangible (Immobilize's soak and health levels do not protect victim)

...so basically we've got nothing to base a ruling on. And it's noteworthy that no where in the power is any mention that others can help you break free. The entire assumption is that any other nova there is attacking the victim.

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Quote:
Originally posted by David 'Dr. Troll' Smith:
...so basically we've got nothing to base a ruling on. And it's noteworthy that no where in the power is any mention that others can help you break free. The entire assumption is that any other nova there is attacking the victim.
Heck no, we've got plenty of language, game design, and common sense to apply. As you laid out yourself, the conclusions that an Intangible Immobilize cannot be touched by third-parties and that third-parties can only help a target break free of a tangible Immobilize by attacking (and risk hurting/killing) the target and not the Immobilize.

I got to that conclusion even before we started this, it just takes me forever to say it. :P
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Singularity: Heck no, we've got plenty of language, game design, and common sense to apply.

Common sense isn’t something I like to have to rely on in a system where Wood and Eufiber are Elements, Fire is an Energy, Time can be easily mistaken for an energy, and Gravity and Space actually are energies.

Singularity: As you laid out yourself, the conclusions that an Intangible Immobilize cannot be touched by third-parties and that third-parties can only help a target break free of a tangible Immobilize by attacking (and risk hurting/killing) the target and not the Immobilize.

It’s worse than that. According to the rules, the only difference between a normal Immobilize and an Intangible one is whether or not the Immobilize protects the victim from attacks. With a normal Immobilize, attacks made on someone inside an Immobilize are defended by the Immobilize’s soak. …(crickets chirping)… And that’s all we know.

Can Immobilize be targeted separately or not? My feeling is it’s supposed to be obvious, but obviously “no” or obviously “yes” I can’t tell.

If we aren’t allowed to target the Immobilize separately then does it take damage if we attack the victim? If the Immobilize’s health levels aren’t protecting the victim the it sounds like it isn’t taking any damage. Or is the implication supposed to be that the Victim can be attacked without breaking the Immobilize? I don’t think it means that even with a normal Immobilize 3rd parties can’t break them free… but we have no info.

We have no information on what non-strength damage does to Immobilize (Immolate is not Strength. Ditto Q-Bolt). If Immolate works against a Strength opposed Immobilize (and it should, health levels are health levels), then why should or shouldn’t it work against a Willpower one? Repeat that question for Density Decrease and Teleport. Is it possible to use a power inside an established Immobilize? Why or why not, and then does it depend on which attribute it’s resisting?

RE: Holding

Immobilize holds it’s victims with a certain Strength. This strength can even be Mega-Strength 1 or even 2.

As I read it, if you have Strength 4, and are held by Mega-Strength 1, then you have no chance at all to do anything. The implication is you’ll never be rolling your strength so you can’t do ping damage. That’s fine if other people can break you out, that’s less fine if they can’t.

Now lets apply that to other stats. Your Wits are 4, you are being held by Mega-Wits 1. With a soak of 4 and 4 health levels. Do you not get the chance to roll ping damage?

Or for true insanity we could apply that to Willpower. Unless you have “Mega-Willpower” you aren’t allowed to roll?

And finally we have the ultimate in insanity with this power, something that you need Dex to get out. Of course since your Dex has been reduced to zero it may take a while.

I have opinions on what to do for all of these questions and situations.

3rd Parties can break people out of Immobilize.

Either it can be targeted separately (allowing for victims to be attacked while being held) –or- It can’t be targeted separately but takes damage when the victim does.

Willpower Immobilize should be banned. Ditto any strong version of the others. Most of the poison/paralyzing Immobilizes should be purchased and dealt with via the Poison power.

Non Strength Immobilizes don’t hold people with Mega-Stats, so it can always take ping damage.

Normal Strength Immobilizes can hold people with Mega-Strength.

Intangible Immobilize can’t be targeted by 3rd parties.

Power use inside an Immobilize is permitted.

Etc.

But I can’t back them up with rules and that's a pitty.

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Quote:
Originally posted by David 'Dr. Troll' Smith:
Common sense isn&#146;t something I like to have to rely on in a system where Wood and Eufiber are Elements, Fire is an Energy, Time can be easily mistaken for an energy, and Gravity and Space actually are energies.
Hey, common sense works great for questions like "Does Mega-Strength help you resist a Seduction attempt done over the OpNet?" :P

Quote:
Originally posted by David 'Dr. Troll' Smith:
It&#146;s worse than that. According to the rules, the only difference between a normal Immobilize and an Intangible one is whether or not the Immobilize protects the victim from attacks. With a normal Immobilize, attacks made on someone inside an Immobilize are defended by the Immobilize&#146;s soak. &#133;(crickets chirping)&#133; And that&#146;s all we know...
It sounds like you're overthinking the situation here. Tangible Immobilizes provide soak against direct damage attacks, Intangible Immobilizes do not. As for Density Decrease and Teleport, I would argue those are "case by case" situations.

Quote:
Originally posted by David 'Dr. Troll' Smith:
RE: Holding
Immobilize holds it&#146;s victims with a certain Strength. This strength can even be Mega-Strength 1 or even 2...
Again, I feel that you could be overthinking the situation. Mega-Attribute versus Mega-Attribute is a straightforward way of dealing with things; in the case of non-Strength Immobilizes, instead of massive auto success pools we just have two sets of Mega-Dice pools (assuming both the target and the Immobilize possess Megas). As for a Dex Immobilize, one would think that the target would use his or her standard Dex pool to resist the Immobilize, otherwise we get... absurd results. smile

It seems simple to me, but I could be in the minority.
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Quote:
Originally posted by Singularity:
Quote:
Originally posted by David 'Dr. Troll' Smith:
[qb]Common sense isn&#146;t something I like to have to rely on in a system where Wood and Eufiber are Elements, Fire is an Energy, Time can be easily mistaken for an energy, and Gravity and Space actually are energies.
Hey, common sense works great for questions like "Does Mega-Strength help you resist a Seduction attempt done over the OpNet?" :P
Yes, but only if you can smash the screen before you're completely suckered in. cool
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