19 replies to this topic

[BlueNinja]

While looking through the Adventure! stuff I have, I noticed that not all of the backgrounds have specific enhancements for them.  So, I wrote a few.  (Hey, I had to sit in a cubicle and check security badges for five hours.  I had to do something. )

Kryptonite (Nemesis) -
Your enemy is the yin to your yang, the heads to your tails, the Moriarty to your Holmes.  When you have definate proof that your Nemesis is behind the current plot, roll your Nemesis rating, and gain two temporary Inspiration for each success.  In addition, when you and your Nemesis face off directly (minions and indirect traps do not count), treat your Destructive facet as one higher than usual.  If this raises it to six, treat Knack bonuses (such as for Untouchable) based on your Destructive facet as +5.

Protege (Mentor) -
Your character isn't just liked by their mentor, they've been hand picked to succeed them.  He can assign his five dots in Mentor to boost his ratings in Backing, Contacts, Influence, Resources, and Sanctum, to no higher than 4 dots.  Alternately, they can assign dots to lower the experience costs for upgrading Abilities on a 2:1 basis.  (That means pick two Abilities that the PC has at least one dot in, and lower the cost by one XP per dot assigned.  This cannot lower the experience cost below one point.)
Example - Whitley Styles has Backing 3, Resources 2, Sanctum 0, and buys the Protege enhancement.  He ressigns his Mentors dots as follows: one to Backing (raising it to 4), two to Resources (raising it to 4), one to Sanctum (raising it to 1), and one to lower the XP costs for raising Engineering and Firearms (making their costs current ratingx2 -1).

The Man, The Legend (Reputation) -
Even the aborigines in the Lost World have heard of your character.  You can add six dice to any Intimidation, Interrogation, Subterfuge, or Command roll.  Rapport rolls used on your character are always made at a +2 difficulty.  People opposing you in non-combat situations (witty reparte at a party, arm-wrestling competitions, scientific debates) lose two dice from their relevant dice pools.

Zoo (Menagerie) -
Your character is gifted with a veritable army of animals at his fingertips.  For almost any occasion, your character can call upon a trained regular animal (dog, horse, messenger pigeon, etc).  In addition, your character can tame any kind of non-hostile animal with a successful Animal Handling roll.
Alternately, if the character's five-dot Menagerie is an Inspired creature, then the character gains a second Inspired creature.  Treta both animals sa their base cousins, with 24 Transformation Points total between them.  This second option may only be purchased with XP, lest a starting character be overshadowed by his pets.

[SkyLion]

Wow BN!  What can I say?    I am so happy to have an ST who loves the trinity-verse as much as I do!!!
  
  Well done!
  

This second option may only be purchased with XP, lest a starting character be overshadowed by his pets.

  
  Trying to tell someone something are we???     
  
Personally I think this is partially up to the ST and player making the focus still the character with the menagerie.  Admittedly this is more difficult and requires more difficulty when you are dealing with King Kong or even Asura.  The important thing to remember is what is more awesome?  King Kong beating his chest in rage, or the tiny human who walks up and bends the great behemoth to his/her will??  Granted the Kong girl has never been the badass but it wasnt like Kong was her 5 dot menagerie...more like she was his menagerie or follower or something....anyway, y'all get the idea...

[ezekiel]

I still think giving transformation points to menagerie (or devices) is wrong.

Twink at work:

I buy five dots of menagerie which according to the rule gives the character:

Five animal companions, a veritable zoo of regular beasts or a rare, powerful and truly unique animal inspired in some fashion. They give King Kong as an example and I'd submit Pegasus as well. A horse that can fly is definitely unique and powerful in some fashion. (notice the "or" in italics)

With transformation points I buy:

A horse that has five dots in menagerie, five dots in device (its got a power boosting bard), is stronger, faster and smarter than a normal horse. Loyal to a fault to the character. (Buy mentor points and maybe some flaws to predispose the creature to the mentor's control)

The horse's menagerie is the phoenix:

The phoenix buys five dots in menagere, five dots in device (its got the ring of Katarn on its claw allowing it to speak telepathically with others), it can create an aura of fire, flys fast and is smarter than any other bird. Loyal to a fault to the horse (belongs to it) which is loyal to the character

The phoenix's menagerie is Floating Bambooie

Floating bambooie buys five dots in menagerie, five dots in device (invisble armor or Plutarque) and is a hollow, sentient, floating transport

The Floating Bambooie's menagerie is:

etc, etc, etc...

The character has suddenly gone from a powerful beast to an army of beasts controlled by a powerful beast that may also be fantastically rich, etc. "What's important is that it's cool!" But a twink can write a background justifying anything.

An ally can be inspired but the player shouldn't create the NPC nor should the level of control be the same. You don't "control" your friends and even the best of friends have their limits when it comes to helping you out, they have other things going on in their lives. (Unless of course the twink writes the NPC's whole background and carefully writes out it having a life other than your PCs aims...)

[SkyLion]

Obviously you have some experience with twinkery...

Seriously though, like any ST would allow that... Come to think of it, the only thing that distinguishes a canny gamer from being a twink, munchkin etc. is whether or not they are taking an advantage that takes away from the story...  Roleplayers give, contribute and expand the story while twinks only take...

and on a more personal note since I feel Zeke may be partly sending eyes my way, Id like to add that if he or anyone dislikes my PC or Asura I can easily retire them and come up with something else.  No sense in playing when you're not appreciated...

[BlueNinja]

Twink at work:

I buy five dots of menagerie which according to the rule gives the character:

Five animal companions, a veritable zoo of regular beasts or a rare, powerful and truly unique animal inspired in some fashion. They give King Kong as an example and I'd submit Pegasus as well. A horse that can fly is definitely unique and powerful in some fashion. (notice the "or" in italics)

With transformation points I buy:

A horse that has five dots in menagerie, five dots in device (its got a power boosting bard), is stronger, faster and smarter than a normal horse. Loyal to a fault to the character. (Buy mentor points and maybe some flaws to predispose the creature to the mentor's control)

The horse's menagerie is the phoenix:
etc, etc, etc...

The character has suddenly gone from a powerful beast to an army of beasts controlled by a powerful beast that may also be fantastically rich, etc. "What's important is that it's cool!" But a twink can write a background justifying anything.

An ally can be inspired but the player shouldn't create the NPC nor should the level of control be the same. You don't "control" your friends and even the best of friends have their limits when it comes to helping you out, they have other things going on in their lives. (Unless of course the twink writes the NPC's whole background and carefully writes out it having a life other than your PCs aims...)

  That's something that I, as a ST, would nix straight out.  There's only so far you can push things like that.  Or maybe you think I should add a line about how an Inspired creature can't have their own Menagerie?

[Alex Green]

I still think giving transformation points to menagerie (or devices) is wrong.

Twink at work:

I buy five dots of menagerie which according to the rule gives the character:

Five animal companions, a veritable zoo of regular beasts or a rare, powerful and truly unique animal inspired in some fashion. They give King Kong as an example and I'd submit Pegasus as well. A horse that can fly is definitely unique and powerful in some fashion. (notice the "or" in italics)

With transformation points I buy:

A horse that has five dots in menagerie, five dots in device (its got a power boosting bard), is stronger, faster and smarter than a normal horse. Loyal to a fault to the character. (Buy mentor points and maybe some flaws to predispose the creature to the mentor's control)

The horse's menagerie is the phoenix:

The phoenix buys five dots in menagere, five dots in device (its got the ring of Katarn on its claw allowing it to speak telepathically with others), it can create an aura of fire, flys fast and is smarter than any other bird. Loyal to a fault to the horse (belongs to it) which is loyal to the character

The phoenix's menagerie is Floating Bambooie

Floating bambooie buys five dots in menagerie, five dots in device (invisble armor or Plutarque) and is a hollow, sentient, floating transport

The Floating Bambooie's menagerie is:

etc, etc, etc...

The character has suddenly gone from a powerful beast to an army of beasts controlled by a powerful beast that may also be fantastically rich, etc. "What's important is that it's cool!" But a twink can write a background justifying anything.

An ally can be inspired but the player shouldn't create the NPC nor should the level of control be the same. You don't "control" your friends and even the best of friends have their limits when it comes to helping you out, they have other things going on in their lives. (Unless of course the twink writes the NPC's whole background and carefully writes out it having a life other than your PCs aims...)

I think I saw this with Harry Potter.  The big spider god had lots of little spiders, and although the big one was friendly the little ones were just hungry.

[BlueNinja]

An ally can be inspired but the player shouldn't create the NPC nor should the level of control be the same. You don't "control" your friends and even the best of friends have their limits when it comes to helping you out, they have other things going on in their lives. (Unless of course the twink writes the NPC's whole background and carefully writes out it having a life other than your PCs aims...)

  To address this point seperately, since I only noticed it when Alex quoted it: Perhaps some of the STs you've been with needed to more fully ues the N in NPC.  No matter what the creature/ally's original goals are, people change over time, and especially if they're abused (or feel used) they'll be far less likely to help (or at least not helping to the full extent of their abilities).  I have no problems with PCs writing up their allies/mentors (if it's not a canon character) but as the ST, I have full right to change anything I feel is necessary, and I'm the one RPing them.  So if they don't like it, they shouuld have put their points into something else. Any twink who writes out a ten-page character background for their ally/follower is going to find me willing to discard nine of that as it suits my whim.

It's good to be the king ST.

[SkyLion]

So does Zeke or BN or anyone have a problem with my current PC and his tiger?? I couldn't help but feel a little twink thrown my way...

[ezekiel]

Seriously though, like any ST would allow that... Come to think of it, the only thing that distinguishes a canny gamer from being a twink, munchkin etc. is whether or not they are taking an advantage that takes away from the story... Roleplayers give, contribute and expand the story while twinks only take...

I don't know about that, a roleplaying twink is still a twink. Good roleplayers will try anything and usually won't try their damndest to create the most powerful character ever.

and on a more personal note since I feel Zeke may be partly sending eyes my way, Id like to add that if he or anyone dislikes my PC or Asura I can easily retire them and come up with something else. No sense in playing when you're not appreciated...

If it came to that I'd drop out myself. I actually noticed the problem when your background stated that Asura controlled an army of tigers among other things. Dunno if the bard is also a device but while I can see the use of transformation points in buying extra attribute points and knacks without devising a whole new system, clearly there's a problem when your background buys more background points. Its already pretty cool to have an invisible, sentient, powerful tiger (with cloak of dread to boot). Giving the same tiger a device, army and sanctum may be pushing it.

That's something that I, as a ST, would nix straight out. There's only so far you can push things like that. Or maybe you think I should add a line about how an Inspired creature can't have their own Menagerie?

Actually I'd add a line saying that transformation points used for the creature can only be used to buy attributes or knacks and maybe skills for doctor monkeys and whatnot..:) I wouldn't give the whole 23 points for skills, just bought with the transformation points.

Perhaps some of the STs you've been with needed to more fully ues the N in NPC. No matter what the creature/ally's original goals are, people change over time, and especially if they're abused (or feel used) they'll be far less likely to help (or at least not helping to the full extent of their abilities). I have no problems with PCs writing up their allies/mentors (if it's not a canon character) but as the ST, I have full right to change anything I feel is necessary, and I'm the one RPing them.

Definitely, most if not all of my STs in recent times were pretty strict about non playing characters. It prevents twinkery but it also promotes good roleplay. You may think you know everything about your best friend but I'm sure he or she can still surprise you every once in a while. You shouldn't know everything about the character. I think this is more important with regards to backgrounds than skills and attributes (You would probably know if your friend is butt ugly   ). Of course, it's good to give your ST a good idea of who the friend is.

I have allowed writeups of minor allies in my games though...

It's good to be the king ST.

That it is..    

[ezekiel]

So does Zeke or BN or anyone have a problem with my current PC and his tiger?? I couldn't help but feel a little twink thrown my way...

Don't get me wrong, I actually like the character concept. I was worried when you'd mentioned dark vigilantism but your writeup was quite good and it could be interesting. I must admit the second or third bit you wrote seemed to me like twink justification as opposed to purely good storytelling (the one about the tiger army...:p).

[SkyLion]

Don't get me wrong, I actually like the character concept. I was worried when you'd mentioned dark vigilantism but your writeup was quite good and it could be interesting. I must admit the second or third bit you wrote seemed to me like twink justification as opposed to purely good storytelling (the one about the tiger army...:p).

  
  
Er, well to get the easy part out of the way first, the tiger "army" is really just the tigers that inhabit the lost valley.  In game they are really just scenery for the 5 dot sanctum (instead of the amazon warrior women worshippers listed in the book).
  
To dispell any notion of twinkery, Asura was "bought" as a 5 dot ally.  They are close, as in the description of allies. I have given BN the gist of the personality and the history of the character and why they are allies.  In the end this works better because BN will grow and evolve the character more than if I used him as a gadget.  The way I wrote the background was the explanation for his various backgrounds (and some of Li's)  but I was hoping for it to come across as flavorful and evocative of a pulp-like exoticism.  
  
The real thing I am questioning now is that we all made characters with slightly different takes on pulp...different ends of the spectrum as it were.   Zeke is on the smooth criminal end, madcat's gone wacky and humorous (and you both are cracking me up BTW... ) and Pheonix's Joshua feels like pulp sci-fi to me...which is way cool.  I am almost getting the sense here that I "picked the wrong guy" for this assemblage.  Li was meant to be the dual playboy hedonist performer/dark driven force of justice.  Add into that his supernatural power...His TK is amazing by A! standards...
  
As much as I love the idea (as I said it was my fav of my initial inspirations) he may not be the best fit for the group.  I know I hate to say it considering all the work and development gone into it.  If you guys really like Li I could be talked into keeping him but the vehemance of Zekes "not feeling right about it" and not having "pure storytelling" makes me question my choice of alter egos...
  
Also Zeke, no offense either, I just want to be a good fit for the group (something that I feel is especially important in Pulp games (forthrightness and all) as opposed to the more cynical times af ab and trin)
  
  Feedback appreciated.

[ezekiel]

Asuratizaya, The Warrior King!

One would not normally assume that two such incredibly willful beings should get along so famously but when they act, it is in ancient concert. It borders on a true Mindsharing telepthy when the Tellurian is strongest, other times, more a constant "presence" with each other. There is no telling how deep this bond goes or how far it reaches. In daily use, line of sight is typical but emergencies can stretch this as far as necessary for the story.

The Tiger-God has a few other abilities. Like the Spirit Tiger mask Li wears, He can evoke a powerful ward against evil beings. When he does this the Red orbs of the Tigers Eyes light up with Crimson Phosphoressence. He is also capable of negating perception of his incredible Bulk, beccoming nigh Invisible to stalk the most dangerous of game...


Beyond the Dreaming, An ancient world reborn!


The Lost Valley acts as a giant clairsentient focal crystal containing the "memories" of its ancient creators. The whole area is permeated with Z-Rays producing a true Land of the Lost, where the primal legends of humanity still have power. Despite the danger, The Two Great Spirits are recognized as having Dominion, and they alone can assure safe passage to and through its many perils. Here they can find sanctuary from the corruptors influence. Of course it was no accident that Li was awoken there. The Alien Temple was calling him home, though not even Li and Asura know of the ancient alien craft, still hidden deep below the temple...

From his vast Sanctum, Asura has brought an honor guard of 3 of his most powerful "Generals." They understand their role in the show and contribute to its mystique greatly. Given Li's relationship with Asura and his Animal Handling skills regardless, they defer to him as well, but because Asura says so! Remember that even though the other tigers are Asuras menagerie, Li IS Asura's mentor and the cat his loyal folllower. No matter what though they will be survivors together...

That's the section that annoyed me. To me that reads as manipulating a background to add power to your character. The problem I see other than buying background points with a background is that neither you nor Blueninja seem to see a difference between an ally and a follower. I see a huge difference in the element of control and accessibility. For example, one of my best friends is a cinematographer, known him since birth. Sure I'd do a lot for him, within reason, and vice versa but he definitely isn't following me all the time nor is he a "yes man", we have our arguments every once in a while Even in character its clear that the relationship between Li and Asura is one where Li is the boss:

The unearthly tiger slowly and silently pads across the room and emits a low growl. He approaches the most attractive woman in the room and sniffs at her. *Yes,* he thought. *She would make many man-cubs.* Unfortunatley, the woman's escort manages to keep from soiling himself, and in a show of bravery, grabs a poker from the fireplace and waves it menacingly. Provoked the black tiger stands upon its hind legs, towering over the room! The frightened man screams, dropping his improvised melee weapon.

"ENOUGH! Asura!"

Stepping fearlessly in front of the impossible beast, an impeccably dressed asian man has appeared, holding up a bejeweled hand firmly before him. He is dressed in the latest New York fashion, a black on black pinstripe suit with red accents, and sports a well groomed mustache/goatee combination. He is 6' tall, wiry and his movements are like fluid mercury. The tiger drops down and nuzzles its head against the man's palm. Turning to the cowering guest, Li offers the man a hand up. In perfect English he speaks,"You needn't be so alarmed, sir, Asura was merely making sure the room was secure."

Maybe this all stems from having an ally become your supplicant through mentorship, that also seems to be a conflict of interest. I buy a 5 dot ally, give him a dot in mentor and boom! He's a follower. The background was taylored so that Li would have use of Asura's assets. Instead of having an ensemble relationship between the two the ally suddenly becomes an extension of the lead character, one of his "gizmos". One as if not more powerful than the character itself....

Again, I'm not sure fit is the problem, the character's cool. I'd be just as annoyed if your character was  a swashbuckler with a chimp sidekick that controlled an army of chimps and had a flying boat and treasure cave...Its possible to make a great character without trying to find loopholes to make your character "more powerful" as opposed to cooler.

[Blue Thunder]

Don't think of this from a gameplay and stats point of view.  Step back and think of it from a Storytelling and roleplaying point of view.  Menagerie of 5 lets you have something equivalent to King Kong.  That's extremely powerful from a gameplay point of view; it's much more powerful than level 5 Followers, from a stats point of view.  But from a roleplaying point of view, it's all good.

What matters is the roleplaying.  The stats and numbers and rules in the books only serve to quantify what happens in the roleplaying experience.

Besides, no ST would allow a character's level 5 Menagerie to have it's own high-level Menagerie with it's own high-level Menagerie and so on.  I can think of a few cases where a Menagerie with a Menagerie could work: a King Kong-like creature with pet kitties he loves and protects, for instance.  Hmm, I wonder if the kitty would be a Follower, since they're both animals?  Whatever...

My head hurts now.  Look what you guys did!

[SkyLion]

I am going to move this discussion to the OOC thread where it belongs...

[ezekiel]

Actually it's probably more relevant here cause I'm debating the use of transformation points for menagerie, outside input is welcome.

What matters is the roleplaying. The stats and numbers and rules in the books only serve to quantify what happens in the roleplaying experience.

It's easy to fall back on the Golden Rule for any rules abuse, you need to think of the consequences of changes you make to the game.

Besides, no ST would allow a character's level 5 Menagerie to have it's own high-level Menagerie with it's own high-level Menagerie and so on.

I was using an extreme example to point out the broken system. Its alright then to have a 5 dot menagerie creature that has a 5 dot device, 5 dot sanctum, 5 dot reputation and 6 dot ressources?

I wouldn't have a problem with Asura if he was played by another player. As is he's being used as an extension of the character, a tool, a gizmo, his faithful pet.

Your cinematographer friend is just that...a good friend. Allies are people who are allied with you on the same mission. Not just friends but partners-in-crime, bosom buddies, etc. If you and your friend had thrown in lots as business partners or were united in some purpose you would be allies.

Actually he comes to me for legal and business advice on his films all the time, intellectual property is my specialty. What are "bosom buddies" if not friends since birth? The point is that you don't control your friends. By definition, in my mind at least, that's not a friend or ally. That's not the relationship between Li and Asura.

Although it may have seemed to others that the introduction was a show of Lis dominance, it was actually just part of the performance. By seeming to "control" the tiger Li adds to his persona AND used the scene to test others reactions...Its all part of the show folks. In actuallity Asura was in on the whole act willingly...If people think he's just a tiger or menagerie they will underestimate him.

You've also carefully framed the dominant relationship in the background.

Besides, although he may have not entirely succeeded in coming up with a rules mechanism to represent Asura's abilities and motives, he definitely succeeded in creating an interesting sidekick and foil to his character. At this point, I would be sincerely sorry to see the big cat leave the game, because I'm interested to see how SkyLion and Blue are going to play him. Besides, if BlueNinja is happy with SkyLion's background assignments, I certainly am too.

I'd let the cat stay as is, I'd remove the cat's backgrounds (and maybe spend those transformation points on attributes or knacks)

Can we see the back of this argument soon? I'm not saying anything as a moderator because everyone's been so polite about it, but I think it's a little late to be talking about it now that the game has started. 13 Transformation points is plenty, and I think with four players, none of us is going to be overshadowed by any one player character.

I'm arguing for future games as well, this rule simply makes no sense to me. Its essentially a loophole for the character allowing the use of 26 transformation points or more through careful planning. I'd have no qualms at all if Asura was another PC. Right now its a carefully planned servant. It follows "willingly because of X and Y" and the character can use the menagerie's background as if they were its own, because the character is the mentor...Why does the mentor enhancement proposed by BN only allow the distribution of mentor points to other backgrounds to a maximum of 4 when menagerie and ally allows unlimited backgrounds useable by the character? I'm okay with allowing Skylion keep Asura with no changes, but I disagree with the rule in and of itself, it shouldn't be used as is.

I think SkyLion started with the idea of Asura as a character and tried to convert him into the Adventure! rules, instead of thinking of ways to exploit the rules and coming up with character-based pretenses.

No doubt...but at some point the reasoning shifted to how can this best favor my character:

From his vast Sanctum, Asura has brought an honor guard of 3 of his most powerful "Generals." They understand their role in the show and contribute to its mystique greatly. Given Li's relationship with Asura and his Animal Handling skills regardless, they defer to him as well, but because Asura says so! Remember that even though the other tigers are Asuras menagerie, Li IS Asura's mentor and the cat his loyal folllower. No matter what though they will be survivors together...

Why not just give Asura a knack called "Control Tigers" or "Communicate to tigers" which he uses during shows? Does it really have to be a menagerie of its own?

Anyway...

[SkyLion]

Actually the idea evolved...
Originally both Li and Asura had a 5 point Nemisis, but BN talked me into buying up the Nemesis in game which actually made sense for the backstory more.  The three tigers were originally just part of the show, bought with 5 resources.  They would still do what Li wanted if only from his mastery of animal handling and Asura can speak Tiger (no way would they mess with A).  Originally the Sanctum wasn't all that but the menagerie and it got boosted from the former Nemisis points...

Anyway, defending my character and background wasn't what I had in mind....

[ezekiel]

Sorry, I'm the guy people come to for the brutally honest answer. Maybe I should've warned you when you asked for comments..

Again, I like the character, its the handling of the background that I'm not sure of, for the reasons I've noted. If BN accepts Asura as is, that's fine. I pointed out since the beginning that I didn't think transformation points were the best solution for menagerie without some kind of limit to their expenditure and I'm pointing it out again here where its proposed as a background enhancement.

[SkyLion]

Sorry, I'm the guy people come to for the brutally honest answer. Maybe I should've warned you when you asked for comments..

Again, I like the character, its the handling of the background that I'm not sure of, for the reasons I've noted. If BN accepts Asura as is, that's fine. I pointed out since the beginning that I didn't think transformation points were the best solution for menagerie without some kind of limit to their expenditure and I'm pointing it out again here where its proposed as a background enhancement.

Hey its cool...you made some excellent points.  I especially dont want Asura to overshadow Li and I know BN feels the same way.  It does a disservice to Li really.  I just meant that its undesirable to play a PC who gives other players beef...Like I said my main concern now is what BN feels about Asura and whether he is too dark for this particular party.  He is the one with enough overall sense of his adventures and our backgrounds so......?

[BlueNinja]

Again, I like the character, its the handling of the background that I'm not sure of, for the reasons I've noted. If BN accepts Asura as is, that's fine. I pointed out since the beginning that I didn't think transformation points were the best solution for menagerie without some kind of limit to their expenditure and I'm pointing it out again here where its proposed as a background enhancement.

  For the most part, I'm using Li and Azura as a test case, seeing as how I've never actually played A! and I'm the only person in my group who went out and got the (pdf) rules.  I don't see anything wrong with an Inspired creature having backgrounds per se; something like Cipher fits perfectly, and since the cat is an NPC and not being played by Li, it is effectively another player.  I'm not sure the writers fully thought out what it meant to start the game with an Inspired creature as a sidekick.

[SkyLion]

So the case appears to be closed and we are moving on but I realized I wasn't clear about one thing.  Most of the crazy background and ancient pre-history is meta-plot stuff that Li doesn't know.  In fact he doesn't know much.  He doesn't even fully understand his connection with the mysterious and regal tiger.  The reason I wrote it up with all the pseudoscience is because BN asked me to write a background that wasn't "really supernatural."  Instead Li is a true Proto-Psion.  The God Eye effect was similar to a prometheus effect although its not anything like Doyen Psi-Tech....  Many mysteries.