Aberrant RPG - Mega-Attribute Books

[Gideon]

Well I just finished talking with Archer ::cool , and he has agreed to give us a Forum for the book ::smokin . Since we have not decided on a final title, I asked him to call it the working title "Forceful Personalities". This should be up by next Monday. ::biggrin

So we can work on migrating certain topics to that forum. (heck we can even have seperate topics to keep things focused for each chapter, or some such.)

Also, I will be posting my Nova Index on Eon next week. It will be in two formats excel and html. The Excel format will have the advantage that it will be resortable, the html version will not be sortable, but it will have four arrangements for quick reference.

I am hoping that this is all cool with everyone, its just that folks keep working on this and talking about the need/intrest for a private forum for work. So I just did the asking. If there is a problem with this, PLEASE let me know ASAP so we can fix it. ::smile

Best.

[Sprocket]

Re: "Discerning Questioner"-

This looks pretty good, Alex, but could you come up with a name for it that doesn't sound quite so awkward? ::unsure Other than the name, I've no problem with it at all- it looks like just the thing for Mega-Manipulative lawyers! ::devil Would you like for me to take a shot at "cleaning it up and dressing it nicely", or do you think that it's fine "as is"?

Re: Mega-Social e-book forum-

That's good news, Gideon, but I have a few questions:

1- Is the entirety of this thread going to be moved into this new forum, or are we going to have to repost what we've already put up?

2- Just who all will be admitted to this new forum? Aside from the development team, we do have some other posters here at EON who've been kind enough to offer us ideas for new Mega-Social enhancements... ::smile

3- I've been having second thoughts about your hosting of the Mega-Social book on your website, Gideon. Is it really a good idea? Why would someone bother to download the e-book from EON (once it's finished & made available) if they can just lift it from your site?

4- I know that "Forceful Personalities" is just a working title, but it sounds really awkward compared to "Brainwaves", "Cult Of Personality", or "Brute Force". Are we going to take the time to come up with something better? I sure hope so.

Re: Mega-Charisma Essays-

All right, folks. I've said that I wouldn't post on this thread again until I'd gotten these Mega-Charisma essays taken care of. Well, here they are- read through 'em and tell me what you think ASAP, okay?

Mega-Charisma: Charmers

Heart-melting charm, undeniable self-confidence, irresistible appeal. These are just a few of the terms used in describing the charmers, novas with Mega-Charisma. Their preternatural appeal and poise has allowed charmers to literally sway the hearts and minds of multitudes. The aims of the charmers vary, for along with the hopeful social reformers, spokespersons for a cause, and performers there are also aspiring dictators, phony gurus, and cult leaders. Whether the charmers will prove to be either a blessing or a curse (or both) to the denizens of the Nova Age remains to be seen.

Everyone Loves A Charmer...

Aside from being naturally at home in social situations and the proverbial "life of the party", charmers derive several other benefits from their Mega-Charisma. Like their brethren, the Mega-Attractive idols, people seem to instinctively want to please a charmer. While receiving spontaneous gifts and favors is not uncommon in a charmer's life, these unasked-for boons are more often presented in hopes of gaining the charmer's friendship and/or goodwill in return. Also like the idols, charmers can often get away with murder (sometimes literally!)- people are much more willing to trust a charmer, and are usually much more forgiving of a charmer's misdeeds than they would be of another nova's. And while many novas are admired by members of the baseline (and nova) population, charmers are the most likely to be seen as positive role models for the young. Charmers also rarely lack for company, as people will want to be with the charmer and will feel more important and charismatic themselves while in the charmer's presence. If a charmer doesn't already have a flock of hangers-on, syncophants, and/or "best buddies", he or she can easily befriend enough people on the spot to make up for the lack. Players of Mega-Charismatic novas are justified in taking any level of Allies, Followers, or Influence because of their sheer magnetism for other people.

Politics and the performing arts aren't the only trades that charmers tend to excel in. The Mega-Charisma of a charmer works just as well on beasts as it does on humans, allowing charmers to train animals both quickly and extremely well. Unsurprisingly, charmers can make wonderful teachers as well, as their force of personality can keep even the most unruly of students focused on the lesson at hand. Also, not all charmers with religious leanings end up forming their own cults. While they're not common by any means, several charmers have joined a religious priesthood of one sort or another, and use their nova abilities -social and otherwise- in the service of their deity and religion. Storyteller Note: As of 2015, there are no publicly-known novas operating as priests in the Fundamentalist Christian congregations. Likewise, the only branches of Islam known to have accepted novas into their priesthoods are the Sufi and the Baha'i.

(The Animal Training and Instruction abilities can be found on page 90 of the Aberrant Player's Guide.)

Finally, Mega-Charisma can allow a charmer to mitigate the effects his or her own social errors if he or she lacks the other Social Mega-Attributes. For example, a charmer who lacks Mega-Manipulation might stumble over his words, but will do so in such a charming way that everyone present forgives him and likes him all the more for his clumsiness at expressing himself. Note: This works best for young characters.

The Look Of Love

There is one other benefit of Mega-Charisma that most charmers enjoy, although it does result in them being the subject of prurient (or jealous) gossip. Simply put, a Mega-Charismatic nova can make a person that is attracted to members of the nova's gender fall in love with him or her using nothing more than eye contact and a brief conversation. If the charmer can establish eye contact with the subject, the subject must make a resisted Willpower roll against the nova's Mega-Charisma. If the charmer is insincere in his or her attempt to win the subject's heart, the subject gets a difficulty bonus of -3 on the Willpower roll. If the subject is already in a committed and loving romantic relationship, the subject gets a difficulty bonus of -2, which is cumulative with the one mentioned previously. The number of net successes gained by the charmer determines the degree of love-sickness the subject develops. One success indicates a mild crush, while 5 or more indicates a haunting obsession. The subject will have no reason (at first) to believe that his or her feelings for the charmer aren't genuine- depending on how things develop with the charmer, they may soon actually become genuine! It should be noted that this effect is nowhere near as powerful (or as short-lived) as the Empathic Manipulation power; the lovesick state induced by this application of Mega-Charisma is no different from normal instances of romantic love. It can last for decades (or even longer, in the case of nova paramours); but the romantic relationship must be maintained and kept intact, as it's just as vulnerable to the effects of infidelity or heartbreak as those of baseline humans. Another thing to keep in mind is that a charmer who uses this effect to casually win and break the hearts of his or her romantic conquests is going to rack up an extremely large roster of enemies in short order, and emotional trauma always has been a common trigger for nova eruptions...

The Perils of Personality

The major drawback of Mega-Charisma is that it typically isn't selective in the least as to who it affects. More likely than not; a charmer's Mega-Charisma will affect those people who the charmer wants to adore her, those who the charmer wants nothing at all to do with, and those who the charmer doesn't care about one way or the other- and all at the same time. Just because a charmer can win the adoration of multitudes does not mean that she will return their warm feelings wholesale! Here's a thought experiment for you: imagine that suddenly, everyone at your local grocery market decided that you were the most absolutely wonderful person and they all wanted to be your friend. Would you treat them all equally? Would you even want all of those people as your friends? Multiply that scenario several times over, and you have a rough estimate of what a charmer gets to look forwards to when in public. Then there's the very real chance that a charmer can truly be too Mega-Charismatic for his own good. While this problem is most often encountered by the Mega-Attractive idols, charmers have also been known to be the focus of people with obsessive and/or addictive personalities. Baseline stalkers are bad enough- but what if it's another nova that's stalking the charmer in question? It's also possible for someone to adore a charmer to the point that he or she will do anything to keep the charmer safe or to keep others from having the charmer... anything.

The other problems associated with being Mega-Charismatic are psychological, and are often the result of having an overly-stroked ego. As some charmers are worshipped in all but name by their admirers, this is a very real danger... Some charmers will see the leeway that other people afford them due to their Mega-Charisma as an invitation to "push the envelope", and see just how much they can get away with. The results of such experiments have been mixed to say the least, but most people (baseline and nova alike) do have limits as to what they will tolerate. Having hordes of admirers that are willing to do anything for their common object of affection can lead to a temptation on the charmer's part to use or abuse said admirers. Late-night groupie parties (in the manner of rock stars from the late 20th Century) are the most common result of this, but dark rumors of more worrisome happenings do surface from time to time. Finally, a few charmers who use their talents in a leadership capacity have been known to develop what's become known as the Shepherd's Syndrome. More of an attitude problem than an actual mental disorder, this manifests as a tendency for the charmer to see those under his or her command as children (at best) or as pets or livestock (at worst). In any case, the charmer with Shepherd's Syndrome will always see those under his or her command (usually baselines, but possibly other novas as well) as being totally unable to function effectively or even take care of themselves properly without the charmer's leadership.

To Be The One They Love... To Hate

While most uses of Mega-Charisma are based on the assumption that it makes other people experience strong positive emotions with the charmer as the focus, it is also possible for Mega-Charisma to inspire equally strong negative emotions as well. There are two ways in which this can be accomplished.

The first method consists of simply using one's Mega-Charisma in an anti-social manner. Where normal Mega-Charisma makes other people want to like and please the charmer, anti-social Mega-Charisma makes other people actively want to dislike and displease the nova. While using Mega-Charisma in this manner tends to be more trouble than it's worth, it is a viable means of emotionally manipulating people who are already inclined to hate either novas in general or the Mega-Charismatic nova in particular.

The second method requires that the charmer either act on behalf of or espouse the beliefs of a social group that is known to be actively inimical to another social group or category of people. The premier example of a charmer in this situation circa 2015 would be Count Raoul Orzaiz. While Orzaiz still enjoys (and makes excellent use of) the good press afforded him by the media, his popularity with most baselines is sure to plunge dramatically once the Teragen as a whole starts engaging in acts of terror against the baseline populace as a whole. This can also result from an actual or perceived betrayal of a social group by the Mega-Charismatic nova in question. While this is most often seen in the animosity that many Utopian novas feel towards the Aberrants, many uninformed baselines will see novakind in general as "traitors to humanity" once the Aberrant War breaks out in 2046.

Roleplaying Mega-Charisma

If you intend to play a Mega-Charismatic character, try to imagine the treatment that a charmer can expect from other people. How will your character react to being lavished with praise and adoration by practically everyone she meets? Will she allow her ego to grow overly large as a result? Will she decide to dismiss that praise out of hand as mindless syncophancy? What would happen if the praise and adoration comes from someone whom the charmer actually respects and admires herself?

Then there's the question of how the charmer will deal with the inevitable offers and favors that his admirers will offer him. Will a charmer politely decline the offer of a gaggle of pretty teenaged fangirls to share his king-size bed for the night, or will he take the opportunity to indulge in debauchery? Will receiving the proverbial "red-carpet" treatment at fancy restaurants and hotels on a regular basis result in the charmer developing a sense of entitlement, or will he see fit to repay that kindness in return? Or will the charmer become nostalgic for the days when he was treated as a more-or-less normal person instead?

How will a charmer react to having people around her who not only hang on her every word, but will do almost anything it takes in order to win the charmer's approval and friendship? Will the charmer use her would-be friends as disposable toys for her amusement, or will she do her best to keep those overeager fools from doing something rash in their attempts to impress her? Will the charmer simply use (or abuse) her admirers as convenient tools to get what she wants, or will she treat them with the respect that people deserve? Will the charmer even deign to take any notice of her admirers or their antics in the first place?

In the end, it all boils down to two simple questions. How will the charmer treat the people that his or her Mega-Charisma has bewitched? And what will the consequences of that treatment be?

Hope you folks like it- it's the only Xmas present you'll be getting from me! ::devilangel Happy Holidays! ::biggrin

[Alex Green]

New Mega-Manipulation Enhancement: Inquisition

"So, were there other people in the car with you? How many; One? Two? Three? So, there were three.

Were any related to you? Father? Uncle? Brother? Oh, your brother was there. Were any of the others related to you?..."

A nova with this enhancement is an expert at gauging other people's reactions to questions and finding out as much information as possible. He has a sense of when they are telling the truth, when they are being evasive, and what their limits are. Typically, this takes place during a grueling conversation, but it will also work with harsher interrogation methods.

System: The nova pays one quantum point per interrogation, and receives three automatic successes for any Interrogation or related skill rolls. On very long or involved interrogations, the ST may charge the Nova three quantum points for the scene. Although characters might use this to see through subterfuges, this enhancement can't be used to make lies more believable.

[Sprocket]

Re: "Inquisition"-

::bigsmile Now that looks nice! We'll probably have to endure some jokes based on Monty Python's "Spanish Inquisition" skit thanks to the new name, but it should be bearable. ::hehe I'll go ahead and use this latter version you've posted, okay? And thanks! ::thumbsup

Re: Mega-Charisma essays-

A little feedback on this stuff would be nice, folks. Fortunately, you'll have a few days to go over the material. If I don't hear anything (especially about any problems that may require correction) by New Year's Eve, I'll go ahead and post the entire Mega-Charisma section here and declare it finished. So speak up now if any of you have problems with what I've written, okay? ::wink

Re: New Mega-Manipulation enhancements-

Post any ideas for such new toys that you've got ASAP, people- this e-book is going to be moving to a protected forum on Monday. According to my lists, we still need three of them... ::smile

Once again, Happy Holidays! ::biggrin

[malkboy]

(deleted cuz I'm crazy)

[Alex Green]

The Mega-Charisma of a charmer works just as well on beasts as it does on humans, allowing charmers to train animals both quickly and extremely well.

I like this. We should have a “Beast Master” enhancement that gives 3 auto-suc for Animal Handling.

Storyteller Note: As of 2015, there are no publicly-known novas operating as priests in the Fundamentalist Christian congregations. Likewise, the only branches of Islam known to have accepted novas into their priesthoods are the Sufi and the Baha'i.

I’m pretty sure that Baha’i isn’t a branch of Islam.

RE: The Look Of Love

1) Difficulties are always expressed in +1, +2, etc. In other words, the subject doesn’t get a bonus, instead apply a difficulty on the Charmer.

2) I would allow wrong-gender love matches with a +3 difficulty.

3) This ability is abusive enough that it sounds like an enhancement. For example, a shapeshifter with this could make people fall in love with inappropriate people.

RE: The Perils of Personality

...charmers have also been known to be the focus of people with obsessive and/or addictive personalities. Baseline stalkers are bad enough- but what if it's another nova that's stalking the charmer in question?

This would make a good aberration.

,,

RE: To Be The One They Love... To Hate

RE: Count Raoul Orzaiz.

I can actually see him still being popular after the Teragen going terroristic. “No way to I want a member of the Teragen in my home town, but if we had to have one, it might as well be that nice Count Orzaiz.”

I would like to see something more like “...when members of your organization commits evil deeds from the viewpoint of the general population, this will eventually stack difficulty penalties on the nova’s ability in influence them. When the war starts Charmers may discover that while the general population may always like them, especially in person, liking someone and not wanting to kill them are different things.”

On a side note, one of the things I’ve heard about Bill Clinton was that it was very hard to be in the same room as him and not like him. Nevertheless, having said that, many his political rivals could like him and still oppose him.

[Ayre el KaBeer]

"Beast Master" ::thumbsup

[Sprocket]

::laugh Okay, time to respond to all that feedback I asked for... ::tongue

Re: "Beastmaster" enhancement- ::unsure

I actually thought about that earlier, but realized that:

>1- The Animal Mastery power has a minor function that essentially works as Tarzan-style "animal friendship", and

>2- The Pavlov's Bell enhancement should work an animals as well as it does on humans. I don't have it in front of me right now, but I'll see if a minor rewrite is needed to cover that possibility. ::wink

Re: Baha'i-

::blink Are you sure about that, Alex? Correct me if I'm wrong, but are you basing that statement on "Baha'i as portrayed in Trinity" or the Baha'i that you can find ads for in your average big-city newspaper's religion section? I'll delete the Baha'i reference if I'm incorrect, or maybe just rewrite it as "Sufi Islam and Baha'i". Either way's fine with me.

Re: The Look of Love-

Mechanics problems, eh? All right.

1- As this is a facet of Mega-Charisma and not a full-blown enhancement, I thought that giving the subject (more likely than not a baseline) a bonus on the WP roll to resist it would be well-balanced. ::smile

2- Actually, I'd only allow that in the case of subjects that unknowingly had bisexual orientation, and that's not anything I'd ever dare burden a player's character with! I'll be covering that possibility in the Mega-Manipulation essays, though- you'll probably see them posted here on New Year's Day. ::cool

3- And here I thought that I was going out of my way to make it weaker than an enhancement! ::biggrin For one thing, this functions off of Mega-Charisma, not Mega-Appearance; even the personality differences between identical twins have been known to be picked up on easily by a person who's infatuated with one of the twins. ::hehe

Also, as this functions off the charmer's Mega-Charisma dice (of which only the real social powerhouses like Raoul Orzaiz will have more that 3), I figured that this would be a nice minor power for Mega-Charisma. Especially since the subject can fall out of love as easily as he or she fell into it... ::devilangel

Re: Stalker novas-

The generic Obsession aberration works just fine, and it's official to boot! ::halo

Re: Orzaiz-

The example I had in mind were the Nazis' "facemen" who spoke glowingly of Hitler's "wondrous (yeah, right. ::sarcasm ) restoration of Germany prior to WWII. They were charming, handsome fellows who were invited to all the best parties in Europe and North America. When WWII broke out (along with proof of Hitler's atrocities), they were seen only as a more insidious variety of "filthy Nazi rat".

I'll post here again on New Year's Day- have fun 'til then!

[Alex Green]

Re: Baha'i-

I’m basing this on my former girlfriend, who was (and is) a member. To the best of my knowledge, they have their own Profit (aka Jesus & Mohammed). He was around a lot more recently than Mohammed. They are an off shoot of Islam in the same way that Islam is an off shoot of Christianity.

Re: The Look of Love-

RE: Mechanics problems

1- This seems like an odd point to introduce a new mechanic. So a –2 bonus translates to 2 autosucc to resist? Everything else in all of the books works the opposite way, by adding +1 (etc) difficulties.

2- I’d hope that this would never be used on a player character without some heads up by the ST.

3- I still have this image of someone with Copycat and M-Chr 4 using this to run around and make baselines truly fall in love with the wrong people. That isn’t a problem for me, except that it shouldn’t be free.

Re: Orzaiz-

I don’t know if I’d say that even those circumstances would reverse Mega-Chr’s impact. It seems that it would just make influencing people harder.

[Gideon]

That's good news, Gideon, but I have a few questions:

Questions are welcomed! ::biggrin !

1- Is the entirety of this thread going to be moved into this new forum, or are we going to have to repost what we've already put up?

Archer just said he would create a new forum, if we ask nicely, I think he would transfer this whole thread after New Years.

2- Just who all will be admitted to this new forum? Aside from the development team, we do have some other posters here at EON who've been kind enough to offer us ideas for new Mega-Social enhancements...

...I wanted to run a thread to see who was still involved, so we could build a list of active contribitors. I figure when it comes to requests for idea, we can post a new thread in the ABerrant Forum. I want to restate that I am not trying to rail-road this project, but it seemd like the new forum was just not happening.

3- I've been having second thoughts about your hosting of the Mega-Social book on your website, Gideon. Is it really a good idea? Why would someone bother to download the e-book from EON (once it's finished & made available) if they can just lift it from your site?

Well second-thoughts are good. I was only hosting it until we could find a home for it. Also, until we had a protected forum to host the data, I did not want to keep it in a "private" space, since Iwas not the sole developer. But we do need an authoratative source for all developers to reference. Once the new forum is password protected we can build a new pinned topic for the current version of the document.

4- I know that "Forceful Personalities" is just a working title, but it sounds really awkward compared to "Brainwaves", "Cult Of Personality", or "Brute Force". Are we going to take the time to come up with something better? I sure hope so.

So do in fact you could open a new topic in the forceful personalities forum for that very discussion.

My greatest hope was to encourage folks to take discussions of new write-ups out of the book thread (or vice versa) so that anyone not involved from the begining could read the more focused threads and get a concise picture of the development.

I will PM Archer about moving or at least copying the thread to the Forceful Personalities forum.

Gideon

[Gideon]

Mega-Charisma: Wow, great write-up. I feel like I like them already. ::cool

The Negative Difficulty mechanic woulod be a new mechanic. Though you could make them increased diff for the Charmer to succeed at all, as Alex suggested. and if you make them penalties for the Charmer, you could tone them to +1 and +2 respectively. Course the higher dificulties force the Charmer to be at a higher level of Mega-Charisma to suceed with normal effort.

[Sprocket]

Hello there, folks. ::smiley5 I've come back a little earlier than I'd originally planned, so I thought that I'd float a few ideas regarding our Mega-Social e-book project past you lot for consideration. BTW, I was able to check up on the EON site and this forum while I was away- I did see your feedback regarding the previous version of the Mega-Charisma essays, so I haven't been completely idle during the holiday celebrations. But more on that later.

Re: Baha'i reference-

Thanks for the heads-up, Alex- the reference has been deleted from the revised Mega-Charisma essays. ::cool

Re: The "Look of Love"-

Okay, okay! I can take a hint, you guys! ::laugh "Look of Love" has been removed from the essays and made over into a full-blown Mega-Charisma enhancement for the Mega-Social e-book. Details will come a bit later.

Re: "Beastmaster" enhancement-

Look in the "Chapter Four" topic of the "Forceful Personalities" forum, guys. What you want is there in the first post, only I renamed it "Bestial Rapport".

Re: "To Be The One They Love... To Hate"-

After rereading Alex Green's take on the likely post 2046-situation Orzaiz will find himself in, I have modified that section of the Mega-Charisma essays accordingly.

Re: Why I'm not posting this stuff right here on this forum- ::blink

Seeing as we've finally been given our own protected forum to use for the Mega-Social e-book project, I really see no reason to keep posting to this thread unless it's transplanted to the "Current Projects" forum. Provided that Archer has gotten the protection details worked out, I'll be posting this stuff over there.

[T-dev]

Firstly, love all the stuff. If I weren't working 60+ hours a week as a server these days I would sure be contributing & commenting more.

Something I have been wondering about that hasn't really been covered all that much is the awe factor. What I mean that a nova with Mega-Charisma or Appearence is so overwhelming as to leave baselines a little dazed. Also I think something should be mentioned about how a little misused Mega-social attribute can go along a way. For instance if a nova shows off his mega-socialness too much people won't even approach them. I mean didn't ever know a girl too pretty to talk if your a guy. Also, incredibly charasmatic leaders often find it hard to really connect with all those people in awe in them.

[Sprocket]

Hmm... Thanks for the reminders, T-dev. I'm not so sure of how the mechanics behind the situations you're describing would work out, though. ::unsure Mega-Attributes at 1 or 2 dots are not noticeably superhuman to baselines (see "Exceptionally Normal", page 155 of the Aberrant core book), so perhaps your "too beautiful/charismatic to approach easily" concept would only apply to novas with Mega-Appearance or Mega-Charisma at 3+ dots? Plus you should remember that some people (either due to extreme self-confidence, rampant egotism, and/or mental disorders) won't hesitate to approach an idol or charmer no matter how attractive or charming the nova is! ::bigsmile So, how does that sound? ::smile Anyway, I might add notes about these two ideas of yours in the Mega-Appearance and Mega-Charisma essays, provided that you like my take on them. Get back to me soon on that, okay?

BTW, I'll be posting those essays and whatever other new stuff we get for Chapter Four on the "Forceful Personalities" Forum, so be sure to get yourself on the password list when you have the time, T-dev. ::halo

[Alex Green]

...Mega-Attributes at 1 or 2 dots are not noticeably superhuman to baselines (see "Exceptionally Normal", page 155 of the Aberrant core book)...

That is only true unless they are used (i.e. unless we force the baseline to notice them).

Example: Joe Nova has M-Str 2, Q=1, Taint=0. He LOOKS human enough, but the first time he picks up a car he will get attention.

If you are going to pull the same trick with Mega-Appearence, then you had better have the Mr. Nobady enhancement. Otherwise he/she will look more attactive than ANY baseline. This will be as noticed as the use of mega-strength.

[Sprocket]

::blink So you think that "Exceptionally Normal" wouldn't apply in the case of idols and charmers? Fair enough- I'll go ahead and include those note I mentioned previously in the Mega-Appearance and Mega-Charisma essays. They'll be posted in the "Chapter Four" topic of the "Forceful Personalities" forum.

BTW, Alex- while you're over there, would you take some time to look at the new enhancements? I'd like a third opinion on how they've turned out. ::smile

[Alex Green]

Ah... where is our new forum? I seem to have missed the new address.

[Reighnhell]

Is it to late to submit suggestions? i have a mega-charisma enhancement for review.

Follow the Leader – A Nova with this enhancement can whip even the motliest band of Misfits into a well oiled unit.

By spending 1 quantum, the Nova may roll initiative for the entire group, with each character using the Leaders result (dice roll only; the players still use their own initiative modifier). The initiative bonus from Tactical Prodigy is factored into this result. Players may “Break Ranks” and choose to use their own initiative result if it is higher than the Leaders.

thanks.

[Sprocket]

Re: Our new address- ::smile

Look in the "Current Projects" section of the "EON Community" forum grouping, Alex. We're using the "Forceful Personalities" forum. I've no idea when it will become a protected forum, though- Archer will supposedly give all of us developers, contributors, etc. the password for it sometime in the near future.

Re: "Follow The Leader"-

I'll take a look at it, Reignhell, but there's no guarantees either way as to whether or not it will be used. ::wink But don't let that dissuade you from putting your ideas for other new Mega-Social enhancements on this topic! As it stands, we still need 4 more enhancements for Mega-Ugliness and about 5 more for Mega-Manipulation- the new enhancements for Mega-Charisma and Mega-Appearance are pretty much taken care of. ::bigsmile

[Ayre el KaBeer]

Is it to late to submit suggestions? i have a mega-charisma enhancement for review.

Follow the Leader – A Nova with this enhancement can whip even the motliest band of Misfits into a well oiled unit.

By spending 1 quantum, the Nova may roll initiative for the entire group, with each character using the Leaders result (dice roll only; the players still use their own initiative modifier). The initiative bonus from Tactical Prodigy is factored into this result. Players may “Break Ranks” and choose to use their own initiative result if it is higher than the Leaders.

thanks.

See mega-wits enhancement Synergy. Though the nova has no dirrect influence on his teammates he is the cause for them working so damned well together.

[Sprocket]

Re: "Follow the Leader"-

Dang it! I knew the effects of that proposed enhancement sounded familiar! ::laugh Nice try though, Reignhell. ::smile

Re: How many Mega-Social enhancements we are currently short by-

I've already posted this on "Forceful Personalities- Chapter Four", but I'll go ahead and post it here so that the folks who won't have a password for the "Forceful Personalities" forum won't be left guessing as to what we've already got and how many new Mega-Social enhancements we need. ::halo

>Mega-Appearance

Divine Visage (Sprocket), Eidolon (Sprocket), Fade (Alex Green), Halo Effect (Sprocket), Incognito (Alex Green), Kawaii (Sprocket), Two-Faced (Alex Green), Yin-Yang (Glitch), Enhancement (Author), Enhancement (Author).

2 more Mega-Appearance enhancements are needed.

>Mega-Ugliness

Anathema (Sprocket), Bête Noire (Sprocket), Disquieting (Sprocket), Gruesome (Sprocket), Mind-Shattering Horror (Sprocket), Minotaur Syndrome (Sprocket), Enhancement (Author), Enhancement (Author), Enhancement (Author), Enhancement (Author).

4 more Mega-Ugliness enhancements are needed.

>Mega-Manipulation

Evasive (Sprocket), Inquisition (Alex Green), Subtle (T-dev), Symphony of Touch (Glitch), Tactful (T-dev), Enhancement (Author), Enhancement (Author), Enhancement (Author), Enhancement (Author), Enhancement (Author).

5 more Mega-Manipulation enhancements are needed.

>Mega-Charisma

Autonomy (Sprocket), Bestial Rapport (Sprocket), Disconcerting (Sprocket), Look of Love (Sprocket), Pavlov's Bell (Glitch), Pedagogue (Sprocket), Politesse (Sprocket), Rancor (Sprocket), Rile (Alex Green), Enhancement (Author).

1 more Mega-Charisma enhancement is needed.

As you can see, our biggest deficits are in Mega-Ugliness and Mega-Manipulation. Now that you know what we need for our Mega-Social book, I'll be eagerly awaiting any new ideas that you guys throw our way. ::biggrin

[Reighnhell]

got an idea seed...

Mega-Manipulation ( an manipulation in general) often comes down to a knowledge of human behavior. a con artist chooses a mark and a politician influences opinion all based on how a certain type of person reacts to a certain stimulus. Perhaps a enhancement that reflects a uncanny ability to determine what kind of person the Nova is dealing with, and the ability to predict their course of action in any given situation. Maybe an added bonus if the Nova and target in question have similar ways of thinking ( same nature). after all, the target is only doing what the nova himself would do in that situation.

This is only the base idea, what this translates to mechanically I haven't figured out yet.

[Sprocket]

Hmm... That certainly sounds like something worth investigating, although the effect you're describing sounds like it could just as easily fall under the purview of Mega-Wits. ::unsure

[Reighnhell]

yeah, there is alot of bleed between the attributes. Wits covers alot of ground, and many things i would rule being perception based, another ST might rule as manipulation based. In such cases, I go with what feels right. In this case, reading people feels like a Manipulation trick.

[Alex Green]

Mega-Wits already has a "Figure out his core nature" enhancement.

And "Two Faced" could be listed as either a general or an ugly enhancement.

[Reighnhell]

"Human Nature" informs the nova of the targets nature, I was thinking of something that gives the Nova an edge in exploiting that targets nature.

few other idea seeds.

-Something that can alter a targets nature, like turning a caregiver into a monster, for a period of time.

-A enhancement that allows the nova to confuse and befuddle targets.

-Something that undermines the targets self-confidence, interfering with the use of Willpower.

thanks.

[Sprocket]

Re: Discerning Natures-

I'm starting to have doubts about that particular idea, Reignhell. ::unsure It sounds nice, but seeing as the Mega-Wits enhancement has already covered the "Nature detection" aspect, I'm not sure how much more of an edge a grifter could get from that knowledge.

Re: Nature alteration-

That sounds like something worthy of being written up as a level 3 or 4 power, Reignhell. It's not something that the basic Telepathy power should be capable of, but it doesn't sound quite powerful enough to belong in the Consciousness Supremacy suite of techniques. ::smile

Re: Confusing/befuddling targets-

That might be workable as a Mega-Manipulation enhancement. Perhaps it could work a lot like the "Turkey Curse" from the Principia Discordia? ::devilangel

Re: Enhancement that interferes with WP use-

Let me check the existing Mega-Ugliness material, Reignhell- one of the enhancements listed might do what you're describing. If it isn't it, I'm sure that it could easily be written up as a Mega-Ugliness enhancement! ::laugh I keep hearing that old "Look upon the (insert monster of the week) and despair" line whenever I think about it... ::rolleyes

Re: Two-Faced-

That particular enhancement has already been noted as being available to novas with either version of Mega-Appearance, Alex. It's gotten in and is going to stay AFAIK, so you don't have to keep plugging for it... ::hehe

[Reighnhell]

Re: Nature Alteration- I was thinking of a behavior alteration along the lines of a "Bad Influence". A normally chaste person starts hanging around a manipulative party animal, the next thing you know, the chaste person starts indulging in the party animals habits. Nothing permanant, but definately disturbing to anyone who knows the person who is acting differently. I see Mega-Manipulation as being all about influence, and turning a goody-two shoes into a rebel (or vice versa)is a classic example of Manipulation.

Re: WP interference- Less " Look upon me and despair" and more " I've seen little ones before, but thats microscopic!!". I was looking for a good confidence wrecking companion for Razor Wit. It would be a bit like Razor Wit for undermining your opponents confidence, but rather than a witty insult that rattles the subjects resolve, this would be finding a fundamental mental pressure point, and squeezing.

Re: Confusion- I am unfamiliar with Principia Discordia, but it sounds like fun!

[Sprocket]

Re: Nature Alteration-

The effect you're describing sounds somewhat less drastic than a radical and permanent alteration of a person's basic personality (which is exactly what changing a person's Nature would be). I can easily see it working as a Mega-Manipulation enhancement if the effect was temporary, though. (Say, lasting for the duration of an average night's worth of debauchery.) ::cool

Also, this wouldn't necessarily be limited to your "Bad Influence" concept- I can see religiously-inclined grifters using this to win a quick convert or two. I bet it would also be useful for getting people into situations where they could be brainwashed into joining a nova-cult without interference from their familes, friends, and whatnot. ::devilangel Go ahead and write it up!

Re: WP interference-

Nice idea, but Gideon might be working on something similar for the "Social Combat" mechanics for our Mega-Social book. You might want to talk with him about this enhancement. ::wink

Re: The Principia Discordia- ::hehe

Yes, it's very fun! It's also the font of weirdness that inspired The Illuminatus! Trilogy by Robert Shea & Robert Anton Wilson. You can order a copy of the Principia from either Loompanics or Steve Jackson Games.

[Gideon]

I'm not quite ready to present it for peer review, but Sprocket is correct that "social slams" of the quantum height are part of the social combat system I have been expanding from Wold Wide Phase 1. Your enhancement as it stands so far, is briefly described and does not seem to grant a new ability, so much as grant a bonus auto-success in social sparring. (an enhancement I was working on, Emotional Dig - gives the nova 1 automatic success on all social attack rolls - still thinking about it too).

For the record, I think the ability to Perceive mental soft spots, would be a mega-mental enhancement normally (Analyze Weakness/Tactical Prodigy/Natural Empath/Human Nature), and using that knowledge to best effect would be a manipulation ,possibly charisma, attack depending on the intent.

Just so I'm not leaving you high and dry, the gist is that in the standard ST system, anyone can socially assault another with verbal and body language use, this is often manifested with Etiquette, Interrogation, Intimidation, Seduction, etc.

But a nova with mega-social traits can work it at a whole new level. Certain enhancements give bonuses to these tasks, but a mega-charismatic that criticises another person (nova or baseline), will have a powerful affect (imagine someone you idolize (think the highest praise) criticising your fashion sense, you would want to change, just to improve what they thought of you, and thats without the aid of Inspiration, Awe Inspiring or Commanding Presence!), and a sufficiently social nova with mega-traits in Charisma, Appearance, Manipulation and Wits would wipe the floor with any opponent (metaphoricly). That being said, I have put together a few maneuvers one can perform in the social martial art, and one that forces the victim to spend Willpower just to recover from the attack in a timely fashion (Afterall one recovers 1 WP after every good night's rest).

Anyway, what I am saying may not be hitting exactly what you were aiming at, since the description was still undeveloped.

Thats my 2.5 cents

edited message, to clarify a couple pronouns and fix a vague direct object.

[Sprocket]

Just so that you folks know, I've put up some more Mega-Social enhancements (Jan. 6th posting) on the Chapter Four topic on the Forceful Personalities forum. Now that they've been critiqued and presented for review again, I'm hoping that most of them will get in. Here's a revised Tally of what else we'll need if my latest enhancements all pass muster.

>Mega-Appearance

Divine Visage (Sprocket), Eidolon (Sprocket), Fade (Alex Green), Halo Effect (Sprocket), Incognito (Alex Green), Kawaii (Sprocket), Two-Faced (Alex Green), Yin-Yang (Glitch), Enhancement (Author), Enhancement (Author).

2 more Mega-Appearance enhancements are needed.

>Mega-Ugliness

Anathema (Sprocket), Bête Noire (Sprocket), Disquieting (Sprocket), Gruesome (Sprocket), Mind-Shattering Horror (Sprocket), Minotaur Syndrome (Sprocket), Enhancement (Author), Enhancement (Author), Enhancement (Author), Enhancement (Author).

4 more Mega-Ugliness enhancements are needed.

>Mega-Manipulation

Confessor (Sprocket), Evasive (Sprocket), Inquisition (Alex Green), Lure (Sprocket), Mediator (Sprocket), Subtle (T-dev), Symphony of Touch (Glitch), Tactful (T-dev), Enhancement (Author), Enhancement (Author).

2 more Mega-Manipulation enhancements are needed.

>Mega-Charisma

Autonomy (Sprocket), Bestial Rapport (Sprocket), Disconcerting (Sprocket), Look of Love (Sprocket), Pavlov's Bell (Glitch), Pedagogue (Sprocket), Persona (Sprocket), Politesse (Sprocket), Rancor (Sprocket), Rile (Alex Green).

No more Mega-Charisma enhancements are needed.

As of Jan. 7th, I'm keeping the last two enhancement slots open for two concepts submitted by Gideon ("Convert") and Reignhell ("Bad Influence"). Providing that their concepts can be worked into useable enhancements, they will be used in the Mega-Manipulation section of Chapter Four. if they don't pass muster, the slots will be once again up for grabs. ::wink

If you're reading this, Reignhell, then please get that "Bad Influence" enhancement to me ASAP! It would be a crying shame to let something so delightfully wicked slip out of our greddy little hands... ::devilangel

[Alex Green]

BTW; I'm working on a 6+ Mega-Manipulation.

It is nasty and abusive. ::devil

[Sprocket]

Re: new Mega-Ugliness enhancements-

What? ::blink Nobody has any ideas for new Mega-Ugliness enhancements? Given the delightfully twisted imaginations that most EON posters seem to have in common, you'd think that we'd have received at least a few suggestions... ::devilangel

[phoenix]

What! Is that a challenge? Aye! Avast! ::pirate

Shock Therapy

The physical effects of fear on the human brain is well documented. A good scare causes release of adrenaline into the system, causing muscle stimulation to be enhanced, memories to be recorded sometimes almost permanently, and other muscles to.. relax. And if that's a "good" scare, imagine what a nova-level scare is capable of..

Suggested system: using bonus to enhance Teaching rolls for the nova (for really basic subject matter), or for might rolls or sprinting speed for the subject for three turns.

Halloween

Mega-Ugliness isn't about ugliness; it's about fear and disgust. Many mega-ugly novas are superficially barely different from mega-attractive novas, or even beautiful baselines. Some mega-ugly novas have developed a very basic control over fear, such that they are capable of disassociating it from themselves and imprinting it temporarily on a victim's mental imprint. Such a victim cannot relieve himself of the terror until the chemical effects run their course, and he will be especially terrified of other people or animate objects.

For a scene, the victim reacts to all other people as though they had Face of Terror (and were using it, wise guys).

Hah! Take them or leave them, just a couple of brainstorms. They probably need system modification badly. ::blush

[Alex Green]

New Mega-ugly enhancement: Revolting

This enhancement makes the nova's appearence so horrible that most people simply can't bear to look at him.

System: Anyone trying to attack the nova must make a willpower roll against the nova's Appearence. If they fail they must try to attack the nova without looking directly at him. HTH and ranged attacks may be launched at the nova, but the victim must subtract the nova's mega-appearence dots from their dice pool (Mega dice first). This enhancement costs one quantum per turn, or three for a scene.

[Reighnhell]

Lets try these idea seeds..

Trauma- The horror of the nova's appearance lingers with the victim. For a period of time after seeing the Nova, the target suffers the effect of one of the nova's Mega-Ugly enhancements just by being reminded of the Mega-Ugly nova ( seeing a picture, name bieng spoken, etc.).

Pitiable- The Mega-Ugly nova inspires a deep sense of pity in targets. While not very flattering, it can stay the hand of an attacker or curry favor with those more fortunate. Useless against another Mega-Ugly Nova's.

Heart-Stopping-Quantum 6+. The Mega Ugly nova can literally cause victims to drop dead from fright. Some kind of Appearance vs Resistance roll to damage a target. Victims that survive are usually marred in some way ( white Hair, visible aging, etc.)

all for now

[Gideon]

On Trauma: the duration could be 10 days minus the victim's Willpower, and where a botch on the resistance roll gets them a permanent Mental aberration? ::blink ? just two thoughts.

[Sprocket]

Re: New suggestions for Mega-Ugliness enhancements-

::bigsmile All right! Finally, we're getting some new thoughts on this subject! ::laugh

I'll happily take the time to look over all of your latest suggestions, folks, but you might want to look at the Mega-Ugliness enhancements that are already in the existing Mega-Ugliness document. You can find it in my Nov. 9th posting on page 15 of this topic. That way, we won't have to guess which ideas for Mega-Ugliness have or haven't already been used. ::wink

[FlyingIrony]

I've been following this thread for a while, and I haven't posted on it yet, so I just wanna say by starting off you guys are all saints for commiting to a project like this, it's alot of work but it's damn time we got our mega attribute books...so basically, awesome idea, thanks guys

okay, my thoughts:

RE: shock therapy...I'm no better at systems, but I'd say you roll your mega-ugliness and add those successes to an action that you commanded someone else to do. Here's a thought on it though: since they're scared and less careful, maybe they have an increased chance of screwing up, is there someway to increase their chance of botching or somethin...I dunno, just an idea.

RE: Heart Stopping...really, really powerful. Causes an attack just by someone looking at you and even if they survive they pick up a low level abberation? holy moley are the only words that come to mind. then again...it is quantum 6+. Maybe you could say that if half their health levels are taken away they pick up the abberation or something...and what kinda damage is it, doesn't look like it can be soaked, unless you got some kinda eye armor, haha

RE: Trauma...not really adding anything here, but I like that 10 days minus willpower...maybe a botch could mean 20 days minus willpower or make it minus willpower successes or something...a permanent abberation is kinda powerful.

Here's a thought, variation on heart stopping, but for the weaker crowd:

Terror Overload

A brain, human or nova, can only handle so much. Mega-Ugly novas with this ability may focus their will on one person, causing them to be overwhelmed by their sheer ugliness, effectively shorting our their brain.

System: The Nova must focuse on one person to overload their brain. The nova rolls their appearance against the victims willpower. Any successes over the victims willpower are used to stun the victim (a la the stun power...unfortunately I don't have my book with me and it beats me how that works exactly)

Well, there's a few critiques and an idea of my own...my idea needs some help of its own, both in description and system...or maybe it needs to be scrapped altogether...just my two cents, love to help out with all this anyway I can

[Sprocket]

Re: new Mega-Ugliness enhancements-

Out of the suggestions tendered by Phoenix, Alex Green and Reignhell, I've selected three concepts and have written them up as full-blown Mega-Ugliness enhancements. They will be posted on the "Chapter Four" topic in the "Forceful Personalities" forum. They're still in the beta-test phase, though- so would the respective authors please give me some feedback ASAP? Thanks! ::wink

Re: FlyingIrony's praise, suggestions, etc.-

::blink Saints? Us?! Thanks, I guess. ::rolleyes ::cool

As to your proposed Mega-Ugliness enhancement... I'm really hesitant to approve an enhancement that essentially mimics the effects of an already-established quantum power. ::unsure Nice try, though. ::smile