Aberrant RPG - Post your Quantum Powers and Enh. here

[Alex Green]

Actually, the book describes him as a walking artillery shell, which is well within the 20[20] range, as a large railgun does 20[17], and a whipsword in his hands would do 15[20].

Exactly. A walking artillery shell. Not a walking nuke. Him flying into something is going to hit like a shell. Adding adding area on top of that is insane.

I don't object to the damage. I'm just not sure that applying it to something like a 40m(?) radius is appropriate. (Area is what, 5(Q+L)m Radius???)

[Bahamut810]

Cheese and crakers guys...

i made a test character to see how that Agg-claws would work and...man...this is nasty if a munchkin got hold of it...

(im only putting in what is important...if you want the entire sheet mail me)

Dex 5 (Accurate), Stm 5( tough), Perc 4, Wits 4

Martial Arts 5

Cipher 5, node 2

Wp 5

Q 2, QP 24, Taint 3

Mega-Dex 1 (Rapid Strikes)

Mega-Wits 2 (Quickness x 2)

Claws 5 (aggrivated)

Armor 1

what this boils down to is this:

Init is +12 naturally

To Strike: 10d10+(1 m-dex), 3 times a round

Damage: 8d10+(accuracy successes)d10

this can only be delt with in 3 ways...

1. The Hardbody enhancement - Not everyone has this...not many have this I would think as its not needed most times

2. Butt-load of Health Levels - Again...not many have this.

3. Kill him before he kills you - Possible but not probable

This gets worse as he gets more XP...I calced for the first 20 xp

4xp - Adhesive Grip enhancement (for the hell of it)

9 xp - Quickness Enhancement

14 xp - Mega-Dex dot

19xp - Quickness enhancement

That makes:

init - +13

To strike: 10d10 + (2 mega dex), 5 times a round (!)

Damage: 9d10 + (successes, max 5)d10

Can you say ouch?

[Alex Green]

what this boils down to is this:

Init is +12 naturally

To Strike: 10d10+(1 m-dex), 3 times a round

Damage: 8d10+(accuracy successes)d10

,,

How is damage calculated? 5d from Claws, more from succ, where is the other 3d coming from?

(Although taking 5d(+succ) Agg 3x a round would be unkind, succ would likely be 4 or so).

[Ayre el KaBeer]

This gets worse as he gets more XP...I calced for the first 20 xp

4xp - Adhesive Grip enhancement (for the hell of it)

9 xp - Quickness Enhancement

14 xp - Mega-Dex dot

19xp - Quickness enhancement

Hey cut it out! *in hushed tones*

this can only be delt with in 3 ways...

1. The Hardbody enhancement - Not everyone has this...not many have this I would think as its not needed most times

2. Butt-load of Health Levels - Again...not many have this.

3. Kill him before he kills you - Possible but not probable

Your forgot to include invulnerable on 1 or more armor or force field, that converts all that beutiful agg dammage into lethal to be soaked normally if you then break through their lethal soak they're still only taking lethal not agg damage (what a great extra!). That's significantly weakened that character's effectiveness, rather than making the claws agg how about keeping them lethal (5 NP), drop 1 of the mega wits, and buy 2 mega strength + crush (6np) and 1 immolate (3NP)

Dammage: err assuming strength is 4, so 4+2+5+4= 15d10 [10], now applying a full crush effect with node 2 15d10[20], assuming succ to hit grants plus 5,

=21d10[20]L per strike, cheaper on the NP and a crapload more damage.

*forgot to add rappid strike damage ::laugh

[Bahamut810]

How is damage calculated? 5d from Claws, more from succ, where is the other 3d coming from?

Quick Strike from the Dex enhancement and Q score (I thought that was included?).

20d10[20]L per strike, cheaper on the NP and a crapload more damage.

Crapload to people who can actually defend agenst the damage. Yes...there is more then I tohught that could soak (Invunerable: Agg damage would be the only I would count for that). But L soak dosent soak Agg damage...thats why there is agg damage instead of just calling it lethal.

[Ayre el KaBeer]

Crapload to people who can actually defend agenst the damage

True but can they survive it we're talking about roughly 30 damage afterall? like I said all it takes is 5np/3np+3xp/9xp to laugh at agg attackers, so long as your normal lethal soak is pretty good, you'll be fine.

[Bahamut810]

True but can they survive it we're talking about roughly 30 damage afterall? like I said all it takes is 5np/3np+3xp/9xp to laugh at agg attackers, so long as your normal lethal soak is pretty good, you'll be fine.

You have to take that first though ::biggrin

You think you can walk away from *that*?

[Ayre el KaBeer]

You have to take that first though 

You think you can walk away from *that*?

I meant either 5np or 3np+3xp or 9xp (or half if tainted), that's not that much. Up your lethal soak with eufibre, then I can safely say yes, yes i can.

[Bahamut810]

No...i mean the initial attack before you realise you need to take the enhancements to defend agenst the agg damage.

you cant soak Agg damage with Lethel soak, my friend ::biggrin

[Ayre el KaBeer]

Fine we'll skip the ones where xp is involved and purchase it with nova points problem solved ::cool . Lets use QZ as an example the only agg damage I've seen (or at least think have seen) was Nefertiti's blast in the city, not alot of agg being thrown around, just like there's not alot of peope who can soak it I suppose, yet ::sly .

[ProfPotts]

Nope, no Agg damage has been seen at all in QZ yet - but I know at least one PC is ready for it if / when it does crop-up! ::sly

[Alex Green]

Quick Strike from the Dex enhancement and Q score (I thought that was included?).

Q score doesn't, Rapid Strike probably does (although it is expensive).

[Bahamut810]

My mistake.

Thats still some hefty damage though.

[Alex Green]

True, with extra succ of 4, you do something like 27d Agg a round.

One level of INV would only drop that to 9d Agg a round.

Hardbody would work against it (although you would still need a lethal soak of 9+), IMP would also help (same comment).

Right now you are spending 6q a round for this, which isn't terrible.

[T-dev]

I think Sprocket posted a Universe Destruction power. Sorry, IMHO this one is broken. Quantum Inferno is suppose to be the upper limit of the destructo-powers & it can only take out planets, which is obviously much less then a universe.

[Psilord]

I think Sprocket posted a Universe Destruction power. Sorry, IMHO this one is broken. Quantum Inferno is suppose to be the upper limit of the destructo-powers & it can only take out planets, which is obviously much less then a universe.

Not true, it talks about destroying planets but doesn't state that as a limit. Depending on the nature of your quantum inferno power you could easily destroy stars as well.

Say your power destroys matter and energy by disrupting strong and weak nuclear bonds. Fire your power at a sun and the destruction of its mass on one side could easily cause an imbalance resulting in the star going nova. Just as an example.

[Ayre el KaBeer]

True, but it's still not a universe. I think the whole point of Universe Distruction was to counter Universe Creation, not as an uber weapon, though how could you limit it to the new universes being created and not the Aeonverse is beyond me.

[phoenix]

Say your power destroys matter and energy by disrupting strong and weak nuclear bonds. Fire your power at a sun and the destruction of its mass on one side could easily cause an imbalance resulting in the star going nova.

Great pun! ::rolleyes

If I had to deal with an opponent who could destroy planets though, I'd pax my bags anyway without worrying about whether he could destroy stars. ::halo

Ball's in your court

[Psilord]

If I had to deal with an opponent who could destroy planets though, I'd pax my bags anyway without worrying about whether he could destroy stars.

True. I was just thinking that if you evolved certian other powers to that kind of level they'd be just as effective. Say magnetic control for example, you could destroy whole solar systems through massive collisions. Your powers could throw the orbits of any high metal content asteroids and planetoids askew.

::wink

[phoenix]

True. I was just thinking that if you evolved certian other powers to that kind of level they'd be just as effective. Say magnetic control for example, you could destroy whole solar systems through massive collisions. Your powers could throw the orbits of any high metal content asteroids and planetoids askew.

Yikes! Here today, gone Tomorrow!

[Sprocket]

Well, well, well... I figured the level 6 powers I posted earlier would raise some fuss, but I thought the main outrage-generator would be Astromanipulation... ::laugh

Given the power level a nova would have to be at to gain the first dot of Universe Destruction, I didn't think that the effects were all that unfeasible. And as to the question of whether it's a counter-power to Universe Creation or a means to create cosmic Armageddon... as it's written, the power does both! Really now, how is one supposed to challenge the players of high-quantum novas if there's nothing in the quantum arsenal to cause sufficient amounts of gut-wrenching terror?! ::devilangel

Re: the cosmic effects of massively augmented minor powers- Most (if not all) of what you've mentioned so far sounds like applications of the Astromanipulation power I posted earlier, folks. The specific "ways and means" you've been talking over seem to be essentially different ways to to do the same thing. It's the old "what form does your Quantum Bolt take?" question all over again...

All right, everyone. On an entirely different topic, I've got a new Body Modification that needs to be mulled over by you lot. I think it's fairly balanced as is, but I could really use some feedback on it. Is the nova/experience point cost too high? Is it too low? Are the drawbacks to this Body Modification too mild, overly harsh, or just about right?

Anyhow, here it is...

Ultralight Musculoskeletal System: (3 nova points/ 6 experience points) The nova's bones are composed of a substance that's far lighter and somewhat tougher than the calcium found in the bones of baseline humans, and are hollow to boot! The nova's muscular and connective tissues are also lighter, more durable, and have greater tensile strength than the muscle tissue and cartilage of baseline humans. All of this adds up to a nova that's a good deal lighter in weight than his or her height and build would indicate, but who doesn't suffer from any loss of loadbearing capacity. (Rough Guideline: consider the nova's body weight to be about 75% of the normal weight for a person of the nova's height and gender.)

This grants the nova the following benefits and drawbacks:

>The nova gains a -3 difficulty bonus on all rolls where reduced body weight could be a benefit- such as leaping (Might), dancing, and Athletics (including dodging). If the nova has the Flight power, this bonus will apply to his or her Flight rolls as well. Note: Novas with the Wings/Patagia Body Modification who lack the Flight power do NOT receive this bonus- all this Body Modification can do is make them slightly more flightworthy, which isn't saying much.

>The nova's base Dexterity score is considered to be 3 dots higher for purposes of movement rates.

>If the nova has the Wings/Patagia Body Modification (but lacks the Flight power), he or she can soar for up to [1 hour per success on Might roll] at speeds equal to his or her normal running pace. The prevailing winds can increase or decrease the nova's flightspeed at the Storyteller's discretion. (Serious would-be flyers must still purchase the Flight power in order to take to the skies with any real speed and control. There's only so much that body modifications can do to make such a horribly NON-aerodynamic structure as the human/nova body frame flightworthy.)

>The nova's hollow bones will break more easily than those of the "average" nova- the nova's soak against damage that would result in bone fractures is reduced by 2 to reflect this. This problem is wholly negated if the nova also has one or more levels of the Hyperstrong Skeleton Body Modification.

>The nova's effective Might skill total is penalized by 2 dots for purposes of resisting knockback. Aside from the Immovable Object (Mega-Stamina) enhancement [Aberrant Player's Guide, pg. 103], the only way to correct this problem is for the nova to temporarily increase his or her weight in some manner, which unfortunately negates all benefits of this Body Modification.

Taking more than one level of this Body Modification is not possible. Also, this Body Modification cannot be taken by novas with the "Reinforced Skeleton" Body Modification (featured on the "NovaNet" website- http://users.nac.net/corporal/aberrant/index.html ) or aberrations that would permanently increase the nova's body weight (such as Heavyweight, Permanent Power- Density Increase, or some forms of Permanent Power- Bodymorph).

Comments? I'll let this stand for a few days before submitting it to CHILL.

(BTW, I've seen several powers/enhancements/body modifications/etc. posted on this thread that deserve to be posted on the main site. You guys do know that you have to submit them via e-mail to CHILL before he'll add them to the sitemap, don't you? Don't let Datsun and myself hog the spotlight- join in on the fun! ::biggrin )

(Stoically ignores the puns from previous posts... or tries to, anyway. ::wacko )

[Ayre el KaBeer]

Hmmm...

I'm not too sure I like this one Sprocket, don't get me wrong it does work, I don't know I guess it's just another case of personal preference. Though I do aprove of the increased movement rate, and the vulnerability to knockback, that's good balance ::thumbsup .

It works for price/benefit/vulnerabilities, so go with it ::smile .

[Sprocket]

Thanks for the quick response, Ayre! ::cool

And as to personal preferences... yeah, but that's probably one reason why the Body Modifications were put in the Aberrant core Book to begin with- some people will want their nova to look very human, while others will want to be different from baseline humanity in one way or another. Body Modifications simply allow for some novas to reflect that without having to rack up Taint (or aberrations as Flaws- see the APG) in order to look different.

Guess I'll go ahead and send this little tidbit to CHILL, then. ::wink

[phoenix]

Give in to the taint, Sprocket ::squid

[Sprocket]

::laugh ::laugh ::laugh

No thanks, phoenix... I'm far too power-hungry to futz around with taint! ::devil

[phoenix]

::nervous But.. but taint is a much quicker, easier way to power!

[Sprocket]

::smiley1 Yeah, right... ::rolleyes Give me a choice between the "Quantum 10" power level or winding up with more Taint than Quantum, and I'll take the high Quantum each and every time! Guess I'm just greedy that way... ::hehe ::devilangel

[Ayre el KaBeer]

Pile On The Coal!!! MORE POWER, DAMN YOU!!!

[Sprocket]

::blink Sheesh! Now I know how the folks who're working on India Underground must feel like... ::laugh

Due to the interference from the real world, my salvaging and posting of new powers/techniques/etc. has slacked off a bit. I've no idea when I'll be able to get the next batch of stuff up here for your perusal, and I make no guarantees- things are a bit chaotic for me right now. This portion of goodies ought to tide you lot over in the meanwhile, though. Look 'em over, try 'em out, give me feedback sometime... yadda yadda yadda.

NEW BIOMANIPULATION TECHNIQUES

>Allergy Control

Dice Pool: Manipulation + Biomanipulation

Range: (Quantum + power rating) x 5 meters

Area: N/A

Duration: Special

This technique allows the nova to alter a living being's propensity for allergic reactions, either to the subject's detriment or benefit. The detrimental version of this technique makes the subject allergic to just about everything, including his own biochemistry. In game terms, this inflicts a total of [Quantum x 3] levels of lethal damage to the subject at a rate of 1 Health Level of damage per hour. The subject's resistance to the effects of this technique is determined when the nova uses it on him. The nova can also choose to inflict a greater amount per hour, at the cost of shortening the subject's period of suffering. If the nova is feeling particularly vengeful, she may use this form of the technique more than once on the subject- the total number of damage levels are cumulative, but each additional use will only add a further +1 difficulty penalty to the subject's rolls involving his Mental and Physical attributes (see below for details).

While under this effect, the subject will be unable to hold down any food or drink except water- his body rejects anything nutritious. His body will also reject drugs and poisons, granting the equivalent of [the nova's Quantum] additional dice on Resistance rolls- unfortunately, this also renders beneficial drugs useless. As a final blow, the subject will suffer a +2 difficulty penalty on all rolls involving his Mental and Physical attributes- the subject's immune system is attacking his own biochemistry. The subject will suffer allergic reations if he tries to act at full capacity- dizziness, disorientation, hallucinations, muscle spasms, aphasia, and many more physical and mental dysfunctions can result from this.

The positive form of this technique has two uses. First off, it can remedy the effects of the negative form of this technique- in this case, the nova can cure a total of [Quantum x 3] levels of lethal damage caused by a nova using the negative form. (Damage levels are negated on a 1-to-1 ratio.) Again, the effects of additional uses are cumulative. Alternatively, the nova can use the positive form to permanently cure a subject of any mundane allergies he may suffer from. To do this, the nova makes a power roll- 1 success is enough to cure a mild allergy (anything that can be dealt with using over-the-counter medication that isn't "Extra or Maximum Strength"). Two successes are necessary to cure allergies that can cause temporary disfigurement or serious discomfort (breaking out in hives or rashes, or sinus headaches). Three successes are what it takes to cure allergic reactions that can cause crippling effects (like mild seizures or muscle spasms). Four successes can cure life-threatening allergies. Extremely dangerous conditions such as Total Allergy Syndrome (see the Trinity core book, pg. 309 for details) require five successes to cure.

>Analysis

Dice Pool: Perception + Biomanipulation

Range: (Quantum + power rating) x 20 meters

Area: N/A

Duration: Concentration

This technique lets the nova discern just how physically healthy a subject is with a glance- all the nova has to do is spend 1 quantum point to determine the subject's current Health Level. The nova may also make a more detailed analysis with a power roll- one success will detect any illnesses, injuries, or addictions the subject may be suffering from. Two successes will identify the illness/injury/addiction, while three successes will grant fairly detailed information on the subject's major health problems- about the same information that could be gained via a competent medical examiner. (This also reveals any potential health risks the subject may pose to others). Four successes will grant the nova the same detail of medical information provided by the "Body Awareness" (Mega-Perception) enhancement. Namely, that's full knowledge of the subject's physical condition, including presence of foreign substances, any illnesses or physical imbalances, physiological alterations, and the exact levels of temporary and permanent Taint (in the case of novas. (See _Aberrant: Brainwaves_ for further details.) If the nova scores five successes or more, she will gain precognitive insight into any future health problems the subject is likely to develop.

>Biotech Control

Dice Pool: Manipulation + Biomanipulation

Range: (Quantum + power rating) x 10 meters

Area: N/A

Duration: Concentration

This technique lets the nova take control of any item of biotechnology, regardless of whether it's based on Trinity-style noetic-based biotech, quantum gadgeteering, or old-fashioned Inspired superscience. The number of successes achieved on the power roll indicates the "Strength" of the Biomanipulator's control. If the biotech device (or its user or driver) tries to counteract the control, assign the device a "Strength" to reflect its power and resolve the situation as a resisted action. Note: As noetic biotech can be formatted to a psion, the Storyteller may see fit to add 1 or 2 dots to a formatted device's "Strength" in order to reflect the psionic bond between the device and its owner.

>Creation

Prerequisite: Quantum 8

Dice Pool: Intelligence + Biomanipulation

Range: (Quantum + power rating) meters

Area: N/A

Duration: Instant

This technique allows the nova to create a single living organism from a chosen template and whatever free biological materials that may be within her surroundings. (Unless you've gotten hold of a bunch of cacti and snakes, don't try this in the desert, kids!) Creating life in a sterile or hostile environment is simply beyond the scope of this power. Exact physical duplication of a living lifeform requires 3 successes on the power roll- if the template lifeform is deceased, 4 successes are required. If the nova scores more than the minimum number of successes required to create a duplicate organism, she may use the extra successes to alter the duplication. For instance, the nova could eliminate an injury or disfigurement that the template lifeform suffers from being "carried over" to the created duplicate. Also, the nova can choose to duplicate only _part_ of the template lifeform- like the heart or lungs. The ability to create rejection-free "cloned" organs within seconds can make the nova very popular within medical circles... Note: Organisms (and pieces of organisms) created by this technique are permanent, unlike the products of the Matter Creation power.

This technique is sufficient to create fully-functional microlife, plants, fungi, and simple animals; but with anything more complex than fish a problem arises. Duplicates of higher forms of animal life that are created via this technique are just that- physical duplicates. Unless the nova is using a newborn infant as her chosen template, the duplicate organism will be effectively a mindless vegetable, even by the undemanding standards of amphibians. It's no different when duplicating Inspired beings- if the nova managed to duplicate Caestus Pax, the duplicate would _still_ be a bald quantum-powered vegetable.

Nevertheless, the ability to create a mindless duplicate of a person can be useful in several situations, if one's clever enough to think of them... (Host bodies for disembodied minds, anyone?)

>Forensics

Dice Pool: Perception + Biomanipulation

Range: (Quantum + power rating) x 20 meters

Area: N/A

Duration: Concentration

This technique is the counterpoint to Analysis, as it allows the nova to examine a deceased organism and determine exactly what killed it. At its most basic level, this technique acts as a "corpse detector"- all the nova has to do is spend 1 quantum point to detect any deceased organisms of a single variety within his scanning range. Thus, a nova could scan the wreckage of a collapsed condominium for human corpses without being distracted by dead vermin and/or household pets. The nova may also perform a detailed analysis of a chosen cadaver with a power roll. One success reveals the both the major cause of death (heart attack, stroke, cancer, fatal wounds, etc.) and for how long that the corpse in question has been dead. Two successes is enough to detect any corollary factors in the organism's death- such as a drug overdose triggering a fatal stroke. Three successes allow the nova a vague idea of the reasons and motivations (if any) behind the organism's death. (This lets the nova know if the victim's death was an accident, due to someone's negligence, or deliberate foul play.) Four successes grant the nova exacting insight into the root physical causes of the organism's death- in other words, knowledge of exactly what helped kill the organism and exactly how the organism was killed. (If used on an IRS agent who committed suicide by jumped off a bridge, this would reveal whether the agent was suicidally depressed, under the influence of hallucinogenic drugs, being mentally controlled by a nova mentalist, etc.) Five successes or more allow the nova fairly detailed clairsentient knowledge of the being(s) most directly responsible for the organism's death, if there are indeed such being(s) responsible for the organism's death. (If used on a assassination victim, this would grant knowledge of the assassin, who ordered the victim's death, and the exact reasons and motivations behind the victim's death. If used on a victim who killed himself accidentally, this would reveal whether the cause was simple misfortune or the victim's own stupidity and/or lack of common sense.)

>Gene Control

Dice Pool: Manipulation + Biomanipulation

Range: Touch

Area: N/A

Duration: Instant

The nova with this technique is capable of altering a living being's genetic material in any way desired, provided that he has a suitable template from which to base his alterations on. By spending one quantum point, the nova can automatically analyze and understand a being's entire genome without the aid of specialized equipment at a range of (Quantum + power rating) x 5 meters. Dead tissue can be "read" this way only as long as the chromosomes are still intact. (Note: This function can be used to detect potential latent novas- sort of. If the nova knows what to look for, he can detect the genetic sequence that can give rise to the Mazarin-Rashoud node in a seemingly-normal human. However, the nova _cannot_ differentiate between latent novas and latent psiads/psions or latent paramorphs/daredevils- unless the latent manifests her Inspired capabilities right in front of him!) If used to alter an entire being's genetic structure, the effects of this technique take [10 - the nova's Quantum] days to manifest. Altering the DNA in a target's gametes is where this technique really comes into its own, as the nova directly intervenes in the course of evolution. Like Form Manipulation, this technique usually can't affect novas, including the user. The effects of this technique are permanent.

>Successes/Alterations

1- Superficial Changes: Alter trivial genetic traits (coloration of eyes or hair), alter intron sequences to carry encoded data, create "copyright marks" visible only at the cellular level. Increase/decrease the chances for twins or other multiple births by altering a target's gamete DNA.

2- Minor Changes: Correct/inflict minor genetic defects (near- or farsightedness, severe allergies, albinism or other odd skin colorations, astigmatism, etc.). Correct/inflict any genetic defect within a target's gamete DNA. Alter the gender probability of target's offspring by 10-50% (male targets only). Induce beneficial mutations.

3- Moderate Changes: Correct/inflict genetic tendencies for cancer, correct/inflict gross genetic defects (blindness, diabetes, sickle cell anemia, dwarfism, Down's Syndrome, etc.). Implant traits for functional organs and abilities from other species into a target's gamete DNA. Change a male target's gamete DNA so that all offspring will be of one gender. Induce or correct natural genetic sterility. Induce beneficial mutations within a target's gamete DNA.

4- Major Changes: Alter a target's gamete DNA to carry the Mazarin-Rashoud sequence, or delete that sequence if already present in the target's gamete DNA. Create entirely novel genetic traits in a target's gamete DNA without a template.

5- Extreme Changes: Turn a baseline into a latent nova (and vice versa), create a viable new species or sub-species without a template. Genetically reprogram a target nova's enhanced immune system to recognize native gametes as pathogens (as per the effects of Utopian sterility drugs), or permanently reverse that specific form of induced sterility.

>Purge

Dice Pool: Stamina + Biomanipulation

Range: (Quantum + power rating) x 5 meters

Area: N/A

Duration: Instant

This technique allows the nova to cleanse the bodies both herself and other living beings of harmful impurities. It doesn't matter whether the problem is a toxin, disease, parasite or even the subject's own irradiated or cancerous cells- after a Biomanipulative nova with this techniques goes to work, such problems are often only bad memories. Each success on the Stamina + Biomanipulation roll allows the nova to reduce the Toxin Rating of a drug, poison, or disease by 1- and if the Toxin Rating is reduced to zero, the subject is cured and may begin healing normally. If the subject is addicted to a drug/toxin, the nova can spend an additional 3 quantum points to rid the subject of his addiction once the drug has been cleansed from his body. Parasitic infestations are even easier- unless the subject's body is entrirely riddled throughout with parasites (in which case the subject is likely dead already), 2 successes will suffice to rid the subject of the infestation.

Cleansing cancerous/irradiated/mutated cells from a subject's body is somewhat trickier. The number of successes the nova achieves on the power roll indicates the degree of purging accomplished- see the table below for details. Note: This technique _can_ cure non-nova subjects from the damaging effects of the "Contagious" and "Taint Bleed" aberrations! (Those aberrations are listed on pg. 96 of the _Aberrant Players Guide- in the Trinity era, they're all lumped together under the catch-all label of "taint diseases".) The Storyteller will have to estimate the equivalent of the taint damage on the table below, and then must require an additional 3 successes in order for the nova to cure the subject.

Successes__Mutation Equivalent

1-------------Benign tumor, minor soft-radiation damage

2-------------Malignant tumor, major soft-radiation damage

3-------------Significant cancerous growth, minor hard-radiation damage (20% cell mutation)

4-------------Major cancerous growth, major hard-radiation damage (50% cell mutation)

5-------------Massive cellular degeneration (90% cell mutation)

Even if a subject is successfully purged of the cancer or irradiated tissue, some time for recuperation is still necessary- take the number of successes applied in purging the subject and divide by 2, rounding up. The result will be the number of effective Bashing health levels the subject will have to recover due to the stress of the procedure. This isn't any great problem if the nova has the Health Manipulation technique as well...

Note: Unfortunately, this technique is wholly ineffective at cleansing Taint (and its effects) from novas.

>Quantum Biotech

Prerequisite: Mega-Intelligence 1 and the Mental Prodigy: Medical enhancement

Dice Pool: Intelligence + Biomanipulation

Range: N/A

Area: (Quantum + power rating) x 10 meter radius

Duration: special

This technique is just the thing for the nova bioengineer who can't set up a fully-stocked laboratory for one reason or another. Basically, this allows the nova to create biotech innovations and advancements (using the terms presented in the _Adventure! core book_) without requiring the equipment and safety measures of a full-fledged biological laboratory. This technique has three main functions, listed below.

(1)- The nova can perform lab-quality biological analyses without the benefit of fancy equipment- all she has to do is make a power roll, provided that she's got at least [20 - Intelligence + Mega-Intelligence] minutes to go over the resulting data.

(2)- For each quantum point spent at the start of the invention process, the nova can cut three days off of the time required for the Research & Development phase, down to a minimum of one day. If the nova has Mega-Intelligence at 5 dots or higher, she can cut the R&D time required down further to only one hour by spending an additional 2 quantum points.

(3)- The nova can create a "quarantine zone" around her work area (the maximum size of which is listed as the "Area" parameter) with two or more successes on a power roll (if desired), which will last for the duration of the invention process. Until the quarantine zone fades away or is dispelled by the nova who created it, any biological material that the nova designates as a threat will instantly die and turn into harmless hydrocarbon sludge if it crosses the zone boundary

>Revive

Dice Pool: Manipulation + Biomanipulation

Range: Touch

Area: N/A

Duration: Special

This technique allows the nova to prolong the period that a living being may be technically dead but can still be returned to health. The nova makes her power roll, then compares her successes to the number of minutes since the subject went from the Incapacitated Health Level to Dead. If the number of successes is greater, the subject is stabilized at Incapacitated for a number of hours equal to the nova's Quantum Trait. The original cause of death must then be treated (wounds repaired, poison netralized, etc.), or the subject will simply die for a second and final time. If only one success is achieved on the nova's power roll, the subject will revive but with the loss of 1 point of permanent Willpower, due to post-mortem decay of the subject's noetic template. Extra successes on the power roll will prevent this.

>Shield

Dice Pool: Stamina + Biomanipulation

Range: (Quantum + power rating) x 5 meters

Area: N/A

Duration: Maintenance

This technique lets the nova protect both herself and other living beings from quantum- and/or psi-based effects that would otherwise cause unwanted direct physiological alterations. Each success on the nova's power roll adds two successes on the subject's dice pool used to resist attempts to alter his body by means of both biomanipulative quantum powers and the biokinetic or vitakinetic psionic aptitudes. It does nothing against effects that alter the subject's physiology in indirect ways, though- such as being fried into a crispy critter by pyrokinetic flames, for instance.

>Stabilize

Dice Pool: Stamina + Biomanipulation

Range: (Quantum + power rating) x 5 meters

Area: N/A

Duration: Maintenance

This technique allows the nova to place an injured lifeform into what is effectively a form of protective stasis. This can be a literal lifesaver when a few seconds is all that's keeping someone from being checked into the local morgue. For each success the nova achieves on the power roll, the subject can temporarily ignore the effects of two levels of lethal damage or four levels of bashing damage. Although she will be rendered comatose for the duration of this effect, the subject will not be feeling any pain or discomfort, nor will he suffer further damage from his wounds. The subject likewise doesn't suffer from blood loss or haemhorrage, nor is there any risk of her going into shock. If the subject has been poisoned, parasitized, or contracted a disease; this technique will halt the problem in its tracks for the duration of the effect. This can also make surgical procedures much safer for the subject- each success on the power roll will grant the surgeon an effective extra die on the Medecine roll to determine the success of the surgery. Additionally, the nova may use this technique as a form of "quantum local anaesthesia" without having to render the subject comatose- all the nova has to do is spend one quantum point to render a portion of the subject's anatomy comfortably numb for up to [the nova's Biomanipulation power rating] hours.

>Taint Vaccine

Prerequisite: Quantum 7

Dice Pool: Stamina + Biomanipulation

Range: Touch

Area: N/A

Duration: Special

This advanced technique allows the nova to grant a baseline human or paramorph/daredevil temporary protection from the effects of ambient taint radiation, taint-related illnesses, and aberrations. (The first two threats are posed by novas with the Taint Bleed and Contagious aberrations- see pg. 96 of the _Aberrant Players Guide. The last threat is posed by novas with the Aberration Transfer power- see pg. 125 of the _Aberrant: Teragen_ sourcebook.) For each success on the nova's power roll, he can render the subject immune to ambient taint radiation and taint-related illnesses for 1 scene. Things get a little trickier in the case of the Aberration Transfer power, as each success on the nova's power roll cancels out the power roll successes of the nova using Aberration Transfer on a 1-to-3 ratio. (Round down any fractions in the subject's favor.) Unfortunately, the Taint Vaccine successes are "used up" by this in much the same way that ablative armor protects against firearms attacks- the effect of the attack is negated, but the subject has that much less "armor" left to protect him.

Note: The effects of this technique are useless to psiads and psions (they're already immune to taint due to their psionic nature), and simply does not work for novas (whose own quantum will disrupt the effect).

>Unhealing

Dice Pool: Intelligence + Biomanipulation

Range: (Quantum + power rating) x 5 meters

Area: N/A

Duration: special

This technique not only allows the nova to temporarily strip a targeted being of its innate ability to heal itself, but also interferes with attempts to heal the targeted being, even via paranormal means. Even one success on the power roll allows the nova to temporarily halt the target's healing processes completely, and the target also suffers a + [the nova's Quantum] difficulty penalty on rolls to resist diseases or poison. This technique also stops regeneration and other healing effects (including quantum-based healing powers and psionic Vitakinesis) for 1 hour per success on the power roll or until this effect is nullified.

A nova with either the Healing power or the Health Manipulation technique can attempt to nullify the effects of this technique (as can vitakinetic psions with 3 or more dots in the Iatrosis Mode), but at some risk to the patient. The would-be healer rolls his dice pool for his healing capability in an attempt to match or exceed the successes scored on the initial power roll of the nova who used Unhealing on the target. (Vitakinetic psions use Intelligence + Iatrosis, but also add their Psi scores as extra dice for the attempt.) If the healer matches or exceeds the number of successes scored by the nova, the Unhealing effect is nullified and the patient may heal and undergo medical treatment as normal. If the healer fails in the attempt to match the Unhealing successes, the patient suffers 1 level of bashing damage for each Unhealing success the healer failed to match.

NEW ABERRATIONS

Altered Biochemistry (low-level, physical): As a result of accumulating Taint, the nova's biochemistry has started to become somewhat exotic, even by nova standards! While the nova can still digest human food and drink (even if she doesn't need it to survive), all drugs, toxins, and bioweapons tailored to human (and nova) biochemistries have reduced or unpredictable effects when administered to the nova. (This includes nova-specific drugs such as Adrenocilin, Moxinoquantamine, and Soma!) The Storyteller will roll 1d10 the first time the nova is given a particular drug. On a roll of 1-4 the drug (or toxin, or bioweapon, etc.) has its normal effects. On a roll of 5-7 the drug will have negative side-effects in addition to its normal effect (or it could have any already-existing negative side-effects enhanced). On a roll of 8-9 the drug has no effect at all, good or bad. On a roll of 10, the drug will have an unpredictably inverse effect on the nova- a drug intended to cure radiation damage could act as a potent neurotoxin, while an otherwise deadly bioweapon could actually help a severely-injured nova recover from his injuries!

Note: If the nova accumulates further points of permanent Taint after gaining this aberration, her biochemistry will continue to diverge farther away from the human norm. In this case, the Storyteller will add 1 to the result of her dice roll for every point of permanent Taint gained after manifesting this aberration.

Chromatic Hair (low-level, physical): The nova's hair -all of it- is of a (usually) attractive color that isn't naturally found in baseline humans. Just about any hue is possible- bright blue, leaf green, cherry red, and pastel pink are just a few of the possibilities. Some novas even develop hair the color of polished metal- for example, Teardrop from Teen2M has bright silver hair. Since baseline teenagers and nonconformists have been dyeing their hair unnatural colors for over a decade (as of 2008), this doesn't draw quite as much attention as other minor physical aberrations do... unless someone gets close enough to the nova to realize that the supposed dye-job is in fact natural color! Oddly enough, several Japanese novas (and foreign novas who have been influenced by Japanese anime) have developed this aberration without the Taint that normally accompanies it. These novas also have been known to develop oddly-colored irises without Taint accumulation as well. (In game terms, these novas have taken both the Chromatic Hair and Aberrant Eyes aberrations as 1-point Flaws- see the _Aberrant Players Guide_, page 92.)

Metabolic Quirk (low-level, physical): The nova's biochemistry has become a bit peculiar as a result of Taint accumulation. The nova will experience a specific drug-like effect (selected by the Storyteller) whenever he ingests a specific variety of an otherwise harmless foodstuff (also selected by the Storyteller). [For purposes of this aberration, a foodstuff can be any specific kind of prepared or raw meat, vegetable, or fruit- organically-derived beverages, spices, and herbs also qualify.] For game purposes, treat the selected foodstuff as a nova-specific drug that cannot be resisted by either the Health (Mega-Stamina) enhancement or Invulnerability to drugs/toxins. The nova may still make a Resistance roll at +2 difficulties to purge the foodstuff from his system. Fortunately, there's no risk of addiction to the foodstuff in question. At the basic level of this aberration, the Storyteller is advised to choose a relatively mild "drug effect" to inflict on the hapless nova. The effects of the recreational drugs of Trinity-era Sudamerica (as featured in the _Terra Verde_ E-book) are good examples of what a nova who develops this aberration can look forward to experiencing. Alternatively, the effect could be a "milder" version of a drug from the 21st Century or earlier. For example, if the Storyteller wanted the effect to mimic alcohol intoxication in this way, the nova would suffer from the disinhibitor and sedative effects of alcohol (and possibly the difficulty penalties for fine manipulation and coordinated movement as well), but would not suffer either from hangovers or the consequences of long-term alcohol consumption. The Storyteller is further advised to be very specific when choosing the foodstuff- "hot peppers" would be too broad a category, but a specific kind of hot pepper (such as pickled jalapenos) would be acceptable. Also, be sure to make the foodstuff something that the nova would be likely to encounter on a fairly regular basis- lutefisk might be a fairly common item in the eateries of the Scandinavian nations, but it's likely to be somewhat hard to find in the restaraunts of Mexico City. Likewise, the durian fruit is hardly seen outside of Southeast Asia (and for very good reason).

Note: If the nova accumulates further points of permanent Taint after gaining this aberration, the effects of this aberration will become harder to shake off. For every point of permanent Taint gained after manifesting this aberration, add +1 to the difficulty penalty for all Resistance rolls made to purge the foodstuff from the nova's system. Also, some aberrations the nova may manifest in the future can tie into this aberration, in order to reflect addiction to the selected foodstuff (Feeding Requirement at medium-level) and/or the negative side-effects associated with the unsafe drugs of the 21st Century and earlier.

Anime provides two good examples of this aberration. Lum (from _Urusei*Yatsura_), like all other Oni aliens, experiences the effects of alcohol intoxication when she eats umeboshi (japanese salted pickled apricots). Then there's Nuku Nuku (from _All-Purpose Cultural Cat-Girl Nuku Nuku_), who becomes very playful and euphoric when exposed to catnip, despite her being a full-conversion cyborg.

Weirdness Magnet (medium-level, quantum): The nova's Taint warps probability fields in a manner fairly similar to the Bad Luck and Jinx aberrations. Instead of causing the nova and her allies misfortune, however, this aberration makes her into a living probability nexus. Strange and alarming things will happen to the nova on an all-too-frequent basis, since million-to-one chances will come out nine times out of ten where she's concerned. When aliens decide to make a covert visit to Earth, their chosen landing site for their shuttlecraft will inevitably be within spitting distance of the nova's house. Time travelers and visitors from parallel universes always seem to turn up in the nova's immediate vicinity. At least one pet owned by one of the nova's neighbors will be fully sapient (due to Inspiration), capable of human-level speech, and well-educated. The nova's neighborhood is guaranteed to have at least one Teragen enclave, Proteus safehouse, Aberrant hideout, or Directive cell. Even the most seemingly mundane among the nova's neighbors will secretly be fringe cultists, members of organized crime groups, deep-cover spies, closet conspiracy theorists, or members of the Federal Witness Protection Program (in the U.S.). Fortean events will happen often enough around the nova that she'll be on a first-name basis with the staff of the _Fortean Times_.

Nothing lethal will happen to the nova (not immediately, anyway), and on rare occasions the weirdness will be beneficial. (Truly malevolent weirdness is rare as well, fortunately.) Most of the time though, it's just very, very inconvenient. As most baseline humans are fairly intolerant of weirdness in general, the nova will suffer from an additional +1 difficulty on all social rolls (on top of any existing penalties) with those baselines who learn that the nova is attracting the weirdness to the vicinity. Aside from other Inspired beings, the only exceptions to this will be those baselines who either have an interest in or liking for weirdness (parapsychologists, conspiracy theorists, thrill-seekers, etc.), or those baselines who are weird in some way themselves (eccentrics as well as counterculture/fringe groups).

One interesting twist to this is that weirdness magnets have a powerful attraction for each other, just like ordinary magnets with complimentary charges. Aside from attracting other novas with this aberration, this has been known to attract other Inspired beings (who can have Weirdness Magnet as a 3-pt. Flaw). And if that wasn't enough, certain eddies in the natural quantum/noetic matrix of the universe can turn certain locations into weirdness magnets as well. Many such locations manage to earn spooky reputations over the years...

This aberration is most often found in novas with powers over entropy or probability, but this is not by any means a hard and fast rule- some novas will develop it for no other reason than Taint accumulation.

Note: As a nova with this aberration accumulates more permanent Taint, the Storyteller may deem it appropriate for the nova to begin attracting the more malevolent kinds of weirdness. For excellent examples of that variety of weirdness, just watch several episodes of the _X-Files_ television series.

[Turk]

It's a DBZ rip on the Spirit Bomb!

Quantum Bomb

Level: 3

Quantum Minimum: 4

Dice Pool: Quantum + Power Rating

Range: (Quantum + Power Rating) x10 meters

Area: (Quantum + Power Rating) x3 meters

Duration: Special

Multiple Actions: No

Description: The nova can create a large ball of energy with his quantum that has great destructive force. The “Bomb” takes the aspects of whatever form of power the nova already has. A nova with firepowers would have a fireball, novas with electrical powers would have a ball of electricity, ect. The damage of the “Bomb” depends on the amount of quantum points spent when the power is activated, the nova can spend as much as he wants, even have quantum points donated to his “Bomb” by others in the range of, Quantum + Power Rating x5 meters. The nova donating the power must be willing; the points cannot be stolen unless the nova with Quantum Bomb has Quantum Vampire. The nova with Quantum Bomb can only receive Q- Points from one other person for each dot past the first, but it takes an additional turn. It takes one turn to make the “Bomb” and during that turn the nova creating it cannot make any other actions besides talking.

Effect:

One dot: The nova can spend as much of his own quantum points towards the “Bomb”. This deals the amount spent lethal, or x2 bashing.

Two dots: The nova can spend as much of his own quantum and quantum donated by ONE other nova within range. This deal the amount spent x2 lethal, or x3 bashing.

Three dots: The nova can spend as much of his quantum and quantum donated by TWO other novas within range. This deals the amount spent x3 lethal, or x4 bashing.

((for each additional dot add one more donator and increase the multiplication of the damage))

System: Luis Fruitopia has two dots and begins creating a Quantum Bomb on his turn, he puts 20 quantum point into the bomb and roles Quantum + Power Rating. Malice donates an additional 10 Quantum Points to the “Bomb”. It takes one turn to make and one turn to add Malice’s Quantum Points. On the third turn Fruitopia launches the bomb, Power Rating + Dexterity, which takes another whole turn. When the bomb hits it’s target it will deal 60 lethal or 90 bashing to everything within the range of the blast. Objects and people just outside the range will suffer knock back.

Extras: None

i was thinking maybe minimum 5, but it's a lot of roling and after one use teh nova would probably be drained, so i went with 4. any opinions?

[Ayre el KaBeer]

If you want to make it Q-min 5 then maybe up it alittle, for example the area/blast radius. I'd treat it exactly how it's described in the extra's section for either explosion ((qunatum + power rating)x 3, but continues every 3 meters, reducing damage by 1 untill it reaches zero) or area ((quantum + power rating) x5). Since it's a shared power you might want to increase it's range so you don't harm your allies. If not, perhaps make those who grant you QP's to charge the Quantum Bomb immune to it's effects by simulating attunement (or something *shrugs*).

And you might want to state that nova's donating points are limited by thier node rating per turn. Some player's will always try to milk a power for all it's worth and then some.

As for extra's, if you're using Aberrant Players Guide to allow extra's for level 3+ powers, try Cluster; then lots of things go boom!

Though I like the power (the whole group thing rocks!), I would personally just buy Quantum bolt with the explosive or area extra, since it has a lower Q-min, QP expendature and a greater range.

[Sprocket]

Attention: anyone who has looked over the "Aberrant Compendium"- ::smiley5

As could only be expected, several errors crept into the various posts that I sent to CHILL a few weeks ago. Here's a little document I've been working on that should correct most of the mistakes and forgotten details, but it's not quite ready for submission just yet- I need some of you guys to look over this as well as the "Aberrant Compendium" itself. Any feedback will be greatly appreciated... ::cool

Aberrant Compendium Errata

-By Sprocket-

In the course of gathering and pasting together the various enhancements, body modifications, aberrations, etc. that would be presented on EON as the Aberrant Compendium, a few errors inevitably slipped by the editor's and author's respective axes. For my part, mea culpa. Here are the corrections and notes required so that you can edit your own downloaded copies of the Aberrant Compendium and make things work a lot smoother.

>Spark of Life (Mega-Stamina): The last sentence refers to a "laying on of hands" function that was scrapped during the debugging process for reasons of game balance. That last sentence should be deleted to avoid any confusion amongst your players.

>FTL Reflexes (Mega-Dexterity): Novas with this enhancement (but who lack FTL Reactions) will have reduced penalties on all rolls made for maneuvering at speeds of near-C and greater. The penalty is +6 difficulties at relativistic speeds, and +8 difficulties at superluminal speeds. Novas with both FTL Reflexes and FTL Reactions have no additional penalties for moving at relativistic and/or superluminal speeds whatsoever. (Novas lacking both FTL Reflexes and FTL Reactions operate at +12 difficulties at relativistic speeds, and at +16 difficulties at superluminal speeds.)

>Fertility (Mega-Stamina): Replace advantage #5 for female novas possessing two levels of Fertility with the following paragraph:

5- If the nova still wants to become a mother but cannot find a suitable nova male to father her child, she can spend 2 quantum points and roll Stamina. Even 1 success on the roll means that the nova becomes pregnant through parthenogenesis. The pregnancy will be normal (for a nova pregnancy, anyway), but the resulting healthy female infant will effectively be a genetic clone of her mother as well as a latter-generation nova. If the nova mother also has the Yin-Yang Mega-Appearance enhancement, she can spend an extra quantum point (for a total of 3 q.p.) to conceive and bear a cross-gender clone of herself. The resulting male infant will be a genetic clone of his mother, except for having a "Y" chromosome instead of a second "X" chromosome, and will also be a latter-generation nova.

>Clandestine Mentality (Mega-Wits): The reference about "already posted to EON" was a reminder to the author that this enhancement had already been put up on the "New Powers" thread on EON's Aberrant Forums- it should be deleted.

>FTL Reactions (Mega-Wits): Novas with this enhancement (but who lack FTL Reflexes) will have reduced penalties on all rolls made for maneuvering at speeds of near-C and greater. The penalty is +6 difficulties at relativistic speeds, and +8 difficulties at superluminal speeds. Novas with both FTL Reflexes and FTL Reactions have no additional penalties for moving at relativistic and/or superluminal speeds whatsoever.

Also, the reference about "already posted to EON" was a reminder to the author that this enhancement had already been put up on the "New Powers" thread on EON's Aberrant Forums- it should be deleted.

>Anodyne (Mega-Charisma): The second sentence should be punctuated with an exclamation point instead of a question mark. Also, the last sentence refers to a "laying on of hands" function that was scrapped during the debugging process for reasons of game balance. That last sentence should be deleted to avoid any confusion amongst your players.

>Arcane (Level 2 Quantum Power): This power cannot affect any memories and recorded information about the nova that predate the point in time at which he or she gained this power. If Arcane was purchased at character creation, consider that point in time to be the nova's eruption. If purchased via earned experience, the point in time will be when the nova first manifested this power (bought the first dot of Arcane). Also, the effects of this power do not cover the time when the nova is either engaging in combat or using "flashy" quantum powers- subtle uses of quantum powers CAN be masked by Arcane.

[Turk]

thanks, i hadnt thought about the explosion extra, that sounds awsome.

mace

[Sprocket]

All right, everybody! Things have settled down enough for me to dig up a few more (hopefully) interesting tidbits for your amusement. Some feedback would be appreciated, especially since there are more of the high-level quantum powers here, along with a few good aberrations. ::biggrin

NEW POWERS

Starflight

Level: 4

Quantum Minimum: 6

Prerequisites: Flight and Hyperflight at equal or greater power ratings, and at least 3 dots of Force Field. The nova should also have some way of staying alive in space (such as the Adaptability enhancement or the Bodymorph power) in order to keep use of this power from becoming suicidal. The FTL Reflexes (Mega-Dexterity) and FTL Reactions (Mega-Wits) enhancements are also worthwhile.

Dice Pool: Dexterity + Starflight

Range: Self

Area: N/A

Duration: Maintenance

Effect: Allows the nova to fly at superluminal speeds.

Multiple Actions: Yes

Description: This is the penultimate form of the Flight power, as it allows the nova to fly at speeds greater than C (the speed of light in a vacuum, which is 299,792,458 meters per second). The mechanism by which this power functions varies somewhat with each nova who develops Starflight. One nova might alter her body in order to duplicate some of the properties of tachyons, while another might form an induction ring of negative energy around himself to create a bubble of warped spacetime which can attain FTL speeds.

Regardless of the precise mechanism used, all versions of Starflight have the same effect. The nova can fly through space (and other three-dimensional areas of vacuum) at a speed determined by his Quantum Trait and Starflight power rating. The basic speed equations are [(power rating x4) + 40] x 0.001 units/action in combat and (Quantum + Starflight) x 50 units per hour out of combat. The actual "unit" used in the speed equations is also dependent on the nova's Starflight power rating- at the first dot, the unit used is the Astronomical Unit (A.U.), which is equal to 149,597,870 kilometers. The nova's speed is measured in parsecs at a power rating of 2 dots; this increases to kiloparsecs at 4 dots, megaparsecs at 6 dots, gigaparsecs at 8 dots, and teraparsecs at 10 dots. What this boils down to is that while a nova with one dot of Starflight can zoom across a star system in minutes, making an interstellar voyage would take several weeks of nonstop FTL flight. For instance, Sol System is 274,379 A.U.s [or 1.33 parsecs] from Alpha Centauri. Since a Quantum 6 nova with 1 dot of Starflight could fly at 350 A.U.s per hour, he would take a total of 32 days, 15 hours, 56 minutes, and 24 seconds to get there (not counting rest stops). As the nova increases his Starflight power rating he'll be capable of transgalactic, intergalactic, and ultimately trans-universal voyages.

Note #1: Ordinarily, an object traveling at superluminal speeds would suffer severe damage from hazards such as micrometeorites and electromagnetic radiation. Fortunately for a nova with Starflight, one aspect of this power allows him to instinctively form a deflector shield around himself, which simply diverts such dangers around the nova, leaving him unharmed.

Note #2: If a nova develops Starflight without developing the FTL Reflexes and FTL Reactions enhancements, he will encounter serious difficulties (difficulty penalty of +16) on all rolls made to maneuver while flying at superluminal speeds. Having one of those enhancements halves the difficulty penalty, while having both eliminates the difficulty penalty entirely.

Note #3: Unless the nova is completely immaterial at the time, using Starflight while inside a planetary atmosphere is (usually) an Extremely Bad Idea- the shockwaves produced are nothing short of catastrophic. Treat the effect of an FTL nova passing through a Terra-equivalent atmosphere as being equal to a combined base of a 100d10 Lethal Blast (heat), 100d10 Strobe (auditory), 100d10 Strobe (visual), 50 dots in Thunderclap and 50 dots in Shockwave per dot of Starflight. The nova can reduce this effect by slowing down, but must drop to subluminal velocities to avoid causing such horrendous damage. Novas with the Silent Running enhancement (affecting flight) can turn this effect on or off at will.

Note #4: Depending on the precise mechanics of how his version of Starflight functions, the nova may produce Cerenkov radiation (an optical "sonic boom") when flying at FTL speeds. In this case, the nova would generate enough light to simulate the effects of the Strobe (visual) power at the nova's Starflight power rating. The downside of this is that it also reduces the difficulties on all attempts to detect the nova by means of optical astronomical observation by -1 for each dot of Starflight the nova possesses. The nova can mute the Cerenkov radiation by slowing down, but must drop to subluminal velocities to avoid making a spectacle (and possibly a target) of himself in this manner. Novas with the Silent Running enhancement (affecting flight) can turn this effect on or off at will.

Extras: None.

Adamantine

Level: 5

Quantum Minimum: 8

Dice Pool: N/A

Range: Self

Area: N/A

Duration: Permanent

Effect: Provides +60 soak per dot against all types of attacks.

Multiple Actions: N/A

Description: This is an advanced form of the Armor/Invulnerability powers- novas with even a few dots of Invincibility are capable of surviving thermonuclear explosions at close range, provided that they don't mind the irradiation. Each dot in the power adds 60 soak when resisting all forms of damage, including nova attacks with the Aggravated Extra. In the case of mental powers such as Domination, each dot of Adamantine provides 60 extra successes to any Willpower roll to resist the power's effects. The extra soak provided by this power is cumulative with any other protective powers the nova may possess- such as Armor, Psychic Shield, Force Field, and the various forms of Invulnerability.

Extras: Affects Others (spend 1 qp to share the soak bonus provided by this power with any being/object you can touch).

Invincibility

Level: 6

Quantum Minimum: 10

Dice Pool: N/A

Range: Self

Area: N/A

Duration: Permanent

Effect: Provides +150 soak per dot against all types of attacks.

Multiple Actions: N/A

Description: This is the ultimate form of the Armor/Invulnerability powers- novas with enough dots of Invincibility are capable of surviving supernova explosions at close range, provided that they're spaceworthy to begin with. Each dot in the power adds 150 soak when resisting all forms of damage, including nova attacks with the Aggravated Extra. In the case of mental powers such as Domination, each dot of Invincibility provides 150 extra successes to any Willpower roll to resist the power's effects. The extra soak provided by this power is cumulative with any other protective powers the nova may possess- such as Armor, Psychic Shield, Force Field, the various forms of Invulnerability, and Adamantine.

Extras: None.

NEW ABERRATIONS

Inscrutable (medium-level, mental): The nova's mental processes have become more than a little peculiar. Although the nova is still quite sane by baseline standards, he finds it difficult to communicate with baseline humans (and most novas). The speech of such a nova will mostly consist of Zen-like koans, non sequiturs, and other enigmas. This makes the nova unable to communicate with other people except in roundabout ways such as riddles. Fortunately, telepaths and novas with the Linguistic Genius enhancement can communicate with the nova without difficulty. Also, the nova can spend 1 point of temporary Willpower to attempt normal, "lucid" communication for a short time.

Peter Pan Syndrome (medium-level, physical): Named for the fairy-tale character who had vowed never to grow up, the Peter Pan Syndrome effectively slows the physical development of a child nova to a standstill. Unless steps are taken to correct this problem (if possible), the nova will continue to mature psychologically while trapped in a childish body. Age Alteration can't cure this- a nova with this aberration is effectively immune to that technique, for good or ill. Aside from many of the normal problems of physical childhood (social difficulties, being short, and having a maximum rating of three dots in both Physical Attributes and Mega-Attributes if preadolescent), this situation inevitably leads to frustration, bitterness and angst on the nova's part. If a nova with Peter Pan Syndrome accumulates more permanent Taint, the nova may physically regress further back into childhood- or infancy, in the most extreme cases.

NOTE: This aberration is only applicable to child novas and those novas who have been regressed into physical childhood via the Age Alteration technique of Temporal Manipulation.

Teratodactyl (low-level, physical): The nova has either fewer or more digits than the standard "5 per limb". (A good rough guideline would be no less than three and no more than seven digits, including an opposable thumb.) The nova suffers no loss of manual dexterity due to this aberration, but it's guaranteed to draw stares, especially from superstitious folks who might see this as proof of being a demon. The nova will also be unable to use gloves designed for baseline humans, and may require specially made shoes.

Too much? Sorta wimpy? Let me know about it, 'kay? ::devilangel I'll let 'em stand a few days before submitting them to CHILL, so if you've got comments or a bone to pick with these things, don't be shy!

[Psilord]

Mega Wits Enhancement

Plain Spoken

Requires atleast one dot in mega-intelligence as well as mega-wits. This enhancement has two basic effects, one benefiting the nova and the other benefiting baselines or less intelligent novas. This enhancement is often refered to as "Babytalk" by those who posses it.

The first effect is basically nova sized patience with the inane moronic (seeming) chatter of those without mega-intelligence, or with less mega-intelligence than the nova with Plain Spoken. Feel like you're talking to particularly stupid monkeys? This is the key to patience, and not going stark raving mad listening to babytalk, for you!

The second effect is to allow the nova to communicate with those lesser gifted individuals without coming off as an arrogant, uppity, know-it-all jerk; it also has the benefit of actually getting the correct information/point across in terms the listener can understand.

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

I'll leave it to Sprocket or another to add in further details if the inclination is there. ::biggrin

[Psilord]

Mega-Wits Enhancement

Storyteller

This enhancement combines very weak versions of the Mirage, Telepathy and Empathic manipulation powers. It allows the nova, through his speech or singing, to impart visions, moods and feelings into the mind of the listener. This is -NOT- any form of control, the enhancement sparks the lisener's imagination to visualize and "feel" the setting/mood the nova wants to impart. This enhancement is useful only live.

As an example: A nova running a D&D game as the GM would use this enhancement to help his players see in thier mind's eyes the dripping moss covered stones of the dungeon walls, to seemiingly feel the cold drafts and vividly imagine the eerie sounds as they walk to thier doom. Another example would be a singer using this enhancement to really make the song come vividly alive for the listener.

Think about those times when you'e so engrossed in a book that you see the story in your head as you read it, now multiply that. ::lookaround

[phoenix]

Re: Peter Pan Syndrome

I'm not sure if this is too late or not, but you might want to specify that the nova is not immune to age alteration, just that they age without maturing. I assume that's what you meant, right? Also, what happens when they reach old age? Do they suffer from the same things that other old people have a tendency towards (wrinkles, senility, joint pain, etc.)? If not, wouldn't this aberration be beneficial in many ways? And what causes them to finally die, assuming they aren't killed?

Also, I would make it a high level aberration, especially if vestigial limbs is. Being a child forever would suck quite a bit more than having a few extra limbs.

[Sprocket]

Re: Plain Spoken (Mega-Wits) enhancement-

Other than forbidding that enhancement to novas with the "Inscrutable" aberration, I'd leave it as is, Psilord. After all, it isn't broken, so one shouldn't try to fix it... ::laugh

Re: Peter Pan aberration-

Actually, what inspired this aberration is the fact that many simpler forms of life (especially bacteria) don't age as most metazoans (multi-cellular creatures) do. Ever since Terran critters started engaging in sex instead of simply budding or dividing themselves into daughter cells, the tendency to age and die became an evolutionary advantage- the older generations die off, reducing the competition their offspring will face. "Peter Pan" novas would regain this primeval quality, but at the cost of arrested physical development. They won't age, but they'll be much less fit in evolutionary terms, since I'd be inclined to make sexual reproduction hazardous (if not impossible) for them.

About Age Alteration: I wanted to deny novas with this aberration from having a "quick fix" on hand- several novas are known to have Temporal Manipulation, after all!

And yes, some things about being an eternal child would suck, but there are some subtle advantages to this condition that any nova with baseline-normal smarts could see rather quickly.

[Ayre el KaBeer]

Hey Sprocket, I've beeen meaning to give some feedback on your powers and aberrations for a while, and now there's too many for me to comment on. Ok I really like your aberrations and I think you had some bodymods that looked workable (i think they were yours), but as for your latest powers I think you've taken them too far. They seem clearly designed to take a Quantum Inferno blast, which is wrong in itself 'cause a QI seems designed to take out planetary bodies and not other nova's (I know it can be). But I can live with a super-mega-ultra-uber tough nova who can soak a planetkiller attack, but to also grant those same immunities to physical attack to mental and persuasion powers is where I draw the line ::biggrin. If you had a separate power/s that granted extra defense against mentals then fine, but keep the numbers low (incomparison to 150, etc.) as mentals don't often have that many dice to work with. As for your FTL powers, I like, but certain things in your descriptions of them need to be toned down, eg. the number of requisits, +16 penalty without both enhancements makes the enhancements requisits for the power, but forcefield requirement works really well. Rather than both FTL enhancements what about incliding Adaptability? travelling at FTL speeds for a time would make it a natural thing for your character and having Adapt should make it alot easier to get used to the stresses of FTL. I might be rambling, I don't care! ::cheesy

[Sprocket]

Hey there, Ayre! ::smiley5 Haven't heard from you in a while.

Re: the Uber-defensive powers- Yeah, they offer a bit more protection than your average Force-Field+Armor+Invulnerability using brick, but that's the point! When one is getting into fights with Quantum8-10 novas, one will assuredly NEED that level of protection! ::devilangel Remember, at that level of power, you're talking about beings equal to Galactus... ::hehe

Re: Starflight- Reread the write-up again friend. The FTL enhancements allow the nova to maneuver at relativistic & superluminal speeds without serious difficulty. All in all, it's pretty common sense that a Starflight-capable nova should be able to keep himself from flying into a black hole! There are untold millions of those nasty things out there, you know... and not all of 'em are visible at the time! ::devil (Those that are visible -due to an accretion disc- are usually devouring a star at the time.) All Adaptability does is let the nova survive in space without a cumbersome spacecraft or pressurized vacuum-suit.

Re: the "Plain Spoken" enhancement for Mega-Wits-

I've taken a second, longer look at what you've written up, Psilord. As I said previously, it's fine. Problem is, it's only fine as far as it goes, which isn't much beyond the basic concept and a vague idea of the mechanics. Remember, a good deal of what makes Mega-Intelligent novas frightening to baselines is that they can comprehend information and produce ideas beyond the capacity of any baseline genius that ever lived. Your enhancement would take too much away from that without clear guidelines on how it works.

That said, it's still a great idea- all it needs is a more formal write-up and clear mechanics on how it works. Here's my take on the revised version of "Plain Spoken"- look it over and tell me what you think, Psilord. If you like it, go ahead and submit it to CHILL- you came up with the idea, all I did was clean it up and dress it nicely. ::laugh

Plain Spoken (Mega-Wits)

Prerequisite: At least one dot of Mega-Intelligence

It's not uncommon for Mega-Intelligent novas to have difficulty explaining their ideas and reasoning to the seemingly moronic (by Mega-Intelligent standards) baselines and novas lacking Mega-Intelligence. Some brainiacs even find conversing with novas less Mega-Intelligent than themselves to be tedious and frustrating. A Mega-Witty (and Mega-Intelligent) nova with this enhancement has no such difficulties. Her superior understanding of non-enhanced sapience lets her communicate successfully with baselines and novas of lesser Mega-Intelligence than her own; neither becoming exasperated with their mental deficiencies nor coming off to her audience as an arrogant, uppity, know-it-all jerk. Novas with this enhancement have been derisively labeled "Babytalkers" by a few Mega-Intelligent Teragen members.

System: The nova with this enhancement can explain the ideas,concepts, theories, etc. of any nova whose Mega-Intelligence is equal to or lesser than her own to less-intelligent beings automatically, provided she's had the chance to examine the data to be explained. She can also present that knowledge in such a way as to both avoid inadvertently insulting her audience and get the correct information/point across in terms that her audience can understand. This enhancement is permanent, and has no quantum point cost.