Aberrant RPG - Character definitions?

[Kirby1024]

I can think of five major ones in Aberrant (this is a list of "geared to" definitions)

1. Gunslingers (Expert with combat. Can't usually do much else though)

2. Solvers (Geared towards problem solving, detecive work, etc)

3. Spellcasters (Tend to use powers only, is always geared to be able to use powers extensively. Usually a subset of 1 or 2)

4. Support Crew (Not really solvers, people like healers who usually just enhance/hinder people in the party)

5. All-rounders (No real advantages, tend to be ready for anything, but don't tend to do as well as more specialised characters)

Those are five I can think of, anyone got any more? Which one do you prefer to play, and which ones do you hate with a vengeance? Just trying to start up a conversation

[Jager]

I am curious why you put Face Men (or women), stealth types, and 'passive' power types all in one category? While the flying gun is possible the most popular concept, lets not forget the 'movers' either. Speedsters, Teleporters, and Warpers all play a very important part in the game. What about Defense oriented characters? The nova that can soak up anything this side of a nuclear blast. I tend to differentiate between Martial Artists (dex-based hand to hand specialists), Bricks (Mega-Str. and protection, but little ranged abiltiy, and the 'Gun', who is good at ranged but not close up. What about Taint-Monkeys (one of my favorite phrases I came up with when someone came in with a Taint 7 character) and the Taint-fearful? Then there are the Big Brains. Part problem solver, part inventor, they can really bend the world.

[The Ranger]

What about the Metas? Novas who commonly use meta-quantum powers like Quantum imprint, quantum vampire, Quantum leech, aberration tranfer and the like.

One of the best characters in our group was a combat teleporter with quatum imprint: Pop in, copy powers, pop out.

I tend toward characters that mimic four colour types. My first character was a gravity manipulator with Warp and Adaptability for space travel. I noticed in the players guide that the intrduction to space travel was written by a Nova who exactly mimiced these powers.

[Kirby1024]

OK, we'll redefine the categories:

1. Offensive-Combat

2. Defensive-Combat

3. Solvers

4. Spellcasters (as a subgroup of the previous 3)

5. Meta-Novas

6. Support-Hinder/Enhance

7. Support-Transporters

8. All Rounders

I'm deliberately keeping the categories broad here, so I'm not constantly going into redefinitions. I'm not saying you have to be in only a single group, you could have a Solver who is also a Offensive-Combat.

Is this any better?

[Jager]

Where do you put the Mega-Social people? I mean the ones where that is what they do. Like Ortiz. I certainly make use of novas like this as NPC's and I could see a player (who doesn't mind hiding when combat rears its ugly head) doing the same. "Oh no, Mr. Bond. I am not going to hurt you. My 'new' friends here, on the other hand, might not be so inclined." Most Mega-Social powers act for a scene, so I see no reason why knocking out the "source" should snap the situation back to normal. I feel that a Support-Social category is worth consideration, especially as a secondary spot. Most groups have someone who handles their PR and non-combat encounters, even if they do fullfill another role in the group.

[Kirby1024]

Probably in Support-Hinder/Enhance.

Another category, perhaps "Charmers"?

[Kane Knight]

Charmers, that works. And Leaders. Leaders could be support, could be charmers, but really are neither unless you want to dig around hard.

Leadership is pretty important in any team, the leader being forced to focus the efforts of a crew.

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The Eleventh Wonder of the World.

Hype, Sacrelige, Uniforms...

[Jager]

I have seen sub-standard teams conquer mountains with superior leadership and teamwork and I have seen people nigh-on to gods fail because of internal bickering. Good leadership should never be underrated and bad leadeship never ignored. That's why I like synergy so much.

[Kirby1024]

Right. Here's v1.2, I've ditched the spellcaster group because even I admit that it's not really a group unto itself. OK, the Nine groups we've decided on are:

1. Combat-Offensive

2. Combat-Defensive

3. Solvers

4. Meta-Novas

5. Support-Hinder/Enhance

6. Support-Transporters

7. Charmers/Leaders (I dunno. Considering they're both usually Mega-Social, I wasn't sure whether to have seperate categories for the two.)

8. All Rounders

No doubt we'll find another to add to the list, but this is starting to get fun!

[Jager]

Kirby, what is the ninth group?

[Kirby1024]

Damn, you think you get it right for once...

I was originally going to put Charmers and Leaders in two seperate categories. I decided later that the two categories would be pretty similar, so I put them together. I just forgot to change the Nine into an Eight.

Man, one of these days, I know I'm going to get a break...

[Kane Knight]

A leader is more likely to have some Mega Wits, or Mega intelligence, for the tactical bonuses. These are things Charmers (IMHO) usually don't need.

[Kirby1024]

Not necessarily. A leader has to have some sort of Charisma at least. Also, Most of the leadership-type enhancements are actually in the Mega-Charisma category.

You could think of it as two similar types that have diverged slightly. Put simple, to be a leader, you need a little charm...

[Guest]

Hmmm... interesting catgeories there Kirby.

But what group would a psychic be in? Spellcasters? They can help the group through instant mental communication (which can really help teamwork a la Prof X).

And a teleporter? What about a brick with lots of strength (offensive) and invulnerability (defensive)?

I guess I would just rather differentiate novas by the archetypes their powers seem to follow (kind of like marvel, monster, portent; but more diverse).

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Human. All too human.

[Kirby1024]

<hr>

But what group would a psychic be in? Spellcasters? They can help the group through instant mental communication (which can really help teamwork a la Prof X).

<hr>

Well, For a telepath-like psychic, like a person who simply reads minds, They'd probably fall into Solvers and/or Support-Hinder/Enhance. Maybe (and it's a biiiig maybe) Combat-Defensive (ie, using psychic abilities to stop a person attacking) or Charmer (for a leader-psychic)

For a Psychic Link person, if that was the only thing he did, he'd definitely be in Support-Hinder/Enhance.

I get a feeling you only looked at the first/second list. We've updated it twice now. Teleporters/Warpers have their own category, Combat Orientated has been split into two categories (and I have said that you can have a character that falls over more than one category.

[Darkwave]

One thing I've noticed is that people here seem to be judging only the combat-effectiveness of the various categories. You can't just trump up combat-effectiveness as the end all and be all of what Aberrant is "geared towards." I don't think that's really fair to everyone who plays a non-combat or low-combat Aberrant game.

Look at it from a "Watchmen"-style perspective: Suddenly the quantum nukers or Combat-Offensive/Defensive characters fall into a Feared Paragons of Unparalleled Might category. Obvious combat ability yes, but in the right game, that ability may NEVER be tested. Charmers in this setting now fall into the Media Superstar category now. It's not about combat, it's about the effects these powers have on the world.

That may be a lot of "different name, same horse" to y'all, but I want to cautiously and politely point out that not everything in Aberrant should be appraised for its combat effectiveness. In a different setting, high combat effectiveness becomes a social stigma, and then what good is it?

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"When did HE become a nova? Natural Agitator? No sh!t, dude!"

[Jager]

Yeah, the latest game I went into had everyone with 2's in their socials (except for the one pretty-boy brick) and little if any social skills. The Mega-Socials were somewhat frowned upon as 'mind control', but the ability to vaporize crowds or lift buildings was okay. I became spokesman by default.

[Kirby1024]

Well, I never said anything about combat effectiveness. I actually tried to refrain from judging any of the groups as superior to the others (As you say, in many circumnstances, a Combat-Either just doesn't cut it). By doing it this way, you have a nice, neutral set of terms.

Mostly, I was trying to see if we could get a fairly broad, but distinct set of categories. I'd say we did pretty well, but I'm sure we could add a few more categories. Any takers?

[Guest]

Actually, I always thought of the different character classes as related to the set of attributes. There's physical ones, mostly, but not entirely, combat orientated. A friend of mine played a baseball star that erupted on-field (partly inspired by corbin, but not an emotional broadcaster). He built a low power nova, and people didn't notice him being a nova for a while.

Then there's the mentals, who often share a few social traits as well. I've played a mega-slick character for a while, but he eventually developed some physical attributes as well (Regeneration and Adaptability, mainly), and became a crime lord. He didn't need any social att's except face of terror.

Which leads to the socials, mostly born leaders with a few helpings in "secondary" areas like flashy or influential powers.

The fourth group then would be those characters who don't rely on att's, but on power. After reading Rising Stars for the first time, I came up with a character that didn't have any powers except Node Spark. I defined him as an evolved human, and his power offered him occasional access to mega physicals and quickness, as well as quantum related powers. He later developed Disrupt, since my ST and I agreed that even though he could spark Quantum Leech and Quantum Imprint, he couldn't spark powers that directly affected other nova's signatures, such as disrupt, disimmunize or forgery.

Anyway, that's how I always categorized the characters. Just my 2cents...