683 replies to this topic

[Sprocket]

Seeing as all of the Aeoniverse game lines have been cancelled, has anyone thought of doing fan versions of the two Mega-Attribute books that were never released? (I do know that Aberrant: Brainwaves was released over the web as an e-book, folks.)

Seeing as the hardest group of Mega-Attributes to deal with (the Mentals) has already been handled, what about the Physicals and Socials? We'd likely have to come up with new titles for the e-books, but is this possible/feasible?  

(For those who don't know, the working title for the Social Mega-Attribute book was Cult of Personality, and the working title for the Physical Mega-Attribute book was Brute Force.)

[ezekiel]

I think a Mega-Social book would be very interesting...I'm not that anxious to see a mega-physical one though, that's pretty easy to imagine (we've all seen a few superman stuff, right?)

[phoenix]

It says in Brainwaves that the Cult of Personality had already been released.. Has it, or were they just planning to release it after Brainwaves?
I agree with Ezekiel in that Brute Force would probably be nothing special, but Cult of Personality could be interesting..

[Sprocket]

According to what I've heard on the various forums, Cult of Personality was indeed slated to be released before Brainwaves and Brute Force- but as a Black Dog Game Factory release, due to certain obvious "adult" aspects of the Social Mega-Attributes. At that time Aeon had already been passed off to Arthaus, which releases ordinary White Wolf products at a glacial pace. You can imagine all the heel-dragging and arguments that took place when they tried to put out a Black Dog product... ::sarcasm

Anyhow, the book basically died on the operating table. Likely it never reached the degree of completion that Brainwaves did, so we're unlikely to see an "quasi-official e-book" release like we did for Brainwaves. ::smiley4

Bottom line: If the other Mega-Attribute books are ever going to see the light of day in any form, they're going to have to be fan-produced.  ::devilangel

BTW, I haven't written off Brute Force as being uninteresting. Sure, the Physical Mega-Attributes are the easiest to imagine, but there are still many interesting ramifactions to be investigated. Like so many other things in the Aeon gamelines, they only look simple at first glance... and the new aberrations alone would be worth a look, much less the new enhancements!

So what do the rest of you think about this?

[Bahamut810]

hot-bon-diggetty!  Lets roll on that!

[phoenix]

Cult of Personality was indeed slated to be released before Brainwaves and Brute Force- but as a Black Dog Game Factory release, due to certain obvious \"adult\" aspects of the Social Mega-Attributes.

And that's sure as heck one problem that isn't gonna be solved by having us do it...  
I still doubt the value of Brute Force. New enhancements, God yes. Yes yes yes. New aberrations, certainly. But if you feel like writing those, why not just do so and post them on the New Powers and enhancements forum?
What do you have in mind as far as Mega-Physical ramifications go?

[Sprocket]

Looking over my copy of Aberrant: Brainwaves, I'd have to say that the real meat of any Mega-Attribute book is the stuff on how Mega-Attributes distance novas from both baseline limitations and the "point of view" held by baseline humanity. Granted, the Mega-Mentals were the real heavyweights, seeing as it required expanded rules and a whole section for nova-gadgeteering and inventing. Cult of Personality's extra section was going to be an account of the various nova cults of the early 21st century, but I admit that I'm at a loss as to figuring out what Brute Force would've been padded out with. I mean, the XWF has already been covered, folks...

Anyway, just take a look at the Physical Mega-Attributes and try to tell me that they can't cause problems in a nova's home/social life? For example: the U.S. has a mandated retirement age in several occupations. So what happens when a nova with Mega-Stamina who has the vigor and physical youth of someone a third of her age is given the proverbial gold watch and told to clean out her desk? I could go on, but time is short...  

Re: "adult" facets of Mega-Social attributes- I know there's no way that EON will ever handle that stuff- and I happen to agree with them on that. No great loss- no doubt, somesone out there is bored enough to come up with such stuff and post it on his or her own site.

[ezekiel]

Anyway, just take a look at the Physical Mega-Attributes and try to tell me that they can't cause problems in a nova's home/social life? For example: the U.S. has a mandated retirement age in several occupations. So what happens when a nova with Mega-Stamina who has the vigor and physical youth of someone a third of her age is given the proverbial gold watch and told to clean out her desk? I could go on, but time is short... 

I doubt that private employers (i.e. DeVries..) would give a cahoot about retirement age.

Re: \"adult\" facets of Mega-Social attributes- I know there's no way that EON will ever handle that stuff- and I happen to agree with them on that.

I read the EON e-book guidelines and I didn't see any mention of censorship...did I miss something? Not that I'd want smut in an Aeon book but there's a tasteful way to approach any subject. Besides, I fail to see the many so called adult facets of Mega-Social attributes. Sexy? Certainly. Alluring? For sure. Do I really need to go into that much more detail?

[phoenix]

The part I liked most about Brainwaves was My Character Is Smarter Than Me! They dealt with the problem pretty well, though you can't really solve it without using advanced AI supercomputers to predict what high-level Mega-Intelligences would be able to plan, compute, and detect.

For example: the U.S. has a mandated retirement age in several occupations. So what happens when a nova with Mega-Stamina who has the vigor and physical youth of someone a third of her age is given the proverbial gold watch and told to clean out her desk?

Oh yeah, the US Army is probably real eager to get rid of all those novas that can juggle tanks and take missiles to the chest.. Come on. They'd just change the rules so that anyone who can pass a test of physical capacity doesn't have to retire.
I can kind of see what you mean. The debate about whether the ability to change the world gives on the right to do so could be carried on (albeit to a lesser extent) with the Mega-Physicals.

Re: \"adult\" facets of Mega-Social attributes- I know there's no way that EON will ever handle that stuff- and I happen to agree with them on that. No great loss- no doubt, somesone out there is bored enough to come up with such stuff and post it on his or her own site.

Well obviously it should stay PG (the rating, not the resource book of questionable value), but I think there are some interesting questions that are brought up regarding Mega-Socials and the legal definition of rape. How do you make laws to restrict people who can literally talk anyone into anything? That applies to politics too. The Mega-Charismatic novas would get elected long before the Mega-Intelligents, provided the latter play fair..

[madcat82]

Is there some way to get hold of Brainwaves??

I searched it in the white wolf cataloge, but it wasnt there...

[Ayre el KaBeer]

It's right here at EON   ... http://www.chill.uk.net/eon/downloads.php

[madcat82]

Holy smoking, newer thought to look at the obvious place.....

Thanks Ayre el KaBeer

[Ayre el KaBeer]

::thumbsup  No probs.

[Alex Green]

I think there are some interesting questions that are brought up regarding Mega-Socials and the legal definition of rape. How do you make laws to restrict people who can literally talk anyone into anything? That applies to politics too. The Mega-Charismatic novas would get elected long before the Mega-Intelligents, provided the latter play fair..

Not just rape.  What does the legal system do with a lawyer who can talk anyone into anything?  Or a judge who knows at a glance who is guilty and who isn't?  

On more of an adult level, is it possible to talk someone into killing themselves with mega socials?  Can you suduce someone who normally doesn't go for your gender?  

Mega-Chr 5 + the two suduction enhancements and you can get 15 succ... what does that mean?  Can you get someone to perminately fall in love with you from just a causal conversation?

Scary stuff.

[Bahamut810]

Retirement age?  What I thought of when I visualised how mega-phys changed a persons life was that episode of the Jetsons where George gets Mega-str...he broke the car, hurt poor Jane, everything.

as for the adult themes in a mega-soc book...how about 2 books.  1 PG, the meat and potatoes, and the second rated R being the first book plus a chapter on how they are used for "bad" things.  I think that would be a good compromise

[Sprocket]

That sound reasonable, except that there's no way that a chapter (much less a book) dealing with the "adult" factes of the Mega-Attributes would be posted here on EON. (And although the Mega-Socials are the obvious scapegoats in this, certain other Mega-Attributes have sordid applications.) I mean, this is why AVS providers make good profits nowadays. No one wants to risk a lawsuit, and with good reason.

(Steps down from soapbox.)

Sorry for the rant, but I'd imagine that more than a few kids check out EON, and why wreck such a good site?

Bahamut81- yeah, the problems of living with Mega-Strength are what just about everyone thinks of first- they're pretty obvious. It's the not-so-obvious problems that interest me, and would help make the Mega-Attribute books meatier... ::devilangel

[ezekiel]

Just how adult are you thinking? Lawsuits? That would have to be quite something...besides, a disclaimer warning is easily put up on a website or e-books (as in most WW books stating that the book includes mature themes) I don't think we have to worry so much about liability as Chill's willingness to host the book. I don't think it'd be a problem so long as it was handled tastefully (unlike, say, the Abbie PG's infuence background description with Mephistofoleez...that's just smut and swearing for the heck of it.) I really don't see a problem...you can describe rape without ending up with a XXX rating, right?

[Ayre el KaBeer]

One thing I don't get is, why do rpg books/ebooks have to have a disclaimer when normal everyday novels don't... I've got some novels that have had some far more disurbing stuff in them (no rating) than White Wolf's Freak Legion (rated 18+), I'm not saying that these books shouldn't have the rating, but why should it only apply to rpg's and not books in general.

[madcat82]

Tell me if Im wrong, but isnt there a fan book about social mega-attributes??

[Bahamut810]

Thing is that RPGs just have so much bad press from Fundies, Oprah and made up stories in general that companies have to put a rating on them so they dont get sued.  

Unfair I know, but I would rather put a rating/disclaimer on something and take up half a page, then to have some fundie run on yelling "Its the Debul!  See, See!  They let their children read this!" and starting some mass petition/lawsuit.

*me is paranoid about people like that...please forgive me...*

[Ayre el KaBeer]

What can I say, I'm a believer in one law for all... I just remembered what world we live in I'll be quiet now  ::lookaround .

[Bahamut810]

Also...if needbe...I can host the book on my Geocities account. We must be like    though...

Hide....then DL...so more people can DL...

Remember...  

::smokin

[Ian Watson]

I had some vague plans of doing Cult and Brute Force with my crew.  But we really should get our first books done before we start worrying about other "lower priority" books, like those.  (:

[Sprocket]

Sorry if I came off as sounding a bit strident, ezekiel- as rotten luck would have it, I live in the justly-maligned "Bible Belt" of the U.S., and am therefore a bit more wary of shotgun-toting rednecked religious fundamentalists than roleplayers (and other such "deviants") in happier regions of the planet. It's sort of like black people from the U.S. of the 1920-30's living in a region afflicted with the KKK- or at least, that's how it feels like to me.

If Chill and the rest of the high Muckety-mucks here at EON actually decide that they want to handle this sort of adult fare (and can pull it off with good taste), then more power to them. And if they actually want submissions of that nature, I'm sure that they will ask us for them. Until then, I can wait. It's not like they don't already have a dozen different pots on the stovetop already...

[ezekiel]

You did raise a good point. I just don't think we need to worry about censorship 'til there's something to censor. I also think its possible to raise all aspects of mega-social attributes, including emotional and sexual manipulation, without being offensive about it.

[phoenix]

We shouldn't worry about censorship, what we should worry about is whether we're doing something which should be censored. I'm not in favor of doing anything offensive either, but I do think it should cover such manipulation.

[Bahamut810]

well...I think we can do it tastefully.  I mean...its not mega str here.  THey dont hold people down and have their way (unless thats what they like I guess).  Its more that the baselines (and other novas at times) just cant say no.

*Mega-Chr Nova* "Hey Honey...wanna get it on?"
*Honey, baseline* "Ummm...n...er...ye...errr....n...Yes."

[ezekiel]

*Mega-Chr Nova* \"Hey Honey...wanna get it on?\"
*Honey, baseline* \"Ummm...n...er...ye...errr....n...Yes.\"

::smiley1  That's GOT to be in a Mega-App description...

[Sprocket]

There's an old movie starring Sandra Bullock called "Love Potion #9" (I have it on VHS, but have yet to see a DVD release) that provides a wonderful example of that kind of effect- and all the trouble a nova could get him- or herself into with it! Lots of fun, all around... ::smiley1

What I find amusing in this category are the aberrations that could result from a nova being too attractive for his or her own good. I'll come up with polished versions of these ideas (and post them on the new powers/enhancements thread) if asked, but let me bounce them off you folks here and see if they're workable. Just remember you folks have pretty much asked for this...  ::devilangel

Sex Object: The nova is simply too attractive for his/her own good. Upon first meeting the nova, people attacted to members of the nova's gender must roll Willpower to avoid becoming lust-stricken by the nova and treating him/her as a sex object. (If the victim is alone with the nova in a private setting, the roll is made at +1 difficulties.)
Those who succeed on the Willpower roll may act as they please. The actions of those who fail the roll will vary with their individual personalities- unabashed staring, deciding to stalk the nova, or simply acting like a blabbering idiot are all good possibilities. Those who botch the roll will seek to become intimate with the nova ASAP, although their tactics will vary with individual personalities, as noted above.
Novas who develop this aberration often encounter jealousy from potential romantic rivals. When added to the difficulties of social interaction with someone who's determined to either become your significant other or get into your pants, it's not hard to understand why many such novas become recluses.

Heartthrob: The nova is absolute dynamite when it comes to infatuating those people attracted to members of the nova's gender. The problem is that the nova is like this all the time, and can't turn off his or her sex appeal... (This should be restricted to novas with the Seductive and/or Seductive Looks enhancements.)
In game terms, the nova's extra successes for seduction rolls (not persuasion- the nova's victims will tend to hear only what they want to from the nova) are doubled.
The problem is that this bonus is applied to ANY action of the nova's that could be seen as seductive by his/her victims (Storyteller's decision). Also, the Storyteller will kindly make all Seduction rolls for the nova's player, and doesn't have to inform the player about it beforehand. Novas with this aberration will often have no idea that they've won a victim's affections- until the victim makes some moves of her/his own...

Romantic Irresistibility: A nova with this aberration has a dangerous knack for making people attracted to members of the nova's gender fall in love with him or her without any warning. If such a person makes eye contact with the nova, she/he must make a resisted Willpower roll against the nova's total dice pool for Seduction. The number of net successes determines the degree of love-sickness the victim develops. One success indicates a mild crush, while 5 or more indicates a haunting obsession. The victim will have no reason (at first) to believe that his or her feelings for the nova aren't genuine- depending on how things develop with the nova, they may soon actually become genuine! This effect is impossible for the nova to predict or guard against, and occurs withoput any warning (read: the Storyteller has total control over when, where, and with whom this happens. This is best used for purposes of subplot or pure mischief on the Storyteller's part! ).

(In case you couldn't've guessed, I am a major manga/anime fan.  ::hehe )

Too spicy for EON? Ideas on how these abaerrations could work better? Let me know, please!  ::halo

[Bahamut810]

Thoes are perfect aberrations for what I was talking about