Aberrant: Theomachy - Character Creation and New Rules

[Blue Thunder]

Character Creation

These are the overall changes made for character creation, using the chart on Aberrant page 120:

"Baseline Phase"

Inspiration

This replaces the "Concept" entry and is unique to Theomachy. Before you can create your new character you first choose one or two mythological characters from our own real-world myths to base your nova on. You aren't making a copy of those characters by any means; as the name implies they are only your inspiration for creating the nova. The inspiration you take from these characters can be as little or great as you want...the nova you make does not have to resemble them in body or personality, just in spirit. You can choose characters from popular myths like the Greek, Roman, Norse, Egyptian, Chinese, and Indian stories or even go for obscure to lesser-known myths. Your nova could be inspired by Mercury the speedster or Set the crocodile-god, but nothing is stopping you from getting inspiration from Paul Bunyan or the Laughing Buddha.

Name

You cannot name yourself after a real-world myth character, but just calling your nova Dave isn't acceptable either. Since inventing names can be hard, try this: take the name of your Inspiration. Then jumble the letters around. If you have two Inspirations, then combine parts of their names together to create one name. There you go, your nova's name! Aside from his or her given name novas also tend to rack up aliases over time. You can give yourself one alias at gamestart if you wish (Hammer of War, Messenger of the Pantheon, The Watcher, Base of the Living, etc.).

Two Natures

When creating a character you choose two Natures instead of one. This doubles the opportunity to regain Willpower from Nature, and lets you define your character's personality a little more. You can also use Natures from the Trinity Players Guide (Competitor, Confidant, Cynic, Fanatic, Innocent, Monster, Perfectionist) and Adventure (Expert, Charmer). There are also four new Natures I created specifically for Aberrant which can also be used in this game:

Deviant:

Your mind is so far removed from what society considers moral and right that it can barely be called human anymore. While a few novas (mostly Deviants themselves) would consider your behavior to be a liberation from baseline thinking, most novas and baselines still consider you a dangerous freak of the highest order and call you what you are: a sociopath.

Gain Willpower when your utter detachment from morality is a boon to your well-being and comfort-level in a situation where it would not be for a 'regular' person.

Elemental:

There are those that use their quantum powers and then there are those that

live

their quantum powers. Your specific quantum powers dictate the way you behave in many situations. It is common for a nova's powers to reflect their personality but your personality instead reflects your powers. While similar to the Nova Nature, you are different in that you think of yourself as a living embodiment of a force of nature and live accordingly. You fly wherever the winds carry you, live with the trees in isolation, or think like the computers you manipulate…whatever the case may be. Just make sure you remember that you are more than a mindless force of nature, or you might truly become one.

Gain Willpower when your actions and behavior exemplify your 'element' in a way that is accurate (from your point of view) and/or truly impressive to others.

Loner:

You do best when alone. You stay emotionally distant from people as a way of coping with the realities of the world. You aren't against working with others, they just need to understand that you perform better when you don't have to rely on them. Getting close to others is a mistake since their friendships come with strings and are doomed to end eventually, but you also close yourself off for their sake since you have no desire to burden them with your problems. The only person you can trust not to betray or leave you is yourself. Unfortunately you are too stubborn and proud to request help when you do need it, opting instead to suffer alone.

Gain Willpower whenever being emotionally or physically distant from others helps either them or yourself.

Nova:

To a nova with this Nature, any situation can be solved with the application of quantum powers. You live and breathe quantum and your day isn't considered complete until you've had a chance to stretch your quantum muscles and manipulate the world around you in ways no baseline can. Even the most mundane of activities can be improved through the application of channeled quantum. But be careful - in doing so you may overlook something obvious that a more "baseline-minded" person would notice immediately.

Gain Willpower whenever you use quantum powers in an unusual and/or creative fashion.

Ability Cap

Novas may raise Abilities to five dots during the "baseline" phase instead of the normal cap of three.

Free Specialties

Novas start with two free Specialties at character creation, but baselines do not. This partly compensates for the novas' lack of Bonus Points.

No Backgrounds

There are no Background traits in this game. You are free to do whatever you want in regards to money, fame, followers, etc. as long as the Storyteller approves.

Starting Quantum

All novas start with Quantum 2. Quantum still cannot be raised above 5 at character creation. Since novas do not get Bonus Points, Quantum must be raised with NP later.

Starting Taint

Default starting Taint is 1 for all novas and it cannot be reduced to 0. Novas can only start with a higher Taint if they take points of it for additional NP.

Starting Willpower

Novas start with Willpower 5. Baselines start with Willpower 3.

Changes to Bonus Points

Only baselines get 15 Bonus Points to spend. Novas get three "imaginary" Bonus Points that count towards Merits and Flaws and nothing else.

Merits and Flaws Restrictions

You cannot take any of the Merits that mimic Mega-Intelligence enhancements. Eufiber Attuned and Eufiber Rejection cannot be taken since there is no Eufiber in this setting. Dependence to things baselines cannot be dependant to is an Aberration. Enemy cannot be taken. Ambidextrous is automatic for anyone with Mega-Dex or Mega-Wits. Physical aberrations cannot be purchased as Flaws...but mental and social Aberrations are perfect as Flaws. You can use various Merits and Flaws from the Trinity Players Guide and other White Wolf lines as long as they pass Storyteller approval.

"Nova Phase"

Endurance and Resilience

Novas no longer start with three automatic dots in Endurance and Resilience. They are just as likely to starve, get sick, or become an addict as any baseline (except when certain powers or enhancements apply).

Changes to Nova Points

Novas start with 60 nova points (NP) instead of 30. If you take as much Taint and Aberrations at chargen that are allowed you add 15, bringing you to 75 NP. This is intentional; I was originally going to have 75 be starting NP with the option of buying off Taint and Aberrations with NP. This is the same effect.

The NP costs for traits have been altered; use the list below to replace the one in the book:

Quantum - 4

Level 1 Power - 1/2* (One point for two dots, can be split among two powers)

Level 2 Power - 2

Level 3 Power - 4

Body Mod - 1**

Quantum Pool dot - 1/2* (One point for 2 dots)

Mega-Attribute - 1 (for first dot only), 3 (for second and later dots)

Mega-Attribute Enhancement - 3

3 Attribute dots - 1

5 Ability dots - 1

Ability Mastery - 1

Willpower - 1

Taint +3

Low-level Aberration +1

Mid-level Aberration +2

High-level Aberration +3

* You can split 1 NP between a Level 1 power and a Quantum Pool dot.

** All Body Mods now cost 1 NP

Changes to Taint

Nothing can be purchased as Tainted. Instead you can voluntarily take a permanent point of Taint in order to gain 3 extra NP during character creation. You are limited to taking 3 points of Taint (9 NP) this way.

Changes to Aberrations

You may also voluntarily take Aberrations for additional NP. Aberrations work differently than in Aberrant; each Aberration has its own personal ranking of low-, mid-, or high-level that is not affected by a nova's Taint. The level of the Aberration determines its severity. This is discussed below. You are limited to gaining 6 total NP from starting Aberrations and they must be approved by the ST. You can take additional Aberrations at gamestart if you want but will not get more than 6 NP.

Changes to Strengths and Weaknesses

The Strengths and Weaknesses system is seen as a roleplaying tool in this game so is not available during character generation. You can voluntarily apply Weaknesses to your powers if you want but there will be no trade-off. Any Strengths will develop during play. Since S/W are now a roleplaying tool, it may be possible to have a power with Strengths and no Weaknesses after play starts.

Ability Mastery

Ability Mastery is a new option for novas during character creation (and during play) to reflect a nova that has absolutely mastered a certain Ability. If a nova has Ability Mastery he is considered to have every possible Specialty for that Ability, effectively giving him an extra die to roll with. He can also never botch a roll with that Ability (botches become standard fails). In order to take Ability Mastery a nova must have 5 dots in the relevant Ability. Remove all Specialties from that Ability and replace with the word "Mastery."

[Blue Thunder]

Important Gameplay Changes

Quantum

Both the Attunement and Node Backgrounds have been erased and are instead incorporated directly into Quantum. So with a Quantum of 5 you are considered to also have an Attunement and Node of 5. Quantum also no longer causes you to accumulate Taint at 5+ (and by extension neither does Node at 3+). Attunement works as normal. Node no longer allows quantum detection but otherwise works as normal.

Quantum also adds to natural soak. Each dot of Quantum adds +1 to Bashing, Lethal, and Aggravated soak which cannot be reduced by Armor Piercing or similar efforts. This makes up for the loss of Eufiber but also gives novas a better natural defense against Aggravated assaults. This soak does not work against mental attacks.

Quantum (instead of Taint) now gives you Aberrations. At Quantum 6 and every point thereafter you gain a new Aberration at low-level. Any Aberrations gained from Quantum are generally harder to change or get rid of and have a tendency to reach high-level more quickly, representing a nova's transcendence and evolving power. Players get to choose Aberrations gained from Quantum.

Taint

Temporary Taint is accumulated as normal but can also be handed out at the Storyteller's whim when he feels it is dramatically appropriate based on events of the game. The same applies to Permanent Taint; due to events in the game you may be given a point (or more!) of Permanent Taint. Temporary Taint bleeds off naturally at 1 point per chapter. There are no other game mechanics for taking away either form of Taint but there will be ways to "roleplay" the Taint away.

Novas gain a -1 penalty to Social rolls and interactions with baselines at Taint 7 and for every point thereafter. So a nova has nothing to worry about at Taint 6, but things quickly go downhill after that. A nova is still removed from play at Taint 10 as their minds become so alien and bizarre that roleplaying them is impossible.

Aberrations

Aberrations are no longer linked with Taint; they are an independent trait, though they can be gained through high Quantum. They can be gained and lost (and mutated) in-game through events of the story. Aberrations are still considered to be a hindrance but they are mostly a roleplaying tool now. It is possible to have a character that is riddled with Aberrations yet has a Taint of 1, or who has a Taint of 9 and no Aberrations.

Aberration levels are changeable. Virtually any Aberration can be taken at low-, mid-, or high-level and every Aberration must have its level defined when it is taken. Even normally high-level Aberrations like Sloughed Flesh and Radioactive can be taken as low-level. Several Aberrations that all express one thing should be listed as one Aberration. If your character looks like a minotaur just take one Aberration (Minotaur Body) instead of several different ones. Remember that separate Aberrations can mutate into other things on their own.

Aberrations also mutate independently per character now; there is no guideline for what any Aberration should be like at high-level. At low-level an Aberration is hardly a nuisance but when going to medium- and high-level it can become a problem. Two characters with Glow at high-level may have entirely different effects; one could be so bright that others have to cover their eyes, the other could cause damage with his touch. Aberrations are handled on a case-by-case basis.

Chrysalis

Chrysalis is the name of the process by which a nova raises his Quantum above 5. Upon some kind of powerful and dramatic personal event, a nova with Quantum 5 will literally disappear from the physical world. Several days later he will rematerialize somewhere with +1 Quantum (and the automatic low-level Aberration that comes with it). At some point during play after undergoing the Chrysalis the nova will manifest the Power Mastery Extra (APG, page 119) for a single power they have, as determined by both the Storyteller and the player. This is the only way to apply Mastery to a quantum power, which limits you to one Mastery per Quantum point over 5. Only level 1-3 powers can have Mastery applied to them.

No other changes are made to the character's stats from Chrysalis. This process is repeated every time Quantum is raised another dot above 5. This is not the Teragen's Chrysalis so there are no Archetypes or rolls involved. It is the only way to raise Quantum to 6 and beyond.

Changes to Novas

Certain other general changes have been made to novas. The following aspects apply to all novas in Theomachy:

Health Levels

All novas start with two of every Health Level except for Dead.

Ageless

All novas are considered ageless as far as the campaign is concerned. Novas age as normal baselines do up until puberty is finished when their nova abilities fully manifest, at which point their aging dramatically slows. Whether or not novas are actually able to live forever is unknown, since the oldest known novas are only about three to four centuries old.

Immune System

Novas are no longer immune to poisons, drugs, diseases, etc. like they are in Aberrant. They do not gain three automatic dots in Endurance and Resistance and are affected normally by things such as alcohol and drugs. They generally eat and drink as much as baselines do.

Offspring

The offspring of two novas are always novas. There are no restrictions to a nova's powers or quantum make-up based on who their parents are. Just because a mother and father can manipulate cold and ice doesn't mean their children will, though there is a strong possibility that a few traits are passed on. There can be certain lineages and families where certain traits are almost always present in offspring, but you are free to be whatever you want.

Nova fertility is tricky. Since novas are ageless they have a greatly reduced fertility rate. But novas also tend to give birth to twins, triplets, etc. at much higher rates than baselines. Novas can produce offspring with baselines. These children will never be novas but they will be born stronger than a normal baseline, gaining an extra +1 to Willpower, three extra Attribute dots, and double Bonus Points at character creation. They may also be born with one of their nova parent's Aberrations at low-level. Novas can mate with mythological creatures and animals while Shapeshifted and such, but we can handle that situation if it presents itself.

Your Character's Story

And then we come to your character's backstory. Whenever you make your character it is good to have a general idea of what kind of origin story and past you want your character to have but it is best not to set it in stone or establish it outright. You may want to start playing without having even created a background for your character at all. This is important to remember about the game: the more you define about your character now, the less you can define later. It is good to become comfortable with the setting we create before making things permanent.

Here are a few things to think about:

Family Tree

Who is your family? In most RPGs players never give this a thought...their character's parents may as well not even exist! But ignoring family is impossible in Theomachy. Every good mythology has family drama involved and it won't be any different here. You don't need to have a full family tree developed during play, just the essentials: a mother, a father, your siblings, your spouse, your children, and any other relatives of note. And again you don't even have to declare who these people are when the game starts. You can make them up as you go. Your thought-to-be-dead spouse could turn up suddenly, or your evil twin could come murdering his way back into your life for a convenient plot-twist. Leave things open.

The Origin Story

All mythological characters have some kind of origin story. Most real-world myth characters are simply born to two deity parents, but others have more unique stories such as Aphrodite springing from the sea foam created by a pair of chopped-off male genitals. You don't have to be so graphic but most of your followers will want to know how you came about and you are free to exaggerate on the details for the sake of making things interesting. There could be stories from your childhood where you solved an important problem or saved a lot of lives in some kind of mythic way that all become part of your cult's fascination with you. You can invent these stories later.

The Phases

Thematically there are no more "baseline" and "nova" phases of character creation, but they'll be kept intact for purposes of simplicity. You are born as a nova so imagine the two phases as being one phase. You aren't born with all of your powers at their current levels however; they develop gradually as you grow into adulthood. There is no system for this; just use your imagination. Your character may have displayed Mega-Strength and glowing skin the moment he burst out of the womb (perhaps literally) or he may have spontaneously developed it during an incident of his youth. Since you won't be playing young adolescents this is a non-issue gameplay-wise, and any stories you create about your character's powers when growing up are just story flair.

[Blue Thunder]

Abilities

The full Ability list for this campaign is:

Strength

Might

Dexterity

Archery

Athletics

Firearms

Heavy Weapons

Legerdemain

Martial Arts

Melee

Pilot

Stealth

Stamina

Endurance

Forging

Resistance

Perception

Artillery

Awareness

Investigation

Navigation

Intelligence

Academics

Bureaucracy

Engineering

Gambling

Intrusion

Linguistics

Medicine

Military Science

Science

Steamwork

Survival

Wits

Art

Biz

Meditation

Rapport

Tactics

Appearance

Disguise

Intimidation

Style

Manipulation

Diplomacy

Interrogation

Seduction

Streetwise

Subtrafuge

Charisma

Animal Handling

Carousing

Command

Elemental Affinity

Etiquette

Instruction

Perform

The following old Abilities are of no use to the campaign:

Brawl (covered by Martial Arts)

Throwing (covered by Might and Athletics)

Drive (covered by Pilot)

Computer (covered by Engineering, hypothetically)

Gunnery (covered by Heavy Weapons)

Weave (useless)

Thought Discipline (does not fit campaign)

The following Abilities are available:

Military Science (Intelligence): from Trinity Players Guide.

Elemental Affinity (Charisma): Allows the nova to understand and communicate with lunar-born elemental creatures. Elementals are notoriously difficult to comprehend and misunderstandings have led to many unfortunate disasters throughout Gaian history. This Ability stands in for most Social rolls when dealing with elementals. This is like a fantasy version of Xenorelations from Trinity.

(Specialties: Diplomacy, Interrogation, Rapport, Subterfuge, Command)

Forging (Stamina): This Ability covers shaping metal and similar substances. Nova Blacksmiths have been responsible for many of the most valued weapons and armor in history. Forging high-quality items takes time. This Ability cannot be used to create magical weapons unless the forger has specific magical components to incorporate into his creation.

(Specialties: Weapons, Armor, Siegecraft, Large Objects)

Steamwork (Intelligence): This Ability covers experimental technologies involving steam power. Many kinds of devices are possible with steam and this Ability allows planning and construction. Most steamwork devices require maintenance and repair.

(Specialties: Vehicles, Siegecraft, Weaponry, Buildings, Automatons)

Occult (Intelligence): This Ability covers knowledge of novas, the First Gods, the Underworld, the Upper Realm, and related topics. It mostly deals with understanding modern events but incorporates a certain amount of history as well.

(Specialties: the Underworld, the Upper Realm, Relics, Monsters, Specific Region)

New Abilities can be introduced at player request. Fighting styles for Martial Arts, Brawl, Melee, etc. can't be taken as Specialties since I feel they alter combat too drastically for Specialties. I might allow them later as Merits but at gamestart they won't be an option.

[Blue Thunder]

Mega-Attributes

The following are changes to Mega-Attributes and their enhancements.

Mega-Strength

Mega-Strength now works as any other Mega-Attribute would, adding Mega-dice to all Strength Abilities. Automatic dice for Might are gone, but base lifting ability remains.

Mega-Appearance

You no longer receive extra dice for Style rolls (or Intimidation if you go Mega-Ugly). The innate bonus from having Mega-Appearance should be enough.

Mega-Attribute Enhancements

All of the enhancements from official books are acceptable, using the changes below. If you want to use an enhancement from a fan supplement such as Forceful Personalities or The New Flesh I must approve of it. If you have an enhancement you would like to invent and introduce, just run it by me. The following changes and clarifications have been made for Mega-Attribute enhancements from the books:

Precision - Applies to physical combat damage (including from arrows, bullets, thrown objects, natural weaponry, and even melee Claws) but not damage from powers like Quantum Bolt, Mental Blast, or ranged Claws. On the other hand you can now instinctively feel when you're about to kill someone with Brawl, Martial Arts, Melee and related close-combat abilities and can choose to reduce damage enough to incapacitate and not kill as a free action and for no cost.

Adaptability - Despite the name this power no longer causes you to sprout gills and grow hard skin, as those are covered by Shapeshift, Body Mods, and Aberrations. You instead just don't need to breathe, eat, drink, sleep, etc. as normal for the enhancement. You are no longer instantly immune to most poisons, drugs, etc. You must resist all of those as normal and your bonus is reduced from +6 dice to +3 dice. This enhancement has no bearing on how long you can live since novas in Theomachy are already ageless.

Analytic Taste/Touch - These two must be taken separately.

Hyperenhanced Hearing - No longer has the "transmit radio waves" feature. Not that it would be useful here anyway.

Quantum Attunement - No longer lets you see "blind" since that's covered by Blindfighting. The Medicine roll is replaced by a straight up Perception + Mega-Perception roll.

Eidetic Memory - Has been merged with Enhanced Memory. Just take Enhanced Memory instead, which will now cover both.

Fast Learner - Does not reduce XP costs for Abilities, since this system does not use XP. It now lets you to raise any Intelligence Ability to 6 dots (even during character creation, if you take it then). It continues to reduce learning time. Effects stack with Ability Mastery.

Mental Prodigy: Computers - Useless.

Speed Reading - Useless, even in Aberrant.

Taint Resistance- Useless, since Node does not give Taint anymore.

Artistic Genius - You must define a type of art when purchasing this enhancement and may take it multiple times. Just because you are a good painter doesn't mean you're a good writer or musician.

Human Nature - The cumulative +1 difficulty to the roll only starts applying at Taint 7 and higher. Since the game now uses dual Natures you must use this enhancement twice to discover both, but upon doing so you can receive bonuses to Social rolls at the Storyteller's permission when used against the target.

Quickness - Extra actions from Quickness cannot be split into multiple actions. Each use of Quickness is good for a single physical action such as a combat strike.

Almost Live - Useless, since live recorded media do not exist in this setting.

Awe-Inspiring - No longer affected by Taint or Aberrations as the enhancement describes.

[Blue Thunder]

Quantum Powers

Quantum powers and Extras from official books are acceptable, but changes have been made below. Note that the Aberrant Players Guide has an errata section to fix and alter some of the powers from the main sourcebook; that errata applies to this game as well.

Quantum Power Changes

Aberrant Main Sourcebook

Animal/Plant Mastery - Animal Mastery and Plant Mastery are now two separate powers. The Nature Mastery Extra is now useless.

Body Mods - All Body Mods cost 1 NP during character creation.

Body Mod: Extra Limbs - No matter how many extra limbs you have, the -1 multiple action penalty reduction is the same.

Bodymorph - You may take Bodymorph (Alternate Form) which lets a nova transform into another "form" of themselves (think Mega-Intelligent Bruce Banner morphing into the Incredible Hulk...while still retaining Mega-Intelligence). Alternate Form Bodymorphs do not gain automatic benefits or powers like other Bodymorphs do but they get an extra dot to spend on powers/enhancements.

Boost - If you roll no successes you are refunded any quantum spent to activate the power.

Claws - If you apply the Aggravated Extra to this power then your melee attacks deal Claw dots in aggravated damage, regardless of your Mega-Strength.

Cyberkinesis - Of limited usefulness. While things like clockwork and steamwork devices can be crafted by a dedicated nova inventor it is doubtful that this power would find much use with them. If you really want a Technique from this suit I may allow it as a separate power.

Density Control - Density Increase and Density Decrease are now separate powers. The Full Control Extra is now useless.

Disorient - When taking this power you must specify if it is biological or mental in nature. The target resists with Stamina or Willpower, depending.

Elemental Anima - Not available. Just take Elemental Mastery.

Entropy Control - Targets can use any aggravated soak they have active to resist Bioentropy Storm, not just the soak from the Hardbody enhancement.

Healing - No more per-person, per-scene limit; you can use this power as often as you want.

Matter Creation - Objects can be made permanent with one temporary Willpower point. Only mundane items can be created with this power; nothing quantum-powered, nothing as complex or setting-inappropriate as a computer or tank, and nothing biological beyond materials like wood.

Pretercognition - The Storyteller would prefer this to be an NPC power...

Quantum Construct - No longer requires Force Field, but requires Quantum 5 (instead of 4). Anything summoned by this power is created and controlled by the Storyteller.

Quantum Conversion - Can also be used to create "elements" such as water, ice, sand, etc. You can create quantities of an "element" of some kind much the way that Matter Creation does, but in limited quantities and you must define it beforehand and can't craft it into anything specific such as an ice sculpture or a rock weapon.

Shapeshift - You must declare a sort of "theme" for your shapeshifting that will stay with it. This is because the description for Shapeshift is so vague that you can technically do whatever you want with it. Arguments could be made for everything from Invisibility to Healing to be available to a shapeshifter. So now you must be specific about how your Shapeshift works. Is your Shapeshift based around turning into animals? Turning into physical objects? Twisting your body around like Mister Fantastic? Turning into a gibbering freak like John Carpenter's the Thing? As for physical aberrations and whether they can be concealed, that will be handled on a case-by-case basis.

Strobe - Can now be resisted with a Stamina + Mega-Stamina roll by the target. Covering your eyes or ears can help too.

Telekinesis - Still cannot be used to mimic the Flight power entirely, but a nova can use it to hover around at half their walking speed. A nova can also use it to hover in place (to stop a fall, for instance).

Telepathy - Not available. Use the new Psychic Mastery suite power. If you just want to use one technique of Psychic Mastery, you can take it as a level 1 or 2 power.

Teleport - Due to the more "local" nature of the setting, all teleporting distances are cut in half and any successes beyond 5 multiply distance by x5 instead of x10. Likewise if you miss your location your "off" distance is cut in half. You must have visited your teleport location before and be somewhat familiar with it (or looking at it). You cannot guess at where you're going based on description.

Warp - Same changes as Teleport.

Other Official Books

Psychic Link - Extra Link lets you link as many extra people as your dots in Psychic Link, instead of just two total. So at Psychic Link 5 you can link six people into one network and they can all communicate with each other.

Crosstime Travel - Not available.

Time Travel - Not available.

Aberration Transfer - You do not lose your aberrations when using this power you only duplicate their effects onto another person, but the duration is doubled. The Permanency Extra only works on baselines but functions the same way, making a permanent copy of your Aberration but not getting rid of it.

Chimeric Aberration - Not available.

Node Spark - Not available.

Transmit - Distance restrictions same as Teleport.

Biomanipulation - Is now a level 4 power, like it should have been.

If you want to request any changes or point out flaws, please do.

[Blue Thunder]

Other New Content

New Powers

New powers can be created if existing ones don't quite match up to what we want. This shouldn't happen too often and only in cases of strange abilities that can't be covered by existing powers. If you have any ideas feel free.

Psychic Mastery

Level: 3

Quantum Minimum: 4

Dice Pool: Variable

Range: Variable

Area: Variable

Duration: Variable

Effect: Character has access to a wide variety of psychic powers and abilities, and is capable of truly fine manipulations of the minds of others.

Multiple Actions: Yes

Hallucinations:

Dice Pool: Manipulation + Psychic Mastery

Range: (Quantum + Power Rating) x 5 meters

Duration: Maintenance

The nova can create mental hallucinations that severely disorient their victims. To use it, the nova rolls Manipulation + Psychic Mastery; the target may oppose this with a Willpower roll. Each success reduces the target’s Wits or Perception by 1. Reducing Wits also reduces the target’s Initiative by 1 per dot lost, and if Wits is reduced to zero in this fashion, the victim’s mind is so overwhelmed and distracted by the hallucinations plaguing them that they can only act once every other turn. If the target’s Perception is reduced to zero, they’re effectively blind as the hallucinations they’re experiencing completely overshadow real events.

Crush the Will:

Dice Pool: Manipulation + Psychic Mastery

Range: (Quantum + Power Rating) x 10 meters

Duration: Concentration

Works as Domination, save that the nova needs two successes to equal one success on the Domination chart.

Mental Blast:

Dice Pool: Intelligence + Psychic Mastery

Range: (Quantum + Power Rating) x 5 meters

Duration: Instant

Works as Mental Blast, the power, though at a shorter range.

Psychic Shield:

Dice Pool: N/A

Range: Self

Duration: Maintenance

Psychic Shield provides two soak against mental attacks, or two automatic successes on Willpower rolls to resist mental powers. The difference between this technique is that this power is Maintenance, not Permanent, meaning that the nova must activate it in order to use it. Not only does activating it tie up one of the nova’s actions, if the attacker has some means of preventing the nova from becoming aware of their mental attack (such as with Telepathy + Surreptitious), then the nova will not have the opportunity to activate this technique in the first place. The effects of this technique are cumulative with Psychic Shield.

Lock Down the Mind:

Dice Pool: Wits + Psychic Mastery

Range: (Quantum + Power Rating) x 5 meters

Duration: Concentration

This technique works similarly to Immobilize, but with a few key differences. Firstly, it has a Duration of Concentration, not “One Scene or until destroyed” as per normal. Secondly, it is resisted by the opponent’s Wits score, not Dexterity, and breaking out of the immobilization requires a Willpower roll, not an exertion of Strength as is typically the case. Thirdly, the effective Strength, soak and number of “health levels” is equal to [Power Rating], not (Quantum + Power Rating). Should this ever range above 5, every two levels would provide a dot of effective Mega-Strength. The final difference is that the immobilization, being purely mental, is an intangible effect.

Pathos

Dice Pool: Variable (Willpower resisted)

Range: (Quantum + Power Rating) x 15 meters

Duration: Special

This effectively works just like Empathic Manipulation, save that the Pathos technique can only be used to reduce positive emotions/amplify negative emotions. So while you could use it to amplify a target’s anger into homicidal rage, you could not remove that anger (or even lower it) and replace it with happiness.

Passion

Dice Pool: Variable (Willpower resisted)

Range: (Quantum + Power Rating) x 15 meters

Duration: Special

The opposite of Pathos, Passion can only reduce negative emotions or amplify positive ones. Note: both versions allow the nova to make a Perception + Psychic Mastery roll to determine a target’s emotional state (resisted by the target’s Willpower, as per normal) just like a nova with Empathic Manipulation.

Fooling the Mind’s Eye

Dice Pool: Manipulation + Psychic Mastery

Range: (Quantum + Power Rating) x 15 meters

Duration: Concentration

Works like the Mirage power, except that two successes are required to equal one success on the “Illusion Intensity” chart.

Language of the Mind

Dice Pool: Perception + Telepathy

Range: Line of Sight

Duration: Concentration

This works identically to the “talking” function of Telepathy.

Shaping the Mind

Dice Pool: Perception + Telepathy

Range: Line of Sight

Duration: Concentration

This allows the nova to read a target’s mind, as well as alter existing memories, exactly like a nova with Telepathy.

Scanning

Dice Pool: Perception + Telepathy

Range: Special

Duration: Concentration

This works identically to the scanning function of Telepathy. This technique is usable in conjunction with any other technique in Psychic Mastery (excepting the Psychic Shield technique, for obvious reasons), allowing the nova to affect minds at enormous distances, once she has found them. This does require the nova to pay the activation cost, and may entail taking multiple actions in a turn, depending on circumstances.

Probability Forging

Level: 2

Quantum Minimum: 3

Dice Pool: Wits + Probability Forging

Range: self

Duration: Maintenance

Area: N/A

Effect: Gives the character a brief glimpse into the future, allowing her to perform actions with much greater confidence. Number of successes determines degree of effectiveness.

Multiple action: yes

Description: This power works similar to Pretercognition, but is much more focused and limited. By peering into the immediate future (no more than a few moments) the nova gains a preternatural insight into the best course of action in many situations. This power works as Luck, save that it’s duration is Maintenance, rather than Permanent, it is a Level 2 power, and it has a dice pool of (Wits + Probability Forging) instead of just Luck.

Extras: none

Leaping

Level: 1

Quantum Minimum: 1

Dice Pool: Dexterity + Leaping

Range: self

Duration: Maintenance

Area: N/A

Effect: Grants the nova all of the abilities of a kung fu master from a Wuxia movie. Allowing them to leap for incredible distances, balance on bamboo shoots, and even run up walls.

Multiple action: yes

Description: While not as powerful or versatile as the Flight power, Leaping still allows a nova to virtually ignore the effects of gravity while it is active. She can run at an increased speed, leap incredible distances, and even run up walls and support herself upon structures that should not be able to support her weight. In combat, the character may add (Power Rating) meters to her running and sprinting speeds, and she may leap vertically as high as ((Run) meters + (Power Rating) meters), and may leap horizontally as far as ((Sprint) meters + (Power Rating) meters). Note that the character still cannot move further than half her Run speed in meters and still act in a turn (this includes leaps). Out of combat, speed is multiplied by (Power Rating + 1). This multiplication to speed is added to any increase granted by the Enhanced Movement enhancement of Mega-Dexterity (so if a character has 2 dots of Leaping and 2 dots of Mega-Dexterity, she may multiply her speed by as much as x6).

Perhaps most impressively, however, is that a character using Leaping can ignore the effects of gravity in most cases, provided she keeps moving, or has something (no matter how fragile or unlikely) to support herself with. She can run up walls, balance on a twig, and hook a foot into an overhead beam and engage her enemies in combat while hanging upside down without fear of slipping and falling (i.e. with no penalty applied). If she is attacked while leaping through the air (and has not moved further than half of her Run speed), she may engage in combat, including dodging and parrying attacks, without penalty. Falls up to the character's maximum vertical Leaping distance (as listed above) do no damage, after which the normal rules for falling come into play.

In all cases the Storyteller is the final arbiter on what is, or is not, possible through use of this power.

Extras: none

New Extras

These are new Extras you can apply to powers. If you have an idea for a new Extra then bring it up.

Plant Mastery

Plant Creation - Your use of Plant Mastery no longer requires the presence of plantlife to control; you may spend extra quantum when using this power to spontaneously create plantlife out of quantum energies. Small plantlife such as a flower would cost an 1 quantum, a small tree or large amount of vines would cost 3 quantum, and a giant tree or field of smaller plants would cost 5 quantum.

Psychic Shield

Emotion Shield - Psychic Shield also protects against powers like Empathic Manipulation that target emotions. It does not guard against Social rolls or enhancements.

[metaphysician]

*cough* The ability list makes me pine for the simple 25 abilities of Exalted. . .

[Blue Thunder]

I never played Exalted, but from what I've heard about it, it does sound kind of like this game...

[metaphysician]

Similar, though not *that* similar, beyond the "fantasy world populated by godlike beings" element.

I just like the skill system they use. 99% of everything is covered by the skills:

-Melee ( obvious )

-Martial Arts ( ditto )

-Archery ( fired weapons )

-Thrown ( thrown weapons )

-War ( tactics, strategy, mass combat leadership, etc )

-Resistance ( physical toughness and fortitude )

-Integrity ( mental and emotional fortitude )

-Survival ( obvious )

-Presence ( force of personality and persuasion )

-Performance ( various forms of entertainment, and also broad scale social efforts )

-Craft ( making things )

-Medicine ( obvious )

-Occult ( mystic knowledge )

-Lore ( other knowledge )

-Investigate ( obvious )

-Awareness ( obvious )

-Dodge ( getting out of the way )

-Athletics ( obvious )

-Larceny ( disguises, lockpicking, other thief skills )

-Stealth ( obvious )

-Linguistics ( obvious )

-Socialize ( carousing, conversing, other back and forth or subtle social interactions )

-Bureaucracy ( getting organizations to work or not )

-Sail ( obvious )

-Ride ( obvious )

Specialties distinguished uses of specific skills, but the base skill covered all general uses. The only odd case is Craft, where there were distinct Craft variations for different stuff you'd make.

[SkyLion]

All that sounds cool but one thing I like about the Abby system over the previous and apparently post Trin games is that they folded the dodge skill into martial arts and melee. Part of learning to fight is learning to evade, parry and dodge. Dodge in non martial aituations cpould also be handled with Athletics but as a standalone skill it is redundant.

IN a related topic, can we keep these threads clean and discuss in the discussion boards? It would be nice to keep our rules compendium free from chatter and update when needed...

[Blue Thunder]

Removed the backgrounds stuff for obvious reasons.