Don't Look in Their Eyes! (Custom Power, Feedback Wanted)

[EdgeOfDreams]

Working on a generic power to represent things like Gorgons, vampires who can affect your mind, and anything else that you really really don't want to look at their eyes.  Really unsure about exact wording, refresh costs, etc. and I'm also half-asleep.  Any review, feedback, suggestions, etc. would be great.

Harmful Gaze: You can subdue or injure opponents through direct eye contact. When taking this power, select Intimidate or Deceit as the skill it will use, and whether it will deal mental or physical stress. You must also specify what type of consequences and taken out results are expected (e.g. mental domination, petrification, etc.). The GM should check to make sure the exact details fit with your aspects and high concept. When someone meets your gaze, voluntarily or not, you may roll the appropriate skill as an attack, opposed by discipline for mental stress or endurance for physical stress. Forcing this on someone usually requires maneuvers or being in a grapple.

Optional Upgrade - Magnetic Gaze: When you first meet someone in a scene, you may roll your Presence skill against their discipline. If the target fails, they can't resist looking you in the eyes, creating the perfect opportunity for you to use your gaze power on them.

[Haru]

Isn't that pretty much just incite emotion (fear [or something similar], at range) revamped? Also, I wouldn't let a power like that create physical stress, it should be limited to mental. You could add looking into the others eyes as a maneuver before using the power, so you would have more control over the outcome. Magnetic gaze could be a presence stunt, giving +2 to presence for creating that maneuver.

Also:
She's an evil enchantress
and she does evil dances,
when you look deep in her eyes,
she will put you in trances.

 

[ways and means]

I would just attache incite emotion based power to a custom power giving a +2 bonus when making direct eye contact with the built in catch that it can't be used on a blind target.

[Thrythlind]

he is trying to reproduce the "turn to stone" gaze thing...which I must admit to being interested in...one of my common characters is a heroic Medusa

[ReturnToOne]

on that note how would you stat a Weeping Angel's means of reproduction, and the whole an image of one is one thing?

[Thrythlind]

from Dr. Who?  did they ever describe how they reproduced?

[ReturnToOne]

I thought it had to do with looking them in the eyes or just at them for too long and then doing that count down thing.
edit: from Wikipedia

"Weeping Angels can procreate by looking into the eyes of a living creature (should the victim look right in their eyes) and planting an image of themselves in the victim's mind. Eventually, a new Weeping Angel will burst from the victim, killing it."

[Haru]

he is trying to reproduce the "turn to stone" gaze thing...which I must admit to being interested in...one of my common characters is a heroic Medusa

I don't think an effect like that would fit the game system if you try to convert it directly. But I could see it as a weapon of some sort (breath weapon) with the option to create "turned to stone" as a taken out result. If 1 attack would be enough to take someone out, even if the attack barely "connects", I think it is a game breaker. Maybe you could create something like the venom power for an ongoing effect.

Let's try something:
First you use "Magnetic Gaze" to create an aspect that is consistent with staring into the targets eyes. Then you use that aspect to put up a "mental grapple", so the victims eyes are locked on to your own. After that, the target has to resist stress equal to your presence skill with his conviction for each exchange. Once you have inflicted enough stress and consequences, you can proclaim the taken out result of "turned to stone". Of course the target has a chance to escape the grapple every exchange, but as long as you can hold on, you can slowly turn him into stone. For most people it would not make much difference to an instant petrification, but some characters will still have a chance to escape. Plus it is way more dramatic to see the character slowly turn. A mild consequence could mean, that his feet are solid, so you could invoke that if he tries to flee.

So the power would look like this:
Medusa's Eyes
- magnetic gaze (a presence stunt)
- mental grapple
- petrification as a venom effect that is active during the mental grapple

I would prize it at 2 refresh, 1 refresh for the venom effect, 1 for the other two effects combined.


The Weeping angels could be done the same way, only instead of turning to stone, the taken out result would kill the victim and create a new angel.

[Thrythlind]

okay, and if the petrification were temporary, that would still be effectively a taken out effect, but allowing for the victim to recover...correct?

or, since my definition of the power is that it depends on the killing intent of the individual gorgon (Terra is terrible at killing intent) that the taken-out effect is up to the individual player as to whether or not it is permanent or not

which doesn't change the value since the immediate impact is the same

[Haru]

If the effect is killing or not would probably depend on if you allow the petrification effect to be reversible or not. But yes, you could even put that in the taken out result, so you could choose if you want a temporary turned to stone or a fatal stone statue result. You could even include a retransformation effect into the original power, so you could free someone from their stone prison.

[admiralducksauce]

Why not use the rules for intentionally starting a soulgaze?  Deceit vs. Empathy, working on a tie or better (as a maneuver).  YS228.

[Taran]

Soulgazing was the first thing that came to my mind and I like that idea.

Why not just use existing powers and change the defense to Awareness?

Channelling:
a spell that does mental damage vs awareness representing the vamp trying to take control of the target
physical attack spell vs awareness to represent the medusa slowly turning it's target to stone

Or incite emotion vs Awareness works as well to gain controle of a target.

Dominate vs Awareness.

The key is that the power works as soon as you meet the monsters gaze.  

Opponenets could purposely give themselves aspects like "closing my eyes" to tag to help avoid eye contact (which can be compelled also...it's hard to dodge a sword when your eyes are closed).

[devonapple]

FWIW, here is my old thread on the subject: http://www.jimbutcheronline.com/bb/index.php/topic,22567.0.html

My writeup ended up being:
Petrification [-2]: You can petrify a target by touch. On a successful attack using your Fists ability, you inflict Physical Stress +2 on a target you are able to touch. Any consequences the opponent takes must reflect your attempts to turn them to stone. You may also use maneuvers to place Aspects on the target reflecting this conflict. Once the target is Taken Out, their Trouble Aspect is replaced with the aspect Turned to Stone. [This would be appropriate for a Cockatrice in the D&D mythology]
Gaze [+0]:  You instead petrify a target within your zone by successfully making prolonged eye contact. Roll your Conviction versus the target’s Discipline to inflict Physical Stress +2 on the target.  If the target continues to engage in conflict with you, you may continue to use this ability. Any consequences the opponent takes must reflect their diminished ability to avoid meeting your gaze in the midst of conflict. Otherwise, this works exactly like Petrification.  While this attack allows you to petrify at range, your target has the option to avoiding engaging you in conflict, which will leave them vulnerable: consider their defenses to be Mediocre (+0) against your other attacks or maneuvers while they are immune to meeting your gaze. [This would be appropriate for a Medusa in the D&D mythology]
Improved Gaze [-1]:  For an additional point of Refresh, you do not require prolonged eye contact. Simply gazing on their body for long enough will do. You may roll your Conviction versus the target’s Athletics to inflict Physical Stress +2 on the target. Otherwise, this works exactly like Petrification. [This would be appropriate for a Basilisk in the D&D mythology]

[Sanctaphrax]

I'd just call it a one-sided Soulgaze that inflicts physical stress, personally. Maybe give it a weapon rating, maybe not.

Better rules for when a Soulgaze occurs would be needed, though.

[InFerrumVeritas]

Attack would be something like Deceit vs. Empathy.  If it succeeds, it begins gaze.  Target is blocked (like a grapple) at attacker's Conviction.  Subsequent rounds deal 1 stress (reroll Conviction each round).  All consequences related to turning to stone.  Taken out results in lawn ornament. 

I think it's interesting.  It's a mental conflict that deals physical stress.