Aberrant RPG - Help a newbie with a few house rules

[Guest]

I'm a newbie to old school aberrant and I want to set up my game. The metaplot doesn't do much for me but I'be been inspired by the current rule of the Ultimates and Ultimate X-Men and I want to make my own 'verse based loosely on that world.

I want to create a more mutant centered world and for that I was thinking about doing the following. Powers and Quantum (x-factor) costs normal amounts but you can decrease the cost by buying aberrations. Lesser abs decrease the cost by one, medium by 2, and greater by three so that a level three power bought with a greater aberration costs 2 points per dot. That help to give the impression that mutants are hated and feared. the truly human looking mutants would be among the least powerful (or else riddled with mental derangments...). Is this a balanced house rule? Should I start mutants out with fewer points because they can already buy powers to a decent level (say 20 points)? What do you think.

Secondly, my game is going to be a little more combat heavy than most normal games probably (those D&D roots) and I am worried that the standard aberrant combat rules are going to lead to a far too high a lethality level. what can I do to make the games more cinematic without crippling the characters not loaded down with armor and mega-sta.

Any advice for my game would be much appreciated.

[BlueNinja]

I want to create a more mutant centered world and for that I was thinking about doing the following. Powers and Quantum (x-factor) costs normal amounts but you can decrease the cost by buying aberrations. Lesser abs decrease the cost by one, medium by 2, and greater by three so that a level three power bought with a greater aberration costs 2 points per dot. That help to give the impression that mutants are hated and feared. the truly human looking mutants would be among the least powerful (or else riddled with mental derangments...). Is this a balanced house rule? Should I start mutants out with fewer points because they can already buy powers to a decent level (say 20 points)? What do you think.

Not being a comics reader, I can only offer a few suggestions:

Throw out the Taint stat, since they shouldn't 'spontaneously' develop aberrations. Instead, at character creation only allow them extra nova points for each aberration they take; I'd recommend 1, 3, and 5 NP.

Increase the amount of XP it takes to develop new powers not strictly in theme, because genetic mutations would be far more limited at branching out in powers than novas are.

Secondly, my game is going to be a little more combat heavy than most normal games probably (those D&D roots) and I am worried that the standard aberrant combat rules are going to lead to a far too high a lethality level. what can I do to make the games more cinematic without crippling the characters not loaded down with armor and mega-sta.

Here's a few things you could do:

Drop M-Strength auto-damage to 3 per dot instead of 5.

Double health levels for all characters.

[Alex Green]

RE: Extra Points for aberrations

Exactly. Decide what you want to do about social disads for aberrations as well.

RE: Theme

I'd go a step further. In general you can't develop powers that are out of theme. Exceptions will be made, but not many of them.

RE: Combat and it's deadlyness

1) Control Generation

Most of this issue can be resolved by the ST controlling who and what is introduced. I.e. if you don't want lots of dead people around, don't let the PCs and the NPCs have aggravated attacks, and limit heavily lethal attacks. For example Mega-Strength 5 + Crush is a pretty grim combo.

2) Setting

Eufiber is really useful to that end, change it's origin. Eufiber is created by all/many novas upon eruption. The theory is when novas change into their new form they shed their fat and other unused organic products... but no one really knows for sure. It's very expensive stuff so lots of people sell it, but lots don't.

3) Mechanics

Give all novas three levels of the KO'ed health level.

4) Mechanics: Mega-Strength (this is very optional).

Every dot of Mega-Strength gives 3 auto succ and 2 normal dice. Mega-Strength is balanced in abby against Q-bolt, not armor.

Other than this it's tough to alter the rules without altering game balance. For example in the marvel universe, the Hulk is a pretty terrifying foe... and not because he's built with lots and lots of points, it's because the points he does have are well spent. Nerf mega-strength and you've axed him and now the most scarry guy is the human torch and the other bolt lobbers.

[Nullifier]

want to create a more mutant centered world and for that I was thinking about doing the following. Powers and Quantum (x-factor) costs normal amounts but you can decrease the cost by buying aberrations. Lesser abs decrease the cost by one, medium by 2, and greater by three so that a level three power bought with a greater aberration costs 2 points per dot. That help to give the impression that mutants are hated and feared. the truly human looking mutants would be among the least powerful (or else riddled with mental derangments...). Is this a balanced house rule? Should I start mutants out with fewer points because they can already buy powers to a decent level (say 20 points)? What do you think.

I have an idea. You could simply limit characters to 3 levels of powers (mega-attributes count as 2, Enhancements beyond the first as 1 each) unless they take aberrations. Each aberration would allow them to take another power or powers at character creation or at an appropriate and obviously rare in-game moment, with the strength of the aberration determining the strength of the power(s) gained. Using a simple point based system with 1-3 for low to high level Aberrations with the number indicating how many levels of powers may be taken. For example, a high level Alberration, worth 3 points, would allow the player to purchase a single level 3 power, a level 2 power and a level 1 power, or three level 1 powers. Also, physical Flaws may be taken as Aberrations, with point value divided by two (rounded up) determining the amount of levels of powers that may be bought with each such Flaw. Note that this system applies only to the ability to buy powers, mega-attributes, and enhancements, and has nothing to do with the amount of dots of powers and mega-attrubites that it's possible to puchase, it merely controls the variety.

Just a thought. Use it, discard it, modify it, whatever. Just offering my humble opinion on the subject. ::biggrin