Aberrant: 2011 - Character question

[Mr Fox]

So I was thinking of making a character for the 2009 board, but I've never played in either of the 2009 or the 2017 boards.

After looking through the Character Profiles it looks like there is a character already in the game with just about every major power set. I can come up with a unique character concept, but I would hate to have the same power set as someone else and be seen as a copycat.

How big of a deal is it to have the same powers as someone else already on the board?

[Velvet]

As long as the character concept is unique, I wouldn't worry too much about it. Realistically, with a limited number of powers, it's going to be difficult to create a completely original nova, particularly when you also take canon NPCs into consideration. There's a lot of overlap on quantum abilities, which lends credence to a lot of IC theories about nova powers generally adhering to certain guidelines- elemental, psychic, physical, etc. Even finding a unique concept is difficult, sometimes, and I've noticed several existing characters that seem amazingly similar on the different boards. If you've managed that part, I'd say you're ahead of the game.

[Mr Fox]

Well, that's not to say that I already have created a concept, but I think I can come up with something that won't be a copy of someone else on 2009 at least.

[Maya Flynn]

I say go for it, then! I look forward to seeing what you can come up with. Powers, in any event, seem largely unused except in fictions, and player conflict isn't overwhelmingly common.

[Libertyne]

I really don't think it's much of an issue, provided your power set isn't a direct overlapping of someone else. Also, a lot of powers are more common or have a lot more room for individual expression than others. Quantum Bolt and Flight are so generic that virtually anyone can have them. High levels of something like Poison or Temporal Manip, though, has the potential to be stepping on somebody's toes, especially if that's their character's "gimmick".

[Maya Flynn]

Actually, there's already a good example of this in 2009.

Nyx's powers revolve around shadow, and it would seem that Sascha's do, as well (though he doesn't seem to be posting recently.) The way they use their powers, however, and the concepts behind each character, are dramatically different.

[Mr Fox]

Yeah, that's kinda what I'm afraid of. Even according to canon precogs, or matter chamelions, temporal manips and such are gonna be extrememly rare. In a small setting like 2009, two people having one of those power sets is one too many I think unless you have very different concepts.

[Libertyne]

So have a very different concept.

[Cyn]

Another thing worth thinking about is how your character's powers "work". Obviously, of course, they work in rule terms the way the rules say they do, but that doesn't mean that the way your character generates the effect has to be a standard, stock method.

Just as an example, take three characters with the powers Armor and Strobe: One has thick rocky hide that protects him and generates his Strobe effect by causing minor explosions in the air around him, flooding an opponent's senses with light. Another generates ice armor around himself in combat and produces vision loss in targets by spraying ultra-hard dark ice across their faces. Number three deflects attacks away from herself with an electromagnetic forcefield and affects the vision of her targets by jamming the electromagnetic activity in their visual cortex with 'static'.

None of those sound anything like each other, but they all have the same game effect. Go thou forth and do likewise.

[Ravenshire]

I agree with Cyn's post. Copying what is on someone's character sheet is bound to happen as we create more characters. Its how we play them that seperates the character from the math. Trust in your strengths as a role-player and don't worry about the rest.

[Catalyst]

No one has entropy control, momentum control, gravity, empathy, no flash like, no really big blasters, no pure flaming boys, no light controllers, no physics, no size morphers..... Should I go on?

[Robert J. Lambert]

Entropy: None

Momentum: None

Gravity: None

Empathy: Two

Speedsters: Only underwater

Big Blaster: Can't recall but Longball and Bellator both are blasters.

Flaming people: We got three, two if you don't count Aura

Light Controller: One

Psychics: I'm sure we had one, just can't remember

Size Morphers: We had one, but Thierry hasen't posted since the Florida party fic.

[Harold Campbell]

Originally Posted By: Robert J. Lambert

Size Morphers: We had one, but Thierry hasen't posted since the Florida party fic.

Yo.

Originally Posted By: Catalyst

no really big blasters

Yo again.

I'll be arriving at the Blackburn shortly, bringing my friends havok, spite, malice, and rage with me.

[White Light]

So awesome.

[Mr Fox]

I've got a couple concepts in mind, and that list above helps since it gives me a good idea what hasn't been done yet. I'll have to see what I can come up with now.

[Catalyst]

Originally Posted By: Robert J. Lambert

Entropy: None

Flaming people: We got three, two if you don't count Aura

Summer is a flame ice chick..She is not a flaming girl..but who else?

[Josh Brickman]

Originally Posted By: Mr Fox

…according to canon precogs, or matter chamelions, temporal manips and such are gonna be extrememly rare. In a small setting like 2009, two people having one of those power sets is one too many I think unless you have very different concepts.

This is a misunderstanding of probability. Take birthdays. There's 365 of them and it's pretty much a random distribution. But there’s trick that teachers sometimes use where they ask their class what their birthdays are and low and behold, there is usually a match.

With 23 students there is about a 50-50 chance of a repeat. With 34 the chances of at least one repeat is 80%.

How many powers are there in the book? 50? 70? Josh has 5 or 6 of them depending on how you want to count (including a level of Growth) and he will have one more pretty soon. In theory all of his powers are built around Temporal Manipulation (not that he has TM yet)… but there’s more than enough room for several more characters with that theme and different takes on it.

For that matter there's lots of room for other super strong elites.