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Aberrant: Quantum Zero - QZ - game mechanics


Asbjørn

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Speaking of tanks: Chances are they're a lot heavier than 50 tons. The real life Abrams main battle tank weighs close to 70 tons, and there's no reason to assume tanks in aberrant aren't even more solid. Now I know solid doesn't have to mean heavier, but if there were people around who actually could juggle tanks, don't you think they'd make them heavier...?

Juggling tanks is a pretty ridiculous example, come to think of it.... You'd have to have MStr of at least 8 or something to actually do it. But it's a nice mental image...

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Yeah, but lifting and juggling is two different things... Juggling normally implies that you have at least three of them, for instance... But I guess the crowd would be pretty impressed with just two, or even one. Being able to flip it from hand to hand is still different from just lifting it, though...

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Yeah, but lifting and juggling is two different things... Juggling normally implies that you have at least three of them, for instance... But I guess the crowd would be pretty impressed with just two, or even one. Being able to flip it from hand to hand is still different from just lifting it, though...

I think 2 could be done seeing as you only have one in hands at a time...That might also be covered under the lifter enhancement...might being key word

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Something to point out is that M-Str 4 lifts 50 tons, MINIMUM. If you actually get succ trying this you get +20% per succ. So a Str 5 nova could probably do 60 tons.

Something else is that if gravity works the same on balls as on tanks. I.e. it takes as long for a ball to drop 8 inches as a tank. So if you throw a tank 50 meters in the air, you will have lots of time to throw another tank 50 meters in the air, and then run back and forth under them.

What you probably can't do (without TK) is get the circular motion you can with balls. You will just have to do up and down. But I'll bet it still looks impressive.

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Wow! - a whole thread on the applicability of juggling tanks... this is a strange game indeed... ::wacko

Anyway, lets look at what we've got. First up is a tank's mass. We're playing WW, so we care little for details, but we've got a general mass of around 50 tons for a tank (p.234).

Next - we want to juggle them. Looking at the Mega-Str rules (p.156) we see that if we can just lift a weight we follow the normal rules for throwing (p236)...

(The normal throwing rules call for a reduction in max. throwing distance for each kilogram over 1 kg that an object weighs (or a reduction of [49,999 x 5 meters = 249,995 m] for our tank). At Mega-Str 4, with a base lift of 50 tons, we're lifting the tank, but not hurling it in the air. If our base lift is twice the weight we're lifting, we can multiply the throwing distance by our Might auto-successes. Even with a x25 distance for Mega-Str 5 we're still not throwing the tank anywhere. We have to conclude that the distance reduction isn't used with Mega-Str throwing (even though that isn't mentioned in the rules) - otherwise no Nova could throw a tank, & we all want to be able to do that, right?)

... So, ignoring the distance reduction, we see that our Mega-Str 4 guy can hurl a tank a distance equal to his Might skill pool x 5 meters. That's at least 20 m (minimum normal Str 4, with no Might Ability). The Mega-Str 5 guy can chuck the tank Might skill pool x 125 meters. That's at least 625 m (or 'a bloody long way' ::shocked ).

At this point any actual juggling comes down to the characters Dex score (he doesn't want to drop one on his toe... ::crazy ).

Telekinesis needs 10 successes (on the TK chart, p.224) to lift 50 tons. Magnetokinesis needs the same (Vs metal objects only), & Gravitokinesis needs double that, or 20 successes (Vs anything, but it's at half TK's strength). In each case Quantum is added as auto-successes, then Dex (+Mega-Dex) + power rating is rolled for the total number of successes. TK can throw objects '... as if the nova's successes were successes on a Might roll." (p.224). We have to presume this means we take the Nova's successes as if they were a Might skill pool (since Might is never rolled in throwing anyway), or, in other words, a TK can throw stuff a base distance of successes x 5 meters. Unfortunately this doesn't mean that TK gets the same bonuses as Mega-Str, so the distance reduction is still in effect. So, TK can't actually 'throw' a tank.

On the other hand, it's a pretty moot point - since TK can move a lifted object (10 meters x power rating) per action anyway. If we take gravity as being 10 meters per second per second then a dropped tank will fall (10 + 20 + 30 = 60 meters) in one 3 second action. To 'juggle' tanks he'd have to be able to lift one 60 meters (whilst the other is dropping) in a single action. That'd take a TK of 6 dots (or a touch of Mastery). So, TKs aren't going to be juggling tanks (it's a good job they're so useful for other stuff too! ::wink ).

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ok then...we can play \"Hot Potato\" with the tank then

Or even (my favourite) "smash the tank into DMD to prove how tough he is" (hoping that it won't turn into "smash the tank into DMD to prove he isn't as tough as he thinks he is"... ::devil ). ::biggrin

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Anyone with mega str1 and lifter can spend 6 QPoints and have their base lifting at 64tons without rolling a standard might roll, so a 50 ton tank isn't all that hard to pick up and smash into DMD.

Great. So... does anyone have lifter?

Or does DMD tosses the Tank high in the air and let it fall on him?

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Another mechanics question:

I have Density Increase 2(Fixed version), Quantum 3...if I max out DI, I cough up the QP, and that should give me 5 extra successes, on top of the 3 autos. Which means that I double my weight 8 times, and I get 8 extra dots towards Str. The dots of Str go into Mega-Str, normally I have Str 4, so that equals Mega-Str 7...or should it top off at Mega-Str 5? (Note: I do not have the Extreme Density extra.)

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Okay, a seperate game mechanics question, and one that's been bothering me:

Can Glacier swim?

Depends.

Growth doesn't affect your ability to swim (although you do wade better).

Density Increase has a profound negative affect (float like a stone). Enough skill or whatever would compensate, but how much is an ST call.

How much DI and athletics do you have?

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That's the problem. But from another point of view, it would be a problem only if what Glacier had power over was cold. That would be cryokinesis (ableit at a insane level). He has power over quantum energies, which manifest themselves according to the natural abilities and traits of a polar bear. The bear is associated with cold, but then it's also associated with swimming. So it occurs to me that the same kind of reflex preventing novas from hurting themselves with their own powers would protect Glacier in the water. I can't imagine what would happen though, maybe the water would become hypercold but not actually freeze. It's not like he liquefies the air around him, after all.

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In Glacier's case his hypercold aura is mostly a combination of his aberrations & his Immolate special effects. As a 'special effect' it wouldn't freeze water solid in a block around him or anything. What'd be more likely is that the surrounding water temperature would drop dramatically, & small chunks & flakes of ice would form around him as he swam - it wouldn't slow his progress, but would be noticable.

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Depends.

Growth doesn't affect your ability to swim (although you do wade better).

Density Increase has a profound negative affect (float like a stone). Enough skill or whatever would compensate, but how much is an ST call.

How much DI and athletics do you have?

Oh, sorry Alex, didn't see your post for some reason. I'm not worried about Density Increase.. Glacier doesn't have it, or any Growth for that matter. What he does have is permanent Immolate, and I was worried that he might jump into the water and turn into a giant, polar-bear shaped ice cube. Which would be pretty embarassing once he was thawed out..

In Glacier's case his hypercold aura is mostly a combination of his aberrations & his Immolate special effects. As a 'special effect' it wouldn't freeze water solid in a block around him or anything. What'd be more likely is that the surrounding water temperature would drop dramatically, & small chunks & flakes of ice would form around him as he swam - it wouldn't slow his progress, but would be noticable.

Okay, good to know.

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Immolate isn't going to be that much of a problem for you, even if it does freeze water solid (and it will, you don't have nova immunity to the side effects of aberrations).

You have mega-strength. More than one level as I recall. Even if you were to freeze solid (and the Prof says you probably won't), M-Str just rips through Immobilize. Similarly, the structural strength of ice isn't all that great.

IMHO, you wouldn't have to spend actions to break your icy prison any more than you would to break through a wall of tolet paper.

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OK, new topic. Healing.

How much rest is needed to heal?

Let's say I eat a 20 minute lunch and need 20 minutes to heal a brused level of bashing. Does that count as rest?

If I'm maintaining a power, but not walking/talking/in combat, does that count as rest?

Do health levels that were burned for quantum heal normally? Do they regen at a cost of 2 q?

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What counts as rest for healing purposes generally depends on the type of injury. As a rule minimal Bashing damage (Bruised to Wounded) will heal as long as you're not exerting yourself too much - eating, walking around, going to lessons, etc. all count as rest time. The same is true for minimal (Bruised only) Lethal damage.

Injuries beyond that require medical attention of some kind, & (at least) bed rest. Being Crippled or Incapacitated on Lethal damage means you don't heal at all without professional medical attention (as opposed to simple first aid). However, in some cases certain activities will be ok to count as rest if basic first aid (or better) has been administered. E.g. if you're down to Injured with Lethal damage, & that's been defined as a broken limb, then once it's set in plaster (or whatever) you just have to make sure you keep your weight off that limb (although combat, etc., is still right out).

Mega-Stamina, naturally, increases healing times.

Dying for Power is just about the worst sort of injury that can be had - those health levels must heal naturally, they can't be healed via Quantum Powers or Enhancements like Healing or Regeneration.

If I'm maintaining a power, but not walking/talking/in combat, does that count as rest?

Depends on the power & it's use. Most 'passive' power use (such as just staying in BM'd form) would be fine, but lifting & carrying heavy stuff with TK (for example) may not be.

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Dying for Power is just about the worst sort of injury that can be had - those health levels must heal naturally, they can't be healed via Quantum Powers or Enhancements like Healing or Regeneration.

If I remember correctly, which I may not, in the APG it says that you can heal Dying for Power health levels at a cost of 2, but like I said I could be wrong.

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