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Aberrant RPG Enhancement: Unorthodox Thinker


Matt

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Unorthodox Thinker (Mega-Intelligence)

Prerequisites: At least 1 dot of Mega-Wits, and 4 dots of the chosen Ability.

When confronted with a problem, most people prefer to rely on the customary and conventional methods for dealing with it. While this can help in dealing with problems that one has never personally encountered before, it also makes that person predictable. In some circumstances, that can be fatal. Some Mega-Intelligent novas have learned to go beyond the boundaries of conventional thought, coming up with ideas that at first appear utterly ridiculous and insane according to conventional thought, but that in practice are highly effective and make excellent sense when looked at in hindsight. Of course, the problem with such innovation is that a solution's effectiveness - or lack of same - won't be apparent until put into practice.

System: The nova can apply her superhuman genius to come up with truly innovative solutions within his chosen field of expertise - in game terms, an Ability in which he has a rating of 4 dots or more. The Ability that Unorthodox Thinker applies to must be chosen either at the time of character creation or when this enhancement is bought with experience. Taking additional levels of this enhancement will allow the nova to use it with one additional Ability per level taken. To activate this enhancement for the scene, the nova must spend 1 quantum point to come up with a quick improvisational trick to be put into immediate use, or 3 quantum points if he's attempting to come up with something that would let him pull off a plan on a larger scale. The Storyteller then makes an Intelligence + (the chosen Ability) roll for the nova. After the roll is made, the nova can come up with a "gimmick" - an outlandish and seemingly ridiculous trick or tactic - to confound his opponents. The sheer novelty of the gimmick imposes a difficulty penalty of +1 per success to any and all rolls made by the nova's foes to defend themselves against it. Alternatively, if the "foe" is something other than a hostile being - such as a virulent disease or a problematic environmental hazard - the gimmick will instead reduce the difficulties on the nova's Ability roll (down to zero difficulties) by -1 per success to overcome that challenge. The specifics of a gimmick's effect will vary with the Ability it's used with (Storyteller's discretion). Gimmicks involving personal combat Abilities such as Martial Arts would have the penalty imposed on their rolls to block, parry or dodge against the nova's innovative attacks, while a gimmick used with Tactics would subtract from the opponent's Initiative as she attempts to figure out a way to counter the nova's radical new stratagem. Gimmicks affecting Abilities such as Computer, where conflicts are handled as resisted rolls, will result in the difficulty penalty being applied to the opponent's Computer rolls.

Innovation has its price, though. The Storyteller is under no obligation to reveal the actual result of the Intelligence + Ability roll to the nova's player before the resulting gimmick is put into use. There is literally no way for the nova to tell if his gimmick will work beforehand. Also, secrecy is everything when attempting to use innovative solutions. If the nova's foe gets any forewarning of what the nova is up to, at the Storyteller's discretion she may be able to make a roll with an applicable Ability to counter the nova's gimmick and negate its effect. Further if the nova's foe has ever seen or heard of the nova's gimmick before, the nova's effort will simply fail. The first person to put a sword in a cane was unorthodox, the second was just a poser.

This is a part of Aberrant RPG: The New Flesh. Aberrant is a role playing game from White Wolf that shares a common universe with the Adventure! RPG and Trinity RPG game lines. Download the sourcebook for Aberrant: The New Flesh.

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