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Aberrant: 200X - 200X reboot discussion: TAINT MECHANICS


Nova OOC

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Hmm...

Once upon a time overseas I ran across a man, a Brit wearing two large ear rings. Bear in mind this was before the fad became prevalent for men. I noticed it, talked with the guy for bit and asked him about it over a beer, noticed my attention being drawn to it then finally shrugged and thought "I wouldn't do it but who really cares." For me it was done.

A while later an older American man walked in, sat down next to us and after noticing the ear rings said something in a very aggressive tone along the lines of, "What the hell is that?" while pointing at the ear rings. He even stomped off with what seemed a disgusted look on his face after telling the man "I should jerk those right the hell off your ears."

That's what you're trying to come up with rules for. How the mythical average or normal person is going to react to something.

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It seems to me that the whole concept of having quantum traits, that are not caused by taint, is an attempt to have your cake and eat it too. You can look non-human, with all the strangeness that coms from having aberrations, without any of the associated penalties.

It would be like me recreating WR, except with 0 taint. Now, I give him the same physical characteristics, except they are not caused by taint, but are body modifications instead. Now, I have my monster, and can have all the benefits of 0 taint too. I know it is an extreme example, but I think it illustrates my point. You want to create a character that deviates from humanity, without suffering any of the penalties.

I have an easier way to solve it. For every aberration you have, you get a free dot of Mega-Appearance to off set the reactions baselines will give you. That is essentually what this variant of Body Modification will do.

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I dated a girl with pink hair in college. She was cute and the hair color was a fashion statement. Didn't creep me out. In fact my parents actually liked her, and that is the true test of whether the hair color was taint induced or not!

Point is, small things like hair color are not going to freak people out, no need to discuss them if they aren't taint derived. If they are taint derived they aren't going to cause much reaction.

It is when you get to bigger changes that you have an issue. Basic mechanics is simple. Taint inflicts social penalties no matter how benign they may appear. Unicorn boy is going to get a severe reaction if his looks are because of being a taint buttered monster, no matter how regal looking he is. It's taint derived, he is gonna be shunned.

On the other hand if he is looking like a unicorn because he's taken body modification extra limbs and horn (those do have mechanical benefits and can't just be appearance mods) then the reaction is going to be quite different. There is no mechanic in the game to impart social penalties for Body Modification. They might take people aback at first, but once they get to know you they are like the girl I dated with the pink hair; its just a fashion statement.

Unless the other two mods contradict me, or a vast majority say otherwise that is how I will interpret things. I don't think we need to create a new mechanic for social penalties for body modifications and force people to react in a given way just because someone has strange hair or fingernails. As noted above everyone is going to react different. Earrings in me? My fathers generation mostly would react like the man in the story did, I on the other hand thought it was cool and when I was in college and no longer being financed by my parents, got my own ear pierced. You can't mandate fashion.

In the nova age people are going to be used to more outlandish things in regards to looks than my father's generation would be comfortable with, the kids on the other hand are going to love the changes. You've got sleek smooth fur and the head of a fox? Cool man! Hell, the ancient Egyptians would have worshipped you!

No mandating social penalties for cultural biases. That is up to the individuals to decide and the stories they write and you interact with.

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I should add to my previous statement, not all appearance changes are without consequence. Unicorn man has 2 extra limbs, and a horn, these provide mechanical benefits. They would need to be paid for with the purchase of 3 dots of Body Modification, or 2 dot of BM and one of claws.

Chrome finernails that are just colorful are no different than someone with weird nail polish. If the fingernails are hard as metal however, you'd need to buy claws.

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The thing is that even Aberrations don't have social penalties, by a strict interpretation. Taint does.

If I have Taint 5 and no physical aberrations, I still have the penalties. If I have taint 5 and ONLY physical aberrations, the penalty is no different.

So it seems to me that already, the rules don't cover reactions to strange appearances. They only cover reactions to taint.

Any rules we come up with regarding reactions to appearances (mega-appearances notwithstanding) will be essentially house rules.

That's not a bad thing though. It's one reason we're here.

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To be honest, I'm going to have each of my characters react in a manner I belive appropriate. Jordan, growing up in the Nova Era might not be phased by many physical aberrations but another character concept I have would probably pee himself if he were to see some one like our hypothetical Dog Boy.

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BTW. WR does not look like a rodent! He has hair, sure, and red eyes like all albinos. His eyes also lack eyelids.

He also has the body structures of a human. Added to the hair and red eyes, he has sloughed flesh, he drips a foul smelling puss, and he is contageous. These are in addition to several mental aberrations.

He would not look at all like Stewart Little.

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Quote:
Jordan, growing up in the Nova Era might not be phased by many physical aberrations but another character concept I have would probably pee himself if he were to see some one like our hypothetical Dog Boy.


Individual reactions are absolutely appropriate.
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Originally Posted By: Mr Fox
Chrome finernails that are just colorful are no different than someone with weird nail polish. If the fingernails are hard as metal however, you'd need to buy claws.
The chrome fingernails are an always present manifestation of a zero friction coefficient metal that is liquid in all known environments and absorbs energy like a cop inhales donuts. Which is a textual description of something indicative of quantum powers in play.

Welcome to being a mod. I apologize in advance that you will ocassionally have to deal with someone like me.

laugh
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I'm inclined so far to agree with those who want to keep body modifications and taint-induced aberrations separate. I agree with those who suggest that the effect of taint is not conducted via the appearance of the aberrations, whether they are mental or physical, but rather by an almost indescribable "creepy bad inhuman vibe" that is radiated by the tainted nova.

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