Custom Powers Master List (Work In Progress)

[Sanctaphrax]

Like I said, I like logic. I just find it annoying when it's formalized unnecessarily. Especially since it tends to inhibit clarity.

You don't need mathematical rigour for a forum conversation. You just need a bit of backup for your points.

Anyway, you never explained what the actual problem with my opinion is. So...please do that.

[UmbraLux]

I'll respond since it's a direct question, but I'm really trying to avoid a long discussion on logic and facilitating communications.  Don't think this is the proper location for it.  I will avoid responding to the editorial comments. 

You don't need mathematical rigour for a forum conversation. You just need a bit of backup for your points.

Logic is the "backup" - the structure of the argument.  If you don't have it, you don't have a reasonable argument.  You're left with editorial comments, opinions, fallacies, and other unsupported statements.  Logic shows your support...or lack thereof.

Anyway, you never explained what the actual problem with my opinion is. So...please do that.

I did.  Look back at the fallacy.  Whether your conclusion is correct or incorrect, your reasoning was fallacious.

Moving on.
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Going back to the powers (attempting to get back on subject), I'd probably set them up to grant mental consequences and / or the ability to clear a mild mental consequence.  Granting consequences is within the realm of a stunt and gives you most of the benefits of a stress box plus a few others.  In addition to allowing an extra spell, it can add power to spells and, depending on limitations, soak other mental damage. 

And, if you really want to add stress as a stunt, the ability to add a mild consequence as a stunt is probably sufficient precedent. 

If you prefer to keep them a power and boost them, you might consider adding armor (modeled after Toughness) or consequence clearing (modeled after Recovery).

[Tedronai]

For clarity's sake:
Not all stunts boost skills.
Thus, a conclusion that stunts suffer from the same limitations as skills when it comes to boosting stats derived from skills on the basis that most stunts boost skills is fallacious, edit: because who said that this stunt had to be one of those 'most'?

[Sanctaphrax]

But that doesn't address the whole 1-shift persistent effect thing.

If it's not a skill booster or a persistent 1-shift effect, what is it?

Anyway, I don't dislike logic at all. But formalizing it is rarely a good idea in conversation, I find.

[computerking]

Interjecting a possible True Faith power (For those of Evil Bent)

A Pox on Both Your Houses [–1]Description: Your faith in evil is such that even the protection of a threshold withers under your glower.
Skills Affected: Conviction.
Effects:
A Pox on Both Your Houses. By your very presence in or outside of  a place, you may attempt to decrease the strength of its threshold — assuming your abilities aren’t already dampened too low by a threshold for this power to work. If your Conviction (After any Threshold Dampening)  is higher than the Natural Threshold Rating of a particular place (i.e. before any characters’ Bless This House are added in), You may make a Conviction roll, lowering the place’s Natural Threshold Rating by the number of shifts you roll above the Threshold Rating (To a minimum of 1). Multiple individuals who have this power can stack the effects, making a coven of those Faithful to Demons or the Unholy a force to be reckoned with. And woe to anyone who is so foolish as to invite one of them in.

[Silverblaze]

Interjecting a possible True Faith power (For those of Evil Bent)

A Pox on Both Your Houses [–1]Description: Your faith in evil is such that even the protection of a threshold withers under your glower.
Skills Affected: Conviction.
Effects:
A Pox on Both Your Houses. By your very presence in or outside of  a place, you may attempt to decrease the strength of its threshold — assuming your abilities aren’t already dampened too low by a threshold for this power to work. If your Conviction (After any Threshold Dampening)  is higher than the Natural Threshold Rating of a particular place (i.e. before any characters’ Bless This House are added in), You may make a Conviction roll, lowering the place’s Natural Threshold Rating by the number of shifts you roll above the Threshold Rating (To a minimum of 1). Multiple individuals who have this power can stack the effects, making a coven of those Faithful to Demons or the Unholy a force to be reckoned with. And woe to anyone who is so foolish as to invite one of them in.

I'd just have it automatically decrease any threshold by two - (inversely) like Bless This House, under the same exact circumstances.

[computerking]

I'd just have it automatically decrease any threshold by two - (inversely) like Bless This House, under the same exact circumstances.

I'd thought about that, but it seemed too passive for that kind of character.

[devonapple]

I'd thought about that, but it seemed too passive for that kind of character.

Are you maybe envisioning this acting like Rituals: Thresholds, focusing on destroying Thresholds from within?

[Silverblaze]

I'd thought about that, but it seemed too passive for that kind of character.

Not really trying to be arguementative, rather offer another perspective.  My Knight character is very proactive, often skirting the edge of what the sword should allow.  (Hence the reason I managed to temporarily render it inert)

 I still have Bless This House and the character is far from a passive guy, very rarely behind a threshold.  Ultimately,  I think having to roll against the threshold makes the power harder to use and gives the threshold/"good guys" an advantage.  I'm not saying that's a bad thing.  Just my observation.

 If it works passively (all the time, without fail) it seems more useful.  The power though very fitting for a profane knight... will still only come in handy when going after someone on the other side of a threshold.  Also, it will only help if hte threshold would have caused issues for the character in the first place.  (2-3+)

[UmbraLux]

Re:  A Pox on Both Your Houses - Have you considered rewriting it as partial immunity to thresholds?  Something along the lines of "...threshold effects are reduced by two when applied to you."  I suspect it might fit into the game play easier. 

It also fits my view of what most thresholds are better...but that's probably beside the point. 

[Sanctaphrax]

The threshold rules mention that it's possible to attack thresholds. Perhaps this power could use that idea/mechanic.

[UmbraLux]

Sanctaphrax's idea is a good one if you do want to keep the threshold reduction.  It also points out just how powerful an effect you're talking about.  It would take a ten shift attack to reduce a strength eight threshold by two...and the power as written does that automatically and possibly repeatedly.

Edit:  One method of implementing Santaphrax's suggestion might be allowing use of Conviction to attack the ward. 

[computerking]

Sanctaphrax's idea is a good one if you do want to keep the threshold reduction.  It also points out just how powerful an effect you're talking about.  It would take a ten shift attack to reduce a strength eight threshold by two...and the power as written does that automatically and possibly repeatedly.

Edit:  One method of implementing Santaphrax's suggestion might be allowing use of Conviction to attack the ward.

That's what I was going for. Perhaps I put too many limiting factors in there...

[Sanctaphrax]

Unfortunately, the rules for attacking thresholds are so vague that it's almost impossible to write powers using them.

We don't know who can attack thresholds or what kind of thresholds they can attack or what skill they use or whether they can use weapons. There's a mention of artificial thresholds, whatever those are.

We know that thresholds have one stress box per level. We also know that the strength of the threshold drops as it takes stress hits.

But we don't know how much they drop or in what way. Or whether thresholds get defence rolls.

And we don't know what stops someone from attacking any given threshold until it goes down. Enough attacks will drop almost anything, after all. Which makes me think, roughly how long does attacking a threshold take? A second? Five minutes? An hour?

Obviously, this is all a pain in the neck when writing a power for general consumption.

PS: Just out of curiosity, why did you post to this thread rather then to the custom powers thread on the Resources board?

[Silverblaze]

Unfortunately, the rules for attacking thresholds are so vague that it's almost impossible to write powers using them.

We don't know who can attack thresholds or what kind of thresholds they can attack or what skill they use or whether they can use weapons. There's a mention of artificial thresholds, whatever those are.

We know that thresholds have one stress box per level. We also know that the strength of the threshold drops as it takes stress hits.

But we don't know how much they drop or in what way. Or whether thresholds get defence rolls.

And we don't know what stops someone from attacking any given threshold until it goes down. Enough attacks will drop almost anything, after all. Which makes me think, roughly how long does attacking a threshold take? A second? Five minutes? An hour?

Obviously, this is all a pain in the neck when writing a power for general consumption.

PS: Just out of curiosity, why did you post to this thread rather then to the custom powers thread on the Resources board?

Especially when you can just burn down or blow up the building, that has the threshold.