New Concept/Template: Shaman of the Land

[Sanctaphrax]

Hm.

Seems to me there are five factors that should go into the costing of Situational Abilities.

1. The total Refresh cost of abilities that you can use at a time.
2. The list of abilities that you can draw from.
3. How much effort it takes you to change your selection of abilities.
4. The manner in which the GM determines which abilities you get.
5. How much control you have over when your Powers change.

For Eidolon it would be something like...

1. It varies, but always a lot. Like 20+.
2. Pretty much anything.
3. Very little. A supplemental action suffices to swap out an ability. Though it takes a while for the powers to reach full strength.
4. Whatever would be useful in the current situation, with limited input from Eidolon.
5. Quite a bit, but not a full amount. He can usually choose when to change his abilities and he can swap out some without swapping out them all, but sometimes his abilities change on him involuntarily.

For Steve the shaman of the land it would be more like...

1. 4.
2. Sponsored Magics, physical abilities, some Incite Effects, a few other things.
3. Dunno.
4. Whatever suits the area, maybe with some input from Steve.
5. Not a lot. He can hang onto powers until he leaves the area.

So obviously Steve should be spending less Refresh. Not sure how much less, though.

How does that list of factors sound, and do you have any ideas for designing a costing formula?

[narphoenix]

Hm.

Seems to me there are five factors that should go into the costing of Situational Abilities.

1. The total Refresh cost of abilities that you can use at a time.
2. The list of abilities that you can draw from.
3. How much effort it takes you to change your selection of abilities.
4. The manner in which the GM determines which abilities you get.
5. How much control you have over when your Powers change.

For Eidolon it would be something like...

1. It varies, but always a lot. Like 20+.
2. Pretty much anything.
3. Very little. A supplemental action suffices to swap out an ability. Though it takes a while for the powers to reach full strength.
4. Whatever would be useful in the current situation, with limited input from Eidolon.
5. Quite a bit, but not a full amount. He can usually choose when to change his abilities and he can swap out some without swapping out them all, but sometimes his abilities change on him involuntarily.

For Steve the shaman of the land it would be more like...

1. 4.
2. Sponsored Magics, physical abilities, some Incite Effects, a few other things.
3. Dunno.
4. Whatever suits the area, maybe with some input from Steve.
5. Not a lot. He can hang onto powers until he leaves the area.

So obviously Steve should be spending less Refresh. Not sure how much less, though.

How does that list of factors sound, and do you have any ideas for designing a costing formula?

The list of factors is sound. Also, Shamans can upgrade to get more Mimics than four.

My ideas for the factors are the following:

1. This should be the minimum refresh cost. You do /not/ get to have more abilities than you have refresh spent on this.
2. You already took care of this one. The head costs for the Variable Abilities lists sorts this out nicely.
3. Default is an action, based off of Modular Abilities. Increase cost by one Refresh to knock it down to supplementary. Decrease cost by one Refresh to make this a couple actions.
4. I say you getting full control is the default. You should be reimbursed for losing control. Steve and Eidolon would probably be reimbursed the same amount.
5. Eidolon would get no reimbursement: his is probably just Compelled. Steve would probably be reimbursed, though, by one Refresh.

(Also, Steve probably only needs a Supplementary to change)

[Sanctaphrax]

...Shamans can upgrade to get more Mimics than four.

I know. That's just Steve.

1. This should be the minimum refresh cost. You do /not/ get to have more abilities than you have refresh spent on this.

What if your Power deliberately gives you the ability that would be least useful in whatever situation you're in?

2. You already took care of this one. The head costs for the Variable Abilities lists sorts this out nicely.

Mm, maybe. Having Psychometry on your Variable Abilities list is awesome, because it's just as good as having it on your character sheet normally. That's not the case for Situational Abilities.

In fact, having more Powers on your Situational Abilities list could be a negative thing in some cases.

3. Default is an action, based off of Modular Abilities. Increase cost by one Refresh to knock it down to supplementary. Decrease cost by one Refresh to make this a couple actions.

Sounds okay to me.

4. I say you getting full control is the default. You should be reimbursed for losing control. Steve and Eidolon would probably be reimbursed the same amount.

Wait, what?

If people have full control, then how is this different from Variable Abilities?

5. Eidolon would get no reimbursement: his is probably just Compelled. Steve would probably be reimbursed, though, by one Refresh.

Sounds like a plan.

[narphoenix]

I know. That's just Steve.

What if your Power deliberately gives you the ability that would be least useful in whatever situation you're in?

Well then, I expect many FPs heading your way in the future.

Mm, maybe. Having Psychometry on your Variable Abilities list is awesome, because it's just as good as having it on your character sheet normally. That's not the case for Situational Abilities.

In fact, having more Powers on your Situational Abilities list could be a negative thing in some cases.

Like when?

Sounds okay to me.

Wait, what?

If people have full control, then how is this different from Variable Abilities?

I'm basically making Situational Abilities so that if there's no involuntary part, it sets back to Variable Abilities. That's deliberate.

Sounds like a plan.

Cool.

[Sanctaphrax]

Well then, I expect many FPs heading your way in the future.

I don't think that's a good idea. Handling things with Compels should generally be the last resort.

Particularly in this case, since if the set of abilities you get from your Power is a Compel then it's not clear what you'll get if you refuse the Compel.

Like when?

If Ritual (Divination), Supernatural Sense, and Psychometry are on your list, then you may get stuck with them when you want a combat power.

I'm basically making Situational Abilities so that if there's no involuntary part, it sets back to Variable Abilities. That's deliberate.

I'm not sure whether that's a good plan. Hard to explain why, but it seems dubious to me.

Also, if that's the case, I'm pretty sure Steve should be reimbursed more than Eidolon unless the land is really really permissive.

[Taran]

Why not have a few templates:

City-scape
Desert
Forest
Ocean
Etc...

Have a power-list based on each.  Use modular abilities and maybe true shape-shifting to get the skill swaps

If you want some randomness, make sure you choose 2-5 refresh more than your total for each template and have the GM choose the first few while you choose the rest OR let the Player always choose, but when there's a reason to, have the GM compel the player to take one or more less useful powers or choose the power-list for the player.

I also like the idea of having an Attunement time to align oneself with the current spirit of the land.

Specific sponsored magic (as was mentioned by someone else) could be a choice in certain lists.

Lastly, Sponsored magic (Places of Power) could be another way of doing it (or in addition to doing it.)

Take the same list and give each location a theme(ex: desert: fire, air, desiccation).  Take sponsored magic - as a permanent power -  and have the theme/effects differ depending on the locale.

I don't think it needs to be too complicated.

[vultur]

I'm sorry, but I don't see why this has to be a new Power.

I'd make it Modular Abilities (with the 2 Refresh surcharge). Maybe a 1 Refresh rebate/Limitation for being limited to abilities appropriate to your environment, but since Modular Abilities already expects a limited list rather than "all powers ever", maybe not. Definitely a rebate if you have to spend time to "attune".

Then I'd make generic lists for terrain types, rather than having to make a new list for every single place in the world.

(EDIT: And now I see Taran just posted the same thing...)

Example Lists

(click to show/hide)

These are made with powers from YS only. Add in custom powers to taste, I don't have time to go through the whole custom power list right now.

GENERAL (available anywhere)
Psychometry [-1]
Supernatural Sense [-1?] (Detect disruptions to the environment, whatever it is. Would detect a fire anywhere, logging in a forest, flooding in a city or dry land environment [but not a wetland]. Would not detect cutting down trees in a city or destruction of a house in an otherwise natural setting -- only things incongruous with the broader landscape. Assume something has to be at least a square mile to be "broader landscape", not every tiny park in a city. Range is about a mile or so for big disruptions like a forest fire, less for small things.)

URBAN
Channeling (Metal) [-2]
Echoes of the Beast (any urban animal, e.g. dog, housecat, rat, pigeon, cockroach...) [-1]
Inhuman/Supernatural Toughness [-2/-4]  - draw upon the steel skeletons of buildings for immense resilience
Inhuman/Supernatural Speed [-2/-4] - draw upon the speed of cars
Spider Walk [-1]

DESERT
Breath Weapon [-2] (fire)
Echoes of the Beast (any desert animal) [-1]
Channeling (Fire) [-2]
Inhuman/Supernatural Speed [-2/-4]
Inhuman/Supernatural Toughness [-2/-4]

FOREST
Channeling (Wood) [-2]
Cloak of Shadows [-1]
Echoes of the Beast (any forest animal) [-1]
Inhuman/Supernatural Recovery [-2/-4]
Inhuman/Supernatural Toughness [-2/-4]
Spider Walk [-1]

WETLAND/AQUATIC*
Aquatic [-1]
Breath Weapon [-2] (acid)
Channeling (Water) [-2]
Inhuman/Supernatural Recovery [-2/-4] -- water finds its own level, flowing in to replace any that is removed
Inhuman/Supernatural Strength [-2/-4] -- strike with the power of waves/flowing water

*I would limit this to significant wetlands / bodies of water, not every tiny pond or stream.

I would say that adding in lists for Grassland/Savanna and perhaps Ice/Arctic/High Mountains would cover pretty much anyplace.

[Sanctaphrax]

Yeah, I guess that could work.

But I like the idea of Situational Abilities. Eidolon isn't the only other character I'd want to use it for. So I still want to create it, even if it's not strictly necessary here.