Aberrant RPG - Mega-Attribute Books

[Reighnhell]

This is a general thanks to Sprocket, for all the material that has been posted. I am assembling a home-brew book of my own, and so much of your material has been worked in it would be criminal not to give you your propers. Thanks again.

P.S: I have scanned the whole site for the Aberrant Compendium and can't find it, so give me a link if you please.

[Alex Green]

Re: the "Me!" enhancement-

No matter how many times I read through this, Alex, it still sounds like one heck of a white elephant as far as enhancemnts go. I mean, there are easier ways for a nova to make a target of himself without developing an enhancment expressly for that purpose! Really, it seems like little more than painting a bullseye on one's chest- while I can see the appeal for a masochistic nova, few others would want that enhancement.

ME! basically says you MUST attack and you MUST attack Me!

Normally this is a bad thing, but let's take the Dark Matter Destroyer (see QZ: Elites). DMD soak is so high that normally he loses by people running away from him. Imagine him turning on "ME!" in a fight with a bunch of other novas. They all attack him. Even when they can't hurt him. Even if a miss will hit their allies. His allies attack them. Even when it become apparent that if they stay they will lose, they still attack him.

You could do the same with Density Decrease.

You could also force someone holding hostiages to attack you rather than them.

You can also use this Out of combat. You and another guy are trying to impress a girl (or a diplomat, or whoever), and all of a sudden he looses his cool and either physically or verbally attacks you. Even if it gets him arrested or thrown out of the building or whatever.

I saw the Silver Surfer use this and use it well (although his foe had a compulsion to kill SS). He knew that dropping forcefield and physically attacking was stupid. And he did it anyway.

[Sprocket]

Re: the "Me!" enhancement-

Well, if you put it that way, Alex... I suppose it could be workable, but it still needs to be rewritten a bit. Perhaps the enhancement could make the nova's foes disregard common sense and/or their strategic/tactical knowledge in their frenzied rush to attack the nova? You might also want to make the enhancement function off the nova using his Mega-Charisma in order to make himself superhumanly obnoxious enough so that the nova's foes will have some real motivation to try and wring his neck... ::devil

Re: Autonomy-

Alex, I would really like to hear what you, Gideon, Bahamut or any of the other regular posters for this forum would consider to be the Social equivalents of poison, gases, disease and drugs. And what would the Social equivalents of "especially virulent diseases" and nova-derived poisons be? Any of you lot got some ideas on those questions?

Re: Reignhell's use of my material in his "homebrewed" book-

Reignhell, I hope that you're only using that book of yours with the material from this forum for gaming with your group of players. In case you hadn't noticed, all of this material that makes it past peer review is slated to be used in the "Social Mega-Attributes" e-book that will be available for download here on EON once it is finished. I can understand your impatience with the slow pace of development this project has, but I'd rather you didn't place that little book of yours on a Website or anything. This is one of those times when I wish that we'd already gotten a protected forum for the project of ours...

(And yes, I am aware that Gideon is putting up the material from this forum on his Website- he'd started doing so back when EON looked like it was go under for the third time, and wanted us to have an alternate location for the finished e-book.)

[Alex Green]

...the Social equivalents of poison, gases, disease and drugs. And what would the Social equivalents of "especially virulent diseases" and nova-derived poisons be? Any of you lot got some ideas on those questions?

The social equiv would be implanted orders, directions, and other delayed social bombshells. I.e. someone plants it and it grows.

This either means Creeping Paranoia and Hypnotic suggestions or long term influence from Mega Socials (or both).

How about, "A nova with this ability shakes off implanted suggestions, delusions, compulsions, and undue influence with remarkable speed. Treat time away from that influence as multiplied by 10 (one hour's separation is treated as 10 hours separation). If allowed, Willpower rolls to resist are made at the increased duration (meaning they come 10 times faster)."

-----------

And can anyone think up a better name for ME! ?

[Reighnhell]

No worries, all the stuff that I didn't come up with is credited ( it's common courtesy), and I have no intentions of letting it go beyond my own people.

Thanks again.

[Sprocket]

Re: Reignhell's "homebrew" book-

That's fine, as long as you do keep it to yourselves. ::wink (You'll find the Aberrant Compendium in the Aberrant section of EON's Powers page.)

Re: Autonomy-

Your take on those Social equivalents of mundane poisons/gases/etc. (and how Autonomy protects against them) sounds all right as far as it goes, Alex. It's just that I'm not sure that it goes far enough. ::unsure

I know that you think that Adaptability is overpowered (that's what I based Autonomy on), so perhaps the "automatic immunity" facet could be applied to mundane versions of those psychosocial bombshells you mentioned?

As for Creeping Paranoia, Hypnotic suggestions, and the long-term effects of Social Mega-Attributes; wouldn't they be comparable to "especially virulent diseases" and nova-derived poisons? I'd be inclined to apply the "+6 social soak/extra social Resistance dice" facet to those threats. I can understand the reasoning behing the altered mechanics you proposed- after all, not everyone's going to use the Social Combat rules- but would it offer a similar degree of protection?

Re: Better name for "ME!"-

I don't have a definite term on the tip of my tongue, Alex, but here's something you might think about. If you follow my previous suggestion to make the enhancement function off of Mega-Charisma being used to make the nova superhumanly obnoxious, you could use an appropriate slang term for an obnoxious person. (Just be sure to pick one that isn't considered "foul language"- the guys at White Wolf might have gotten away with it, but EON's moderators are a bit more straight-laced that that. ::laugh )

[Sprocket]

Re: corrections to Mega-Ugliness & Mega-Appearance material-

I've made some minor corrections to both the Mega-Ugliness section (the version with "The New Pariahs" on page 15 of this forum) and the Mega-Appearance material (on page 22). Please replace your current versions of those sections with the corrected versions. Thank you.

[Gideon]

I've updated the relavant pages here, in addition to adding the Mega-Appearance additionas and edits I updated the Introduction page with the new Lexicon.

Sprocket, thanks for the rewrites, I knew the definitions were spotty, but I did not have time to write them up nicely. Thanks, I likes. ::biggrin

On Social Poison, disease, etc.

I have been working with this very idea for a while for chapter 2. I have the idea of (maybe) adding an effective Reputation trait for socially oriented campaigns. The idea that one can damage a nova's rep with either Bashing, Lethal or Aggravated damage. The idea being a bashing attack only tarnishes your rep for a short time, via weak innuendo, or out-right lies (it will clear in time, or once the target makes some public rebuttle), lethal would be the revelation of a major blenish not directly related to the target's reputation (sex scandal or gambling problem for a target not in either a possition of modest power or sports respectively), or aggravated would be lethal damage that no base-line could recover from (accusations of child molestation, lying in court (if honesty is basis of reputation), murder), but a nova with the right powers could remove with time and effort.

Poisons: Blackmail attacks, as well threatening to tell an out-right lie that can not be easily disproved, Rumor Mongering can poison the social life of a victim.

Diseases: Guilt be association, i.e. victim is accused of corrupting politicians, any politician associated with them is suspected by association. Mass Hysteria, mob mentality are forms of social diseases.

Toxic Environments: Placing a known political liberal in a room of conservative lobbyists (thats toxic for the outnumbered side!), resistance would be the ability to cope without seeming harried or threatened. Placing a member of an ethnic minority in a Supremist Hate Rally. These are all toxic environements on a social system. Note that in my oppinion any environment of hate, fear and paranoia is "toxic" and contageous.

A side note: Immunity to social pressures should never be confused with personal intimidation, intimidation has always been an internal mechanic for humans. e.g. two people walk into a Punk Club and both are treated the same, the young punk feels very comfortable, while the conservative banker is afraid he will be beaten-up. This will happen independantly of any actual interraction. Besides this is normally resisted with Willpower.

I think a better enhancement would be one that protects the nova from subconscious influences of their environement, or the ability to adapt their social nuances and perceptions to see the new environment as it truely is and to see were the real threats are. i.e. I notice that of the ten gang members in the bar, the two gang-members by the jukebox are not really a threat (even though they are playing with their knives), but the three memebers by the bar appear to be getting ready to start some real trouble (for me or someone else). This is something I would know (or pick-up) if I normally hung out at gang bars, but as a mild-manner coffee house frequenter, without this enhancement I would feel in danger from all the regulars, and not perceive the different nuances.

Just a thought.

[Bahamut810]

Danget....now I feel guilty. Ill start working on the cults again. I have some stuff that needs changed...

[Sprocket]

Hey there, folks. Thanks for your feedback, it helped quite a bit. ::thumbsup

Re: Mega-Social Lexicon slang-

Not a problem, Gideon. Feel free to keep them coming. ::biggrin

Re: Gideon's work on Chapter 2 and Social combat-

Gideon, I really hope that you have a copy of Aberrant Worldwide: Phase I on hand. If for some reason you don't, get a copy of it ASAP! On pages 16-17, you'll find White Wolf's "bare-bones" version of the Social Combat rules that you are attempting to develop. Once you have those to work from, you'll be able to simply flesh the Social Combat rules out instead of having to reinvent them wholesale. You will also be able to avoid the embarrassing situation of having some rules lawyer pointing out that your "homebrew" rules contradicts the "official" material in Aberrant Worldwide: Phase I. ::devilangel

Re: Autonomy and Social equivalents of certain physical threats/necessities for human survival-

Having gone over my reference materials again and looked at the posted suggestions of others on this forum, I'd like to present my revised take on the Social dangers and needs that I think Autonomy would protect against. This time, I'm treating Autonomy as much more of a straight adaptation of the Adaptability (Mega-Stamina) enhancement than I have previously. If nobody else on this project's development team has any real problems with the outline I'm presenting below, I will rewrite the Autonomy enhancement in accordance with it ASAP and add it to the "New Enhancements" portion of the main "Mega-Charisma section" document.

I: Social Needs-

Adaptability frees a nova from the necessities of breathing, sleeping, or having to consume food and beverages. Novas with Adaptability can still enjoy those activities- they're pleasurable, after all- but they don't need to engage in them in order to survive. The social needs of humans that seem to be just as necessary for their survival are:

1: Social ties (belonging to a social group- family, community, religion, patrons of a certain bar, etc.),

2: Affection and/or Friendship from others within one's social group, and

3: Social recognition as and respect for being a vital part of a social group.

II: Hostile Social Environments-

Adaptability allows a nova to survive in diverse and extremely hostile environments like outer space, Death Valley, the photosphere of the Sun, Antarctica, the bottom of the Pacific Ocean, the surface of Mars, the atmosphere of Jupiter and the human-waste-disposal sewers of a 20th or early 21st Century city without any harm whatsoever. The only social environments that I felt were just as unhealthy for human life were:

1: physical and/or social isolation from other homo sapiens,

2: extreme social pressures,

3: all forms of degradation, and

4: functioning within a hostile (prejudiced/hateful/fearful/paranoid) social group.

III: Automatic Immunity-

Adaptability grants a nova automatic immunity to most poisons, gases, diseases and drugs. The social equivalents of these environmental threats appear to be:

1: implanted suggestions/delusions/compulsions (either via mundane mind-control/brainwashing techniques or nova techniques such as Hypnotic effects or Creeping Paranoia),

2: the detrimental aspects of group psychology such as mass hysteria and the mob mentality,

3: psychosomatic damage/illness (emotional damage can and does manifest as physical damage), and

4: the long-term effects of Social Mega-Attributes and their enhancements.

IV: Increased Protection-

Adaptability also grants a nova an extra 6 soak or Resistance dice against especially virulent diseases and nova-derived poisons. This effectively mimics the effect of 1 dot of the Invulnerability power, focused on both forms of the level 2 Poison power. The only level 2 powers that could act as the Social equivalents of the Poison power would seem to be Empathic Manipulation and Domination. If so, this would result in:

1: Six extra Willpower successes against Empathic Manipulation and Domination attempts made against the Autonomous nova.

V: Minor Benefit-

Adaptability increases a nova's lifespan by centuries, at a minimum. As there's really no way to directly translate this physical benefit into a social one, I'm taking Gideon's suggestion and adding the ability to adapt one's social perceptions to accurately judge one's surroundings.

1: The nova's social perceptions will automatically adjust to her current environment, allowing her to accurately perceive real threats (and the lack of same) or opportunities in surroundings that she may be unfamiliar with. (Example: an Autonomous nova used to patronizing downtown coffeehouses would be able to correctly recognize potential threats when going into a hip-hop club, as opposed to feeling that everyone around her is hostile.)

Feedback is welcomed, as always... ::cool

[Alex Green]

IV: Increased Protection-

Adaptability also grants a nova an extra 6 soak or Resistance dice against especially virulent diseases and nova-derived poisons. This effectively mimics the effect of 1 dot of the Invulnerability power, focused on both forms of the level 2 Poison power. The only level 2 powers that could act as the Social equivalents of the Poison power would seem to be Empathic Manipulation and Domination. If so, this would result in:

1: Six extra Willpower successes against Empathic Manipulation and Domination attempts made against the Autonomous nova.

EM yes, Domination no. Domination is not a social power (because for some odd reason WW seperates thoughts and emotions). Thus Psi-Shield protects against Telepathy & Domination but not EM. The reverse should be true in this case.

[Gideon]

WorldWide Phase I: Yes I have it, and yes I have a hand copied version of the rules on reference. I am actually working on integratating my ideas to fit the "cannon", the largest problem I am having is that the rules are written as guide-lines, for a "fast and dirty" social warfare system on a large scale. It does not meet interpersonal social combat, unless you just use the normal social interraction rules. This is fine, but I am having a hard time adjusting the large scale conflicts for open-ended conflict. i.e. The rules assume that the contestants are fighting for a common goal. Not in opposition of the outcome. It also assumes that they have the same audiences. I am trying to work these out and also add further filler for the feel and intent of the system. (I am realy worried that someone new to the system will not understand that the system is only ment to simulate the subtle interplay of the nova and the mass media, not the nova with small groups and individuals. Such fun. ::cool

A note on the out-line:

1> Alex has a good point, that should be addressed, WW's seperation of cognative functions and emotive.

2> Just an idea for section I. The independance from emotional or social needs has a name in normal baseline culture and medicine, psychotic disassociative syndrome. It is a common syndrome found in serial killers, psychotic or sociopathic. Once a human ceases to feel a need for a connection with their fellow humans, they no longer have any guilt or worry about hurting or killing other living beings. It becomes the same as mowing the lawn (for most baselines), just an activity to be completed. This social interconnection is what keeps real-world society from falling apart. so while this will be an interresting enhancement (you could mention that while totentanz obvously does not possess it (he is showing guilt marlkers in his behavior in Elites) if he ever developed it, he would be a truely emotionalless killing machine) it would be diagnossed by any physician without psychic abilities (perhaps even with it) as mentally ill, and such a mental state in a nova would be defined as criminally insane ::hehe . (heck maybe the novas never went insane, maybe they all developed this enhancement)

[Sprocket]

Re: Autonomy's "Increased Protection" facet-

So you guys (Alex and Gideon) think that it would protect against only Empathic Manipulation? Hmm... Having once more looked over the write-up for Psychic Shield in the Aberrant Core Book, I'll have to agree with you there.

So, how about this:

IV-1: Autonomy grants the nova six extra Willpower successes against Empathic Manipulation and similar emotion-controlling effects.

Does that sound about right to you two? If so, I'll go ahead and change the outline, rewrite Autonomy to fit the revised outline, and add it to the "New Enhancements" section. And that will be one less problem for us to worry about... ::smile

Re: Psychotic Dissociative Syndrome-

::blink Gideon, the mental disorder you've just described is NOT the same as Autonomy. While an Autonomous nova can indeed survive without having the emotional/social ties that baseline humans need for their survival, that does NOT mean that an Autonomous nova would forego those ties unless he/she absolutely had to. An Autonomous nova derives the exact same pleasures and benefits from his or her emotional/social ties as baselines and most novas do- it's just that he or she won't sicken and die when deprived of them. Besides, it's a cinch that Divis Mal and Jeremiah Scripture both have Adaptability- but both of them still enjoy good food and drink, and they still enjoy fresh air. Autonomy functions in much the same way; it lets a nova retain the beneficial consequences of his emotional/social ties while protecting him against the detrimental consequences. The mental disorder you described sounds more like losing any and all capacity to form emotional/social attachments with other people.

BTW, there's a "Sociopathy" aberration listed in Aberrant: Brainwaves, in the Mega-Intelligence section. That aberration does sound an awful lot like the mental disorder you described. ::halo

Re: Disconcerting enhancement-

The debate over the mechanics of this enhancement seems to have died down. Shall I go ahead and use the existing version in the "New Mega-Charisma Enhancements" portion of the "Mega-Charisma section" document? Speak up if you've still got a beef with it- but be prepared to offer up a decent substitute in it's place! If your alternative doesn't sound good to me, I'll use the present version.

[Alex Green]

Re: Psychotic Dissociative Syndrome-

I.e. a nova with autonomy gets all the advantages of Sociopathy (or Emotionless) with none of the disadvantages. I don't have a problem with that.

IV-1: Autonomy grants the nova six extra Willpower successes against Empathic Manipulation and similar emotion-controlling effects.

"Similar emotion-controlling effects" would be most of the Mega-Social enhancements.

Since Adaptation lets you adapt, how about "this enhancement gives the nova an additional six extra willpower successes against any social ability or power that lasts longer than one scene, and/or against any control power (Hypnosis or Empathic Manipulation) where the attacking nova ceases to concentrate."

Example: While Manipulative Sue uses her Empathic Manipulation on Autonomy Frank, Frank doesn't get the bonus. But as soon as she turns her attention else where assuming that Frank will continue to feel what she wants him to, Frank gets an extra 6 succ on his willpower roll as he adapts to her control.

[Gideon]

Autonomy: Good Enough, I was going off the outline, and wanted to make sure that the internal change was not forced.

My point was that an external observer would see the behavior marks of a borderline personality, if they were to watch this enhancement in action. e.g.

[image: a guy whistling in hell as he moves his wheel barrel, caption: We're just not getting to this guy.(Farside, by Gary Larson)]

comes to mind. I was not trying to say the nova would have to be mentally ill, just that they would exhibit the behavior of certain illnesses. Recall that serial killers and the like are ussually described (by those that knew them) as, "uncharacteristicly charismatic", and likable people. It is believed that their ability to be unfazed by any emotional (or social) pressure that let them excell in the social arena, and in murder.

Think about it, if you saw a guy yelled at and made fun of every day, if you saw him being picked on (social censure), and degraded, and through out it all he just smiled and went on with his day. Wouldn't you worry about his mental stability? I recognize this enhancement's protection, but it is a social defense and its defense gives the nova immunity to things that only a few baselines have even basic defenses against.

I actually like this enhancement the more I think about it, especially with the mentioned edit above. I just wanted to make sure I am reading what you mean, and not putting my own spin on it. (I tend to do that ::smile )

Disconcerting: For the record I am happy (accepting?) with it as it stands.

Sprocket: By the way I just finished rereading the Aberrant Compendium last night, you really covered a lot of cool ideas. Please keep up the great work and contributions! ::smokin

EDIT: fixed a couple typos and a glaring word swap (changed my meaning)

[Sprocket]

Much thanks for the quick response, guys. ::thumbsup

Re: Autonomy facet IV-

Your idea sounds good, Alex, but it doesn't quite match the protection Adaptability grants against nova-derived poisons and "especially virulent diseases"- these two types of threats are often fast-acting, especially since the latter type is often a deliberately-engineered biowarfare agent. Would limiting the protection offered by this facet of Autonomy to Empathic Manipulation and Hypnotic effects work better? (Whoops! ::blush Sorry for that little mental slip there, Alex- I got sidetracked for a moment. I think I'll incorporate your idea on Facet IV of Autonomy into the finished version, but I'll have to tinker with it a little bit. Hope you like the results! ::biggrin )

Re: Autonomy appearing as "borderline personality" behavior-

Thanks for the tip, Gideon. I'll include a mention of that in the opening paragraph of Autonomy, which I will post here in a little while. ::smile

But there's one thing I will point out, though. Just because Autonomy prevents a nova from being emotionally/psychologically damaged from the situations you've described does not mean that he will put up with them if he doesn't have to. They're still unpleasant, but the nova can either ignore/put up with them or deal with his tormentors without being hampered by their disrespectful treatment of him.

Re: Disconcerting-

Thanks again for the quick responses- I'll go ahead and transfer it to the document.

Re: Psychotic Dissociative Disorder-

That's okay, Gideon- I'll just make the differences between Autonomy and this mental disorder very clear while also touching on the slight, superficial resemblance. ::devilangel

[Sprocket]

Re: Autonomy version 2.0-

Okay, folks- I've got the (hopefully ::bigsmile ) finished version of the Autonomy (Mega-Charisma) enhancement ready for you to look over. Assuming that no one on the development team has a problem with it, it'll go into the "New Enhancements" portion of the "Mega-Charisma section" document. Enjoy!

Autonomy

Despite the Hollywood myth of rugged individualism, all humans (and most novas) remain extremely social creatures. The saying that "no man is an island" isn't just a cliché, but is part and parcel of our evolution as social beings. Clint Eastwood aside, a human's sense of self-worth is almost entirely dependent on the admiration of and reassurance by his or her social peers. The varied problems of belonging to a social group are inescapable for the most part, as socially isolated humans inevitably become depressed and suffer from poor health as a result of their alienation. Usually, these ostracized humans die an early death.

A Mega-Charismatic nova with this enhancement is the exception to that rule, as his evolved psyche allows him to survive in social circumstances that would quickly drive a baseline to a premature death. The near-indestructible sense of self-worth possessed by an Autonomous nova not only allows him to function effectively without the support or approval of a social group, but also lets him excel in the social arena. As Autonomous novas are unfazed by emotional and social pressures, the effects of this enhancement superficially resemble and are sometimes mistaken for actual mental illness. Understandably, this misperception makes many researchers into nova psychology rather worried. A few such researchers have made spurious claims that Autonomous novas actually suffer from a form of Psychotic Dissociative Syndrome. Likening the social group to a multicellular organism, they have declared Autonomous novas to be the social equivalent of cancer cells: rogue individuals who benefit by putting their own needs before that of the social group. That bit of pseudoscientific tripe is ridiculed by the scientific mainstream, although it receives enthusiastic support from the Church of Michael Archangel and other anti-nova organizations.

System: The nova can sustain himself emotionally and psychologically for an indefinite period on residual quantum energies, so long as he retains at least one quantum point in his Quantum Pool. The Autonomous nova has no need for (but still enjoys and will desire) social attachments, the affection and friendship of others, or social recognition. He can also survive indefinitely in hostile social environments such as physical and/or social isolation from other people, extreme social pressures, all forms of degrading circumstances, and functioning within a hostile (prejudiced, hateful, fearful, or paranoid) social group. The nova is automatically immune to implanted suggestions, delusions, and compulsions (either via mundane mind-control and brainwashing methods or nova techniques such as Hypnotism and Creeping Paranoia), detrimental aspects of group psychology such as mass hysteria and the mob mentality, psychosomatic damage and illness, and the long-term effects of Social Mega-Attributes. The nova also gains six extra Willpower successes against Empathic Manipulation and/or any social ability or power that lasts longer than one scene. Finally, the nova's social perceptions will automatically adjust to his current environment, allowing him to accurately perceive real threats (or the lack of same) and opportunities in surroundings that he may be unfamiliar with.

Note: Autonomous novas still retain their full capacity to enjoy social ties, the affection and friendship of other people, and social recognition. Autonomy simply allows a nova to survive without them when necessary. It's like always having the option of being automatically fed intravenously in case of famine- the stuff in the I.V. drip will sustain human life, but it's nowhere near as pleasurable as eating a meal at a good restaurant. As both novas and baseline humans tend to seek pleasure for its own sake, Autonomous novas will most definitely seek to form and maintain emotional and social attachments with other people when possible. This differs greatly from actual cases of Psychotic Dissociative Syndrome, in which the victim doesn't feel the need for and has no capacity to form social and emotional attachments to other people. This mental disorder is often found in serial killers, as they no longer have any guilt or worry about hurting or killing other living beings.

Re: The Aberrant Compendium-

I'm glad you liked it, Gideon, but there are two things you have to remember about it.

>1: I didn't come up with all of those delightful toys- I can only claim 25% of the enhancements, most of the aberrations, and all of the Body Modifications as mine. The rest of them were written up by members of my old Aberrant gaming group, which disbanded about this time last year. As I got stuck with all our old gaming notes, I had to figure out what to do with them. So, I started posting them on the "New Powers" forum for peer review and critiquing instead of just tossing them into a dumpster. Things pretty much developed from there... ::hehe

>2: The Aberrant Compendium is the product of three years' worth of Aberrant gaming. The only reason that I was able to pump out so much stuff in so little time is that there was quite a backlog to work from. Sorry, but there's no way that I'm going to be able to match that rate of production working from scratch! ::devilangel

Re: Alex Green's "Me!" enhancement-

Now that Autonomy is out of the way (hopefully), have you had any progress on that enhancement of yours? ::cool

(Edit: Changed the previous metaphor to a more appropriate one.)

[Gideon]

Autonomous: In the last paragraph I would suggest changing the last "Psychotic Dissociative Syndrome" into "Psychotic Dissociation"... sounds better and is still accurate.

"This differs greatly from actual cases of Psychotic Dissociation, in which the victim doesn't feel the need for and has no capacity to form social and emotional attachments to other people. "

Also, since you already mentioned PDS in the previous paragraph the more generalized term might make it sound less geeky to the non-Psyche masses. (I hope).

Compendium: Wow, I did not know the history behind the document, thanks for the background, but I figure you have another 30 or so enhancements in you, so get them wrapped up by tomorrow... ::crazy ::tongue ::rolleyes

[Alex Green]

Mega-Charisma enhancement: Me! re-visited.

Rile:

Some people can really get under other's skins, like fingernails on a chalkboard, something about them just rubs others the wrong way. A nova with this enhancement can take advantage of his superhumanly obnoxious ability to get others to explode with anger.

System: The nova pays a quantum point and rolls their Charisma. When used in combat or other violent situations, for the rest of the scene anyone who fails a resisted willpower roll must personally attack the nova, regardless of their ability to harm him, regardless of their common sense and/or their strategic/tactical knowledge. In their frenzied rush to attack they will disregard common sense, even to the point of dropping master plans or injuring their allies. They must use the most immediate and direct way of attacking him, although if they have a choice of ways they may choose between them. A nova using this enhancement may choose to not employ it against friendly or non-hostile forces. When used outside of combat non-combatants will usually lose their cool and verbally (loudly and at length) attack the nova, although if they fail by enough succ (ST's choice) they can also be forced into physically attacking the nova. Normally, but not always, this enhancement is triggered by the nova saying something to their target to cut them down (certain hand gestures are also effective).

[Sprocket]

Re: Minor correction of Autonomy writeup-

"Psychotic Dissociation", eh? ::smile Okay, that's fine by me- I'll change that little detail in the finished version, which will be posted along with the rest of the Mega-Charisma material on this forum after I'm done with the Mega-Charisma essays.

Re: 30 enhancements ASAP-

::laugh Keep on dreaming, Gideon. I've enough on my plate at the moment writing the Mega-Charisma essays. ::cool

Re: "Rile" enhancement-

This looks just fine to me, Alex. ::thumbsup I'll clean up the finished version a bit- just to correct a few minor errors and word fragments- but otherwise it looks good to go. Provided that no one else on the development team has a beef with it, I'll go ahead and put it in with the rest of the new Mega-Charisma enhancements.

[Sprocket]

Re: the "Rile" enhancement-

Alex, I've cleaned up your enhancement and dressed it nicely, although I did rewrite slightly in the process. Take a look at this version of Rile and tell me if it will do, all right? ::wink If it passes muster, I'll add it to the components of the finished Mega-Charisma document.

Rile

Some people can really get under other's skins; like the sound of fingernails on a chalkboard, something about them just rubs others in exactly the wrong way. A nova with this enhancement can take advantage of his superhuman obnoxiousness to make his targets explode with anger.

System: The nova spends 1 quantum point to activate this enhancement for a scene. The nova then pits his Mega-Charisma in a resisted roll against one or more targets' Willpower. When used in combat or other violent situations, any targets who fail the Willpower roll must personally attack the nova, regardless of their ability to harm him and ignoring any strategic and/or tactical knowledge they might have. In their frenzied rush to attack they will disregard common sense, even to the point of abandoning master plans or injuring their allies. They must use the most immediate and direct way of attacking the nova, although if they have a choice of direct attack methods they may choose between them. When used outside of combat, targets will usually lose their cool and verbally (loudly and at length) assault the nova, although if they fail by enough successes (Storyteller's choice) they can also be forced into physically attacking the nova. The nova can also choose whether or not this enhancement will affect friendly and non-hostile forces on a case-by-case basis. Normally, but not always, this enhancement is triggered by the nova saying something offensive to his targets to cut them down. Certain hand gestures can also serve as effective triggers.

[Alex Green]

RE: Rile.

::bigsmile

I like the way it turned out. Definately a speciality enhancement, but it adds a lot in shear flavor.

[Ayre el KaBeer]

I like it! Just a thought for the system since I don't know how you're intending it to be used:

"...The Nova must spend a Qpoint for each target he wishes to offend".

or

"... The nova may only affect one individual at a time with this enhancement".

[Sprocket]

Re: Rile-

::biggrin Glad you liked it, Alex. With that last enhancement cleaned up and salted away, all that's left for me to do in the Mega-Charisma section is start writing the essays. Provided that I can keep from collapsing from sheer exhaustion... ::sleep

Say... I know that Bahamut's working on some new nova-cults and that Gideon is working on the Social Combat rules, but what material have you been tinkering with, Alex? Anything especially interesting or twisted? ::laugh

[Alex Green]

I like it! Just a thought for the system since I don't know how you're intending it to be used:

"...The Nova must spend a Qpoint for each target he wishes to offend".

or

"... The nova may only affect one individual at a time with this enhancement".

...The nova spends 1 quantum point to activate this enhancement for a scene. The nova then pits his Mega-Charisma in a resisted roll against one or more targets' Willpower....

[Alex Green]

...what material have you been tinkering with, Alex? Anything especially interesting or twisted?  ::laugh

I still hope to have a Mega-Uglyness equiv for Mega-Chr (at the moment it is only a hope).

[Ayre el KaBeer]

The nova then pits his Mega-Charisma in a resisted roll against one or more targets' Willpower....

An area effect and selective mind bomb, damn that's nasty probably too nasty.

[Alex Green]

Except the only order you can give is "kill me". I think that kind of balances it. ::devil

Think of it as a really good way of testing whether or not your nova foe has any hidden AGG attacks.

[Sprocket]

Re: variant form of Mega-Charisma-

::unsure Hmm... Sorry, Alex, but I don't think that particular idea merits its own subsection in Chapter 4 like Mega-Ugliness did. I'll more than likely include a paragraph about "negative Mega-Charisma" in the main Mega-Charisma essays, though. With that and the 2 nasty Mega-Charisma enhancements (Rancor and Rile) we've already posted, that ought to be enough for most folks. ::smile

Re: What Alex is working on-

::blink That's it? You haven't staked out a section of our Mega-Social book to work on? I've got the development of Chapter 4 pretty well in hand, but I'm sure that there's plenty of stuff in the other chapters that you could help out with. ::wink Feel free to join in, okay? ::bigsmile

[Ayre el KaBeer]

I don't think it does, the power works in all situatiions aslong as there are other people around. I see this as a fantastic power, a non combat example:

Say a terrat wants to 'prove' a point about baselines or a particular group of baselines, so he manages to convince someone important (baseline politician, etc.) to join him in a publuc debate. He allows that person to speak first and then when it's his turn, he sprouts off with mostly reasonable arguments and then activates the power to target the oponent who naturally is enfurriated. Makes that person seem entirely unreasonable, then as the icing on the cake the terrat then dirrects the power to his oponents body gaurds and is seen on camera being shot at (while cowerring away) by this group and looks to be nothing but the innocent victim of a hate crime.

So asside from the advantage you give yourself in combat by making your enemy throw his/her tactics away to attack you and possibly killing themselves with the dying for power rules you are alsp a master political manipulator. All this from 1 enhancement at the expendature of 1 Qpoint, surely this is worth an extra couple of Qpoints here and there when using this power on large groups (you do have 22+ by the way).

[Alex Green]

And if those baseline bodyguards are armed you had better be bullet proof, and if one of them is a closet nova you may have a real problem. That is what I call risk. You don't run that risk with most of the other enhancements (keep in mind that you could use Trickster to similarly mess up the baseline). And the third time this happens everyone will figure it out and you stop being able to manipulate people.

Ignoring baselines for a moment (I have no problem with Baselines being pushed around) when you try this on novas you are running a real risk. Anna DeVries is a beautiful non-combat type nova.... who secretly has Mind Blast + AGG. Other's may secretly have Disrupt, etc.

In combat it is less than selective, you don't have to select non-hostiles, but every hostile will come after you.

RE: Burning for power.

I had forgoten that one, or perhaps had just assumed that "ignoring common sense" didn't include being that self destructive.

[Alex Green]

All this from 1 enhancement at the expendature of 1 Qpoint, surely this is worth an extra couple of Qpoints here and there when using this power on large groups (you do have 22+ by the way).

{Forgot to put this.}

And I think from your example that he would need to activate it twice, once for the pollitican and once for the guards.

I have no objection to raising the cost to 3 per use, but it really does seem balanced at 1 per use to me. The downside is that you may be picking a fight with someone who can (and will) kill you. That is one heck of a down side for an enhancement that is supposed to work for you.

[Ayre el KaBeer]

RE: Burning for power.

I had forgoten that one, or perhaps had just assumed that "ignoring common sense" didn't include being that self destructive.

If someone really wants you dead because they're so blind with raw hatred for you then I don't see why they wouldn't do it. And lets not forget a maxed attack, though I'd say the only effect they could use would be more damage or something similar.

[Alex Green]

If someone really wants you dead because they're so blind with raw hatred for you then I don't see why they wouldn't do it. And lets not forget a maxed attack, though I'd say the only effect they could use would be more damage or something similar.

More damage, Armor Piercing, AGG, maybe area. And don't forget those closet Directive agents who have Ecipsol.

Doesn't sound like a good thing does it?

This is very much an enhancement that can cut both ways. I like it. ::devil

[Ayre el KaBeer]

I like it too, we just seem to be disagreeing on cost is all, and disagreement is what makes for good conversation ::wink .

[Alex Green]

I like it too, we just seem to be disagreeing on cost is all, and disagreement is what makes for good conversation  ::wink .

So what would be better?

How about... (1 per person if you are going to be selective) or (3 for the room?)

[Ayre el KaBeer]

It falls inline with other enhancements, looks good to me ::thumbsup .

[Sprocket]

Re: Rile v2.0-

::blink And NOW you change your mind and agree to a revision, Alex? Sheesh! ::tongue No real problem, though- I'll go ahead and change that little detail in the "New Mega-Charisma Enhancements" document. ::cool

Re: New ideas for Mega-Manipulation enhancements needed!-

You heard me right! ::biggrin While I'm busy working on the Mega-Charisma essays, you guys need to come up with some new ideas for Mega-Manipulation enhancements. We've got two already- "Symphony of Touch" from Glitch and "Tactful" from T-dev; but that leaves us with four empty slots to fill!

Feel free to propose any idea you feel might work well, but I'd really like to see a few Mega-Manipulation enhancements that work against the "Sleazy Grifter/ Seedy Con-Artist" stereotype that plagues Mega-Manipulative novas. That sound appealing to any of you? ::bigsmile

As for me, I'll post here again once the Mega-Charisma essays are written up- currently they're a mishmash of jotted-down notes, page references, and such.

Seeya! ::smiley5

[Alex Green]

New Mega-Manipulation Enhancement: Discerning Questioner

"So, were their 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 able to gauge other people's reactions during a conversation. He has a sense of when they are telling the truth, when they are being evasive, and what their limits are. He is an expert at finding out as much information as possible.

System: The nova pays one quantum point per interrogation, and receives 3 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.

[Ayre el KaBeer]

Looking good, falls in line with what the mega-manip character can do anyway given a bit of time so no issues on it being over powered. Reminds me of the mega-int mental prodigy enhancements, though it works well for me as is (great actually, since I like some limitations here and there), if some feel it's too weak then I don't see why this couldn't be a permanent effect.