Aberrant RPG - New Molecular Manip Extra: Effects Living Tissue

[metaphysician]

Functions: All molecular manipulation power aspects can be used on currently-living organic matter.

Effects:

-Second Skin: No Change

-Destruction: Inflicts unsoakable lethal ( it doesn't specific agg in the writeup, ergo, it doesn't do agg, even if its unsoakable ) on living beings on touch, Hardbody used to soak.

-Animation: Can be used on living matter. In the case of immobile lifeforms like plants, same effect as normal. Motile life gets a Strength + Might roll to resist, Mega Strength applies ( and generally stops it cold ).

-Molecular Alteration: Can be used to transmute living beings into inanimate objects. This causes no intrinsic harm to the victim, who reverts to normal at the end of the duration ( which cannot be extended ). If the object is damaged before the effect wears off, the victim takes the same level of lethal damage on reversion, to a maximum of seven levels for complete destruction. A willpower roll is allowed to resist this damage.

-Shape Alteration: Can be used to inflict various debilitating or deadly bodily transformations. Use the Poison rules as a guideline.

Thoughts?

[Alex Green]

Q min 7.

[metaphysician]

Sure its worth a Q-Min of 7? It already intrinsically requires Q6 to purchase.

[Alex Green]

We already have a "MM for Organics", Biomanip is Q6. For that matter Disease Mastery is also Q6.

This lets you do anything to any substance, in many ways it's a "affects non-organics" for Biomanip.

[metaphysician]

Ah, but thats the thing. It doesn't let you do *anything* to organics; in particular, it doesn't really let you do anything to physiological processes. You can't heal organics, or change one organic into another organic, or do any kind of precise alteration. All you can do is apply Molecular Manip effects to organic matter as if it were inorganic matter, with only the crudest and least harmful effects to continued life.

Hence why, for instance, I have "Shape Alteration vs Organics" use Poison rules as a guideline.

[Rorx]

I'm not sure I follow how/why the Shape Alteration would use the Poison rules. I would envisage it doing what it says, changing the shape without causing any damage in terms of Health levels. For example, shortening or lengthening a limb/digit/extremity or mutliples within the normal mass limits; stretching out a flap of skin to create a gliding 'wing' like a flying squirrel. Perhaps with a suitable Medicine roll it could be used for some forms of cosmetic surgery.

Similarly with the Alteration technique, you could change one form of organic to another: tissue/muscle to fat and vice versa, giving someone a temporary alteration in at least the physical and perhaps some other Attributes. ::cool

Destruction I agree would be a lower powered Disintegration, I like your disintinction between unsoakable Lethal (which would heal as normal) and Aggravated damage with its different healing rules.

Anyway, it's well out of reach of any character I'm likely to play/ST for, so I suppose the whole thing is of only academic interest. ::biggrin

[Alex Green]

Ah, but thats the thing. It doesn't let you do *anything* to organics; in particular, it doesn't really let you do anything to physiological processes. You can't heal organics...

Shape specifically lets you heal things you can effect. I expect that players would be arguing that this power does let them do that, and I expect they'll find many ST's letting them.

This power is very broad spectrum in terms of what you can do and how useful it is... but it doesn't affect the entire world which doesn't make it Q8. Ergo i'd rank it at one step short of that, or Q7.

Basically it's Molecular Authority with some great combat moves.

[metaphysician]

Personally, my own inspiration was more, creating a trick that does the "Turn Enemy into Stone" or similar such attacks. Aberrant doesn't otherwise have such an ability, unless you count Immobilize.

[Rorx]

Personally, my own inspiration was more, creating a trick that does the "Turn Enemy into Stone" or similar such attacks. Aberrant doesn't otherwise have such an ability, unless you count Immobilize.

Given that's the case, I'd say you were closer with it being a special effect of Immobilise. Perhaps with an extra to make it harder to get out of, or the one where people inside the Immobilise are less susceptible to damage?

[Alex Green]

Use Disin and just forget trying to let them shift back.

[metaphysician]

That works fine for some transmutations, but for many others, its explicitly possible to reverse them, and more easily than death, too.

I suppose you could use Disintegrate as the base, with "transformed into something nonliving" being the special effect. And then, you apply weaknesses. . .

-"Recoverable": If the transformation 'heals' even if the victim is 'killed' ( at the agg rate ), -1. If it heals instead as lethal, -2, bashing, -3.

-"Indestructible form": If the form the victim takes when converted is notably difficult to actually destroy ( thus preventing one from simply stepping on gold fish ), it'd be worth points. -1 for something like a hard stone statue, or anything that requires either nova powers or heavy equipment to smash. -3 for something thats pretty much indestructible, thus guaranteeing that they can be revived.

[Alex Green]

This also gives a counter power. I.e. "Healing".