New Aeonverse Game Idea: The Argonauts

[Mel Grimson]

Hmm. I've been doing some initial looks, and I argue there should be more TP for daredevils, say 30 perhaps. There are a number of reasons for this.

Novas have generally a higher per dot NP cost, but in a couple areas, they have the better bang for the buck.

These being Attributes and Abilities, the latter especially being important for the daredevil.

Nova ratio: Attribute 3 dots/1 NP, Ability 6 dots/1 NP

Daredevil ratio: Attribute 2 dots/1 TP, Ability 5 dots/1 NP

It doesn't seem like much, but given that there is the major need in those departments to have an overall fighting chance in the game and the so far smaller pools, it is a pronounced problem.

To even moderately attempt to build up the Attributes and skills leave the Daredevil severely underpowered in the Knacks, IP and Inspiration departments. IP in particular is easier to run out of very, very fast with a smaller pool and less immediate ways to regain them.

[Dawn OOC]

Originally Posted By: Mel Ganker

It doesn't seem like much, but given that there is the major need in those departments to have an overall fighting chance in the game and the so far smaller pools, it is a pronounced problem.

I'm sure Cent will have his own take on this, but I just wanted to add that Cent's already said that Novas are going to be the powerhouses, and that if you want to hold you own on a battlefield, you're going to want to play a nova.

Perhaps I'll understand better if you can defind "overall fighting chance?" What do you want to see Mel do compared to a Nova and a Psiad?

[Telluris]

My base concept is a Hellblazer-esque type of character: surrounded by beings that can crush him like a bug, but gets by on his own low-key magic and knowing just a little more than the next guy.

No need for extra TP here.

[Mel Grimson]

Originally Posted By: Dawn, OOC

I'm sure Cent will have his own take on this, but I just wanted to add that Cent's already said that Novas are going to be the powerhouses, and that if you want to hold you own on a battlefield, you're going to want to play a nova.

Perhaps I'll understand better if you can defind "overall fighting chance?" What do you want to see Mel do compared to a Nova and a Psiad?

1. General chances to not get overshadowed. Fighting chance is used metaphorically.

2. I'm willing to go with what Cent says, just making my two bits that might make things more fair.

3. Part of the thing, is besides from dramatic editing, Knacks and Inspiration related-effects are what make daredevils capable of doing something here. Even with maxed abilities and attributes all around, daredevils would get outmatched in every respect except for their knacks and dramatic editing. Yes, Daredevils are skill monkeys, but as Cent has just demonstrated, Novas can get those on the cheap for more, and have plenty of room for mega-stats and powers. The Transformation Points cap is simply too low. IP goes easily and cannot return as fast. And on 2 TP apiece, every knack gets pretty costly when you fit everything in.

[BlueNinja]

The main thing with restoring your Inspiration will be you, as a player, keeping in touch with your Nature. When your temp Willpower is full, acting in accordance with your Nature grants you back Inspiration. As a Daredevil, you're only going to spending your Inspiration on Dramatic Editing, and when you use it to double your dice pool.

Cent: One house rule I've used when running Adventure! is to allow Mastery to let any 10s be exploding dice (ie, re-rolling them with the chance of extra successes). Perhaps this could be put into place solely for the Daredevils? It's certainly more fitting for them than for novas or psiads.

[Dawn OOC]

1) Overshadowed how? Where? Novas are exceptionally powerful.

2) Fair doesn't have much to do with it. It's already been stated that novas will have an 'unfair' advantage just by being novas. They're novas. I've chosen Psiad for my character because it fits what I want to do, not because I want her to be wow-super-awesome. She won't be and that's fine.

3) You don't 'fit everything in'. You get the stuff that is important/right for your PC.

I'm sorry if I'm misunderstanding, but you seem to feel that you need your PC to be on a level playing field with novas, power-wise. That's just not going to happen... unless your PC is a nova.

[Mel Grimson]

I said already that I'm going to go with what Cent says. I'm doing a daredevil because that's what my character is. The problem is that he's liable to become a guy with skills pretty much. Skills in at least a few areas that the others won''t likely have and high at that, but there's still this problem.

Novas are unfair... but I'm trying to point out that such a massive gap in TP/NP with their power level widens such it even more. There isn't much difference between cost/gain in terms of NP vs. TP, and hence to give many more to the novas is I think, a problem.

[Dawn OOC]

Originally Posted By: Mel Ganker

The problem is that he's liable to become a guy with skills pretty much. Skills in at least a few areas that the others won''t likely have and high at that, but there's still this problem.

Originally Posted By: Kazuo

Daredevils are, as jameson was pointing out in chat last night, the "skill-monkies" of the group. Build them correctly, and you can have in excess of thirty dice to call upon for a specific task, even if only at critical moments. Use Dramatic Editing correctly and you can save the entire team from certain disaster, or even just make their lives much easier during a certain scene. Honestly, a well-built and used daredevil should wind up being something of an MVP on the team.

It really sounds like you want to play a nova. It's been said over and over that DD are skill-mongers - if you don't want Mel to be a skill monger than play something else.

Allow me to add that you're welcome to ask Cent to accept your proposal. But this really seems like you're not happy with DDs, and therefore, are trying to get them made into pseudo-novas. Jer, I mean this with no offense, but from what I have seen from you to date, you like playing powerful PCs that don't fail. Seriously consider playing a nova; you'll probably have more fun. That is my friendly, serious advice.

[Mel Grimson]

Quote:

[Jeremy] 9:26 pm: my sense is that the
cost/gain system is even among novas
and daredevils, but novas will get more
shiny points to soak into whatever

This is what I'm trying to ultimately say. The novas already have a natural advantage, but they will get to splurge as well.

Besides, though I admit it took me a bit to work this out mentally and into words...

The character concept of Mel is intended for him as a daredevil. It doesn't make sense otherwise really to me. And as a character concept, the ultimate core concept of how he ticks is going to... I think be at least partially buried over by the novas.

Much of his skills, even in the 5 dot range that I plan for, is going to be combat-related or basic every-person-will have stuff. His background is going to turn into some very combat heavy stuff, which I know will count for less with novas around, but in general, to treat his background appropriately ad relate that into the point, will mean he's going to be the smurf in a great deal of cases.

Simply put: the char concept makes things really difficult for me.

But in the end, I'm not going to scrap my concept over any of this, even if it means having to bite the bullet. Ok? Not trying to make them into psudo-novas, just trying to make fair balance.

Edit: Would still like to hear what Cent has to say, but I think I've been worrying a little too much. I'm feeling less anxious now.

[Courier]

Originally Posted By: Mel Ganker

To even moderately attempt to build up the Attributes and skills leave the Daredevil severely underpowered in the Knacks, IP and Inspiration departments. IP in particular is easier to run out of very, very fast with a smaller pool and less immediate ways to regain them.

DD's get one point of their Quantum equiv per Transformation point, two points of willpower per T point, and *3* points of temp pool per T point. Given that you're going to have a LOT more T points than normal, you have no excuse for a small pool. Note also that your base pool is 10.

And while I'm at it, "Untouchable" (at this point level) is amazingly useful as is. Max your destructive out and then live with *only* a +4 diff to be hit by all ranged attacks (before defensive actions).

If we want to change things, I'd strongly suggest "Lightning Reflexes" be given an upgrade. Whoever created it didn't do the math, it's amazingly weak.

[Tharra of the Katjaa]

Adventure characters also typically start with 13 TPs to a Nova's 30 NP. 25 TP is almost a 100%. 40 NP is a 33% increase for the Nova, 66% if using 50NP.

[BlueNinja]

Personally, I'm fine with the novas starting at 30NP. I'm not going to complain if Cent gives us more, of course.

30 Transform Points is enough to buy 15 Knacks ... and there's only 21 in the book. Now, I don't think that our two prospective DDs would do that, but DDs don't need quite as many points because they don't have as much to buy, nor as expensive to max out.

Working on that other Knack right now.

[Mel Grimson]

You know, forget what I said about raising the dots limit. I think I've been misreading my character notes, so I'm less worried about the amount we get. The discussion was still informative though.

[BlueNinja]

Woo Fu

The film-maker John Wu, or any other Hong-Kong action wire movie maker, would love to cast you as a star. When you're armed with a firearm such as a pistol or a rifle, you can walk right up to the badguys, wait for them to take their best swing, then blow them away while they're still recovering.

System: When armed with a ranged weapon that does not have the Auto Fire maneuver, all attacks made with hand-to-hand weapons have an added difficulty to strike the character. Using a firearm with Auto Fire does not eliminate this difficulty, but it does reduce the bonus by half. Ranged attacks made by your opponents have no penalty against you. Use the table for the Untouchable Knack for the penalty[edit], but use the Reflective facet instead of Destructive.[/edit]

Prerequisites: The character must have at least three dots in both Athletics and Firearms to pull off this fighting skill.

----

Thoughts? [edit] Made a change for 'game balance' after talking with Asa and Carver in chat. [/edit]

[Kazuo]

RE: No Aberrations or Taint: This isn't a bad policy, but it isn't something that I'm going to enforce. If your nova is a taint-monkey, or your psiad looks like the Creature from the Black Lagoon, that would be a problem. But this is 2010, after all, so if your psiad's got weird-colored hair, or your nova's got sea-foam colored skin, that's not necessarily going to get the thumbs-down from me.

But Courier's point is a good one, and it's worth mentioning that high Taint screws up Psiad powers, so if you're a real player you won't do that to your fellow Argonauts of the psychic persuasion. My suggestion would be to at least invest in some Dormancy, or you may find yourself having to sit out on some of the good action just because your eyes glow in the dark. And that's lame.

RE: Daredevil Starting Points/Ratios: As BN pointed out, if I give the daredevils too many, I'm basically taking all the fun out of things for you guys over the long term. Novas are all about the vertical growth, psiads have some vertical room to grow, but a lot of it is horizontal. Daredevils are all horizontal growth. That means that things tend to cost less, but that means that you tend to run out of stuff to buy faster, too.

Now, I've said that I'll consider fan-made Knacks, which will help alleviate this somewhat, and we've already got BN very helpfully working on a brand new Knack for us all, so that's good. But even so, if I throw an armload of starting TP at you, sure, you'll be able to buy lots of neat goodies, but you also won't have much room left to grow as the game progresses.

And you know what else? You won't really be all that much more powerful! As I said: daredevils are all horizontal growth. They don't really become all that much more "powerful" - in the nova sense of that word - as they grow in their abilities, they become more versatile. Try to look at your daredevil as being exactly the same as the Heroic Knacks that he or she can call upon. Heroic Knacks are not about overwhelming power, they're about lucky coincidence, suicidal bravado and subtlety. In the Adventure! system, the Stalwarts you see coming from a mile off, the Mesmerists creep you out because you're never quite sure just what they're capable of, but the Daredevils always catch you off guard. A Daredevil that's been used right leaves you asking, "How'd he do that?"

So anyway, because of what they are, the Daredevils don't need as many points as novas (or even psiads) to be an amazing example of their kind.

[Kazuo]

Character Creation:

Attributes: 7/5/3

Abilities: 23 (none higher than 3 at before BP or NP are spent)

Backgrounds: 7

Initial Willpower (novas/daredevils/psiads): 3/3/5

Starting Quantum: 1

Starting Quantum Pool: ([Final Quantum x 2] + 20)

Starting Inspiration: 1

Starting Inspiration Pool = Final Inspiration Score

Starting Psi: ([stamina + Wits + Charisma]/2, rounded up)

Starting Psi Pool: (Final Psi + 10)

Initiative: Dexterity + Wits

Bonus Points: 15

Nova Points: 40

Psi Points: 45

Transformation Points: 25

Bonus Point Costs:

Attribute: 5

Ability: 2

Specialty: 1 (max of 3 per Ability)

Background: 1

Willpower: 2

Quantum: 7

Psi: 5

Primary Aptitude: 4

Secondary Aptitude: 5

Initiative: 1

Nova Point Costs:

Mega-Attribute: 3

Enhancement: 3

Quantum: 5 (max of 5 at this time)

L1 Power: 1

L2 Power: 3

L3 Power: 5

2 Quantum Points (Pool): 1 (no limit)

3 Attribute Dots: 1

6 Ability Dots: 1

Ability Mastery: 1 (max 3 Abilities, total)

5 Background Dots: 1

Background Enhancement: 2

Willpower Dot: 1

Psi Point Costs:

2 Attribute Dots: 1

5 Ability Dots: 1

Ability Mastery: 1 (max 3 Abilities, total)

4 Background Dots: 1

Background Enhancement: 2

Primary Aptitudes: 2

Secondary Aptitudes: 3

Psi: 5

2 Psi Points (Pool): 1 (no limit)

Willpower Dot: 1

Transformation Point Costs:

3 Attribute Dots: 1

6 Ability Dots: 1

Ability Mastery: 1 (max 3 Abilities, total)

5 Background Dots: 1

Background Enhancement: 2

2 Willpower Dots: 1

Inspiration Dot: 1 (max 5 at this time (maybe higher?))

3 Inspiration Points to Pool: 1 (no limit)

Knack, Heroic: 2

Unified Experience Chart:

Experience Point Costs:

Attribute: current x 4

Ability: current x 2

Background: current x 2

Mega-Attribute: current x 5

L1 Power: current x 3

L2 Power: current x 5

L3 Power: current x 7

Primary Aptitude: current x 5

Secondary Aptitude: current x 7

Willpower: current rating

Inspiration: current x 6

Quantum: current x 8

Psi: current x 6

Inspiration: 2 per dot

Quantum Pool: 3 per dot

Psi Pool: 3 per dot

Initiative: current rating

New Ability: 3

Specialty: 1 (max 3 per ability)

Ability Mastery: 12 (max 3, total)

New Background: 2

Background Enhancement: 12

Knack, Heroic: 10

Enhancement: 5

New Mega-Attribute: 6

New L1 Power: 3

New L2 Power: 6

New L3 Power: 9

Primary Aptitude: 6

Secondary Aptitude: 9

Requirement:

Minimum Backing: 3 (Project Prometheus)

[Kazuo]

House Rules for Psiads:

• This is not the middle of the 22nd Century, and as such, for novas with a Quantum rating lower than 5, only a nova's actual Taint rating applies when determining any penalties applied against the use of Psi techniques. (Novas with Quantum ratings higher than 6 are a different story...)
• Psi and Quantum don't play well together. High levels of out-of-control Quantum (read: taint) can impede a Psiad's ability to use her own powers, and focused use of Psi can wreak havoc on a nova's ability to call upon her powers at a critical moment.
• Psiads may add their Psi score as a Soak rating against damaging quantum-based attacks.
• All psi-based attacks (except for Disrupt, see below) are considered Piercing when used against novas (but not when used against baselines or daredevils).
• By focusing all of their psionic energies on a nova in range, a Psiad may disrupt that nova's use of quantum. Spend 2 Psi points and roll your permanent Psi rating. Novas may resist with a Quantum + Node roll. The effect has a Duration of (Psi Rating) turns. In all other respects, this works exactly as the Disrupt power described on pg. 190-191 of the Aberrant source book.
• When a Psiad rolls dice to determine the effects of any Mode's techniques, she may add her dots in that Mode to her permanent Psi rating. Moreover, any Mode dice that come up as a 10 count as two successes. (Clarification: Vitakinesis is an Aptitude, Iatrosis is a Mode, and Mending is one of its Techniques. A Psiad's dots in Iatrosis would add to her Psi rating when rolling to determine the effects of her attempt to use Mending on a teammate, and any Iatrosis dice that come up 10's are counted twice.)

[Kazuo]

House Rules for Daredevils:

• Dramatic Entrance grants 3 automatic successes, not three extra dice. Otherwise, it works as described.
• Enhanced Impact inflicts an extra die of damage (Bashing, usually) for every two meters that its effects hurl a victim. "Inspired" targets (i.e. Novas, Psiads, and other Daredevils) may not negate this Knack's effects with the expenditure of a nova/psi/inspiration point. Otherwise, this Knack works as described.
• Fists of Stone is never subject to the Puny Human rule (meaning that the daredevil always gets to at least roll Ping damage, at the least). Otherwise, this Knack works as described.
• Indomitable Will provides 2 soak against damaging mental powers, in addition to the standard difficulty penalty applied against any attempted use of mental powers on the daredevil. Additionally, this Knack may be taken a second time, causing any directed mental attacks against the daredevil to suffer a +4 difficulty penalty, and providing 4 soak against any damage that does get through.
• Lightning Reflexes allows a daredevil to roll a number of dice equal to her Intuitive facet, when rolling for initiative, and choose the preferred result (usually the highest). Note that the daredevil still receives the normal benefit to her initiative for each dot in her Intuitive facet.
• Universally Deadly grants 3 extra dice to attack rolls with all weapons, and the psiad is incapable of botching on rolls made with melee weapons or firearms. Otherwise, this Knack works as described.

General House Rules:

• When fighting against Multiple Opponents, characters suffer a cumulative +1 penalty to Defensive rolls, up to a maximum of +4. These are the rules used in the Adventure! system.

[Kazuo]

Master Abilities List:

Strength

Might

Dexterity

Athletics

Archery (APG, pg.87)

Brawl*

Firearms

Legerdemain

Melee

Stealth

Stamina

Endurance

Resistance

Channeling*

Perception

Awareness

Investigation

Navigation

Intelligence

Academics

Analysis (Aberrant: The Directive, pg.55)

Bureaucracy

Computer

Demolitions

Engineering

Gambling (APG, pg.88)

Intrusion

Linguistics

Medicine

Military Science

Science

Survival

Tradecraft (Aberrant: The Directive, pg.55)

Wits

Arts

Biz

Drive (Adventure!, pg.141)

Meditation (novas use the APG, pg.88, psiads, Trinity, pg.137)

Pilot (Adventure!, pg. 142)

Rapport

Shadowing (Aberrant: The Directive, pg.55)

Tactics

Weave (APG, pg.82)

Appearance

Disguise

Intimidation

Style

Manipulation

Animal Handling (Adventure!, pg.142)

Diplomacy

Interrogation

Savvy/Streetwise (Adventure!, pg.142-143)

Subterfuge

Charisma

Command

Etiquette

Perform

Instruction (APG, pg.90)

Special

Thought Discipline (Aberrant: The Directive, pg.55)

---------------------------------------

New Skills:

Brawl (Dexterity): This is a unified version of Martial Arts and Brawl. It covers all aspects of hand-to-hand fighting, from boxing to kung fu. I leave it up to you to describe exactly what sort of fighting style your character knows. We will not be using any of the rules for the various fighting styles presented in the Trinity setting.

Channeling (Stamina/Perception): This Ability represents the nova's increased comprehension of the workings of her M-R node, which is her link to the quantum world. A nova with Channeling has taken the time and put in the effort to understand her M-R node and maximize its potential, increasing both its versatility and effectiveness as a whole. As such the nova is capable of safely channeling larger-than-normal amounts of quantum energy through her node and using it safely. At its highest levels, Channeling actually represents a physical change to the node itself as it is reshaped to maximize its potential while reducing or eliminating the harmful side effects that normally accompany the later stages of M-R node development. The nova's skill with Channeling grants her a "buffer" against the harmful effects of rapid recovery of quantum energy, lets her temporarily increase the maximum number of quantum points that she can spend in a turn, increases her node's sensitivity to sources of quantum energy, and grants some protection against quantum-generated brain damage and the resulting mental Taint. Please note that this Ability has no effect on the number of quantum points the nova can naturally recover in a turn. Also, a nova must have the Node Background in order to develop this ability in the first place, and is limited to (Node rating + 1) or 5 dots in Channeling as her maximum rating, whichever is lowest. The four advantages of Channeling are described in detail below.

Rapid Recovery Buffer (Stamina): A nova with Channeling may add her rating in this Ability to rolls for rapid recovery. With the increase to her dice pool, the nova has a better chance of succeeding on her roll and reducing the possibility of acquiring temporary Taint. Additionally when standing next to a particularly powerful source of quantum energy (such as the sun) a nova may add each dot of Channeling above 3 to her Node rating to determine the number of quantum points absorbed. The nova will still roll against the standard difficulties and will still acquire temporary Taint on a failure or botch as listed in the Aberrant core book (on p.150).

Increased Quantum Output (Stamina): A nova with Channeling can temporarily increase the power output of her node, allowing her to spend more quantum points in a turn than her Node rating would normally allow. To do this she spends 1 temporary Willpower point and rolls Stamina + Channeling as an automatic action. If the roll is successful, then on the following turn the nova may spend quantum up to her normal maximum plus a number of extra points equal to her successes on the Stamina + Channeling roll. Failure means the nova acquires one point of temporary Taint. If the nova botches the roll, the nova acquires two points of temporary Taint. The effects listed above last for one turn, and the nova may attempt this only once per scene.

Increased Node Sensitivity (Perception): The nova can add her Perception + Channeling dice to her Node rating for sensing sources of Quantum, with each success narrowing down the source's location and granting the nova a greater than average ability to home in on these sources. Additionally, at the Storyteller's discretion once a nova has determined the location of the target (either through a node "ping" or through use of another sense) extra successes on the Perception + Channeling roll can be used to determine the nature of the source's power (i.e. a nuclear power plant vs. the sun). If the target is another nova and the character has already determined the nova's location, extra successes may be used to determine the relative Quantum, Node and Taint traits possessed by the target (one success for each trait). Any further successes achieved allow the nova to guess at the other nova's Mega-Attributes and quantum powers as per the Quantum Attunement enhancement.

Mental Taint Reduction: Each dot in Channeling cancels one dot of Taint when determining the nova's Willpower dice pool for resisting mental aberrations. In no other circumstances will Channeling have any effect on Taint or the resulting aberrations.

Like Weave, this Ability is very rare, with the Storyteller having the final say on whether or not a character can have Channeling.

Specialties: Increased Node Sensitivity, Increased Quantum Output, Rapid Recovery Buffer

[Kazuo]

New Merits/Flaws:

Quantum Integrity [5 point Merit]

The nova's quantum signature resists outside tampering. The nova may spend a Willpower point to add 3 successes to any attempt to resist powers that alter the character on a quantum level (Disrupt, Disimmunize, Quantum Leech etc.). The nova must have a Node rating of 2 or more to take this Merit.

Runner [2 point Merit]

When it comes to running, you excel more than others. Your Dexterity is doubled for determining your Run, and your Sprint is Dexterity x 4. Additionally, you gain +2 on all Endurance or Athletics rolls that involve running.

Frail [3 point Flaw]

The character has a weak constitution. The character loses the "Bruised" Health Level and all Stamina related rolls are made with a + 1 difficulty penalty. Novas with this Flaw aren't barred from having Mega-Stamina, although it's very rare.

Inefficient Quantum [3 point Flaw]

The nova has trouble using her energies to their highest potential. As a result, the most quantum points she can spend per turn is 4. This may be modified by the Node Background, but only at half value (1 extra quantum point per turn / per point of Node.)

Poor Recharge [1, 3, or 5 point Flaw]

Most novas just have to kick back for a little while to recharge their Quantum Pools. Novas with this Flaw aren't so fortunate. For 1 point, the nova can only recover quantum points every 2 hours. For 3 points, the nova can only recover quantum points every 4 hours. For 5 points, the nova can only only recover quantum points after he wakes up from a full night (or day!) of sleep. In all these cases, the Meditation Ability can no longer be used to aid in recharging the nova's Quantum Pool.

Disfigured (1 point Merit / 1 point Flaw)

Something about your appearance is way out of normal. If taking this as a one point Merit, you've got some outstanding feature, like Cyrano's nose, that is noticable. While you suffer a +1 difficulty to Stealth rolls, you can lower the difficulty of rolls like Legerdemain, Style, Subterfuge, and Perform, by using this feature to your advantage. How much this lowers the difficulty is up to the Storyteller, but it should be at least one point. If you are taking this as a one point Flaw, your features are the sort that inspire terror and loathing. You suffer a +1 difficulty to all Social rolls, Stealth, Legerdemain, and Intrusion. The only exception is Intimidation; anyone trying to resist your intimidation rolls their Willpower at a +1 difficulty.

Thinker (5 point Merit)

No matter what, you're the type that sits down and mulls over every possible outcome. Your Reflective facet starts at one higher dot after character creation (meaning that your total facet dots are one higher than your total Inspiration). This cannot raise your Reflective facet above five dots, however. This merit cannot be taken in conjuction with Smasher and Reactive merits.

Smasher (5 point Merit)

You have a tendancy to destroy everything you touch, even when you don't mean to. Your Destructive facet starts at one higher dot after character creation. This cannot raise your Destructive facet above five dots. This merit cannot be taken in conjuction with Thinker and Reactive merits.

Reactive (5 point Merit)

You're the first person to react in any encounter. Your Intuitive facet starts at one higher dot after character creation. This cannot raise your Intuitive facet above five dots. This merit cannot be taken in conjuction with Thinker and Smasher merits.

Master of All Trades (3 point Merit)

Your skill and knowledge are second to none. By taking this Merit, you can have four Ability Masteries instead of just three. Taking this Merit requires an Intelligence of 4 and a Wits of 3.

[Kazuo]

Originally Posted By: Blue Ninja

Using a firearm with Auto Fire does not eliminate this difficulty, but it does reduce the bonus by half.

What does this mean? What difficulty is not being reduced, and what bonus is being reduced by half?

Sorry, I'm probably just being dense here, but I've re-read it a few times and I can't quite follow what's being said.

[BlueNinja]

Ok, say you have a DD with Untouchable and a Destructive of 3. This would give their opponents a +2 difficulty to hit them.

Using Woo Fu, and a DD with a Reflective of 3, while armed with a pistol, rifle, or other single-shot firearm, their opponents would have a +2 difficulty to hit them. If they swap out their rifle for a submachine gun, their opponents have a +1 difficulty (instead of a +2).

Nice Merits.

[Kazuo]

Oh, did you like those merits? Cool! I just made those up on the fly while writing up those chargen rules. They just came to me! I definitely didn't copy/paste them from some old thread on EON!

[Kazuo]

Some Thoughts on Character Backgrounds

I’ve only seen a few proposed character concepts thus far, and for the most part they’ve been fine. Even so, it occurred to me that I should probably put something up here to give you guys a better idea of what I’m looking for in your characters. So here are some thoughts and suggestions that I hope will aid you guys in creating your characters for this game.

Firstly, consider what Project Prometheus and the Argonauts are not: They are not Project Utopia, Project Proteus, The Directive, the CIA, the FBI, Interpol, or any other such organization. They are not an official peace-keeping, law-enforcing organization, nor are they a ruthless black ops group dedicated to doing “whatever is necessary” to maintain the status quo. Prometheans and - more importantly to you all – Argonauts are not cops, assassins, or thugs, of any pedigree. They might have been one or more of these things at some point in the past, but that is not what they are now.

Now let’s take a look at what Project Prometheus (and the Argonauts) are. Not only are they an organization that is so secretive that even Project Proteus and The Directive can’t draw a solid bead on them, they are also an organization that brazenly goes in and investigates the sorts of strange phenomena, individuals, places, and cases that frankly scares most other organizations to death – including the big dogs like Proteus and The Directive. Put in simplest terms, when they are at their best they are treasure hunters and detectives – at worst, they are salvagers and scavengers. As Argonauts, your characters will be expected to solve some of the greatest mysteries, and to hunt down and discover (and return with) some of the most wondrous or terrible artifacts of the Modern Era.

Needless to say, the Argonauts are not your average novas, psiads, or daredevils. They are expected to track down what others consider unfindable, solve cases others declared unsolvable, and accomplish what everyone said was impossible. Compared to an Argonaut, the average Proteus operative is just a thug with superpowers and the average Directive agent is just a beat cop with a fancier badge and too much authority.

In short, your characters need to be professionals.

Just because your daredevil is handy with a gun and happens to be a great pilot as well, or your psiad has a maxed-out Iatrosis rating and Psi rating of 10, or your nova has a really unique power set and isn’t afraid to use it, that doesn’t mean that they suddenly qualify for a place in the Argonauts. The daredevil could probably get work in any of a dozen other professions, the psiad sounds like they definitely qualify for a place in Project Pandora, and the nova should probably consider putting in an application with Project Utopia or DeVries. These characters all sound impressive enough in their own right, but there’s really nothing that recommends them over any of a dozen other individuals with equally impressive credentials.

So what I’d like you guys to consider as you think up your characters, is what makes them stand out? Why was it them - and not the nova or psiad or whoever standing next to them – who got the job as an Argonaut? Do they have a skill set or resume that are just that impressive? Do they have a powerset that really is that unique and useful to the Prometheans? Perhaps they’ve already been getting themselves into trouble sticking their nose where it doesn’t belong and doing a particularly good job of it? Or is it maybe that they had already had run-ins with the strange and unknown before Prometheus ever found them?

Your characters can be of any age (within reason), of any background (again, within reason – an alien love-child, Princess of Atlantis, or Hitler-clone will only make me hate you), and from pretty much anywhere in the world and of any ethnicity. Neither are they limited to an “Inspiration” that took place post-Galatea, though, in the year 2010, that’s probably the most likely scenario. Jokes about Hitler-clones aside, a bit of weirdness in your PC’s background is perfectly acceptable, and maybe even appropriate (especially for you psiads and daredevils).

Daredevils, bear in mind that probably not even you yourselves realize that you are anything other than highly skilled, or just damned lucky, baseline humans. Aeon is the only organization on earth (that we know about...) that is even aware of the existence of “paramorphs”, and their Project Tantalus has only tentatively identified one of them. Having said that, you effectively are paramorphs, and even if you aren’t as cosmically powerful as Max Mercer, you’re still magnets for the exciting, the amazing and the weird. As Doctor Primoris (aka Divis Mal) put it, in an entry to his journal in 1924, “The impossible does not generally follow these people as it does those my ilk, but the improbable is their constant bedfellow”.

Psiads, bear in mind that you may well believe yourself to be a nova, but that this isn’t necessarily so. Project Pandora is alive and kicking in 2010, and there is every possibility that Project Prometheus has recruited you from within its ranks. Another possibility is the Gestalt, outlined in the APG. And of course, you may not have ever belonged to any of these organizations and have simply spent the last however-many-years not quite knowing what you are. Just to be clear, though, once you start working for Aeon, they will tell you. They are fully aware of the existence of “psychomorphs”, and will know one when he or she is standing right in front of them.

Novas, for all of the advantages that your kind possesses, in a lot of ways you’re the mundane ones in this group. Everyone knows about novas, and while they’re certainly incredible and amazing in their own right, they aren’t nearly as strange or mysterious as the “psychomorphs”, nor are they likely to be able to share in the brash, underdog heroism of the those strange baseline “daredevils”. Still, the tradeoff is that you guys can do anything, so there is that…

That’s all I’ve got for now, guys, have fun whipping up characters. I’ll try to get some NPCs, locations, and other IC-related stuff up for your perusal soon. And of course, try to remember that this game won’t officially get started until late next month!

[Courier]

RE: Abilities

Should Athletics be in there?

[Kazuo]

Haha! Yes, it should be. I shall go and edit....

Thanks Courier! And if you (or anyone else) see any other things that I seem to have missed, please point it out to me!

[Courier]

The only thing which stands out is throwing... but that can be covered by Athletics, Might, and Melee (and perhaps should be).

Steve Stevenson: Used to be FBI but retired about three decades ago and since then has been a professional crossword creator. Erupted into a young Q1 nova years ago when he had an age induced heart attack while brushing his teeth.

Theme: In addition giving him a second chance at life, Steve can see underlying patterns and/or bring order from chaos. He can also do a bit of the reverse, i.e. create chaos to his advantage.

Powers: Luck, some megas (very low level mental and physicals, specifically including Mental Pro: Invest & Lie Detector).

[BlueNinja]

With 40NP, the only novas in the world smarter than Michal are a handful of Terats, Sophia, and Anteus. He's not good for much else but that's reason enough for the Prometheans to grab him up, as he's in the top ten worldwide, and far and away the best mechanical genius in the world.

[Kazuo]

Originally Posted By: Courier

The only thing which stands out is throwing... but that can be covered by Athletics, Might, and Melee (and perhaps should be).

Yes, if you just want to pick up and throw something heavy (you don't care where it goes, you just want it as far away from you as possible), you would use Strength + Might.

If you want to throw a knife at someone so that it hits them dead-center between the eyes, you would use Dexterity + Athletics.

Throwing wasn't exactly a bad idea, but it doesn't belong under Strength (I'm sorry, Strength figures in how far stuff goes, not in how close it gets to the bullseye) and it's just not useful enough to really warrant its inclusion in the Abilities list.

[Kazuo]

Hey guys! Something just came to my attention that I really should have put up before now. Sorry!

To properly reflect your characters' status within Prometheus, I'd like to see a Backing of 3 in Project Prometheus. This reflects your station as a member of the more elite Argonauts.

If any of you would like to have a higher rating than this, please speak with me about it. It's not outside the realm of possibility, but it needs to be coordinated.

[edit]I just added that into the Character Creation post I put up one page ago as well.[/edit]

[Dawn OOC]

Just as a heads up for people interested in ties and such: I'm putting together a psiad medic.

[BlueNinja]

Why a mandatory 3? Depending on how long we've been a part of it, it doesn't make sense for everyone to be brought straight into the middle of the hierarchy, no matter how l33t we might be.

[BlueNinja]

Also, someone posted a Daredevil Knack waaaaay back when, but it's still saved on the forums. Percussive Maintenance.

[Stargaizer]

I don't know any other culture well enough to play someone from it, so Joe will be an American. I'm thinking white, though a white/oriental mix isn't out of the question.

I want the powerset to be like the avatar, manipulating earth, air, fire & water. He'll also be a consumate martial arts expert (5 dots plus claws (quantum field) to show that his strikes are lethal).

I'm thinking that he started his own dojo/martial arts academy, and is using both his skill and his being a nova to promote it.

What sets him apart? (he does have a fairly cool powerset, I think, but here's something else) I would say that it would boil down to two different things...

Either he's disliked by the Chinese underground, they vandalized his dojo and otherwise tried to run him out of town, and he started digging and working and rooted them out, and with the help of the authorities, ran them out of town instead...

-or-

In learning more about his martial arts and their history, he's gotten involved in eastern mysticism, and has tracked down and 'found' some rare and powerful artifacts that he's added to his personal collection. (honestly, I don't know enough about the culture/mythos to go into great depth with this, but that doesn't mean that I couldn't learn or that some of you mightn't be able to offer suggestions).

Of course, these two aren't mutually exclusive, option 2 could be one of several catalysts for option 1.

Does that sound reasonable enough Kazo?

[Courier]

What is Identity?

[Bombshell]

It's a cover identity, with backed up documentation. At higher levels, you even get a few points to spend on Influence or status in the faction your cover identity belongs to.

[BlueNinja]

I have some more suggestions, subject to Cent's approval, of course. One merit for Psiads, and a bunch of background Enhancements. I think the only one I didn't include was Eufiber.

Natural Aptitude (5pt Merit / 11pt Merit): Psiads with this can match their artificially-created brethren. For five points, the Psiad picks two Modes from one of their primary Aptitudes. At normal costs, the Psiad can buy those Modes up to 5 dots, gaining access to the most powerful psionic abilities. For the eleven point merit, the Psiad picks two Modes from each of their primary Aptitudes that have the option to be raised up to 5 dots. Only the most powerful Psiads are capable of reaching these levels of ability, requiring a Psi of 9 or 10.

Bleeding Aura (Attunement) – Attuning objects is so easy for you it’s a reflex action. Not only can you attune up to 200 kg in mass, you only have to pay for attuning an object once per day (rather than per scene) as long as you remain in contact with it.

Skeleton Key (Clearance) – There’s not a database in the world that you can’t get into, and anything written in 1s and 0s might as well be on audio tape. Anything on a computer, or any kind of computer media, is available to your character with a successful Computer roll. Feel free to explain it away with convenient technobabble.

Joe Normal (Dormancy) – You might have super-powers, but you know all too well what it’s like to be a regular baseline without the ability to breathe fire and fart lightning bolts. When you dorm down, not only do you get 6 dice to resist detection from Node pings and quantum-detecting equipment, but even novas with Quantum Attunement have a +2 difficulty to discover you’re hiding your light under a bucket.

Bag of Holding (Devices/Equipment) – When it comes to the fun toys, you’ve got access to virtually anything. Need a suitcase nuke or a stealth jet, no questions asked? No problem. Custom-built quantum gadgetry? As long as it was already finished before it was asked for. With an opposed Devices vs Gadget roll, you can even ‘borrow’ someone else’s equipment and use it as your own.

Masks (Identity) – Call you the Stainless Steel Rat. Your identity is more real than your ‘real’ face. Not only do you get four dots to divide between Influence and Status for your false identity, but you also have two dots in Resources for your assumed name to cover those incidental expenses. If your cover identity does ever get discovered, you can roll Identity at a +1 difficulty to recycle it into a new one (which takes at least one month of game time).

Zoo (Menagerie) - Your character is gifted with a veritable army of animals at his fingertips. For almost any occasion, your character can call upon a trained regular animal (dog, horse, messenger pigeon, etc). In addition, your character can tame any kind of non-hostile animal with a successful Animal Handling roll.

Alternately, if the character's five-dot Menagerie is an Inspired creature, then the character gains a second Inspired creature. Treat both animals as their base cousins, with 24 Transformation Points total between them. This second option may only be purchased with XP, lest a starting character be overshadowed by his pets.

Protégé (Mentor) - Your character isn't just liked by their mentor, they've been hand-picked to succeed them. They can pick three Abilities that the PC has at least one dot in, and lower the cost by one XP per dot assigned, so long as their Mentor has the ability higher than they do. This cannot lower the experience cost below one point. In addition, they gain a one-dot Sanctum as access to the home or sanctuary of their Mentor.

Example - Whitley Styles buys the Protégé enhancement for having Maxwell Mercer as his mentor. He decides to lower the XP costs for raising Engineering, Business, and Firearms (making their costs current ratingx2 -1). He also gains the Mercer Mansion as a one-dot Sanctum

Kryptonite (Nemesis) - Your enemy is the yin to your yang, the heads to your tails, the Moriarty to your Holmes. When you have definite proof that your Nemesis is behind the current plot, roll your Nemesis rating, and gain two temporary Inspiration for each success. In addition, when you and your Nemesis face off directly (minions and indirect traps do not count), treat your Destructive facet as one higher than usual. If this raises it to six, treat Knack bonuses (such as for Untouchable) based on your Destructive facet as +5.

Powerball (Node) – Your Node is so big and powerful, it’s almost taken over your brain. You can push 30 quantum points through it a single round (which is liable to give you burnout if you’re not careful), you add +8 to your quantum recovery rate (see pg 146-147), and roll six dice when you do a node ping. This power comes at a cost though – you gain four points of permanent Taint from pushing your Node to be this large, and even if you have the Taint Resistant enhancement (pg 168 and errata) you still gain a minimum of one Permanent Taint.

Man, Myth, Legend (Reputation) - Even the aborigines in the Lost World have heard of your character. You can add +3 dice to any Intimidation, Interrogation, Subterfuge, or Command roll. Rapport rolls used on your character are always made at a +2 difficulty. People opposing you in non-combat situations (witty reparte at a party, arm-wrestling competitions, scientific debates) lose two dice from their relevant dice pools. (Originally I was going to make it Reflective Facet dice - which fits a regular Adventure game, but not Cent's.)

[Krul]

I've decided on a Psiad myself, going for a Cognitive, which means clairsentient/telepath primary. I also intend for them to be brilliant and perceptive, sort of like a psychic sherlock holms, if that makes sense.

[Telluris]

KazCent -

I've been reading the Trinity PG. Will you be using the alternate Mode mechanics from that book (which seem to allow a lot of flexibility within their purviews), or will you be running it vanilla?

[Kazuo]

A couple of quick answers/responses (I'll try to address everything else once I have enough free time to do so):

Mandatory Background: Please understand, that's just for Project Prometheus. It's not your status in Aeon Society as a whole (which isn't to say that you couldn't purchase Status in the Aeon Society), it's not your Status rating in "the secret world of spooks, spies, and people who know stuff". It's your Status in one organization. To the argument that, as "new guys", they shouldn't be starting at mid-level, I can only point at this is not a position within a military, para-military, or law enforcement organization (something I've already made clear to you guys). Working for Project Prometheus, as an Argonaut, is a job, and just as you can get hired on with any company at a mid- or even upper-level position, so can you here, as well. In fact, that's what has to happen in order for you to secure a place on the Argonauts. If you would like to say that you started out in the Aeon Society in general first, and then worked your way into being invited to join Project Prometheus, and then managed to secure a spot on the Argonauts - in effect saying that you did start out as a "new hire" and worked your way up the ladder the hard way - that's absolutely fine, but that's also your call. One way or the other, 3 dots in Backing/Status (Project Prometheus) is required.

Freeform Psi Rules: Tellurus, right now I'm planning on allowing these, along with the standard techniques. I plan on devoting some time to really immersing myself in the those rules and making sure that I really do want to work with them, but I've gone over them casually a few times now and I see nothing wrong with them at this point. The tradeoff between the two, is that learned techniques are relatively easy and reliable, while the freeform "improvised" techniques are not. To me this seems fair and believable, and so I am currently considering them to be allowed, and I doubt that will change.

If I do change my mind on that point, I will let you guys know ASAP.

P.S.- I will, of course, be allowing the alternate techniques that appear in the various Order supplements as well.