Aberrant RPG - Nova Philes for your Nova

[SkyLion]

Intellect 10? Nah..

Intellect 10 is like saying he has Mega Int 10. As far as I know Mikey doesn't have Q6 or above, so Anteus and others are likely higher on the scale than he is.

This whole excercise is a little skewed...

[BlueNinja]

Intellect 10 is like saying he has Mega Int 10. As far as I know Mikey doesn't have Q6 or above, so Anteus and others are likely higher on the scale than he is.

I stated in the OOC thread, when Nulli threw a stink about it, that Michal was Q6 M-Int 6 (and working on Q7 M-Int 7). For Trans-D purposes, Anteus has left Earth to experiment with life on Venus on a one-way trip. Divis might be higher in M-Int, but his mental aberrations would interfere somewhat with his using it. At best, there's a handful of novas who can compete with him, and IIRC the only public NPC is what's-her-name from DeVries - the rest are shadowy Sphinx-types.

Michal's supposed to be the Caestus Pax of the technological world. I don't remember what they rate Pax's strength as, but I thought it was 10.

[Sprocket]

Intellect 10? Nah..

Intellect 10 is like saying he has Mega Int 10. As far as I know Mikey doesn't have Q6 or above, so Antaeus and others are likely higher on the scale than he is.

This whole exercise is a little skewed...

::confused Since when is there a direct 1-to-1 ration between the Mega-Attributes & the NovaPhiles stats? AFAICT they were just using the "run of the mill" variety of novas - who top out at Q5 - as their benchmarks.

[Alex Green]

confused1.gif Since when is there a direct 1-to-1 ration between the Mega-Attributes & the NovaPhiles stats? AFAICT they were just using the "run of the mill" variety of novas - who top out at Q5 - as their benchmarks.

Nope, Q5 maxes out at 8 (except for Versatility and truely exceptional situations...)

8 = Max Nova Potential Q5

9 = Max Nova Potential Q6-7

10 = Divis (Max Nova Potential Q8)

Michal's supposed to be the Caestus Pax of the technological world. I don't remember what they rate Pax's strength as, but I thought it was 10.

It's 9. Divis holds the "10" in every category... as absurd as that sounds. We've got developer confirmation somewhere/sometime that there was a Mega-Int 8 nova running around. Which brings us to exceptional situations.

The problem with Divis holding the "10" in Int is that he routinely makes seriously bonehead moves & plans, presumably because of serious mental issues. He also doesn't use or develop technology, and even the quantification of Chrysalis was done by Scripture and Fong.

Every time we try to slap a measuring stick on Divis' intellect we're looking at his failures, not his successes. He *seriously* thinks that treating Pax like a football in public on camera is going to "bring him around". He doesn't *want* all the divisiveness which exists in the Teragen. Or in short he's seriously detached from reality, so much so that a "10" in Int seems unrealistic. For that matter even an "8" seems unrealistic. People don't understand Divis or what he wants or what he means, but it's his fault, not ours.

[Sprocket]

Nope, Q5 maxes out at 8 (except for Versatility and truly exceptional situations...)

8 = Max Nova Potential Q5

9 = Max Nova Potential Q6-7

10 = Divis (Max Nova Potential Q8)

Hmm. Fair enough, but where was Mal's NovaPhiles listing written up? I'm pretty sure it's fan-created.

It's 9. Divis holds the "10" in every category... as absurd as that sounds. We've got developer confirmation somewhere/sometime that there was a Mega-Int 8 nova running around. Which brings us to exceptional situations.

I remember that tidbit of developer info. IIRC, it was Divis Mal who's supposed to have Mega-Int 8.

The problem with Divis holding the "10" in Int is that he routinely makes seriously bonehead moves & plans, presumably because of serious mental issues. He also doesn't use or develop technology, and even the quantification of Chrysalis was done by Scripture and Fong.

Since it's been speculated that he's been generating more Hammersmith vortexes to keep the level of ambient Quantum high, it could be that he's focused on trying to make the vortex work according to his warped (no pun intended) expectations. The problem with this is that the problems he's so honked off with derive from human nature/stupidity/cussedness, not any Telluric vortex. And since he *is* insane (by Albert Einstein's definition no less! ::laugh ), he'll keep on doing the exact same thing and expecting to get different results. He won't get them, of course.

This strikes me as a possible explanation for why some novas after 2020-2030 (don't remember the exact year) started erupting as high-Taint novas. Divis ramped up the level of ambient Quantum so high that it started erupting people who had too much genetic damage to erupt on their own naturally and never should have erupted in the first place. Just a thought, & YMMV.

Every time we try to slap a measuring stick on Divis' intellect we're looking at his failures, not his successes. He *seriously* thinks that treating Pax like a football in public on camera is going to "bring him around". He doesn't *want* all the divisiveness which exists in the Teragen. Or in short he's seriously detached from reality, so much so that a "10" in Int seems unrealistic. For that matter even an "8" seems unrealistic. People don't understand Divis or what he wants or what he means, but it's his fault, not ours.

This reminds me of the line from the Watchmen graphic novel (Chapter 11, page 3, panels #5 & 6), where Dreiberg/Nite Owl speculates on how normal people are supposed to judge the sanity of the "Smartest Man in the World". If anything, Blackwelder seemed to be taking pains to point out Mal's insanity to the audience (us), even if the locals in the setting are having trouble seeing that.

[Alex Green]

Hmm. Fair enough, but where was Mal's NovaPhiles listing written up? I'm pretty sure it's fan-created.

True, but it matches what we know.

I remember that tidbit of developer info. IIRC, it was Divis Mal who's supposed to have Mega-Int 8.

He's the only Q8.

This strikes me as a possible explanation for why some novas after 2020-2030 (don't remember the exact year) started erupting as high-Taint novas. Divis ramped up the level of ambient Quantum so high that it started erupting people who had too much genetic damage to erupt on their own naturally and never should have erupted in the first place. Just a thought, & YMMV.

Yah, agreed. *Something* like that was going on.

This reminds me of the line from the Watchmen graphic novel (Chapter 11, page 3, panels #5 & 6), where Dreiberg/Nite Owl speculates on how normal people are supposed to judge the sanity of the "Smartest Man in the World". If anything, Blackwelder seemed to be taking pains to point out Mal's insanity to the audience (us), even if the locals in the setting are having trouble seeing that.

I think Divis was a Mary Sue for Blackwelder. However... it doesn't seem inappropriate for us to judge the world's smartest man by the plans he comes up with.

Forget the ethics of creating the Teragen, or beating up Pax... did it result in what Divis wanted? The Developers said that the plan was that Pax would *never* come around. Instead he got bitter, and obsessed with taking down Divis, and the two of them threw down (with the same results) repeatedly over the next few decades. Eventually, right before the war, Divis finally killed Pax.

And after he did so, he probably proclaimed that this was what he wanted all the time... even though he plainly stated in WWI that it's not. The Teragen is the same way. Divis clearly didn't plan this result, but he's willing to accept as "victory" anything he gets.

The failure isn't because of chance, the failure is in the basic plan itself.

[Sprocket]

I think Divis was a Mary Sue for Blackwelder. However... it doesn't seem inappropriate for us to judge the world's smartest man by the plans he comes up with.

Perhaps Mal was supposed to be some kind of a Mary Sue parody, a "Failure Sue" perhaps? With all the other stuff Blackwelder lampooned in the setting, that would fit in quite well. It would also explain why Blackwelder went to such lengths to show why Mal is a crazy screwup.

Forget the ethics of creating the Teragen, or beating up Pax... did it result in what Divis wanted? The Developers said that the plan was that Pax would *never* come around. Instead he got bitter, and obsessed with taking down Divis, and the two of them threw down (with the same results) repeatedly over the next few decades. Eventually, right before the war, Divis finally killed Pax.

And after he did so, he probably proclaimed that this was what he wanted all the time... even though he plainly stated in WWI that it's not. The Teragen is the same way. Divis clearly didn't plan this result, but he's willing to accept as "victory" anything he gets.

The failure isn't because of chance, the failure is in the basic plan itself.

Agreed, Mal's apparently been working with FUBAR'ed mental processes from the start. The Taint-madness just made it worse over the decades.

[Alex Green]

Perhaps Mal was supposed to be some kind of a Mary Sue parody, a "Failure Sue" perhaps? With all the other stuff Blackwelder lampooned in the setting, that would fit in quite well. It would also explain why Blackwelder went to such lengths to show why Mal is a crazy screwup.

I think it's worse than that. I think Divis is *his* PC, and with whom he identified. The failures exist because having created a character who is literally omnipotent, you need to explain why Divis doesn't just *win* by killing anyone who disagrees with him etc. It's a condition that's forced on them by the setting... similar to why they had to introduce Mastery. Having mentioned that *one* nova destroys Florida (and the grain belt), and that a few thousand came close to taking over the planet, they needed to explain how that was possible.

Supposedly Blackwelder got on his high horse during a chat (which I was not present for) and claimed that all three settings were the story of Divis Mal.

[metaphysician]

Hmm. . . *tempted to do Nova Philes for a couple Exalted or Scion NPCs*

Would you guys prefer Contentious Sword, the relatively young and idealistic Dawn Caste from the Faultless Panoply ( heh ) of the First Age?

Or Eric Donner, Scion of Thor, and guy-who-leads-Viking-paratroops-against-fire-giants-in-tanks?

[Alex Green]

I'm a bigger fan of Scion than Exalted. ::biggrin

[Sprocket]

I think it's worse than that. I think Divis is *his* PC, and with whom he identified. The failures exist because having created a character who is literally omnipotent, you need to explain why Divis doesn't just *win* by killing anyone who disagrees with him etc. It's a condition that's forced on them by the setting... similar to why they had to introduce Mastery. Having mentioned that *one* nova destroys Florida (and the grain belt), and that a few thousand came close to taking over the planet, they needed to explain how that was possible.

Supposedly Blackwelder got on his high horse during a chat (which I was not present for) and claimed that all three settings were the story of Divis Mal.

::blink Oh great, so Mal really was Blackwelder's ego-incarnation like the rumors were saying? >Retch!< I saw more than enough of that in my early experiences playing AD&D, thanks very much. My old Aberrant group had the sense to treat our PCs as comedy characters instead of genital substitutes.

[metaphysician]

I'm a bigger fan of Scion than Exalted. ::biggrin

Just shows you have no taste.

( I kid, Scion is cool. Exalted just happens to be the best setting currently in publication, even if its rules are also the most horribly complicated of any system worth playing. . . )

Anyway, I'll do Eric Donner next.

[BlueNinja]

From my brief-flip-through-the-rules of both settings, I too would prefer Scion. If only because the people I know who played Exalted described character creation as "Like making a character with Magic cards".

[metaphysician]

Its not *that* bad. . . well, no, actually it is. Its just worth it for the setting. And also, the rules are generally some of the tightest and most carefully worked out in WW-dom. Which is my one big complaint about Scion, the rules are very much first edition. The experiment with "soak after" is a failure, in particular.

[metaphysician]

And, we give you Eric Donner. Not just one, but three. First, shortly after his Visitation, when he was a Heroic Scion. . .

Strength: 6. While not exactly following Aberrant mechanics exactly, Eric can lift over a ton with some effort, and hit and smash things harder than any ordinary human. Especially things he can get a good grip upon.

Intelligence: 2. Eric is an average guy, without notable mental skills or abilities.

Speed: 3. Eric has above average reflexes and agility for a human, but nothing supernatural, and no means of enhanced travel aside from some better than human leaping, and a car.

Offense: 5. As mentioned above, Eric doesn't really have any notable movement abilities. However, he does have an over-sized relic pistol, Giantbane, which does comparable damage to his fists usually ( and which can channel his Storm Augmentation power, just like his fists can ). His relatively low agility and skill with both still keeps me from giving him a full 6.

Defense: 5. He has greater soak than a normal human can have unarmored, including lethal soak, plus the ability to convert lethal damage to bashing and regenerate. However, both those latter abilities are significantly power-limited at this point, he is a relatively slow and easy to hit target, and he lacks in notable exotic defenses. Hence, I dock him a point.

Versatility: 3. He doesn't have notable non combat skills, though strength does have some non combat uses. He also is not over supplied with useful contacts aside from his group of fellow heroes, the only ones being regular visits from Hugin and Munin ( and advice coming from Odin is a distinctly mixed blessing! ). However, he does have the power to provide protection to other people, giving him a warning if they are endangered and shielding them somewhat from harm. Hence, I'd say he qualifies as "above normal average."

Now, advance forward in time and adventure a while, til Eric graduated to becoming a Demigod. . .

Strength: 7. And a high 7 at that. His raw lifting capacity of over 250 tons would put him at an 8, but that requires point expenditure, and he doesn't quite match that in punching power. Still, his ability to lift, throw, and smash is impressive even among demigods.

Intelligence: 3. He has gotten a little cannier with time and experience, though he's still no scholar.

Speed: 6. While his reflexes and agility haven't really improved much at all, his leaping ability is now in the "dozens of feet per leap, at will" range. More importantly, his ability to tame a tornado gives him a means of flying, albeit a somewhat unsubtle and brute form. Once again, the issue arises of how Speed and Agility should be two different ratings.

Offense: 7. Not only has his strength improved, but his skill at using his strength as well. He can generate area attack shock waves, and destroy pretty much any inanimate object he can get his hands on ( and do some nasty stuff to animate ones, too! ). More importantly, he has significantly enhanced mobility for applying his strength, several new ranged attacks ( a lightning bolt that does almost as much damage as his fists, as well as offensive use of his tamed tornado ), and area attacks that make accuracy increasingly moot.

Defense: 6. His defense is actually pretty crappy for a demigod, with his soak barely improved at all. However, his high Legend rating contributes a bit of general exotic defense, and also provides much more fuel for his self healing and damage conversion. Basically, enough that I'd drop the penalty he used to have.

Versatility: 4. His ability to tame a tornado is the biggest improvement in versatility, though its unsubtlety and associated havoc are notable downsides. More significant is his growing charisma and associated skills; he isn't a shining leader *yet*, but he is heading that way. Also, he has several more allies than before, notably a colony of dwarves who are willing to craft relics for him ( like a car cover that fixes his car if its totalled ).

And yet, this isn't the end of Eric's story. In time, he grows to breach the threshold into God status. . .

Strength: 9. In case you haven't noticed, Eric has a specialty. He can lift over a million tons, hurl almost anything he can lift into orbit, and make it look easy. The only reason I don't give him a 10 is that he doesn't *yet* have Ultimate Strength, which basically would let him do strength feats at the "absolute effect" level.

Intelligence: 3. While he has gotten pretty damn canny ( Wits 6 ), he's still only above average intelligence, and without any notable mental skills. Big shiny silver brains isn't his specialty.

Speed: 6. He has actually improved in this field in various ways. For one, his dexterity is now actually superhuman. For another, he can now fly freely, without needing to ride a tornado. He can also jump miles at a time, and his car can fly, too. However, I don't think any of this would warrant going beyond Speed 6, all told. Speed 6 in movement, and Speed 6 in reflexes, does not add up to anything beyond Speed 6, in my opinion.

Offense: 9. His strength alone warrants this level of firepower, especially given he can inflict aggravated damage in grapples almost at will, and destroy pretty much any inanimate object he can hit. His improved movement abilities and reflexes help this, a lot. Aside from shock waves, his ranged attacks have actually fallen a little behind. . . but the ability to control the weather over extremely large areas mitigates this.

Defense: 8. His defense has advanced, a lot, but still lags rather behind his strength. Soak in the low 20s is low for a 7, but combined with his ability to heal fast and downgrade almost any kind of damage, it qualifies. He also has a *lot* of health levels. High Legend rating for his level ( and the associated defenses it brings ) round out his defense. What brings him up to an 8 is the Unseen Shield power, which basically lets him put up a very large, very tough force field, that keeps out even intangible beings. He can't fight through it, but it otherwise allows him to provide extremely buff defense for himself and others when fully defensive.

Versatility: 6. On top of everything he used to have, now he also has broad area weather control, a variety of improved Guardian boons ( which let him defend others, even teleporting in when a protected individual is in danger ), outright superhuman charisma and appearance, and periodic ( though not constant ) command over squads of Asgardian troops. Plus, he now has access to Asgard, with all the benefits ( and detriments ) that entails.

[metaphysician]

And, on request, a *second* Scion Nova Phile! This time, Brigitte De La Croix, Scion of Baron Samedi.

As a Hero. . .

Strength: 5. While she technically has epic strength, her base strength is comparatively low. Still, she can lift over 800 pounds easily, and hit as hard as the strongest normal person.

Intelligence: 3. Brigitte has above average intelligence, and a number of mental skills, though nothing extraordinary, yet.

Speed: 3. Brigitte has above average reflexes, but little else yet. Though her possession of the Psychopomp purview bodes will for her future in this field, it as yet merely provides her an unerring sense of direction.

Offense: 4. Her strength gives her a minimum of 3, and her Coco Macaque relic staff gives her another point, between its usefulness as a weapon and its ability to summon zombies out of the ground.

Defense: 3. While she possesses slight epic stamina, like her strength, it is stacked on a very low base stamina. Her soak is comparable to an above average human wearing wearing body armor. While she has a fairly high willpower, her Legend is low, as are her combat skills, and her only unusual defense is a resistance to being buried alive.

Versatility: 5. Brigitte has a small amount of epic social stats, a good spread of non-combat skills, a powerful and knowledgeable mentor figure ( her Ghede, or ancestor spirit ), and a wide variety of sensory powers ( she can see in the dark, sense ghosts, tell health with a glance, know where she is at all times, and see through the eyes of another ). About equal in utility, in my judgment, to a normal human with lots of maxed out skills and backgrounds, IMO.

Now, after various adventures, once she's grown into a Demigod. . .

Strength: 6. Her strength is now just a little lower than Eric's was when he was a hero.

Intelligence: 3. Mostly unchanged, Brigitte is a little more cunning ( Wits ), but not notably improved overall from before.

Speed: 6. Once again, the usual conflict- her agility would make her a 4, but she has learned how to teleport herself and others. Might qualify as a 7 arguably, as she can take herself and others anywhere in the world if she's willing to blow enough power on the jump.

Offense: 5. Her strength has improved, she can summon even more zombies, and she can let her Ghede wield her Coco Macaque in combat. Its not enough for me to justify raising her Offense to equal her Strength, though.

Defense: 6. Her soak is now outright superhuman, and her Legend is no longer low for her tier.

Versatility: 6. Her social stats are improved, she can now more readily access her Ghede, group teleportation and limited phasing through walls, and she's started picking up some extra miscellaneous relics associated with death and the dead.

Finally, as the Titan War reached its climax, and Brigitte evolved into a God. . .

Strength: 6. While stronger than she used to be, and with a few more combative tricks to it, Brigitte isn't stronger enough to justify a 7.

Intelligence: 4. Raw intellect hasn't gone up much, but her improvements in Wits are finally enough that I would justify upping her from a 3. She's still not primarily a brain.

Speed: 9. Again, the issue of movement versus reflexes. Her reflexes would justify a 7, but she has nearly maxed out Psychopomp powers, allowing her to transport herself and others basically anywhere in all the Three Worlds. The only thing beyond her is The Way, which she is probably heading towards learning.

Offense: 7. She can summon colocate herself into numerous duplicates, control earth and magma, and throw her opponents into a nigh-inescapable obliette of darkness. If she had better synergistic attributes or combat skills, she'd easily be an 8, and you could make an argument for it otherwise.

Defense: 7. Her base soak has significantly improved, as has her dodginess, but more importantly, she can take on a form of earth and stone to boost this even more. Her Legend is also extremely high, as far as exotic defense goes, and she has numerous ways to deal with ghosts.

Versatility: 8. Her mobility is even better than before, as is her social abilities, and some of her powers are notably flexible, specifically Earth Control. She can even transmute matter for noncombat purposes.

[Alex Green]

Hmm... without the Asgard types showing why you *really* shouldn't, the demi-gods and gods would get out there and show off more often.

[metaphysician]

To be fair, the Ragnarok supplement reveals that there is more to the Aesir's doom than just excessive display in front of mortals. Which is a good thing, because with the Titan War and all, the heavier hitters are probably going to *have* to start taking more public displays eventually. Even if all goes well in the closing adventure, the prison for the Titans is irreparably damaged. While the Titans and their Avatars may be confined, nothing *else* will reliably be. . .

Anyway, I'll probably do Donnie Rhodes later today.

[metaphysician]

And, to take a break for a slightly easier one, Donnie Rhodes, Scion of Aphrodite. First, as a Hero. . .

Strength: 3. Donnie has only average strength, but he's fairly athletic, and on further checking, scions have a small edge over normal humans when it comes to lifting and breaking things, even by default.

Intelligence: 3. Donnie only has average intelligence ( int 2 ), but he has a fair degree of schooling, and thinks very fast ( epic wits ).

Speed: 6. For once, no conflict! Donnie can fly with his Daedalus Device, and also has superhuman refllexes and agility.

Offense: 4. Donnie's primary method of attack is twin pistols, which while slightly improved over the norm, aren't exactly much beyond mundane weaponry ( as guns ). However, he wields them with great precision and finesse, between his epic dex and his arete ( marksmanship ). In addition, he has several forms of combat useful mind control.

Defense: 5. While his soak is basically equivalent to a normal human, he is extremely difficult to actually hit in combat, compared with even the best normal humans. Epic dexterity, the untouchable opponent knack, and the wings of the Daedalus Device all combine to make him extremely hard to hit. He would be a 6, except he lacks any meaningful exotic defenses.

Versatility: 6. Donnie has sizable epic social abilities, relic pistols that also let him manipulate minds ( aside from combat, he can inflict love and hate upon others ), and the skills to back them. He also has more intangible assets, like money, fame, and contacts within the world of the rich.

Later, as he grew into a new Demigod. . .

Strength: 3. Donnie hasn't really improved his strength any. Theoretically, he could boost it temporarily with Animal Feature, but birds aren't known for being paragons of strength.

Intelligence: 4. Nothing hugely epic, but Donnie improved most of his mental abilities by a single dot or so from experience.

Speed: 6. No real changes, aside from some improvement to dexterity insufficient for a rank up. He doesn't technically need the Daedalus Device to fly anymore, though.

Offense: 5. In physical combat, he still is limited to the pistols Eros/Anteros, but now has a *lot* more dice to wield them with. More importantly, his epic socials have grown a lot, and so he has a number of combat useful social attacks that are backed with a lot of epic attribute. This allows him to do things like, say, render a mortal blind for a scene. If he had more combat useful social knacks, he'd be a 6.

Defense: 6. He's a little harder to hit than before, and has notably improved soak ( now equal to a tough mortal wearing good body armor ). He also has much improved Legend for general exotic defense, and a couple minor exotic defenses of other types ( a bonus to Integrity rolls and immunity to being blinded ).

Versatility: 7. He has waaay improved his social abilities, and gained a supernatural Guide in the form of Indiges ( AKA Aeneas ). He has also learned to take on aspects of birds, a nice flexible power. On the other hand, his relations with his mortal father are strained, and similarly are his access to things like money to fund his circle.

And, later on, once Donnie achieves full God status. . .

Strength: 6. While Donnie hasn't exactly focused on his physical might, ascension to godhood comes with its perks. One of them is a certain minimum level of epic strength. He's at the bottom of the 6 range, though.

Intelligence: 4. A few improvements here and there, but nothing worth an increase in rank.

Speed: 7. Donnie is notably faster than he used to be, both in reflexes and movement, and pretty much equally good on ground or in the air. He hasn't really gained any new movement modes, though, and his dexterity doesn't actually break into god levels.

Offense: 7. Donnie still relies on his twin pistols for physical combat. However, he is *very very good with them*, between his improved epic dexterity and his greatly improved arete ( marksmanship ). His dice pool with them is something like 38[7] ( and remember, Scion has no extra sux damage cap! ). In addition, his massively improved social attributes allow him to do some nasty, nasty things to his opponents minds in combat. He also, as a note, has learned to control winds and use them to grab or grapple others, and with better efficacy than his own strength.

Defense: 7. Donnie is faster and dodgier than he used to be, though not by an insanely huge amount. He also gained significantly improved soak, now in the legitimately superhuman range. Between the two, he warrants a rank up.

Versatility: 9. His father tragically died, leaving him an heir and no more issues of access to the family resources. More importantly, his epic socials have exploded into the insane range ( can you say 'epic appearance 8'? ), with a wide array of knacks to go with them. If it involves persuading, seducing, impersonating, or interrogating, he can probably do it, and he can even manipulate people ( individually or as broad groups ) without even meeting them. On top of that, he has access to Olympus and the people there, and is considered extremely popular among the younger deities, and too useful to ignore by the elder ones.

[Alex Green]

Hmm... Well done. I'll have to break out the Scion books and re-read him.

[metaphysician]

Unrelated news, but Scion is getting a new PDF supplement next month. I can't remember the name, but its basically a pantheon book for the Persian/Zoroastrian gods.

As long as its not written by the guy who did the Devas in Scion Companion, it should be quite nice.

[SkyLion]

I bought the first Scion book but didn't really get into it primarily because Scion seemed even more tied into the metaplot than even Aberrant. Not only is the plot predetermined with an eventual outcome and end, but the game seemed designed for you to actually play the premade characters...

[metaphysician]

An exaggerated difficulty. It *is* designed to be plug-and-play, but you can fit almost any group of PCs into the core adventure line and be fine ( especially since actual PCs will probably be more optimized *cough* ). Demigod and God are also where they expand the scope of the setting, providing all kinds of options and seeds for adventures, even aside from the big one.

[Alex Green]

I thought Scion was a lot less mega-plot driven.

The only ones who are supposed to die are the Asguardians(sp) and even they have exceptions (like maybe the pcs), and it's not clear if their fate can be avoided or not.

For everyone else, the conflict with the Titans might last generations, and it might even be a case where one gets out only to be stuffed into it's box and then another does.

[metaphysician]

I think Skylion is referring to the core adventure series within the books. The thing is, even if you stick to these, they are only three notable instances within a larger career of adventure. And the first one is mostly optional ( the only really important element is introducing the Black Feather Cloak ).

[Chuckg]

Eh, I'm bored and it's been a loooong while since I did anything Aberrant, so I'll do one for my character John Holland... even if the Aberrant game I have played him in has been defunct for over a year.

John Holland is technically an elite, in that he is a privately contracted nova who specializes in applied violence and sells security services. However, he's on a permanent corporate retainer to the only employer he's ever elited for, Justinian Dragos, who is another PC and in our campaign is the richest nova in the world.  Basically Justinian is like Anna DeVries, only Anna does everything elite and resource exploitation and Dragos does everything else industry and economics.

It's a very high level campaign and we got lots of nova points at chargen, hence some of the ratings here.

Speed 7 - John Holland has maxed-out Mega-Dex, Mega-Wits, several levels of enhancements that boost reaction time, and a modified Initiative score in the 30s. He's at least neck-and-neck with Totentanz when it comes to enhanced reaction time and multiple actions. The only thing keeping from being Speed 8 is that he has no movement powers except the running speed that comes with his Mega-Dex, which tops out at a sprint of around 60mph. Which is still superhumanly fast by normal standards, but at this level is basically negligible.

Offense 8 - John has a little trick where he can charge bullets with 'dark energy' that lets them hit like railgun slugs, even if he's firing ordinary pistol ammo. (Mechanically, it's defined as Quantum Bolt 5 with a miscellaneous limit of 'Must be holding a gun'.) Furthermore, his accuracy with it is essentially 'greatest marksman in the world'. If he has line of sight to you he will hit you, right out to the horizon, and unless you have defenses in the top 1% of novas you will be hurt.  Worse yet, his rate of fire with his q-bolt is identical to the semi-auto RoF of whatever weapon he's holding, so if a hard target is worth the quantum point expenditure he'll get hit several times in a turn. Even his half-damage (zero qp) shots still shred mooks, because they still hit like autocannon shells. He's no less accurate or versatile in close-quarters, although he's 'only' doing Mega-Strength 2 worth of hand-to-hand damage at that point.

Defense 8 - John has maxed-out stats in not getting hit and soak values of 30B/23L in full eufiber. His only weakness is that his defenses rely on having room to dodge (almost half his soak is bought with the limitation of 'requires freedom of movement') so if he's pinned in tight quarters or immobilized then he's a lot squishier. He loses a point for this, but gains a point back for having high Mega-Stamina and Adaptability, Iron Will, Psychic Shield, Intuition, Luck, and very good mega-social defenses.

Versatility 7 - John has an extensive special ops, espionage, and assassination skillset, a maxed-out Mega-Manipulation and Mega-Wits, the Mr. Nobody enhancement and maxed-out stealth and intrusion skills, several bachelors' degrees worth of general and classical education, 1 dot each in the other mega-socials, several dots in Mega-Intelligence and Investigative, Tactical, and Strategic prodigies, and is one of the principal lieutenants of the richest and one of the most well-connected novas in the world. Even on his own he has extensive financial resources (Resources 5), maintains a discreet network of safe houses in various places around the world, and has multiple useful contacts including Agent Burrows of the Directive.  He also has 1 dot in Pretercognition, giving him the occasional useful vision of trouble to come. He's a specialized instrument in the sense that he doesn't really do much outside of being a high-end elite troubleshooter, but within that category he is exceptionally versatile.