Aberrant RPG - How about a Permanent Shutdown?

[Matador]

One of my players wants to get his character retired, but he wants to be a nova no more. I decided to create a power called "Quantic Shutdown", that could be used only once, to revert the eruption process permanently, leaving him a baseline.

What do you think?

[Fortune's Son]

I think there might be more interesting stories that your player is overlooking. If the player and character are serious then a quest for the elusive Divis Mal himself might be more interesting. Of the top of my head, other possibilities are;

The noble experiment; A node lobotomy at the hands of some wild eyed theoretical researcher? In a good cause of course. This is knowledge desperately needed by Utopia/Proteus/The Directive.

The con: A telepathic friend/acquiantance claiming to have such an ability while in reality is suppressing the novas belief in his/her ability to manipulate quantum.

Playing with god: the wild eyed researcher that believes he could transplant a node. Foolishly wrong of course but what if he's right? Where does the responsiblity of power end and personal responsibility take over.

Other than that, there is a level (5? 6?) power in the APG with a technique that will do that, though the name escapes me at the moment.

[Guest]

That would be under Quantum Supremacy, a level-5 Power.

[Jager]

Don't go insane with those level 5 powers. Have the guy dorm down and then alter his memories with Telepathy. If you want to put icing on the cake, have a Dominate command put in to not let his subconcious use his powers either.

Now, your subject no longer thinks they are a nova and can't access their powers, even to save their own life.

[David 'Dr. Troll' Smith]

Quote:

Originally posted by majorvictory:
That would be under Quantum Supremacy, a level-5 Power.

I thought it was the level 4 power, Q Authority?

[Guest]

While the telepathy idea is possible, its kind of boring. Turning back into a baseline is a huge story arch, or can be if the ST does it right.

Why create a power or even tap into the level 5 powers? Ever since the Player's guide came out everybody is hard up for Quantum 6 and the uber-powers. People forget that a nova with Quantum 4 or 5 is REALLY powerful. The best way is to find a mega-int doctor who is willing to do the surgery. I am big on the role-playing asspect of the game so I would make the doctor conflicted with the idea and try to talk the nova out of it. Also, you should address the character's issues for his decision. Just creating a power or tapping into the player's guide is just plain boring.

[Kane Knight]

Quote:

Originally posted by Mr. C-thru 2001:
While the telepathy idea is possible, its kind of boring. Turning back into a baseline is a huge story arch, or can be if the ST does it right.

Why create a power or even tap into the level 5 powers? Ever since the Player's guide came out everybody is hard up for Quantum 6 and the uber-powers. People forget that a nova with Quantum 4 or 5 is REALLY powerful. The best way is to find a mega-int doctor who is willing to do the surgery. I am big on the role-playing asspect of the game so I would make the doctor conflicted with the idea and try to talk the nova out of it. Also, you should address the character's issues for his decision. Just creating a power or tapping into the player's guide is just plain boring.

Powers are there to flavor the story anyways. Raw power is boring, power induced arcs are cool.

That being said, what about internal conflict? You've seen people in real life unable to function due to mental conflict and what not...What about Nova Psychology?

If his powers are based around his psyche, and his psyche shuts them down, a more severe form of dormancy, one which the player has no control over consciously.

Now, I don't know the character, so I don't know why it would happen, but I think it's a bloody cool concept. Personally, I'm thinking God complex versus reality. Someone who thinks they can save the world is placed in a situation where they are forced to choose between saving two seperate groups of people or whatnot. Be it the superhero plunge, or developing a cure guaranteed to kill a per centage of the population, or whatever you please. This causes such conflict that the Nova's psyche removes the powers that make the decision hard...Being a normal human offers fewer possibilities, fewer choices, fewer failures.

[Matador]

The idea behind this "permanente shutdown" was also to reduce his life span, so he could age along with his wife and kids, and not out live them, like the highlander problem in the first movie. Also, what would happen to his taint/aberrations with a surgery, either psychic or physical? I mean, if he got the "androgynous" aberration, what would happen if he was shut down?

[Jager]

Since I believe that 'baseline' humans can be androgynous, I believe the person would continue living, though with some new and unique medical problems.

If someone stays 'dormed down' indefinitely, they would experience a normal lifespan (and die). Mind you, even dormed down, novas are healthier than their baseline counterparts, but the lifespan would still be within acceptable norms.

[Guest]

If someone stays 'dormed down' indefinitely, they would experience a normal lifespan (and die). Mind you, even dormed down, novas are healthier than their baseline counterparts, but the lifespan would still be within acceptable norms.[/QB]

[David 'Dr. Troll' Smith]

Quote:

Originally posted by Mr. C-thru 2001:
However, since we are talking about the "shut down" of a nova then this does not apply. He has been turned into a baseline and not "dormed down".

Probably not. Unless shapechange-other is involved, Dorm (or Q-Authority for that matter) is just turning off their node. Remember that although the node is the start of being a nova, it isn't all of it. The rest of a nova's body changes to accomidate q, paticullarly their nervious system. (See the interview with Kijack in the core rules). Persumably, that is why novas keep their extra lifespan even if their node is turned off.

Even if brain surgery is involved, he will still be a nova, although a q-less & powerless one.

[Jager]

If all it took was a surgical procedure, removing the node, don't you think it would be much more in use?

Your a nova, you break the law (in a big way), and they cut out your node. It would be categorized as "my node made me do it" brain tumor kind of thing, I think.

By normal lifespan, I meant the base 150 years, not what extended levels of Mega-Stamina and/or Adaptability would give you. I figured that if you are permanently dormed down, you wouldn't get the extra levels or the enhancements.

With nova led improvements in medicine, the baseline human lifespan should approach 100 easily and ages of 110 and 120 wouldn't be beyond possibility.

Is there a clear ruling either way?

By the by, does it state anywhere what causes some people to erupt and others not to? If it was straight genetics, the scientists should have known by the year 2001. All you would have to do would be to map the genes of 50 or so novas.

[David 'Dr. Troll' Smith]

Quote:

Originally posted by Jager:
If all it took was a surgical procedure, removing the node, don't you think it would be much more in use?

The problem isn't removing the node. The problem is doing so without killing the nova. And in 2008, even (or especially) a tainted nova would be worth some serious study. Another point is that a nova is so tremendously valuable, lots of people will try to turn him first, even if they know he is a serial killer.

Quote:

By the by, does it state anywhere what causes some people to erupt and others not to? If it was straight genetics, the scientists should have known by the year 2001. All you would have to do would be to map the genes of 50 or so novas.

Not if it involved 50 or so genes, which lots of things do. Worse, lots of "could be" novas don't erupt (or just haven't yet). In Aberrant, lots of things make people errupt (stress, accidents, high levels of quantum, etc).

[ 07-25-2002: Message edited by: David Smith ]

[Jager]

If it was "just the node", do you see how ghoulish things could become? Forget stealing a kidney from a bumb, pull a nova down and take his/her node.

If a nova wants out, he could auction it off on e-bay.

Just think of the nightmarish possibilities.

I am getting off subject again, aren't I?

[Fortune's Son]

Quote:

Originally posted by Jager:
By the by, does it state anywhere what causes some people to erupt and others not to? If it was straight genetics, the scientists should have known by the year 2001. All you would have to do would be to map the genes of 50 or so novas.

It's known that what was previously thought to be a junk intron sequence is a common factor in erupted novas. One might assume that mapping the sequence is financially or technologically unfeasible or every rich / powerful person on the planet would be getting gene tested to see if they were one of the possible winners in the gene lottery.

There is quite a bit of research going on at least within Utopia to figure out the eruption angle but so far they've come up with zip. Put two people in a dangerous situation and, even though both possess the intron sequence, one will erupt while the other goes splat. Its believed that being in proximity to the use of quantum powers can trigger the eruption but again its unknown.

[Ashnod]

Quote:

Originally posted by Jager:
By the by, does it state anywhere what causes some people to erupt and others not to? If it was straight genetics, the scientists should have known by the year 2001. All you would have to do would be to map the genes of 50 or so novas.

If I remember reading the source material correctly, it's genetic. There's a section in the opening scientific sections about a study done where they examined the genetic structures of a large test group for people who had genetic structures in common with Novas. Only one did, and she later erupted.

More precisely, the potential to erupt is genetic. Why some people can ACTUALLY erupt, and others remain latent, is another story I don't think they ever covered.

Narcosis, for example, was latent for years and went to extreme measures to erupt.

[Vile Bill]

Quote:

Originally posted by Ashnod:
If I remember reading the source material correctly, it's genetic.

I think Ashnod is correct here. Also, if I remember correctly, in the PG it does state that the genetic potential to be a Psion or an Aberrant are the same, but once they become one, they are locked into it.

I think this genetic marker is a bit of a weakness in the Aeon Canon storyline because they state a couple of times that no one, not Aberrant supergeniuses, not super AdvancedTrinity types can identify who has the genetic marker to erupt.

BUT!!

The Heaven's Thunder Triad has the ability to find potential Novas, Nova Spark their asses and then rip out their Nodes for Soma, Red 7 and Mite. Hmmm, I wonder how they identify potential Novas?

also, there is a book coming out called Asia Ascendent for Trinity. Now, I have no clue as to whether or not this is official WW stuff, but in it the book talks about how Japan, right before the Aberrant war figured out not only how to detect Novas, but to detect those Novas who had a high potential for taint. Those who weren't going to Taint out would be messed with to erupt, those who idd where stopped from ever erupting.

I think I got this right.


But, the whole thing is kind of messed up.

[Fortune's Son]

AsAs is official Trinity material and if another book comes out then it's going to be this one. What the Japanese figure out, around 2035 or so (I don't have the material here), is that some novas have a predisposition towards taint. Based on what sounds like a battery of tests both mental, physical and medical, they have the ability to ascertain those most likely to succumb to taint effects. They also have a hard line answer on what to do with such people.

This source book, of which we've seen only a longish excerpt, has a lot of interesting concepts ranging from;

- what Daredevils from Adventure really are.

- what one nation did in prepartations for the Aberrant War and afterwards.

- how humanity can exploit a genetic potential.

- What the difference is between a "nova" and an "aberrant".

Good stuff. I've been thinking about re-posting the excerpt here on the forums. Any one interested?

Oh, and Bill? You missed the part about the Daredevils. That's who they're talking about when they mention Superiors.

Pretty cool, huh?