Author Topic: Statting Up Worm Characters  (Read 76688 times)

Offline Hick Jr

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Re: Statting Up Worm Characters
« Reply #180 on: October 02, 2013, 02:58:04 AM »
Use a stunt that shifts the "lying/disguise" trapping of Deceit over to Stealth when he's using those trappings to hide that he's the Siberian. Two birds with one stone.

Also, was it just me who was confused by the interaction between Rachel's power and Lab Rat's device? From what I understood, Bastard was making the transition into a kaiju.
Hi! My home is called an apiary! I collect honey, and defend the Queen!

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Offline Sanctaphrax

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Re: Statting Up Worm Characters
« Reply #181 on: October 02, 2013, 03:45:33 AM »
He already has a stunt letting him use Intimidation for hiding his identity. And using Stealth instead of Deceit wouldn't let him hide better physically. So that wouldn't work.

Offline narphoenix

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Re: Statting Up Worm Characters
« Reply #182 on: October 07, 2013, 02:06:34 AM »
So I've been thinking about Emma Barnes lately, and how the two years between Taylor being outed and
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must have been really horrid for her. I mean, being known as the person who bullied a poor girl until she became a super-villain is unlikely to be good for your interactions with people. Combined with the fact that she had to worry about every bug being Taylor coming to get revenge, and well, you've got a pretty hellish life. I'm almost sorry for her.

Except. Well. She did it completely to herself. Not only that, but she made just a little less time than that even more hellish for Taylor, culminating into her triggering
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, something explicitly mentioned to require really bad days. So I might have been sorry for her, except for the fact that a) she totally did it to herself and b) speaking as someone who used to be bullied, she *totally* earned it.

Suck it, Emma Barnes. Time to pay the piper.
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Offline Hick Jr

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Re: Statting Up Worm Characters
« Reply #183 on: October 15, 2013, 11:17:07 PM »
So! Following this little gem, Taylor has become unstattable! Yay!

Also, I think a revision of Lung's Limitation might be in order. He seems to be able to manually activate his transformation, it just goes faster when he's in combat. Maybe if he makes a Discipline roll of X, or tags an Aspect, he activates one tier of transformation?

And Marquis has some badass-ed-ness in this chapter, Sanctaphrax, if you were looking for a little more info on how he operates.


Oh, and Contessa finally got an interlude, which sort of proved that there's no way to stat her power.

PS: I think we were talking about how to model Eidolon in another thread? Mimic Abilities with the Limitation that the GM picks your powers might work. I'd actually call that a Moderate limitation at the very least.
Hi! My home is called an apiary! I collect honey, and defend the Queen!

Not-so-secretly a power hungry megalomaniac with a Modular Abilities addiction.

Offline Taran

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Re: Statting Up Worm Characters
« Reply #184 on: October 15, 2013, 11:26:59 PM »
PS: I think we were talking about how to model Eidolon in another thread? Mimic Abilities with the Limitation that the GM picks your powers might work. I'd actually call that a Moderate limitation at the very least.

I'd just do modular abilities with an aspect attached to it where the gm uses a compel to choose the abilities.

Offline Hick Jr

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Re: Statting Up Worm Characters
« Reply #185 on: October 15, 2013, 11:56:18 PM »
I feel like that's not a significant enough disadvantage. Eidolon very clearly can't stop his powers from changing if they so choose. He can slow it down or try to hold on, but it happens. Your way ends up with the most broken variable abilities list ever and the character sitting on a boatload of Fate Points.

Let's review how Eidolon's powers work, ignoring any "shard" speculation. This is the nitty-gritty.

-Eidolon can draw upon any number of powers. He can generally get either two or three powerful ones, or four or five comparatively weak ones.

-Eidolon doesn't get to choose which powers he gets, or when his powers change. He can release his powers voluntarily, but it can happen without any input from him. He can "reach" for a specific type, or try to hold on to a certain set, but in the end, it's not up to him what specific powers he gets.

-Eidolon instinctively understands the nuances of the powers he currently has, and knows how to use them.

-He may or may not be able to violate the Manton Effect, possibly only on a power-by-power basis.


I'm sticking with Mimic Abilities or Variable Abilities. One of his Aspects would probably be "My Powers Are Not Under My Control" or something like that. It'd get Compelled for unwanted power switches, and he could Invoke it to change his powers himself or reach for a specific power or powerset.
Hi! My home is called an apiary! I collect honey, and defend the Queen!

Not-so-secretly a power hungry megalomaniac with a Modular Abilities addiction.

Offline Sanctaphrax

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Re: Statting Up Worm Characters
« Reply #186 on: October 16, 2013, 05:11:51 AM »
I wouldn't say that Taylor's become unstattable. A custom Power that imposes a really hefty block on the actions of any person/parahuman (it's not clear) in her zone could represent the passive effect of her aura, and the active part could be represented with Incite Effect or another custom Power.

As for Eidolon, Mimic Abilities definitely won't work. He doesn't mimic.

Modular/Variable Abilities is closer, but it's not perfect. The main issue is that it doesn't represent Eidolon's lack of control, but there are other problems as well. Like the fact that swapping your powers with it takes a full round and the fact that every power is gained immediately at full strength.

Offline Hick Jr

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Re: Statting Up Worm Characters
« Reply #187 on: October 16, 2013, 09:23:35 PM »
Spoilers for Speck 30.1 below.

(click to show/hide)

Anyway, regarding Eidolon, would Variable Abilities, a stunt that let him do supplemental action switches, and a Limitation along the lines of "can't control my powers, takes a while to power up (a la your writeup of Lung)" work?

Oh, and I'm working on approval to play a character with Projection, Sanctaphrax, over in SDC. Two questions: Can the projections act on the exchange that they're created, and how does Multiple Actions work?

Let's say I have three projections active. The original isn't doing anything. One of them is lifting a car out of the way and has Mythic Strength and Superb Might, and assuming a roll of 0, that's +17. One of them is lurking in the shadows keeping watch. He has Fantastic Stealth and Cloak of Shadows, so that's +8. One of them is tracking someone down from a bloodstain under the car, and has Hunter and Superb Survival, so that's Epic.

What happens? How are the shifts divided?
« Last Edit: October 16, 2013, 09:34:44 PM by Hick Jr »
Hi! My home is called an apiary! I collect honey, and defend the Queen!

Not-so-secretly a power hungry megalomaniac with a Modular Abilities addiction.

Offline Sanctaphrax

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Re: Statting Up Worm Characters
« Reply #188 on: October 17, 2013, 12:24:26 AM »
Mimic Abilities doesn't work that way. You need to eat a chunk of someone in order to use their powers.

Supernatural Sense sounds like a good idea, though.

That could sort of work for Eidolon. Wouldn't be perfect, though. And honestly Limitation isn't really supposed to work that way. It shuts off your powers, it doesn't remove your control over them.

Oh, and I'm working on approval to play a character with Projection, Sanctaphrax, over in SDC. Two questions: Can the projections act on the exchange that they're created...

Huh, I thought you already had a character.

And no. Projecting a body is a full action.

...and how does Multiple Actions work?

Let's say I have three projections active. The original isn't doing anything. One of them is lifting a car out of the way and has Mythic Strength and Superb Might, and assuming a roll of 0, that's +17. One of them is lurking in the shadows keeping watch. He has Fantastic Stealth and Cloak of Shadows, so that's +8. One of them is tracking someone down from a bloodstain under the car, and has Hunter and Superb Survival, so that's Epic.

What happens? How are the shifts divided?

If all three are taking an action at the same time, then you take the lowest skill and divide the shifts using it. So you'd have 7 shifts to split between your actions.

That's not terribly impressive. Which is good, because it's not supposed to be any better than just taking a single action.

But there's another side to this. You only have to split your shifts if you're taking actions. If one of your projections is hiding in the shadows, he isn't necessarily taking an action to hide. He's hidden, it takes a Legendary roll to notice him, and that's that.

Plus some GMs (including me) would let you move cars with a supplemental action if you were that strong.

And if you're not in combat, then you don't usually have to worry about this stuff. If one body is tracking someone, then having it get distracted for ten seconds while another body moves a car doesn't really change anything. The tracking attempt isn't meaningfully impeded.

PS: I misspelled "stay" in the Projection write-up, but that's fixed now.

Offline Hick Jr

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Re: Statting Up Worm Characters
« Reply #189 on: October 17, 2013, 12:44:26 AM »
Mimic Abilities doesn't work that way. You need to eat a chunk of someone in order to use their powers.

Supernatural Sense sounds like a good idea, though.
I'm of the opinion that Mimic Abilities isn't really versatile enough, by the RAW. And she's basically commandeering their powers, so to me, it fits. She would technically need NI points of it, however.

That could sort of work for Eidolon. Wouldn't be perfect, though. And honestly Limitation isn't really supposed to work that way. It shuts off your powers, it doesn't remove your control over them.
I was thinking of representing the lack of control with one of his Aspects, which would get compelled as necessary. Basically, he has to spend a Fate Point to pick his powers himself. Otherwise, it's up to the GM. Limitation is actually one of my favorite powers if only because it's so easily hacked into doing stuff like this.

Huh, I thought you already had a character.

And no. Projecting a body is a full action.
I'm making some additions/revisions to my character's Variable Abilities list. Projection is one of them.

Got it. Thanks.

If all three are taking an action at the same time, then you take the lowest skill and divide the shifts using it. So you'd have 7 shifts to split between your actions.

That's not terribly impressive. Which is good, because it's not supposed to be any better than just taking a single action.

But there's another side to this. You only have to split your shifts if you're taking actions. If one of your projections is hiding in the shadows, he isn't necessarily taking an action to hide. He's hidden, it takes a Legendary roll to notice him, and that's that.

Plus some GMs (including me) would let you move cars with a supplemental action if you were that strong.

And if you're not in combat, then you don't usually have to worry about this stuff. If one body is tracking someone, then having it get distracted for ten seconds while another body moves a car doesn't really change anything. The tracking attempt isn't meaningfully impeded.

PS: I misspelled "stay" in the Projection write-up, but that's fixed now.
Okay, that cleared it up pretty well. So the projections can take supplemental actions. Interesting. I thought that rolling Stealth to hide was an action. Is that one of those passive things?

This power isn't really meant to be an effective "whoop look at me i'm six dudes time to brawl" power, in my eyes. Multiple Bodies is better for that, and costs more accordingly.


Actually, the Multiple Projection power raised a few questions for me, both game and story-wise.
-What inspired it? As far as I can tell, the only character who might have it is Satyrical, and you wrote the power before we figured out the nuances of his power.
-Would an upgrade that basically turned it into a multiple-action power by doing away with the spray attack mechanic be out of the question? How would you cost it? I'm aware that multiple actions are a whole can of Lovecraftian worms, but I'd be interested in such an upgrade.
-How many times did William Manton trigger? Because if he takes a one-Refresh upgrade to his power, there are five more Siberians running around....

Actually, that last one might almost be a Wormverse children's story. "How The Siberian Six Killed Leviathan: Sink This, You Slimy Blue Bastard"
« Last Edit: October 17, 2013, 02:56:58 AM by Hick Jr »
Hi! My home is called an apiary! I collect honey, and defend the Queen!

Not-so-secretly a power hungry megalomaniac with a Modular Abilities addiction.

Offline Sanctaphrax

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Re: Statting Up Worm Characters
« Reply #190 on: October 17, 2013, 04:11:53 AM »
I'm of the opinion that Mimic Abilities isn't really versatile enough, by the RAW.

Really?

I can't say I agree with you there. I'd probably have to weaken it a bit if one of my players wanted to use it. Indefinite-duration skill-copying is just unfair.

I thought that rolling Stealth to hide was an action. Is that one of those passive things?

Once you're hidden you don't need to roll anymore, right?

The initial hiding attempt might not be possible in combat, and actions aren't really a thing outside of combat, so I'm not sure whether beginning to hide is an action. If you can do it in a fight it should be, though.

Actually, the Multiple Projection power raised a few questions for me, both game and story-wise.
-What inspired it? As far as I can tell, the only character who might have it is Satyrical, and you wrote the power before we figured out the nuances of his power.

I don't remember.

-Would an upgrade that basically turned it into a multiple-action power by doing away with the spray attack mechanic be out of the question? How would you cost it? I'm aware that multiple actions are a whole can of Lovecraftian worms, but I'd be interested in such an upgrade.

If I wanted to handle multiple actions with projected bodies, I'd probably just use a generic multiple action power with a Limitation.

The cost of a generic multiple action power would depend on how exactly it worked.

-How many times did William Manton trigger? Because if he takes a one-Refresh upgrade to his power, there are five more Siberians running around....

I don't think he triggered at all. He took a formula, right?

And honestly, six Siberians wouldn't be much more dangerous than one unless they could act independently. It's a -1 upgrade, after all, it shouldn't make anyone much scarier.

Offline Sanctaphrax

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Re: Statting Up Worm Characters
« Reply #191 on: October 19, 2013, 03:11:54 AM »
Thinking a bit more about Projection...

Skilled Projection is problematic. If I reduce my Conviction and Scholarship to raise my projection's skills, what happens when I get hit with a mental attack while projecting? Does it depend on whether the projection is the one targeted? And what happens if I want to answer science questions while projecting?

I think it might be good to prohibit Skilled Projection from lowering certain skills, but that might make it useless.

Also I don't want to have to re-write the Siberian.

Input would be appreciated.

Offline Hick Jr

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Re: Statting Up Worm Characters
« Reply #192 on: October 19, 2013, 04:02:22 AM »
I was planning a comprehensive review of the Siberian, because it's a fairly important writeup that ended up requiring at least three custom powers.

Let's say that Manton has projected a Siberian, and is tailing Bitch with her. Manton perceives everything the Siberian does, so he sees Bitch use her power. Now, the projection saw Bitch, so that was her Alertness roll. However, the power analysis Scholarship check is obviously made by Manton, because, by virtue of essentially being a sort of complicated forcefield, the Siberian can't. Any mental action she takes would be Manton taking a mental action. I would add something to Skilled Projection saying that you use your own Mental skills (Lore, Scholarship, Conviction, Discipline) for the projection. That would probably cost it up.


Also, why is Tank costed so high?
« Last Edit: October 19, 2013, 04:24:52 AM by Hick Jr »
Hi! My home is called an apiary! I collect honey, and defend the Queen!

Not-so-secretly a power hungry megalomaniac with a Modular Abilities addiction.

Offline Sanctaphrax

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Re: Statting Up Worm Characters
« Reply #193 on: October 19, 2013, 07:15:14 AM »
My plan is for Tank to cost 1. But any hits you accept in place of your allies bypass your Toughness unless you pay more. And if you want to use a broad Immunity with Tank like the Siberian does, you need to pay 5.

Because Tank and Toughness Powers synergize too well otherwise. Tank costing 1 assumes that attacks which hurt your allies also hurt you, and Toughness costing whatever it costs assumes that it only protects you.

If you use your own mental skills with the projection, then you shouldn't be able to lower those. Which makes the power weaker...dunno whether it's really worth a point of Refresh if you don't let people lower mental skills or Contacts/Resources.

I'd appreciate a full review of the Siberian.

Offline Sanctaphrax

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Re: Statting Up Worm Characters
« Reply #194 on: October 19, 2013, 10:01:33 PM »
All that aside, here's Tank and All Creatures (And Objects) Are Equal Before Me.

They could really use better names, so feel free to suggest some.

Other feedback is also welcome, obviously.

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