A Catch/Item of Power/Discount for themed stunts

[Arcteryx]

Just playing around with this idea, to put straight mortals on a "more even" footing - it is also an idea  inspired in part by the stunt trees in SotC.

Breaks for stunts - so, something like the discount for an Item of Power, or the Catch on Toughness powers, which would give at most a -1 discount to a themed package of stunts.

So, just to pick on Murphy - she's got a bunch of stunts relating to her skills as an Chicago SI officer.

That would be grouped under SI Officer for a +1 to the cost (i.e. reducing by 1), and would need to be referred to in the High Concept or Trouble or one of the Aspects.

Supernatural powers get that break - might be good for mortals and their stunts too.

Feedback and commentary welcome - and thanks in advance.

[devonapple]

Reminds me of the Package Deals in HERO system. I propose a minimum of 4+ Stunts taken to qualify for the 1-point discount, especially since Vanilla Mortals already get a Refresh bonus. I might go as low as 3 Stunts if pressed.

[Arcteryx]

I have a HERO background so that's probably the other influence at play; focuses (OIF, OAF), frameworks and all those ways to knock the CP cost down

I like the stunt minimum idea.

[Mal_Luck]

I've been working on a WWII-era spy and would love something like this. 

[MijRai]

I've been working on a WWII-era spy and would love something like this. 

I'd vouch for you if you go Tank Operator.

[Belial666]

Stunts don't get a cost discount if they are under a specific group. They do however get stronger if their focus is specific enough.


For example, a stunt could give +1 to guns of russian origin for a russian warrior guy. If you make a stunt for police-issue revolvers however (which is a far more focused stunt) you might justify a +2 rolls stunt, or at least a +1 to rolls and +1 to stress.

[devonapple]

Stunts don't get a cost discount if they are under a specific group. They do however get stronger if their focus is specific enough.

Well, no, they don't according the Rules As Written. Arcteryx was proposing an optional house rule to encourage players to take a thematically linked set of Stunts.

[Arcteryx]

Well, no, they don't according the Rules As Written. Arcteryx was proposing an optional house rule to encourage players to take a thematically linked set of Stunts.

^   ^   ^
Yeah, what that guy said!

[sinker]

My thought mostly is that Items of power and catches give refunds because they are disadvantages. What would do the same for stunts?

[devonapple]

My thought mostly is that Items of power and catches give refunds because they are disadvantages. What would do the same for stunts?

The player would be locked into getting a particular package of Stunts based on the GM's impression of what would make the most sense for a particular role, profession, etc. Some of those packages could be pretty costly.

Whether that constitutes a disadvantage is subject to debate, of course. I'm not likely to use such a discount in my games, but YMMV.

[Sanctaphrax]

I quite like this idea, but I think that you'd have to be very careful about what packages you allow. Otherwise you're just making stunts in general cheaper.

I suggest that stunts which work well together flavourfully but badly mechanically could be added to packages. For example, it's quite inadvisable to take the Occultist stunt three times. Therefore, I think that Occultist x 3 would be fairly costed at 2 refresh.

So, what stunts were you thinking of bundling together?

[Arcteryx]

I'd envisioned it as more of a reward for a group of thematically-aligned stunts. So for example, an SI officer may have

Cagey SI Vet (package discount) +1

• Hard Boiled (Discipline): +2 to Discipline rolls defending against mental attacks and maneuvers by criminals and suspects
• Pin the Tail (Investigation): +2 to Investigation rolls when trying to keep track of a target during Surveillance. When Shadowing someone using Stealth, use Investigation to complement the Stealth skill
• Scene of the Crime (Investigation): At a crime scene, +1 to Investigation rolls. Arrive at findings one time step faster than usual
• Weird Informants (Contacts): +2 with Contacts when looking into “weird cases.”

Normally a 4 refresh. But with a package deal, 3, although the way I would do it, it would also have to relate to a High Concept.