Aberrant Question
aetherson
I just got Aberrant, and am liking it a great deal. As visions of
superheroes dance through my head, I have a very mundane question for
those of you who've had a chance to play the game a little bit.
What would you regard as a basically combat competent Nova? What sort
of attack, damage, and soak pools?
I ask because, in a game like Vampire, I've got a fairly solid idea of
what stats I minimally hit if I want to play a character who is, in
part, sort of a rough & tumble bruiser, the sort of person who could
plausibly threaten violence against other Leeches or the like. I
figure, six plus dice in most combat pools, plus maybe one of my
Disciplines being combat oriented.
With Aberrant, I've been thinking about another such person who's
partially a "bruiser," but who I want to have depth in other areas as
well, and I've realized I have no idea how he'd stack up against other
Novas.
Understand that I'm not asking about how to completely twink out a
character into a combat monster -- that's easy enough to figure out.
I'm looking for an idea of what a medium level of competence is.
Any related musings that those who've played the game would like to
share would, of course, be quite welcome.
Mike (aetherson)
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.
A. Peori
>
> Hey, kiddoes.
>
> I just got Aberrant, and am liking it a great deal. As visions of
> superheroes dance through my head, I have a very mundane question for
> those of you who've had a chance to play the game a little bit.
>
> What would you regard as a basically combat competent Nova? What sort
> of attack, damage, and soak pools?
There are about three levels of Combat Nova. The three
levels are "Decent Combat" (can take on most baselines and
win), "Nova Combat" (can take on average Nova's and win) and
"Titanic Combat" (can take on armies and win).
In damage terms I give average damage given, convert 3 dice
to 1 success and add automatic successes. The To-hit roll
successes should not be counted in this because only up to 5
can be counted (thus raisng the average by 1 or 2 points
maximum).
Level | Damage | Soak
Decent | 5 | 8
Nova (PCs) | 15 | 20
Titanic | 30 | 40
Notice I emphasize Soak over damage, this is because more
often than not your opponent ALWAYS gets tp roll 1d10 for
damage. However if you use the optional rule on high soak
you would want twice the Soak of the enemies damage pool so
you can ignore it. Also note that high Soaks are better
against automatic damage then dicepool damage because they
eliminate the automatic levels first. Thus is you want truly
powerful
attacks try to get ones with HIGH dicepools and low
automatics (this can get annoying to roll but is more
efficent in the long run).
Always try to balance offense and defense abilties so they
are more or
less even (or better yet, conform to the above chart as
closely as possible). However, someone who concentrates
totally on offensive power will LOOSE to someone who
concentrates totally on defensive power, as the former will
find it impossible to hurt the latter but not vice versa.
Some suggested Mega-Attributes:
Mega-Strength is useful but don't max out on it, 3 dots is
often all you'll need. Recommended for Nova scale conflicts
mainly as against baselines it is often overkill.
Thunderclap is the best enhancement, as it allows you to hit
those annoying flyers.
Mega-Dexterity is also useful and can be very neat. A maxed
out Mega-Dex character will beat a maxed out Mega-strength
character most of the time. For most combat Nova's you may
want 1 or 2 dots however. High Mega-Dex gives you a good
balance of offense and defense however. Enhancements are
best used on Accuracy or Physical Prodigy. Rapid Strike is
useless (maximum of 5 extra dice of damage) so avoid it
unless you want it for flavor.
Mega-Stamina, don't waste your points. Mega-Stamina is
useless for combat most of the time. It is more efficent to
buy armor and extra health levels than Mega-Stamina. The
only decent option is Regeneration but unless your maxed out
in Mega-Stamina it is useless in a fight with a truly
powerful combat Nova and will only delay the envitable.
Hardbody is useful only against Agg damage, and few NPCs
should have that.
Mega-Wits a good rating in Mega-wits is always useful, not
just in combat. Mega-wits should be used mainly for
defensive fighters however. Enhanced Initiative isn't all
its cracked up to be especially since if you have Mega-wits
your initiative is often higher anyway and going first isn't
all that important in the game. Multitasking and Quickness
are very useful however. I prefer Multitasking myself, since
Quickness is very expensive if you want to act more than
twice.
Other Mega-Attributes: Not really good for combat Nova's.
However I MUCH prefer Mega-Manipulation for winning than any
others. "Persauder" and Hypnotic Voice will often defeat a
twinked out combat Nova with ONE round of action.
Mega-Manipulation plus Dominate is just NASTY.
Level 1 Powers:
Generally only buy these when you have too few Nova points
for anything else.
Claws: Any more than 1 dot in Claws is a waste of Nova
Points. The extra which allows you to use it through weapons
is also not very useful, as most weapons are useless to
Novas (sorry, its true, Nova's wielding swords is just
pointless).
Intuition: This power is mildly useful and costs less than
its big brothers. However in combat this doens't apply so
much as it does to prevent ambush.
Luck: This power can come in useful in a pinch, but I've
noticed people begin to rely on it a bit too much. Luck is
useless except at high levels anyway.
Psychic Shield: If you want to avoid taking damage from the
psionic Novas (especially the twinked out Mega-Manip plus
Domination Nova) then buy this.
The others are basically useless, I've yet to see a player
but any of them.
Level 2 Powers:
Absorption: Don't bother, this power drains your NP and your
Quantum Pool. It's essentially useless except as a special
effect. In combat, unless you have high Node you can absrob
maybe 6 or 8, with an average of 3. Not worth it.
Armor: Armor is decent to buy, but if you do see if you can
convince your GM to give you 2 Bashing/4 Lethal per dot
instead of 3 each, it works out better in the long run. 2 or
3 dots in armor is a wise investment.
Bodymorph: Eh, this can be okay, but really it is more
limited than buying the powers at their basic levels. It can
be useful for special effect Novas and if you don't want to
have high levels in any particular power, but otherwise save
your NP.
Boost: Worthless. You get, what, a CHANCE at a
high-Attribute... for the same cost it would take to BUY a
high attribute? Wow... I'm impressed.
Density Control: Increased Density is useless and lowered
Density is too unless you have it at level 4 or 5. A touch
too expensive to be worthwhile.
Disorient: Useful if you want to be a support Nova who helps
the team and tries to stay out of combat, but in direct
conflict actions are better spent on other things.
Disrupt: Useful for anti-Nova based characters. However, it
may or may not effect Mega-Atts (unclear) and really your
probably best inclined to do other things. It can be neat
however and really screws with Deathstar (all flight and
Q-bolt) Novas as well.
Domination: See above under Other Mega-Attributes.
Flight: If you have more than 1 or 2 dots your wasting Nova
Points. Aerial dogfights in Aberrant do not go to the
fastest or most manuveurable.
Force Field: A LOT of my players take this one... however it
isn't all that useful, not without a high dicepool. If you
do have a high Stamina + Force Field... well, then you have
a decent defense.
Immobilize: Heh, nothing pisses off a Mega-Strength Nova
more than Immobilze. Five successes total ussually seals
them up. It isn't good for finishing off Nova's but is good
for getting away.
Immolate: Not bad, and gives you the most -dice- of any
power in the game, thus it is more efficent versus high Soak
novas than otherwise. Give some thought to putting down NP
in this one.
Invulnerability: Don't bother to buy it unless you buy it at
Level 3 with either the Physical of Energy invulnerability
Extra. It is the best defense power in the game when you do
however, but really expensive.
Mental Blast: If you want to ignore Soak, pick this. It is
nasty.
Poison: Avoid it, worthless in battle.
Premontion: See "Intuition" above.
Qunatum Bolt: Ah, here it is. Q-bolt is probably the most
common attack power and at its maximum level far outshines
Mega-Strength, giving you a decent power at a decent cost.
Q-bolt is the best offensive power in the game, so keep that
in mind. It should be noted that a high level is more
efficent than a lot of Quantum.
Finally, one note: It is legal by the rules to buy the
Aggravated Extra for Q-Bolt. The problem with this is that
it essentially annuls another power (Disintegration) since
it is a) cheaper (requires a lower Quantum) b) goes farther
and c) is often better to buy in the long run. As a ST I
dissallow this, but if you play by the book beware the
twinked Aggravated Q-Bolt.
Quantum Leech: Useful onyl against Novas... and while you
drain a bit of their energy they smack you with
Mega-strength. Eh, forgo it.
Quantum Vampire: Put simply? Avoid it. Not worth it in a
crisis situation.
Shroud and Strobe and Invisbility: See "Disoreint" above.
Sizemorph (either): Avoid them, you either become a big
target, or a smalll person unable to move very fast.
Stun Attack: If you want to not kill people, choose this.
Telekinesis: Not useful in a direct conflict.
Telepathy: Like Telekinesis above. Surreptiious Telepathy,
Mega-Manipulation and Domination is perhaps the most EVIL
combo of powers in the game.
Teleport: Unless you have combat Teleport, useless.
Otherwise 1 or 2 dots should suffice for most suituations.
Any I forgot: Useless in combat.
Level 3 Powers:
Clone: Ugh. Avoid it with all your might.
Disintegration: If you want to kill someone, take this
power.
The Technique Powers (Elemental Anima/Mastery/Entropy
Control etc): These are best taken by Nova's who want to be
able to do more than just fight, and be pretty decent at
combat too. However the full power of these powers doens't
really come out unless you have levels 3 or higher which is
awfully expensive.
Healing: if you want your character to become the cleric of
the group, pick it, otherwise move on.
Homunculus: I am very afraid of the Humunculus power. I have
yet to see PCs use it but I designed a very powerful combat
twink with just this power and Mega-strength.
Matter Chameleon: Much better than Bodymorph, but the same
concept applies. Best for a mid-rank Nova.
Quantum Construct: Someone once posted how to destroy LA
with only Q-Construct. While possible Q-Construct is going
to not serve you well in a fight, its too expensive to have
at a good level at the start of the game.
Quantum Imprint: If you buy this, have it at level 5,
otherwise don't bother.
Shapeshift: The single most versatile power in the game to
date, this power lets the Nova do almost anything and is
very useful to boot. In combat it has limited applications
but might be worth checking out if you want a more esoteric
Nova.
Warp: In combat its useless.
----------------
Epsilon
aetherson
"A. Peori" <tz...@ns.sympatico.ca> wrote:
> aetherson wrote:
> >
> > Hey, kiddoes.
> >
> > I just got Aberrant, and am liking it a great deal. As visions of
> > superheroes dance through my head, I have a very mundane question
for
> > those of you who've had a chance to play the game a little bit.
> >
> > What would you regard as a basically combat competent Nova? What
sort
> > of attack, damage, and soak pools?
>
> There are about three levels of Combat Nova. The three
> levels are "Decent Combat" (can take on most baselines and
> win), "Nova Combat" (can take on average Nova's and win) and
> "Titanic Combat" (can take on armies and win).
>
> In damage terms I give average damage given, convert 3 dice
> to 1 success and add automatic successes. The To-hit roll
> successes should not be counted in this because only up to 5
> can be counted (thus raisng the average by 1 or 2 points
> maximum).
>
> Level | Damage | Soak
> Decent | 5 | 8
> Nova (PCs) | 15 | 20
> Titanic | 30 | 40
Interesting point. How much do you think you can substitute a Dodge
for a Soak? Obviously, you need /some/ kind of decent soak, or the
first time you come out one success too low on your Dodge, you're a
dead man.
> Notice I emphasize Soak over damage, this is because more
> often than not your opponent ALWAYS gets tp roll 1d10 for
> damage. However if you use the optional rule on high soak
> you would want twice the Soak of the enemies damage pool so
> you can ignore it. Also note that high Soaks are better
> against automatic damage then dicepool damage because they
> eliminate the automatic levels first. Thus is you want truly
> powerful
> attacks try to get ones with HIGH dicepools and low
> automatics (this can get annoying to roll but is more
> efficent in the long run).
>
> Always try to balance offense and defense abilties so they
> are more or
> less even (or better yet, conform to the above chart as
> closely as possible). However, someone who concentrates
> totally on offensive power will LOOSE to someone who
> concentrates totally on defensive power, as the former will
> find it impossible to hurt the latter but not vice versa.
Yah, makes sense.
> Some suggested Mega-Attributes:
<snip>
> Level 1 Powers:
<snip>
> Level 2 Powers:
<snip>
> Level 3 Powers:
<snip>
Wow. That was... An impressive amount of info. Thanks!
Others? Agree or disagree with Epsilon?
A. Peori
>
> In article <38A4A4E0...@ns.sympatico.ca>,
> "A. Peori" <tz...@ns.sympatico.ca> wrote:
> > aetherson wrote:
> > levels are "Decent Combat" (can take on most baselines and
> > win), "Nova Combat" (can take on average Nova's and win) and
> > "Titanic Combat" (can take on armies and win).
> >
> > In damage terms I give average damage given, convert 3 dice
> > to 1 success and add automatic successes. The To-hit roll
> > successes should not be counted in this because only up to 5
> > can be counted (thus raisng the average by 1 or 2 points
> > maximum).
> >
> > Level | Damage | Soak
> > Decent | 5 | 8
> > Nova (PCs) | 15 | 20
> > Titanic | 30 | 40
>
> for a Soak? Obviously, you need /some/ kind of decent soak, or the
> first time you come out one success too low on your Dodge, you're a
> dead man.
You can ussually have a Soak of one level below your "level"
if your Dodge dicepool is twice that of your opponents
attacks Dicepool. This is true in most White Wolf games
actually. If your dicepool is less than twice your opponents
attack dicepool then sooner or later you -will- get hit.
However, In Aberrant your attack dicepools are often very
high even for high damage attacks. Mega-Strength characters
use Brawl and the dicepools for the attack powers are often
based on the level you have that attack power at. Thus it is
very hard to have a really high dodge pool in relation to
your opponents and it is also frequently doens't grant you
extra Soak. The one exception if Force Field which can be
used as an active defense.
> > Some suggested Mega-Attributes:
> <snip>
> > Level 1 Powers:
> <snip>
> > Level 2 Powers:
> <snip>
> > Level 3 Powers:
> <snip>
>
> Wow. That was... An impressive amount of info. Thanks!
<shrug> Pretty simple stuff. I have a group which plays
weekly since about two weeks after the game came out so I've
played a lot of different NPC types.
-------------
Epsilon
(re)flex
is definitely Number-Cruncher/Min-Maxer territory. That being said, the
following viewpoints are being made from a purely hypothetical viewpoint. In
no way are the following statements meant to be a substitute for
roleplaying, nor should the power commentary have any weight what so ever
when it comes time to make a character according to the concept in the
player's imagination. View the following as an arithmetic exercise, not a
statement about what I believe is of primary importance in a Roleplaying
Game.
A. Peori wrote in message <38A4A4E0...@ns.sympatico.ca>...
Also note that high Soaks are better
>against automatic damage then dicepool damage because they
>eliminate the automatic levels first. Thus is you want truly
>powerful
>attacks try to get ones with HIGH dicepools and low
>automatics (this can get annoying to roll but is more
>efficent in the long run).
This doesn't make much sense to me. Let's break it down. Soak first cancels
automatic successes. Okay, got that. What I don't get is why you believe
consequently that it is in any way more advantageous to have damage dice
than automatic damage adds. For example, let's compare two heroes. One has
an attack with 10 automatic damage adds and 10 damage dice. The other has an
attack with 20 damage dice. According to your statement above, the latter
hero is 'more efficient in the long run'. I don't se this to be the case. If
firing on an opponent with 15 soak, both heroes end up rolling 5 damage
dice- Advantage to neither. However, if both heroes fire on an opponent with
5 soak, the FIRST hero actually has the advantage- He does 5 auto successes,
then rolls 10 dice with a 40% success rate (for an average of 9 health
levels), whereas Hero 2 rolls 15 dice with the same 40% success rate (for an
average of 6 health levels). My conclusion? Most of the time, the two are
equivalent (due to high soaks), but on occasion (low soaks) the auto-adds
are better. Advantage? Auto-adds, where you can get em. Now, if what you
actually were trying to say is that it's better to have a high number of
dice than a low number of auto adds, I can agree with you, but then again,
that should be obvious (ie, a 15-dice attack is better than a 6 die auto add
attack). Generally, however, you don't get to exert much choice in that
direction, save, in the case of Quantum Bolts, eschewing buying higher
Quantum (since it leads to auto adds) in favor of buying up the Bolt power
itself (since it leads to dice, and more of them per Nova Point). Needless
to say, in the latter scenario, there are all manner of other considerations
(Quantum benefits many powers, etc).
>Mega-Stamina, don't waste your points. Mega-Stamina is
>useless for combat most of the time. It is more efficent to
>buy armor and extra health levels than Mega-Stamina. The
>only decent option is Regeneration but unless your maxed out
>in Mega-Stamina it is useless in a fight with a truly
>powerful combat Nova and will only delay the envitable.
>Hardbody is useful only against Agg damage, and few NPCs
>should have that.
No wonder you don't respect Force Field. Force Field really helps a Nova get
maximum mileage out of Stamina (and Mega-Stamina). Take 2 Novas. Assume both
elect to spend 12 Nova Points on defenses. Assume an average Quantum score
(3, the Quantum score possessed by every single Nova NPC in the back of the
main book). Assume a Stamine of 4. One buys three ranks of Mega-Stamina and
1 rank in Force Field. The other spends all 12 on 4 ranks of Armor.
Nova 1 gets base Resistance and Endurance of 4, heals 5X as fast as a
normal human, has all injury and pain dice pool penalties reduced by 3
(basically all health levels are now functionally Bruised until Crippled,
which exacts a -1 penalty). Even more interesting, 3 experience points
purchase 1 Bruised health level, or 2 maimed health levels. With
Mega-Stamina 3, Maimed and Bruised are interchangeable (both inflict NO dice
pool penalties) so this character can in effect purchase 2 bruised health
levels for 3 experience points a pop! The character gets another Bruised
level just for having this high a Stamina. The character also gets 3 extra
bashing soak and two extra lethal soak. The character gets a free
enhancement. In this case, let's say the Nova took Regeneration (although
the others are all quite good as well). The Nova can now, as an automatic
action, heal 3 Health levels each round. The Nova is also immune to most
toxins (read the description of Nerve Gas for further illumination on this
subject) and diseases. Finally, the character can sheath him/herself in a
Force Field. Each time the character evokes the Force Field, he/she gets to
roll 4 Stamina dice plus 3 Mega-Stamina dice, then total the successes.
These successes are multiplied by 2, then added to the character's Quantum
score to get the total lethal and bashing soak added by the Field. Now, I'm
not conversant enough with mathematics to properly calculate the averages on
Mega-Attribute rolls (thanks to the peculiarity of 10s being worth 3
successes), but I'm going to estimate that the character will average
roughly 4 successes on his roll. Of course, if the character rolls poorly,
s/he may well have the opportunity to dispel his/her current field and try
again. If the character rolls well, the Nova will certainly want to maintain
the field until the end of the battle. But on average, this character will
gain 11 soak versus both bashing and lethal attacks. End result? In addition
to the various nifty abilities listed above, the character will most often
go into combat with 18 Bashing soak and 15 Lethal soak. Particularly
relevant among the other benefits are the regeneration (which can eliminate
3 HLs of damage per turn that DO get through) and the extra Health Level and
Wound Penalty reductions (which mean the Nova doesn't begin to suffer
performance impairment until the Nova is basically done for).
Nova 2 buys 4 ranks of Armor, gaining 12 Lethal and 12 Bashing soak, for
a total of 16 Bashing and 14 Lethal soak. That's it. Now, that isn't to say
this option doesn't have it's benefits. For one, it costs no Quantum points
to maintain. For another, it doesn't have to be activated to protect the
Nova- Even sleeping in bed, the Nova's soak is at full. Both options
certainly have their advantages (Force Field becomes more attractive with
higher Quantum scores, Armor with lower), but I believe the two are close
enough that neither is clearly superior.
As far as getting 4 Lethal/2 Bashing per dot, why should the GM allow it
EVERY time? Moreover, it's much easier to come by Bashing Dice, so such a
character would be far easier to knock out, then finish at the Aggressor's
leisure.
One other consideration- In my opinion, Stun Attack is a VERY nasty
power, particularly for Mega-Dex characters. Under the worst circumstances,
it quickly drains an opponent's Willpower, a VERY valuable and scant
resource. Under the best circumstances, it can instantly drop even the most
heavily armored foes... Particularly if they neglect Mega-Stamina. ;)
>Mega-Manipulation plus Dominate is just NASTY.
I posted a character a few days after the game came out who had Mega Manip,
Domination with the Parasitic Possession extra, Telepathy, Mega-Perception,
and some Intuition (and a high taint, since he was meant to be a villain).
Truly a lethal and terrifying combination in so very many respects.
>Claws: Any more than 1 dot in Claws is a waste of Nova
>Points. The extra which allows you to use it through weapons
>is also not very useful, as most weapons are useless to
>Novas (sorry, its true, Nova's wielding swords is just
>pointless).
Again, that depends. Remember, level 1 powers can be bought with TWO extras.
For 5 Nova points (or 3 and a dot of taint) you can purchase Armor-Piercing
Kinetic Discharge Claws. Now ANY weapon you use becomes Armor-Piercing. By
spending some Quantum Points, even Bullets, Hurled Weapons, and hell, SAMs
can gain the Armor-Piercing benefit. With Armor-Piercing, those Accuracy
mods become truly terrifying. And truly Munchy. However, although I've never
seen any more than the picture of him in the Big Book, I suspect the Shooter
has this power (I also kinda suspect he killed Slider, but not having read
the other sourcebooks, I'm sure I'm way off base). Still, it's worth nothing
that with a bit of Mega-Perception, a healthy dose of Mega-Dex, and one dot
in the above power, you can kill damn near anyone (unless they buy
Impervious soak).
>Level 2 Powers:
>
>Absorption: Don't bother, this power drains your NP and your
>Quantum Pool. It's essentially useless except as a special
>effect. In combat, unless you have high Node you can absrob
>maybe 6 or 8, with an average of 3. Not worth it.
Again, not worth it because you hate Mega-Stamina so much. Going back to
Nova 1, let's postulate that he is an Energy Projector with Node 3. Buying 2
dots in Absorption (KE or Energy, player's choice) can really pay big
dividends. The power can be used at ANY time in the attack resolution
process, including AFTER the enemy character has already rolled his/her
damage dice to see how many Health Levels get through. That in and of itself
is potent. With that same Mega-Stamina 3 and Stamina 4, the character will
get to roll 9 dice to stop Health Levels AFTER the attacker has already had
to roll his successes. Stopping Health Levels is far better than stopping
dice or adds. Figure an average of 5 successes (thanks to the Mega-Stamina
3), and that's FIVE HLs stopped that otherwise would have gotten through. If
the character defined the Absorption as feeding into his Quantum Bolt, he
also now does 8 dice more damage with his own attack. Even though he won't
get any more bonus Bolt rankings out of successive absorptions, they can
still keep stopping those Health Levels from getting through. Compared to
the 6/6 soak the character would get from 2 rankings in Armor, it's a hell
of a deal (although again, one that costs Quantum Points). Not to mention
Absorption works against Aggravated attacks, provided they are of the
correct basic type (either energy or KE).
>Bodymorph: Eh, this can be okay, but really it is more
>limited than buying the powers at their basic levels. It can
>be useful for special effect Novas and if you don't want to
>have high levels in any particular power, but otherwise save
>your NP.
Again, it depends. I wouldn't write it off. You said 2-3 dots of Armor is a
wise investment. If the character chooses to take those 2-3 dots in
Bodymorph instead, he can still get the same 2-3 dots in Armor, but now the
character inflicts +2 dice of damage with his unarmed attacks and is more
difficult to hit. Advancing the power costs the same exact thing as it would
have had the character just bought the armor straight. Bodymorph reminds me
of Elemental Controls from Champions- Sort of a reward for keeping a set of
power within a tight concept. Although the reward is significantly smaller
(as it should be, Elemental Controls were incredibly abusable and gave a
ridiculously exorbitant discount, as well as rewarding particular concepts
over others, such as Energy Projectors over Martial Artists).
>Boost: Worthless. You get, what, a CHANCE at a
>high-Attribute... for the same cost it would take to BUY a
>high attribute? Wow... I'm impressed.
Well, not the same cost. With a high Quantum and a stat that is at human
max, this power can certainly be worth the price of admission. Consider a 4
Quantum Nova who sank a few Nova Points into improving his normal Attributes
and ended up with a 5 Dex, but only a 1 Mega-Dex. However, whenever this
character juices up with Plasma Energy (Core's little bro), he becomes like
Greased Lightning. Said character COULD have spent 3 NP on another dot of
Mega-Dex. However, the same 3 NP purchased 1 rank of Boost:Dexterity. The
character gets to roll 5 dice, and each success adds 1 Mega-Dex. Certainly
worthwhile, but with limits (fades quickly, costs Quanta). The power really
comes into its own with one of the two extras (lasts whole scene or affects
2 attributes at once). For 5 Nova Points, the character may well gain a
substantial Boost each scene for the entire scene(0-5 Mega-Dex!) or may gain
in 2 attributes simultaneously. Again, assuming the second stat is also at
maximum human levels, that's a potential gain of anywhere from 0-10
Mega-Attribute points! Moreover, Mega-Attributes can't be Maxxed heroically,
but Boost can. Even better, it is one of the powers that qualifies for
Automatic Successes under the maxxing rules, so that one rank of boost, if
Maxxed, can achieve incredible results.
>Density Control: Increased Density is useless and lowered
>Density is too unless you have it at level 4 or 5. A touch
>too expensive to be worthwhile.
Reduced Density 2-3 are also quite nice, particularly for those Novas who
don't bash things (Quantum Blasters, Dominators, Disorienters,
Stun-Attackers, etc). It probably shouldn't be a Nova's SOLE form of
defense, but against many foes, it can be incredibly effective, particularly
purely physical ones.
Density Increase, on the other hand, is also quite nice if the character
already has maxxed normal human strength (quite cheap for a Nova). If you
want maximal mathematic efficiency (again, please refer to disclaimer at the
beginning of this message), spend 1 NP to max the character's strength, then
buy 1 point of Mega-Strength (to get the free enhancement). Then buy any
further Mega-Strength you might like as Density Increase. It costs the same
thing as further Mega-Strength ranks would, but it also grants soak. And it
makes for EVIL fastball specials. ;) Again, the power has its place
(although, again, it costs Quanta).
>Disrupt: Useful for anti-Nova based characters. However, it
>may or may not effect Mega-Atts (unclear) and really your
>probably best inclined to do other things. It can be neat
>however and really screws with Deathstar (all flight and
>Q-bolt) Novas as well.
Not unclear. It doesn't affect Mega-Atts or enhancements, and says so
directly in the power description. Great for Mega-Int mastermind type
villains (I'm picturing a Mega-Int vilain with a savant ability in tactics
designating certain a certain foe, then disrupting their Armor of
Force-Field while the rest of the team hammers that one poor sap).
>Immobilize: Heh, nothing pisses off a Mega-Strength Nova
>more than Immobilze. Five successes total ussually seals
>them up. It isn't good for finishing off Nova's but is good
>for getting away.
Funny, I find this power to be LEAST effective against Mega-Strength Novas-
Those auto successes usually shatter the prison immediately. The mental
paralysis types (Versus Wits or Willpower) on the other hand can be truly
lethal, but I would force the character who wanted such a power to buy the
'Transparent' extra.
>
>Immolate: Not bad, and gives you the most -dice- of any
>power in the game, thus it is more efficent versus high Soak
>novas than otherwise. Give some thought to putting down NP
>in this one.
Hmm... We seem to be back to that peculiar preference of yours for dice to
equal numbers of auto adds. Let's compare, shall we? Nova1- Quantum 4,
Immolate 4. Nova2- Quantum 4, Quantum Bolt 4. If both choose to have Stun,
er I mean Bashing attacks, Nova1 does 16d10, whereas Nova2 does [12]+16d10.
Both characters attack a foe with a 14 soak. Result- Nova1 rolls 2d10 for
damage, Nova2 rolls 14d10 for damage. Foe with a 10 soak? Nova1 rolls 6d10,
Nova2 does 2 auto successes AND rolls 16d10. Foe with a 20 soak? Nova1 rolls
the 1d10 of a chump who is attacking someone who is going to trounce him,
Nova2 rolls 8d10 and will probably rough up her target but good. So, um...
How exactly is Immolate better because it uses dice instead of auto adds?
>
>Invulnerability: Don't bother to buy it unless you buy it at
>Level 3 with either the Physical of Energy invulnerability
>Extra. It is the best defense power in the game when you do
>however, but really expensive.
Close call- 1 dot of enhanced invulnerability give 6/6 soak, but only versus
either physical or energy, at a cost of 5 NP. 2 dots armor give 6/6 soak,
versus both physical AND energy, at a cost of 6 NP. You be the judge on
which is the best.
>Poison: Avoid it, worthless in battle.
Not at all- Great against high Soak/Low Stamina opponents, and more
versatile than Stun attack.
>Sizemorph (either): Avoid them, you either become a big
>target, or a smalll person unable to move very fast.
Grow is definitely worth it under the right circumstances. Again, maxxed
human strength and stamina (at the cost of 2-3 NP), 2 dots Sizemorph grow.
End result? Mega-Strength 4, Mega-Stamina 2, +2 Bruised Health levels from
Grow, +1 more from Mega Stamina 2 (Mega-Stam 2 also reduces die penalties
and increases soaks!), +4 dex to determine running speed. Only downfall? +1
die to attack or perceive the character. For 6 NP, it's still a hell of a
deal!
>
>Stun Attack: If you want to not kill people, choose this.
If you want to flatten people, completely bypassing their defenses, then do
whatever you like with them, choose this. I imagine whoever is harvesting
Soma has this power...
(re)flex
aetherson wrote in message <8821kj$u8m$1...@nnrp1.deja.com>...
>Wow. That was... An impressive amount of info. Thanks!
>
>Others? Agree or disagree with Epsilon?
You can see my responses to some of the issues he raised above. If you
really want more opinions thrown into the mix, however, I'd recommend
bringing your questions to rec.games.frp.super-heroes. In my experience, the
regulars in this group are less interested in discussions about mechanics
issues than they are elements of plot and underlying game (and product)
philosophy. Most don't care to chime in when discussing the overall power of
the Obtenebration discipline, for example. They are generally, I think, the
sort of Storytellers who deal with such matters on the fly, addressing the
issue quickly and getting back to the roleplaying. They don't seem like the
types to agonize over how X power compares to Y, or precisely how many dots
in disciplines a Justicar ought to have. I'm not making any sort of
qualitative judgement here, but you'll find regulars in other newsgroups to
vary wildly.
The crew in r.g.f.s-h are predominately Champions players. They are more
than willing to slog through calculations and tweak balance issues until
they hum. In fact, they seem to get a sort of pleasure out of rolling up
their sleeves and going to work with mechanical issues like that. The crew
in rec.games.frp.dnd are also quite willing to chime in with opinions on
balance, but they also like to pepper their discussions with flames and
justifications of their opinions based on their exhaustive studies of real
world arms, armor, and any other subject the topic may at that time broach
upon. For the most part, I'd say the different style regulars are a
consequence of the different style games- White Wolf games are mostly
background material and tips on running or playing in a 'Chronicle'. Even
the terminology places the emphasis squarely on story, and their games adapt
more readily to LARP than any other I can think of (that's played
frequently... Amber doesn't count).
Champions, on the other hand, has a very ornate and powerful set of
mechanics, while the background is only discussed tangentially, and
basically is completely left to the GM, much like Hero's spiritual
successor, GURPS. Since people play GURPS and Champions for the system, the
regulars on their respective newsgroups take far more interest in such
matters. However, I've NEVER seen them engage in lengthy discussion over the
paradigm of magic exhibited by Solitaire's widget, or what Viper is REALLY
up to. ;) As to AD&D, it seem to attract grumps who cling fervently to the
very first set of rules they ever started playing on (if they started
playing in 1976, those are the only rules they believe are worthwhile) and
are devoted to being pedantic about anything and everything. YMM, of course,
V.
Scott Staten
> Champions, on the other hand, has a very ornate and powerful set of
> mechanics, while the background is only discussed tangentially, and
> basically is completely left to the GM, much like Hero's spiritual
> successor, GURPS.
One Quibble: Champions existed LONG before GURPS did. I played Champions while
in High School Gutps didn't come out till I had been out for 4 or so years.
--
Scott
ICQ 6561915
sst...@erols.com
http://www.dragonmage.net/~scott/
http://elfwood.lysator.liu.se/lothlorien/artists/sstaten/sstaten.html
NE:CiS Historical MUSH - netr.betterbox.net 6999
We are the music makers and we are the dreamers of dreams.
- Willy Wonka
Marizhavashti Kali
Scott Staten wrote:
>
> One Quibble: Champions existed LONG before GURPS did. I played Champions while
> in High School Gutps didn't come out till I had been out for 4 or so years.
That's why he said that GURPS was Hero's spiritual successor. :-)
--
Deird'Re M. Brooks | xe...@teleport.com | cam#9309026
Listowner: Fading Suns, Trinity and Aberrant
"You are using the time-honored strategy of ignoring my point."
http://www.teleport.com/~xenya | http://www.telelists.com
Marizhavashti Kali
Scott Staten wrote:
>
> > Close call- 1 dot of enhanced invulnerability give 6/6 soak, but only versus
> > either physical or energy, at a cost of 5 NP. 2 dots armor give 6/6 soak,
> > versus both physical AND energy, at a cost of 6 NP. You be the judge on
> > which is the best.
> >
>
> True, but Invulnerability tops out with more total soak, and so works for some
> concepts. Armor's better for some others.
Two dots of armor give 6/6 soak.
But one dot of invulnerability (physical or energy) also protects from
aggravated damage.
Two dots of armor with Impervious do the same, but against all damage
sources.
Of course, one dot each of Invulnerability Physical and Energy cost the
same.
A. Peori
> A. Peori wrote in message <38A4A4E0...@ns.sympatico.ca>...
> Also note that high Soaks are better
> >against automatic damage then dicepool damage because they
> >eliminate the automatic levels first. Thus is you want truly
> >powerful
> >attacks try to get ones with HIGH dicepools and low
> >automatics (this can get annoying to roll but is more
> >efficent in the long run).
>
> This doesn't make much sense to me.
Simple:
When you prefer auto-adds you get LESS total damage
potentail then when you prefer dice. It is true that if you
had 20 auto-adds and 20 dice the 20 adds are worth more...
BUT, the fact is it is more often 20 auto-adds versus -30-
dice. Thus against the Nova with Soak 20, the dice are more
efficent.
> >Mega-Stamina, don't waste your points. Mega-Stamina is
> >useless for combat most of the time. It is more efficent to
> >buy armor and extra health levels than Mega-Stamina. The
> >only decent option is Regeneration but unless your maxed out
> >in Mega-Stamina it is useless in a fight with a truly
> >powerful combat Nova and will only delay the envitable.
> >Hardbody is useful only against Agg damage, and few NPCs
> >should have that.
>
> No wonder you don't respect Force Field.
> Nova 1 gets base Resistance and Endurance of 4, heals 5X as fast as a
> normal human, has all injury and pain dice pool penalties reduced by 3
> (basically all health levels are now functionally Bruised until Crippled,
> which exacts a -1 penalty). Even more interesting, 3 experience points
> purchase 1 Bruised health level, or 2 maimed health levels.
Wrong. By the rules its -one- bruised Health Level. Not an
either/or. It would say so if it was. For Body Mods it is an
either/or, but this isn't body mods its a different power.
That's the way you can interpret it if you want to play
house rules, but it isn't worth it. On the other hand, if a
Nova spends 3 points on Body-Mods they CAN get 6 Maimed
Levels, right away.
Okay, an actual comaprison:
Nova 1 (a Mega-Stanima/ForceField Nova)
2 Points Quantum (10 NP)
4 Points Mega-Stan (12 NP) (with Regeneration)
3 Points Force Field (6 NP)
2 NP left over.
Benefits to defense:
2 Extra helath Levels
Penalties reduced by 4
Regenerates Maximum of 4 Levels/turn
Base Soak (assuming Stanima 5) 9/5
Force Field Die Pool = 7 + 4 Mega-Dice
Average FF Soak = 18/14
Nova 2
Armor 5 (15 NP)
Extra Health Levels +2 Bruised (2NP)
Remaining Nova Points = 13
Benefits to defense:
2 Extra Health Levels
Base Soak (Assuming Stanima 5) 20/18
Some quick additions with my remaing Nova Points later and I
also have:
Invulnerability (Energy) 1 and Invulnerability (Physical) 1
for 10 Nova Points rasing my Base Soaks to 26/24.
With my remaining 3 Nova Points I buy 3 dots of Psyhich
Shield, making me all but immune to Stun Attack (since it
can be resisted with Willpower it is a Psychic attack).
Or I could easily stock up on a few nifty -attack- options
as well.
If I focus -everything- into improving Force Field I get a
decent defense. I I focus everythign into Armor, I get a
decent defense PLUS some room to manuveur.
> As far as getting 4 Lethal/2 Bashing per dot, why should the GM
> allow it EVERY time?
They don't, but then, that's the game. You can, and it is
often better to do so.
> Moreover, it's much easier to come by Bashing Dice, so such a
> character would be far easier to knock out, then finish at the
> Aggressor's leisure.
It is far more likely you will face lethal attacks from
Nova's, especailly NPC antagonists. Besides, I'd rather take
my chances with my opponents prefering to KO me (and thus
give my allies a chance to save me) than having them prefer
to kill me.
> One other consideration- In my opinion, Stun Attack is a VERY nasty
> power, particularly for Mega-Dex characters. Under the worst circumstances,
> it quickly drains an opponent's Willpower, a VERY valuable and scant
> resource. Under the best circumstances, it can instantly drop even the most
> heavily armored foes... Particularly if they neglect Mega-Stamina. ;)
Stun Attack, like I said, is useful if you do not want to
kill your enemies.
> >Claws: Any more than 1 dot in Claws is a waste of Nova
> >Points. The extra which allows you to use it through weapons
> >is also not very useful, as most weapons are useless to
> >Novas (sorry, its true, Nova's wielding swords is just
> >pointless).
>
> Again, that depends. Remember, level 1 powers can be bought with TWO extras.
I'm not sure if this is legal, or a house rule.
> >Level 2 Powers:
> >
> >Absorption: Don't bother, this power drains your NP and your
> >Quantum Pool. It's essentially useless except as a special
> >effect. In combat, unless you have high Node you can absrob
> >maybe 6 or 8, with an average of 3. Not worth it.
>
> Again, not worth it because you hate Mega-Stamina so much.
I don't hate it, I think its very neat... for a variety of
situations. Combat just isnt one of them. As for Absorption
it essentially means this:
An extra roll to absorb Damage... but at a hefty Quantum
Cost (1 point per HL). Essentialy, the dicepool works out be
to a Soak of half its rating (thus a Absopriton dicepool of
10 = 5 Soak).
> If
> the character defined the Absorption as feeding into his Quantum Bolt, > he also now does 8 dice more damage with his own attack.
House rule again. By the book it feeds into Mega-Strength.
> >Bodymorph: Eh, this can be okay, but really it is more
> >limited than buying the powers at their basic levels. It can
> >be useful for special effect Novas and if you don't want to
> >have high levels in any particular power, but otherwise save
> >your NP.
>
> Again, it depends. I wouldn't write it off.
The problem with your system is it adds a Quantum Cost to
your Armor, and it doens't last that long before you have to
spend more. Hardly worth it for an extra +2 dice to a
unarmed attack. I can get better for 1 Nova Point and a dot
of Claws.
> >Boost: Worthless. You get, what, a CHANCE at a
> >high-Attribute... for the same cost it would take to BUY a
> >high attribute? Wow... I'm impressed.
>
> Well, not the same cost.
Your dicepool works out to about 1 success for every 3 dice
(well, 2.something but 3 is your closest gaurentee). Thus,
to get a +3 Mega-Att on average you need a 9 dicepool. At
the lowest cost this is: 5 Boosts (15 NP) and 4 Quantum (15
NP). For that SAME COST I can have a Mega-Attribute
PERMANENTLY at Level 5, and a free Enhancement (which Boost
doens't give).
Thus, I stand by my statement. For the same cost, I can get
a -chance- at having the exact same level as I would have
had I had bought the power permanently.
> >Density Control: Increased Density is useless and lowered
> >Density is too unless you have it at level 4 or 5. A touch
> >too expensive to be worthwhile.
>
> Reduced Density 2-3 are also quite nice, particularly for those Novas who
> don't bash things (Quantum Blasters, Dominators, Disorienters,
> Stun-Attackers, etc).
It reduces your options, has limited use and is barely worth
it.
> Density Increase, on the other hand,
> It costs the same
> thing as further Mega-Strength ranks would, but it also grants soak.
It has limits however, it costs Quantum and has the effect
of limiting your mobility in combat compared to normal
Mega-Strength. The one dot of extra Soak is hardly worth it.
> >Disrupt: Useful for anti-Nova based characters. However, it
> >may or may not effect Mega-Atts (unclear) and really your
> >probably best inclined to do other things. It can be neat
> >however and really screws with Deathstar (all flight and
> >Q-bolt) Novas as well.
>
> Not unclear. It doesn't affect Mega-Atts or enhancements, and says so
> directly in the power description. Great for Mega-Int mastermind type
> villains (I'm picturing a Mega-Int vilain with a savant ability in tactics
> designating certain a certain foe, then disrupting their Armor of
> Force-Field while the rest of the team hammers that one poor sap).
Basically its useless against most Nova's then. For the most
part Nova's rely mainly on Mega-Atts as far as I've seen.
> >Immobilize: Heh, nothing pisses off a Mega-Strength Nova
> >more than Immobilze. Five successes total ussually seals
> >them up. It isn't good for finishing off Nova's but is good
> >for getting away.
>
> Funny, I find this power to be LEAST effective against Mega-Strength Novas-
> Those auto successes usually shatter the prison immediately. The mental
> paralysis types (Versus Wits or Willpower) on the other hand can be truly
> lethal, but I would force the character who wanted such a power to buy the
> 'Transparent' extra.
Not by the book, but with the -willpower- vairant this power
becomes even more useful.
> >
> >Immolate:
See above...
> >Invulnerability: Don't bother to buy it unless you buy it at
> >Level 3 with either the Physical of Energy invulnerability
> >Extra. It is the best defense power in the game when you do
> >however, but really expensive.
>
> Close call- 1 dot of enhanced invulnerability give 6/6 soak, but only versus
> either physical or energy, at a cost of 5 NP. 2 dots armor give 6/6 soak,
> versus both physical AND energy, at a cost of 6 NP. You be the judge on
> which is the best.
The deciding factor is: Max Soak. Invunerability is better,
costs less and all.
> >Poison: Avoid it, worthless in battle.
>
> Not at all- Great against high Soak/Low Stamina opponents, and more
> versatile than Stun attack.
And by the time the poison takes effect, you have had your
head ripped offf by the other Nova. Useful for NONCOMBAT
purposes (just look at Tarik fer exec) but in combat,
useless.
> >Sizemorph (either): Avoid them, you either become a big
> >target, or a smalll person unable to move very fast.
Note: The benefits are about equalled by the risks, a nice
"flavour" power but really, in terms of ultimate benefits,
not worth it.
> >Stun Attack: If you want to not kill people, choose this.
>
> If you want to flatten people, completely bypassing their defenses, then do
> whatever you like with them, choose this. I imagine whoever is harvesting
> Soma has this power...
Unless the opponent has Psychic Shield, which a surprising
number of my PCs buy (every time they have 3 NP or less left
in fact).
--------------
Epsilon
Scott Staten
> >
> >Invulnerability: Don't bother to buy it unless you buy it at
> >Level 3 with either the Physical of Energy invulnerability
> >Extra. It is the best defense power in the game when you do
> >however, but really expensive.
>
> Close call- 1 dot of enhanced invulnerability give 6/6 soak, but only versus
> either physical or energy, at a cost of 5 NP. 2 dots armor give 6/6 soak,
> versus both physical AND energy, at a cost of 6 NP. You be the judge on
> which is the best.
>
True, but Invulnerability tops out with more total soak, and so works for some
concepts. Armor's better for some others.
--
(re)flex
A. Peori wrote in message <38A7BBC9...@ns.sympatico.ca>...
>(re)flex wrote:
>When you prefer auto-adds you get LESS total damage
>potentail then when you prefer dice. It is true that if you
>had 20 auto-adds and 20 dice the 20 adds are worth more...
>BUT, the fact is it is more often 20 auto-adds versus -30-
>dice. Thus against the Nova with Soak 20, the dice are more
>efficent.
So all you are saying is that higher dice totals are better? Of course, this
is obvious. As far as 'preferring' one over the other, as far as I know,
they don't really give you the option to trade one for the other, except to
the extent that Quantum generally boosts auto adds, and power ranks
generally boost dice. Clearly when working with powers like this, there are
other factors beyond which gives auto-adds and which gives dice. Most
importantly, Quantum affects many powers, while ranks in that specific power
affect only that power. So you can't simply say (for example) 'It's always
better to raise your Quantum Bolt than to invest in a high Quantum'. It
depends entirely on what you are shooting for with the character overall-
That high Quantum also grants successes or dice with Force Fields, Stamina,
Boost, Maxxing rolls, you name it. Generally there are many more important
considerations.
>> Nova 1 gets base Resistance and Endurance of 4, heals 5X as fast as a
>> normal human, has all injury and pain dice pool penalties reduced by 3
>> (basically all health levels are now functionally Bruised until Crippled,
>> which exacts a -1 penalty). Even more interesting, 3 experience points
>> purchase 1 Bruised health level, or 2 maimed health levels.
>
>Wrong. By the rules its -one- bruised Health Level. Not an
>either/or. It would say so if it was. For Body Mods it is an
>either/or, but this isn't body mods its a different power.
>That's the way you can interpret it if you want to play
>house rules, but it isn't worth it. On the other hand, if a
>Nova spends 3 points on Body-Mods they CAN get 6 Maimed
>Levels, right away.
Huh? I WAS talking about Body Mods! What are you talking about? Under Body
Modifications, it says the Nova can purchase either 1 Bruised health level
or 2 maimed for either 3 XP or 1 NP. What part of that wasn't clear to you?
When it is so cheap with Experience to buy those Body Mods, it would be
insane to spend precious Nova Points on them. I wasn't talking about any
'different power', nor any house rule. Check your book, it's there in black
and white under Body Modifications. In any case, my point was, with Mega
Stamina 3, the maimed health levels are functionally equivalent to bruised
health levels, so you get more mileage out of those 3 XP (or 1 NP, if you
REALLY want to spend NP on them for some reason) than you do without
Mega-Stamina.
>
>Okay, an actual comaprison:
>
>Nova 1 (a Mega-Stanima/ForceField Nova)
>2 Points Quantum (10 NP)
>4 Points Mega-Stan (12 NP) (with Regeneration)
>3 Points Force Field (6 NP)
>2 NP left over.
>
>Benefits to defense:
>
>2 Extra helath Levels
>Penalties reduced by 4
>Regenerates Maximum of 4 Levels/turn
>Base Soak (assuming Stanima 5) 9/5
>Force Field Die Pool = 7 + 4 Mega-Dice
>Average FF Soak = 18/14
>
>Nova 2
>Armor 5 (15 NP)
>Extra Health Levels +2 Bruised (2NP)
>Remaining Nova Points = 13
>
>Benefits to defense:
>
>2 Extra Health Levels
>Base Soak (Assuming Stanima 5) 20/18
This is senseless. You chose an inefficient expenditure for Nova1 to skew
the results. Furthermore, you are spending all the NP on defenses, which
never happens. Characters are going to have other powers as well, and one of
the things beneficial for most attack powers (and most miscellaneous powers)
is Quantum. In a character with Force Field, that Quantum works for the
character for Defense as well as offense. This isn't a debate over which
power is more beneficial for a 1 Quantum Brick- Clearly Armor is most
appropriate for a low Quantum bruiser. I used 3 Quantum characters in my
example for a reason. I also made sure to note that both Armor AND Force
Field had their benefits. I didn't feel the need to note that this was in
making REAL characters with powers, not straw men. Again, let's do this
right. First of all, let Nova 2 spend 18 NP (it's divisible by 3, and thus a
much nicer number). Let's assume Nova 2 bought 1 level os psychic shield,
since you wanted it later on (even though you labour under the
misapprehension that it defends against Stun Attack, but we'll get to that
later). Now, we aren't making a Brick, so we need to have some other form of
Offense. Quantum Bolt is the simplest. Based on what you said above, let's
go with 3 ranks of Quantum Blast, assume Nova1 spent 7 Freebie points on an
extra point of Quantum, buy one more rank of Psychic Shield, and spend the
remaining 2 NP on various stat, attribute, and/or background boosts (a
reasonable set of expenditures, which Nova2 will be making as well). This
character now has a 20/18 soak, is resistant to mental domination
(slightly), probably has decent skills and backgrounds, and can inflict 16
dice of lethal damage or 18 dice of bashing. He only has 24 Quantum Pool,
but since his Bolts are the only thing he has to spend Quantum on, that's
plenty. He's definitely Quantum efficient, and is quite a slugger.
Then, let's go back to Nova1 and purchase reasonably.
Nova1:Mega-Stamina 4, Regeneration, Durability, Force Field Rank 1.
That's the initial 18 earmarked for Defenses, just like Nova 1.
Nova2 spent 14 Freebie points on an extra level of Quantum. He has to make
up for it by earmarking more Nova Points for
Attributes/Backgrounds/Abilities. He buys 2 ranks of Quantum Bolt, 2 ranks
of Psychic Shield, then spends a full 4 NP on improving Abilities/etc. This
more than balances the scales of Nova1's extra 7 Freebie points.
Benefits to defense: Never suffers HL die penalties, even when crippled. Two
bonus Health Levels (although 3 experience points will allow the character
to purchase 2 maimed levels from Body Mods, which are functionally identical
to Bruised levels since the character doesn't suffer wound penalties).
Resistance and Endurance both get +1. Heals 6 times as fast. Can regenerate
4 Health Levels per turn (of damage that gets THROUGH, this is better than
soak because soak simply subtracts dice, and dice only have a 40% chance of
inflicting HLs). Base Soak (sans Force Field) of 13/6.
With Force Field, again assuming 5 Stamina, there will be roughly 6
successes on the roll. I say this because with 10 dice being rolled, 40%
success rate comes out to 4. Since I can't properly factor in the benefit of
10s being 3 successes on the Mega-Att dice, I'm content to simply assume
that since 4/10 dice are mega-dice, we can safely assume about 6 successes.
However, the potential exists for less, and the potential certainly exists
for significantly more (up to 18, though the odds are pretty darned slim ;).
Nonetheless, I'm comfortable with an average of 6, and the Nova can
certainly try again if he does poorly under many circumstances. These 6
equate to 12 extra soak beyond the initial 3 for the characters Quantum.
Total soak, with field= 28/21. The Quantum Bolt is smaller, however. The
character could choose to have his Bolt do Lethal Damage for a grand total
of 14 dice, or bashing for 17 (well, [6]+8d10 and [9]+8d10 to be precise). I
think it's safe to assume he'd go with the latter. It's also worth noting
that I'm not sure if Force Fields protect against aggravated damage, but
since artificial armor (like a kevlar vest) do, I think a reasonable
argument could be made for Force Fields doing so as well. But the last point
is, of course, extremely debatable and beyond the scope of this discussion,
so let's assume this is not the case. I do know, however, that it is quite
cheap to spend the 2 extra NP to make 1 dot of Force Field Impervious, and
with that 2 NP, you get ALL the force field pool Impervious (let me know if
I didn't exmplain that clearly, and I'll go into greater detail on that
point).
With REAL characters, who actually plan on having powers other than
defensive ones, Force Field gives the most bang for the buck. This is
particularly true for Novas who choose to spend significantly less on
defense than either of the two novas above. With 2 dots of Mega-Stamina and
1 dot in Force Field, a Nova has respectable defenses in a pinch, and plenty
of NP to spend on other things. However, that convenience doesn't come
without a price- The Force Field must be activated, and it costs Quantum
Points. Again, just like I said LAST time, that doesn't mean Armor is not
without its place, particularly for low Quantum Novas (Like Bricks), or
Novas who want the security of not having to depend on the vagaries of a
Force Field. But contrary to your points in your original post, Mega Stamina
is NOT worthless by any means, especially since it significantly enhances
the power of so many Quantum Abilities.
>
>> One other consideration- In my opinion, Stun Attack is a VERY nasty
>> power, particularly for Mega-Dex characters. Under the worst
circumstances,
>> it quickly drains an opponent's Willpower, a VERY valuable and scant
>> resource. Under the best circumstances, it can instantly drop even the
most
>> heavily armored foes... Particularly if they neglect Mega-Stamina. ;)
>
>Stun Attack, like I said, is useful if you do not want to
>kill your enemies.
And Psychic Shield should NOT protect against it. Psychic Shield 'is a
potent defense against powers that DIRECTLY [emphasis mine] affect a nova's
mind (Domination, Hypnosis, Mental Blast, Mirage, or Telepathy).' It doesn't
even work against Mega-Social enhancements (like 'The Voice'). Even if it
DID directly affect the target's mind (which it doesn't), even if it WAS one
of the powers listed (It isn't) it still is NOT resisted by the Target's
Willpower (as you claimed). It is resisted by Stamina. Willpower can be
spent to negate successes, but Willpower does not resist. Besides, if you
read the definition of Stun Attack, it is described as a Quantum Bolt that
stuns, NOT a mental power.
>> Again, that depends. Remember, level 1 powers can be bought with TWO
extras.
>
>I'm not sure if this is legal, or a house rule.
No, Stun Attacks being defended against by Psychic Shield is a house rule
(unless it was errata'd to do so). Level 1 powers being bought with 2 extras
is right out of the rulebook, p.230 under 'Extras'.
>As for Absorption
>it essentially means this:
>
>An extra roll to absorb Damage... but at a hefty Quantum
>Cost (1 point per HL). Essentialy, the dicepool works out be
>to a Soak of half its rating (thus a Absopriton dicepool of
>10 = 5 Soak).
Not at all. Soak applies to POTENTIAL damage. If a character is hit by a 16
die blast, he doesn't take 16 health levels. First soak is subtracted, then
dice are rolled for whatever is left. If 10 dice get through, again, the
character doesn't take 10 HL. On average, the character takes 4 HL. Since
Absorption can be used at any point the character chooses, the character can
choose to use it after his attacker has already had to roll. This is MUCH
better than soak. If this isn't evident to you yet, allow me to illustrate:
A Nova gets hit by a 20 die blast. The Nova has 10 soak. 10 dice get
through. 4 are successes. If absorption gets 4 successes, then those 4
successes on the absorption roll were the equivalent of TEN soak (plus they
will boost the character's power up to his dots in Absorption).
Best of all, it only takes one or two dots in Absorption to get a nice sized
pool, if the character has the right attributes. That's one of the
peculiarities of the way Aberrant works. In your example earlier, you tried
to have one character buy 3 dots in Force Field. That need rarely happen,
because with most powers, it is better to have decent Mega-Attributes in the
governing attribute than it is to have additional ranks of the power. I know
you are familiar with this concept, because you mentioned the Mega-Manip/
Dominate combo. A simple expenditure of 2 dots in Mega Stamina pays
dividends not only in Force Field, but in Absorption as well. Those same 2
ranks of Mega-Stamina do double duty. If the character REALLY wanted to
hammer on that concept, they could even base their ATTACK on Mega-Stamina,
and take Poison as their primary attack power. Consequently, those two dots
in Mega-Stamina would end up boosting THREE of the character's powers, in
addition to the benefits the mega-attribute confers on its own. That's
synergy (not to be confused with the computer from jen and the Holograms
*wry grin*).
>> If
>> the character defined the Absorption as feeding into his Quantum Bolt, >
he also now does 8 dice more damage with his own attack.
>
>House rule again. By the book it feeds into Mega-Strength.
No more a 'House Rule' than shifting the soak afforded by Armor- BOTH are
listed in black and white as being things allowable with ST approval. Again
I refer you to the rulebook, bottom of the first column on page 182, in
italics, 'At the Storyteller's option, Absorbed dots may increase something
other than Strength, such as Stamina or a Quantum Bolt (but never Quantum
Points).' I had forgotten the Stamina bit- The character could get tougher
every time he gets hit ;).
>> >Boost: Worthless. You get, what, a CHANCE at a
>> >high-Attribute... for the same cost it would take to BUY a
>> >high attribute? Wow... I'm impressed.
>>
>> Well, not the same cost.
>
>Your dicepool works out to about 1 success for every 3 dice
>(well, 2.something but 3 is your closest gaurentee). Thus,
>to get a +3 Mega-Att on average you need a 9 dicepool. At
>the lowest cost this is: 5 Boosts (15 NP) and 4 Quantum (15
>NP). For that SAME COST I can have a Mega-Attribute
>PERMANENTLY at Level 5, and a free Enhancement (which Boost
>doens't give).
The success rate is 40%. That 7% you keep shaving off really adds up. In
addition, you are ignoring the concept of synergy once again. What if the
character already HAS a high Quantum, for other powers? Quantum feeds into
damn near everything, so it is usually of great benefit to have a decent
score in it. With a decent quantum, you need only buy one dot in Boost, and
you get all the Quantum dice added free. Let's say a Nova has a Quantum of 4
(NOT just for this power, obviously... because the Nova also has Forcefield,
Quantum Bolt, and Invisibility, and all three benefit from that 4 Quantum).
If the character buys ONE lousy dot of boost, he instantly has a dice pool
of 5 for the power. Since the success rate is 40%, that equates to 2
successes on average. Moreover, the character can MAX their boost power.
Since they have a decent Quantum, they'll even be relatively good at it, and
average 1.6 successes. When maxxing boost, those successes on a max roll can
be used for auto successes on the power roll (and no, before you ask, that's
NOT a house rule, it too is in the rules under maxxing powers). Thus the
character can squeeze 4 dots out of that one dot of boost 40% of the time
(on average), and 3 dots the other 60% (again, on average). That's
definitely worth it. You have to start thinking beyond single powers, and
look at the way they all combine on the character.
>> Reduced Density 2-3 are also quite nice, particularly for those Novas who
>> don't bash things (Quantum Blasters, Dominators, Disorienters,
>> Stun-Attackers, etc).
>
>It reduces your options, has limited use and is barely worth
>it.
Well, you substantiated that bold statement very well. Allow me to retort.
Reduced Density 3 makes the character completely immune to physical attacks.
Right off the bat, against your standard Brick, the reduced Density
character has won. Tank shells, 1000 rifles, Mjolnir, you name it, no matter
how many dice it has, no physical attack can affect the character. Take the
lethal character I mentioned in another thread (a Mega Dex character with
claws bought Armor Piercing and Kinetic Discharge, firing a SAM missile).
Let's say Mega Dex 5 (15 AP), Accuracy, 5 Dex, 1 dot in Armor-Piercing
Kinetic Discharge Claws (5 AP). The rest in Invisibility, Attunement. Said
supersniper charges his SAM with the kinetic discharge claws, spending the 1
quantum point this attack would incur. The first round, the character spent
aiming to get the accuracy bonus. A portable SAM has a +2 accuracy bonus,
for a total of +5. The character rolls his standard pool (15 dice, thanks to
his 5 in firearms) and gets 6 successes, rolls his 5 mega-dex dice and gets
2 more that count as 4. The sum total? 10 successes on the attack roll.
Since the attack is armor-piercing, each success removes 2 dice of soak, for
a total of 20 dice of soak removed. Some of the attack roll carries over to
damage, but not the full 9, since such carries are capped at five dice. The
Claw power adds 1 more. The SAM itself does [12] +12d10, but with the
additional dice, the sum total is [12] +18d10. That's AFTER subtracting 20
soak. And as disgustingly viscious as that is, 3 dots in Density Reduction
make it all moot.
As far as limited use goes, being able to walk through walls is very
useful, as is being able to go through floors, etc. With Adaptation, the
character need only emerge to recharge Quantum points. If you can't see the
MANY possibilities this gives, then let me know and I'll explain it for you.
In Champions, if you want to be able to attack the solid world at all
while Desol, you need to pay triple cost for your attack powers. Not so in
Aberrant. You can't make any PHYSICAL attacks, but that's the only
limitation. You can feel free to zap away. Sure, it might limit a brick, but
it's great for an energy projector! No need to worry about those pesky
Bricks, just go reduced Density 3 and zap 'em till they stop twitching. Such
a character could concentrate their defenses entirely against energy
attacks, since they have infinite soak against physical. That's just nasty.
>Basically its useless against most Nova's then. For the most
>part Nova's rely mainly on Mega-Atts as far as I've seen.
It can cancel attack powers. It can cancel armor. I mentioned one way it
would be devastating, but you seem to have missed it. One villain in a
Terragen cell is an evil mastermind and tactical genius. He makes gadgets
for the team, but his other Nova powers consist soley of Forcefield and
Disrupt. The reason his cell is so feared? In accordance with his tactical
genius, he has developed many special maneuvers triggered by codewords and
events. One of the most lethal- He designates a target with a codeword ('Red
Flag Epsilon!'), then immediately Disrupts that character's Armor or Force
Field. Two of the other Novas fire on the hapless victim simultaneously (the
two designated according to codeword Red Flag). Scratch one enemy. Novas
have big nasty attacks. Disrupt their defenses, and those attacks become
positively apocalyptic. A team that functions well together like this can be
formidable well beyond what their stats would indicate.
>> >Invulnerability: Don't bother to buy it unless you buy it at
>> >Level 3 with either the Physical of Energy invulnerability
>> >Extra. It is the best defense power in the game when you do
>> >however, but really expensive.
>>
>> Close call- 1 dot of enhanced invulnerability give 6/6 soak, but only
versus
>> either physical or energy, at a cost of 5 NP. 2 dots armor give 6/6 soak,
>> versus both physical AND energy, at a cost of 6 NP. You be the judge on
>> which is the best.
>
>The deciding factor is: Max Soak. Invunerability is better,
>costs less and all.
But it is more soak against only 1 of the two primary attack forms. Look at
it this way- 2 dots of armor give 6/6 soak against energy, and 6/6 soak
against kinetic for 6 NP. 1 Dot of Invuln with the extra give 6/6 soak
against energy, and 0/0 soak against kinetic (or vice versa) for 5 NP.
Technically then, Armor gives more soak.
>
>> >Poison: Avoid it, worthless in battle.
>>
>> Not at all- Great against high Soak/Low Stamina opponents, and more
>> versatile than Stun attack.
>
>And by the time the poison takes effect, you have had your
>head ripped offf by the other Nova. Useful for NONCOMBAT
>purposes (just look at Tarik fer exec) but in combat,
>useless.
Well, it depends. I think this power could use some clarification. The
Duration is instant, and the only time onset is mentioned is at the very end
of the power description, where it says MOST have an onset time of (etc).
Some don't. Some are near instantaneous. How to arbitrate this? I think the
onset times were mentioned because of the disease capability- They didn't
want people thinking that simply because they can infect another Nova with
Ebola virus, the affected Nova would instantly fall to the ground as his
face was consumed. I allow the stun effects to occur immediately, but the
other effects I force to have onset times (which the character must spend
successes to reduce), but THAT is a house rule. Unfortunately, it is a
necessary house rule, because the description of the power is vague when it
comes to onset times and when they apply (as well as how they should be
applied). =(
>> >Stun Attack: If you want to not kill people, choose this.
>>
>> If you want to flatten people, completely bypassing their defenses, then
do
>> whatever you like with them, choose this. I imagine whoever is harvesting
>> Soma has this power...
>
>Unless the opponent has Psychic Shield, which a surprising
>number of my PCs buy (every time they have 3 NP or less left
>in fact).
Well, that works well against mental attacks, but since Stun Attack isn't a
mental attack, your PCs may be in for a rude surprise. Unless of course, you
are talking about a house rule?
(re)flex
Marizhavashti Kali wrote in message <38A796F7...@teleport.com>...
>Two dots of armor give 6/6 soak.
>
>But one dot of invulnerability (physical or energy) also protects from
>aggravated damage.
>
>Two dots of armor with Impervious do the same, but against all damage
>sources.
>
>Of course, one dot each of Invulnerability Physical and Energy cost the
>same.
It's a thing of beauty to behold. ;)
(re)flex, who has an irrational love of balanced mechanics...
aetherson
"(re)flex" <ref...@mindspring.com> wrote:
> Disclaimer- Despite the original poster's request to keep things
basic, this
> is definitely Number-Cruncher/Min-Maxer territory. That being said,
the
> following viewpoints are being made from a purely hypothetical
viewpoint. In
> no way are the following statements meant to be a substitute for
> roleplaying, nor should the power commentary have any weight what so
ever
> when it comes time to make a character according to the concept in the
> player's imagination. View the following as an arithmetic exercise,
not a
> statement about what I believe is of primary importance in a
Roleplaying
> Game.
The original poster doesn't mind: He has pretentions of mathematical
ability.
<snip>
Now, I'm
> not conversant enough with mathematics to properly calculate the
averages on
> Mega-Attribute rolls (thanks to the peculiarity of 10s being worth 3
> successes), but I'm going to estimate that the character will average
> roughly 4 successes on his roll.
Actually, calculating average rolls in the Aberrant system is pretty
easy. Here's how you do it:
Normal dice: .4 succeses per die (that's 6/10's of the numbers being
zero successes, 4/10's of the numbers being one success, so 0*.6 + 1*.4)
Mega dice: .9 successes per die (0*.6 + 2*.3 + 3*.1).
So, in the case you were posulating (I believe 3 Mega dice and 4 normal
dice), we're looking at 4*.4 + 3*.9 = 1.6 + 2.7 = 4.3 successes on
average.
Scott Staten
>
> Scott Staten wrote:
> >
> > One Quibble: Champions existed LONG before GURPS did. I played Champions while
> > in High School Gutps didn't come out till I had been out for 4 or so years.
>
> That's why he said that GURPS was Hero's spiritual successor. :-)
>
My Bad, I should not post when exhausted.
(re)flex
aetherson wrote in message <889h4n$suv$1...@nnrp1.deja.com>...
>Actually, calculating average rolls in the Aberrant system is pretty
>easy. Here's how you do it:
>Mega dice: .9 successes per die (0*.6 + 2*.3 + 3*.1).
>
>So, in the case you were posulating (I believe 3 Mega dice and 4 normal
>dice), we're looking at 4*.4 + 3*.9 = 1.6 + 2.7 = 4.3 successes on
>average.
Thank you for that. It's such a sound principle too- multiply the successes
(0, 1, or 3) by the number of possible outcomes that create them, then add
the results. But I never would have come up with it. That's what I get for
not having taken a single math course in college.
Still, my guesses weren't too bad- In the case you mentioned, I guessed 4
(and the answer was 4.3). In the other case (in that massive 22KB post),
with 6 normal dice and 4 mega-dice, I guessed about 6 successes, and the
average was 6.0 (going back and applying your system). Not too shabby. ;)
Stunt Borg
> Marizhavashti Kali wrote in message
> >Two dots of armor give 6/6 soak.
> >
> >But one dot of invulnerability (physical or energy) also protects
> >from aggravated damage.
> >
> >Two dots of armor with Impervious do the same, but against all
> >damage sources.
> >
> >Of course, one dot each of Invulnerability Physical and Energy
> >cost the same.
>
> It's a thing of beauty to behold. ;)
>
> (re)flex, who has an irrational love of balanced mechanics...
As Blake says: Game Balance, the Golconda of rules lawyers :)
Paul Lowe Hlavacek
nears the suspire as we speak ...
aetherson
"A. Peori" <tz...@ns.sympatico.ca> wrote:
<snip>
> Okay, an actual comaprison:
>
> Nova 1 (a Mega-Stanima/ForceField Nova)
> 2 Points Quantum (10 NP)
> 4 Points Mega-Stan (12 NP) (with Regeneration)
> 3 Points Force Field (6 NP)
I think you mean 2 points of FF. That seems to be the basis for your
die pool below.
> 2 NP left over.
>
> Benefits to defense:
>
> 2 Extra helath Levels
> Penalties reduced by 4
> Regenerates Maximum of 4 Levels/turn
> Base Soak (assuming Stanima 5) 9/5
> Force Field Die Pool = 7 + 4 Mega-Dice
(To break this down, that's FF 2 + Stam 5 + M-Stam 4)
> Average FF Soak = 18/14
This doesn't look right to me.
7 * .4 = 2.8 successes average (seven normal dice)
4 * .9 = 3.6 successes average (four mega dice)
Thus, 6.4 successes, on average, to the Stam + FF roll.
Doubled is 12.8 successes, plus the 3 auto soak from Quant is 15.8 soak
from FF.
Add in the non-FF soak, and you get 24.8/20.8 soak on average.
Are you hard up on Quantum Points? Take "Resiliancy" instead of
"Regeneration" for M-Stam enhancements. That gives you 28.8/22.8 soak,
on average.
Or, if you're feeling a bit hard up for NP's after you do this, drop a
level of FF. That reduces your soak only by .8, on average, to 28/22.
Take a point of Taint from one of your Quantum points, and you've got 7
NP to play around with -- you'll still be grossly defensive, but 28/22
is pretty grossly defensive, any way you look at it, and this way you
can get a couple levels of Q-Bolt, which go well with your 3 Quantum.
> Nova 2
> Armor 5 (15 NP)
> Extra Health Levels +2 Bruised (2NP)
> Remaining Nova Points = 13
>
> Benefits to defense:
>
> 2 Extra Health Levels
> Base Soak (Assuming Stanima 5) 20/18
>
> Some quick additions with my remaing Nova Points later and I
> also have:
> Invulnerability (Energy) 1 and Invulnerability (Physical) 1
> for 10 Nova Points rasing my Base Soaks to 26/24.
>
> With my remaining 3 Nova Points I buy 3 dots of Psyhich
> Shield, making me all but immune to Stun Attack (since it
> can be resisted with Willpower it is a Psychic attack).
>
> Or I could easily stock up on a few nifty -attack- options
> as well.
Yeah. Even with the preeminance of defense, I don't think that it makes
sense to look at more than 18 NP's spent solely on defense.
Robin Lim
> Some suggested Mega-Attributes:
>
> Mega-Strength is useful but don't max out on it, 3 dots is
> often all you'll need. Recommended for Nova scale conflicts
> mainly as against baselines it is often overkill.
> Thunderclap is the best enhancement, as it allows you to hit
> those annoying flyers.
>
Disagree. Every single person in the group with Megs-Strength took Quantum
Leap (or whatever its called). I took Lifter, which is pretty crappy, but
then I have Hyperspeed, so Thunderclap is kind of redundant. If you have
1-2 dots of M-Str, throwing a car or truck at your opponent does decent
damage.
> Mega-Dexterity is also useful and can be very neat. A maxed
> out Mega-Dex character will beat a maxed out Mega-strength
> character most of the time. For most combat Nova's you may
> want 1 or 2 dots however. High Mega-Dex gives you a good
> balance of offense and defense however. Enhancements are
> best used on Accuracy or Physical Prodigy. Rapid Strike is
> useless (maximum of 5 extra dice of damage) so avoid it
> unless you want it for flavor.
>
Enhanced Movement also comes highly recommend, particularly if you are
interested in maxing out your Hyperspeed Slam/Strike damage (as I am).
> Mega-Stamina, don't waste your points. Mega-Stamina is
> useless for combat most of the time. It is more efficent to
> buy armor and extra health levels than Mega-Stamina. The
> only decent option is Regeneration but unless your maxed out
> in Mega-Stamina it is useless in a fight with a truly
> powerful combat Nova and will only delay the envitable.
> Hardbody is useful only against Agg damage, and few NPCs
> should have that.
You forget one valuable feature of M-Sta: reduced or eliminated soak
penalties. That being said, M-Sta higher than 3 is probably useless.
Also, after buying 1 or 2 dots of Armor, and if you have M-Sta 3, it's
almost as cost-effective to buy some Resiliency. Buying Maimed health
levels is also twice as cheap as buying bruised health levels, and twice as
effective.
>
> Mega-Wits a good rating in Mega-wits is always useful, not
> just in combat. Mega-wits should be used mainly for
> defensive fighters however. Enhanced Initiative isn't all
> its cracked up to be especially since if you have Mega-wits
> your initiative is often higher anyway and going first isn't
> all that important in the game. Multitasking and Quickness
> are very useful however. I prefer Multitasking myself, since
> Quickness is very expensive if you want to act more than
> twice.
>
Funny. There's only one person in the group with Quickness, I think.
That being said, you have so many friggin' dice to roll, it's not that
expensive to split your actions. When our group took on Chiraben, one
character simply hit him five or six times every round just to get in the 1
die of bashing damage. Some people may take this to mean that wound
penalties don't do much.
> Other Mega-Attributes: Not really good for combat Nova's.
> However I MUCH prefer Mega-Manipulation for winning than any
> others. "Persauder" and Hypnotic Voice will often defeat a
> twinked out combat Nova with ONE round of action.
> Mega-Manipulation plus Dominate is just NASTY.
>
All Mega-Atts can be valuable if your primary attack power requires it.
That being said, don't knock Analyse Weakness.
>
> Level 1 Powers:
>
> Generally only buy these when you have too few Nova points
> for anything else.
>
> Claws: Any more than 1 dot in Claws is a waste of Nova
> Points. The extra which allows you to use it through weapons
> is also not very useful, as most weapons are useless to
> Novas (sorry, its true, Nova's wielding swords is just
> pointless).
>
And Crush is the worst Enhancement in the game. And don't take my word for
it, take Ms. Brooks' :)
>
> Intuition: This power is mildly useful and costs less than
> its big brothers. However in combat this doens't apply so
> much as it does to prevent ambush.
>
Never knock preventing ambush.
>
> Luck: This power can come in useful in a pinch, but I've
> noticed people begin to rely on it a bit too much. Luck is
> useless except at high levels anyway.
>
Read: At least 3 dots, which is what I took.
>
> Psychic Shield: If you want to avoid taking damage from the
> psionic Novas (especially the twinked out Mega-Manip plus
> Domination Nova) then buy this.
>
> The others are basically useless, I've yet to see a player
> but any of them.
>
Bioluminscence has some merits :)
>
> Level 2 Powers:
>
> Absorption: Don't bother, this power drains your NP and your
> Quantum Pool. It's essentially useless except as a special
> effect. In combat, unless you have high Node you can absrob
> maybe 6 or 8, with an average of 3. Not worth it.
>
No-one has it.
>
> Armor: Armor is decent to buy, but if you do see if you can
> convince your GM to give you 2 Bashing/4 Lethal per dot
> instead of 3 each, it works out better in the long run. 2 or
> 3 dots in armor is a wise investment.
>
You may be wrong. Don't forget that most bashing attacks do 1.5X to 2X as
much damage as an equivalent lethal attack. It's best to keep them even,
unless like me, you've bought two levels of Resiliency (16 bashing, 8
lethal).
>
> Bodymorph: Eh, this can be okay, but really it is more
> limited than buying the powers at their basic levels. It can
> be useful for special effect Novas and if you don't want to
> have high levels in any particular power, but otherwise save
> your NP.
>
Don't forget, Bodymorph gives you a little bit of a bonus. For real point
hounds, this may be worth it.
> Disorient: Useful if you want to be a support Nova who helps
> the team and tries to stay out of combat, but in direct
> conflict actions are better spent on other things.
>
Tried it for a while. Didn't feel I was a particularly useful member of
the group.
> Flight: If you have more than 1 or 2 dots your wasting Nova
> Points. Aerial dogfights in Aberrant do not go to the
> fastest or most manuveurable.
>
More than 1 or 2 dots, and you're better off investing in some
hypermovement: flight. I'm surprised Epsilon didn't bring up
Hypermovement.
>
> Force Field: A LOT of my players take this one... however it
> isn't all that useful, not without a high dicepool. If you
> do have a high Stamina + Force Field... well, then you have
> a decent defense.
>
Once again, a situation where M-Sta MAY come in handy.
> Invulnerability: Don't bother to buy it unless you buy it at
> Level 3 with either the Physical of Energy invulnerability
> Extra. It is the best defense power in the game when you do
> however, but really expensive.
>
Almost more cost-effective to buy armor, unfortunately.
>
> Mental Blast: If you want to ignore Soak, pick this. It is
> nasty.
>
Rule #1: Make your ST's life more miserable: always have someone in your
group who can ignore soak.
Accompanying War Story with potential spoiler: The group cornered an
unknown Nova in Ibiza, who, while disguised as Count Orzaiz, sliced a woman
in half. A big fight ensued.
Round #1: Everyone except me attacks. Nobody gets through soak.
Me: I activate Probability Corruption on him. There's
the clatter of dice in the background as the whammy goes on him.
Round #2: Everyone except me attacks. Nobody gets through soak.
Me: I activate Accuracy.
Round #3: Battle moves outside, someone else flings the guy through the
building, revealing exactly how broken the throwing rules are. He did a
grand total of 30 bashing or some other sick number, barely getting through
soak.
Me: I max, spending 4 quantum. I get 4 successes.
Round #4: After some throwing around and quantum leaping, everyone except
me is at the top of the building.
Me: I use my Bio-Entropic Storm, spending all my
successes on damage. That being said, and luckily for everyone else in the
area of effect, I only do a total of 9 body levels through Bio-Entropic
Storm.
My GM <slight whine>: Rob... why do you have to do this
to me? <rolls several buckets of dice> Okay, he takes a bunch of damage
and quantum leaps away...
Corrolary to Rule #1: If you are playing a highly political, backstabbing
sort of game, try to be the one who can ignore soak.
> Qunatum Bolt: Ah, here it is. Q-bolt is probably the most
> common attack power and at its maximum level far outshines
> Mega-Strength, giving you a decent power at a decent cost.
> Q-bolt is the best offensive power in the game, so keep that
> in mind. It should be noted that a high level is more
> efficent than a lot of Quantum.
> Finally, one note: It is legal by the rules to buy the
> Aggravated Extra for Q-Bolt. The problem with this is that
> it essentially annuls another power (Disintegration) since
> it is a) cheaper (requires a lower Quantum) b) goes farther
> and c) is often better to buy in the long run. As a ST I
> dissallow this, but if you play by the book beware the
> twinked Aggravated Q-Bolt.
>
We have banned the Aggravated Q-Bolt as well. Interestingly, only one
member of the party has any sort of Q-Bolt.
>
> Shroud and Strobe and Invisbility: See "Disoreint" above.
>
Strobe is probably the best of the lot, actually.
>
> Sizemorph (either): Avoid them, you either become a big
> target, or a smalll person unable to move very fast.
>
> Stun Attack: If you want to not kill people, choose this.
>
Even if you don't want to kill people, don't choose this. It isn't
anywhere near effective enough. Just get strobe, or do lots of bashing.
>
> Disintegration: If you want to kill someone, take this
> power.
>
Probably not as good as a really sick (read: AP) Q-Bolt. I think its
overpriced.
>
> The Technique Powers (Elemental Anima/Mastery/Entropy
> Control etc): These are best taken by Nova's who want to be
> able to do more than just fight, and be pretty decent at
> combat too. However the full power of these powers doens't
> really come out unless you have levels 3 or higher which is
> awfully expensive.
>
I may be biased, but the only really good combat power is Entropy Control
:)
Good defensive power, and two good offensive powers. In the end, I decided
to get some M-Str because I started to feel that Bio-Entropic Storm was too
lethal, particularly towards human bystanders.
The rest don't do nearly enough damage, especially when compared to a
Q-Bolt. In fact, they do such a piddling amount of damage, the one guy who
has Magnetic Mastery picked up Q-Bolt.
>
> Healing: if you want your character to become the cleric of
> the group, pick it, otherwise move on.
>
I'm going to have to get this, if I keep hitting people with my
bio-entropic storm. I even have a good justification for it :) (And
Rubicon, mistress of entropy, finally learns how to reverse entropic
processes...)
>
> Homunculus: I am very afraid of the Humunculus power. I have
> yet to see PCs use it but I designed a very powerful combat
> twink with just this power and Mega-strength.
>
No-one has it yet. It's such a squicky power, that I think its cool.
>
> Matter Chameleon: Much better than Bodymorph, but the same
> concept applies. Best for a mid-rank Nova.
>
You want 3 dots, at least. 1 dot isn't going to get you very far.
> Warp: In combat its useless.
Unless you want to destroy large portions of earth :)
See the Warp wars, going on the mailing list right now.
Rob
Robin Lim
> However, In Aberrant your attack dicepools are often very
> high even for high damage attacks. Mega-Strength characters
> use Brawl and the dicepools for the attack powers are often
> based on the level you have that attack power at. Thus it is
> very hard to have a really high dodge pool in relation to
> your opponents and it is also frequently doens't grant you
> extra Soak. The one exception if Force Field which can be
> used as an active defense.
I have yet to see a character whose primary offensive power wasn't rolled
with at least 10 dice. If anyone in your group doesn't,
congratulations. They've shown more restraint than my friends or I :)
Rob
(re)flex
Tom Dillane wrote in message ...
>I believe that ever since Project Utopia was released you can take a second
>level of resiliency. It doubles the soak gained from normal Stamina. But
two
>levels are it.
>
>This is from the Abbie list and Forums.
>Diedre might know more about it.
Ah, I currently only have the Big Book and Year One. I guess I'd better look
into those other two books as well, particularly if they contain errata
regarding powers already presented in the main book. The next book I had
been planning to purchase was XWF, but I guess I'll have to change those
plans.
(re)flex, who can't wait to see Bubba Ray Dudley in the XWF, a Nova heel
known for Quantum Leap-Piledriving female novas through suspension bridges
(Because in my aberrant world, XWF will be worked, just like wrestling feds
here- It makes for much greater entertainment, and many fewer lawsuits and
federal crackdowns).
Robin Lim
> Is it actually possible to purchase Resiliency twice? The enhancements that
> can be purchased multiple times usually say so in their descriptions, and
> 'Resiliency' mentions no such option. I'd be wary of allowing it without
> concrete evidence to the contrary, simply because Resiliency flatly doubles
> Mega-Stamina soak bonuses. That could get out of hand very quickly if you
> were allowed to purchase it multiple times.
>
The semi-official ruling mentioned by Ms. Brooks and Ms. Blackwelder on the
mailing list is that the second level of resiliency doubles your STAMINA soak,
not your Mega-Sta soak.
Basically, someone let a published character slip with 2 levels of resiliency,
and they had to come up with something :) I convinced my ST to let me take it.
>
> In any event, with a bit of Mega-Stamina and a decent Quantum, Force Field
> becomes awfully hard to pass up. With your Entropy Controlling character,
> she must have at least a 4 Quantum, and you already mentioned having a 3
> Mega-Stamina. If you had to choose between a dot of Force Field, and a dot
> of Armor, there'd be no contest- Armor would net you a flat 3/3. Force Field
> would net you a guaranteed 4/4 just from your Quantum. Assuming you have a 4
> Stamina, on average you would get about 12/12 from that one dot of Force
> Field. That's strictly from a number-crunching perspective, of course (I
> feel like I have to keep hammering that point- A character concept may very
> well not include having a Force-Field... There are certainly many more
> important factors in character creation than the economics of power).
>
Yes. I certainly considered picking up Force Field after reading over your
discussion. It would certainly beat the ass of my Entropic Shield, which nets
me an average of 7/7 soak. I'm thinking of getting some healing, regeneration,
or poison, though. I need some method of offense that isn't the functional
equivalent of fireballing the party :)
>
> It depends on whether or not you have a substantial Mega-Dexterity. If you
> do, this bypasses so many things, it CAN be a terrifying wild card (read,
> one of those 'ignore soak' abilities). ESPECIALLY if everyone ignores
> Mega-Stamina in that game (like they do in Epsilon's). Your character has
> some Mega-Dex (he used Accuracy) and a 4 Quantum. Assuming she has a 3
> Mega-Dexterity (she sounds like a speedster) and a 5 normal Dex, look at the
> effects of even 1 lowly dot of stun attack- On average, 5 successes on the
> rolled dice, plus 4 auto successes from your 4 quantum, for 9 total
> successes. If the character has a 5 Stamina, but no Mega-Stamina (like
> Epsilon seems to favor) he'll average only 2 successes on his opposed roll.
> That leaves 7 successes. Instant KO. The character would have to blow 2
> Willpower to only be dazed, 3 to shrug off the effects. But Stun attack can
> be used in multiple actions. And you can do it again next round, and the
> next, etc. That willpower will run out fast, and it won't be available to
> spend on other things (like Maxxing powers). It isn't a power to base your
> entire offense on, but it can be a very nice part of a high Quantum Nova's
> repertoire. It's also ideal for taking out Dominated characters without
> hurting the, or rioting normals (Maxx it, make it explosive, and you can
> flatten an entire crowd of baselines with ZERO injuries). And as far as I
> can tell, no, Psychic Shield does NOT protect against it.
Hrm, you're making it sound somewhat attractive actually. I'll try and sell it
to my friends who think Stun Attack is useless. It's just that most people in
the party invested in Mega-Stamina.
> It just seems so weak for a level 3 power, as though they were very afraid
> of this power being abused, and shackled it until it was virtually
> worthless. It has a Quantum minimum of 4 (pretty high), it is costly (level
> 3), and it can only heal 1 lethal health level per dot in the power (paying
> 1 quantum each), and can be used only once per victim per scene. It isn't
> without its uses, don't get me wrong- Those 1 or 2 health levels can mean
> the difference between weeks or months of hospitalization and days (for
> baselines), or behind the scenes can fairly quickly heal up members of a
> team even at low levels. But it can't even be maxxed (picture the hero
> gritting his teeth, glowing with raw quantum, saying 'Live, damn you,
> LIIIIIIIIVE').
Hrm. I think I can talk my GM into revising this. At level 3, you should be
able to heal people more effectively than that. Should be easy, since his
other character's a Salubri :)
Rob
Robin Lim
> Ah, I currently only have the Big Book and Year One. I guess I'd better look
> into those other two books as well, particularly if they contain errata
> regarding powers already presented in the main book. The next book I had
> been planning to purchase was XWF, but I guess I'll have to change those
> plans.
>
Both Utopia and Teragen contain some new powers. They don't really errata any
existing powers. But they are good books, and worth picking up if your
campaign involves them.
However, if your campaign is going to center around the XWF, I wouldn't
recommend Utopia or Teragen. They're really more for people who want to do
intrigue-laden campaigns.
Not to say you can't do a great intrigue-laden XWF game :)
>
> (re)flex, who can't wait to see Bubba Ray Dudley in the XWF, a Nova heel
> known for Quantum Leap-Piledriving female novas through suspension bridges
> (Because in my aberrant world, XWF will be worked, just like wrestling feds
> here- It makes for much greater entertainment, and many fewer lawsuits and
> federal crackdowns).
Oh please. I'm sure within the first two pages of the book, it'll explain how
the XWF is worked. :)
Rob
Marizhavashti Kali
Robin Lim wrote:
>
> The semi-official ruling mentioned by Ms. Brooks and Ms. Blackwelder on the
> mailing list is that the second level of resiliency doubles your STAMINA soak,
> not your Mega-Sta soak.
Mr. Blackwelder.
> Basically, someone let a published character slip with 2 levels of resiliency,
> and they had to come up with something :) I convinced my ST to let me take it.
Actually, what happened was that it was discussed, and the rule was
supposed to be in Project Utopia, but somehow got left out.
Robin Lim
> Robin Lim wrote:
> >
> > The semi-official ruling mentioned by Ms. Brooks and Ms. Blackwelder on the
> > mailing list is that the second level of resiliency doubles your STAMINA soak,
> > not your Mega-Sta soak.
>
> Mr. Blackwelder.
>
Well, him through you, since I don't think he reads the list. I could be wrong,
though.
> Actually, what happened was that it was discussed, and the rule was
> supposed to be in Project Utopia, but somehow got left out.
Whatever the case, the rule works for me :)
Rob
(re)flex
Robin Lim wrote in message <38A9E1CC...@home.com>...
>However, if your campaign is going to center around the XWF, I wouldn't
>recommend Utopia or Teragen. They're really more for people who want to do
>intrigue-laden campaigns.
>
>Not to say you can't do a great intrigue-laden XWF game :)
*grin* No, actually I don't plan to do an XWF game. The game I'm working on
now is more of an 'immediately post explosion' (individual explosion, not
Galatea explosion) game, where the confused but euphoric nouveau novas are
deluged with attention and otherwise wooed by hordes of agents,
representatives, and hangers-on. Where they go from that point will be up to
them. There's a meta-plot, of course. Their explosion was actually triggered
intentionally and individually by each by someone who has discovered a
[non-scientific] method to identify potential novas. While having more novas
express serves this individual's group's agenda, that is secondary to their
primary goal, which is actually trying to 'sculpt' novas by setting up their
explosion in scripted ways to make those novas develop certain abilities. As
this individual is discovering, nailing down the correlation is very tricky
indeed, and his success rate is not very good. Then there's the matter of
the novas who failed to express, and simply died. But it's unlikely the
players will catch on to this any time soon. For the most part, they'll be
grappling with what EXACTLY to do now that they can fly. Since this
particular group has never played Aberrant before, I figured this would be
the best way to introduce the world to them- by having their characters
experience the same sense of discovery the players will. The interest in the
XWF is strictly personal on my part. ;)
>Oh please. I'm sure within the first two pages of the book, it'll explain
how
>the XWF is worked. :)
I'd like to think so, but listen to this bit in the ST section from Year
One:
'Havana is also the site of one of the XWF's annual supershows, the 'Havoc
in Havana' pay-per-view. This PPV is known for its 'celebrity deathmatches':
grudge fights between famous non-XWF novas who agree (for a considerable
sum) to beat each other up on global TV and Opnet. Unlike XWF's regular
matches, most of these specialty matches are staged, but on two separate
occasions the fights have even been legitimate combat between celebrity
rivals who agreed to 'settle their differences in a public forum' (people
still talk about the Tombstone vs. El Cuchillo catfight [Ed:catfight?].'
It also talks about how high the insurance is for the audience, but mainly I
think the bit about staged matches being unlike regular matches is telling,
especially since it was related not in POV format, but the direct-to-STs
format. XWF actually sounds more like Vale Tudo or the UFC than the WWF.
After all, Stone Cold is an unmasked Elite, and the Rock appears to be one
of those Novas looking for attention in LA (challenging other novas to
street fights on Two Minutes of Hate to get some mic and camera time).
I plan on snapping up the XWF supplement regardless (I'm hoping it'll have
some of the XWF personalities outlined in it, as well as a few details of
some of the rings), but like I said, in my world, XWF will be worked.
There's just too much danger of novas killing one another by unloading on
each other with their powers (or killing bystanders), and since novas are
recognized as humans, I can't see the sporting comissions allowing it.
Besides, the UFC doesn't have anywhere near the popularity of the WWF.
People don't really care whether its real or not. In fact, ever since the
WWF coyly decided to make no bones about it any more (my closest friend in
high school was the son of the lawyer who represented the WWF in the trial
where they declared it 'Sports Entertainment', as well as the steroid
trials), the popularity has only gone up. It's worked into the act, and the
wrestlers even use the insiders lingo on screen (very similar to carny
lingo). It's not the fighting itself that sells tickets- it's the
personalities, the angles... Oh, and the sex. I don't see the canon XWF
having valets, or Hoes, or the like. But mine will, because that format
would be the most likely to garner the best ratings, with the least
litigation required.
Bill Dowling
<tdil...@sympatico.ca> wrote:
>>
> I believe that ever since Project Utopia was released you can take a second
> level of resiliency. It doubles the soak gained from normal Stamina. But two
> levels are it.
>
> This is from the Abbie list and Forums.
> Diedre might know more about it.
>
This disappointed me. I had created a character (NPC) who worked really well
based on the assumption that every time you take Resiliency you add the
Mega-Stamina soak in again.
He had 4 Stamina and 1 Mega-Stamina and 5 levels of SizeMorph: Growth. He
was called Titan and belonged to Team 2Morrow: Americas, which was (in my
version anyway) a less powerful, more enhancement-oriented group.
Anyway, he had purchased Resiliency a whole mess of times (I gave the T2M:
Americas team 30 Nova Points and then 30 points of Experience since they
were, well--experienced. A lot of them bought up enhancements with that
experience)
This meant that at normal size, he had an ok soak, but at full size (with
his 5 Mega-Stamina and lots of resiliency) he had a huge soak and could
stand toe to toe with any PC.
It was all overkill though since they only came into the campaign to help
the PCs fight off Slug Boy (A Nova with Mega-Perception and the Warp power
who had Warped to Qinshui, had his mind taken over by the Qin, and then
returned with a Qin battlecruiser and a whole mess of Qin) And even using
the better bio-laser rifles out of Trinity, the Qin couldn't hurt him or the
Tick (the group's tough guy).
It WAS a lot of fun to have the PCs fighting hordes of bad guys that they
thought were aliens but everyone else thought was a bunch of Novas or one
f-d up Nova with Homonculus and Growth or something.