Aberrant RPG - Science and Aberrant

[Warren Verona]

Okay, something bothers me. Know what it is? It's the fact that Abberant is broken scientifically and yet people still insist on arguing science with it.

I've done extensive research into this little book ever since I started playing the game in an attempt to learn more about subjects that, prior to playing it, I knew nothing about.

By the rules in the book, do you realize what is possible and what is not?

By the math, do you realize that with Gravity Manipulation a Nova could destroy the Earth? It doesn't take mastery, or anything fancy... just Q5, a little patience and a good roll.

When it comes to elements, do the rules mean actual elements or can energies be included in there too?

What about Matter Creation... can you create an apple? No. It's a living thing, until it is completely rotted out according to the science community.

What are lines between physical and energy? Kinetic energy is what makes an impact happen... so is the Q-Bolt: Sewer Cap physical (you got hit with it) or Energy (with out the kinetics, the cap never would have moved).

My point is this. For the love of all that is holy, please understand, that you cannot argue science and Aberrant, it is not possible, the people who wrote the book included powers that are not even governed by quantum related theories for crying out loud!

All that you can apply is common sense, judgment, and a "What the hell, why not." approach.

For shits and giggles I walked a few characters down to the science block and chopped them up.

Revenant: None of Revenant's abilities are possible according to scientific research and theories.

Flicker: By rapidly bending light and shifting it in and out from various spectrums simultaneously someone can 'blink', or even become invisible and still remain absent to other forms of detection (thermo, UV, etc.). Congrats, you're legal Flicker!

Sylvan:Plants possess living functioning cells. As such they are living and therefore under the thumb of the biomanipulation power. Sorry Syl, science has spoken; Plants are not an "Element". Hell, actually, they're not even matter until the plant is dead.

Timeslip: Quantum Theory does involve time/space manipulation. In theory all of Timeslip's capabilities are possible. Congrats. On a side note, according to a Q. Physicist, in theory Q-Bolt (Time) is possible. I forget how he phrased it (a lot of geek babble was involved, I know that much), but rapidly accelerating the age of something is possible, erasing something completely however is still only speculation.

See what I mean? Scientifically... this game practically is impossible... so for the sake of all sanity, give trying to figure it out a rest.

Oh, for the record, this was just a rant. I'm not picking on anyone, or slinging mud. I felt like ranting so I ranted.

Flame on... you know you wanna.

[Ultimax]

Problem is, not everyone posseses common sense. Or, you don't think they do. Bummer, eh?

[Warren Verona]

Heh. I guess what I meant with the common sense thing is that far to many people I know (IRL and in the Forum World) try and tack on a rule or scientific explination for everything, instead of just eyeballing it and saying "Sounds cool, go for it."

Does that make sense?

[Ultimax]

Yeah. But what about when someone says something absurd and you call them on it they demand "proof" to back up your nay?

[Blue Thunder]

The one that always gets me is Density Decrease!

Just because you can decrease your density doesn't mean you can walk through walls. Air is less dense than stone, but air doesn't pass through stone, get me? Also, if you were truly becoming less dense, you would become "see through" and your internal organs, skeletal system, etc. would be visible, yet faded. This is because, as you become less dense, light passes through your body.

So really, if you were to get a 5-dot Density Decrease where you become "fully" decreased...you would also be invisible.

But that would be a scientific POV. The M-R Node can still allow a nova to pass through a wall yet be visible. His mind is using quantum energies in a way that defies logic.

And don't get me started on telepathy...

[Warren Verona]

Actually Blue Thunder, that's exactly what I'm talking about. A friend of mine actually tries arguements like that all the time. The only problem is, since WW messed up the powers in Aberrant so much, sometimes the only answer you can give someone as a ST is "Cuz, you can't. That's why."

And I hate telling a player that, especially if they're right and WW just didn't do thier homework.

[Dreamer]

Given a few days of time most smart novas could underly destory the world as we know it. Really look what our world would be like if nova got a hold of our basic DNI tech, or sank their fangs in the stock market....

[Blue Thunder]

Actually, the powers work fine as is for me. I don't think they're broken. They may have a few kinks here and there, but hey, it was the first edition. Mistakes and stuff happen. Things are overlooked. And in a game like Aberrant you can't stop to argue science on the powers...they work using Quantum manipulation, and thats mostly all a player should care about. Not even scientists of the Nova Age understand what is going on.

The M-R node taps into reality and allows novas to do things that seem impossible. Like a nova that flies by altering the gravity around him. Sure, in real life that would bring up all kinds of issues (like affecting global gravity and such) but the M-R node compensates for the effects.

Or a nova like Shrapnel that can shoot flaming metal shards at people. Where does the metal come from? And how is it molten hot? If she can create molten hot shards of metal as blasts, does that mean she can create metal alone?

And how do some novas have the ability to survive in space? It's not enough to be vacuum sealed ad pressurized, but there's also extreme radiation and temperatures to consider.

If you want more of a scientific approach, try Trinity. The powers in Trinity are more closely bound by the laws of physics. As much as psionics can be anyways.

Aberrant does have some science in it, but only enough to explain why nova powers exist. And that's all it needs to function.

Not that I dislike these kinds of conversations. I actually like talking about the science of possible "superheroics."