Powers
Posted May 1, 2018 14:53:28 GMT -7
Post by Kitten4u on May 1, 2018 14:53:28 GMT -7
Starting Characters
- Each character can have up to 3 powers and 3 immunities.
- The Versatile and Protected traits can expand the number of powers and immunities respectively to 4. See the shop thread for more information.
- If you decide to start with fewer than 3 powers or immunities, they can be bought later without buying a trait. Everyone can have up to 3, even if they choose not to right away. Those traits just allow for a 4th.
- All your power and immunity levels added up must be no greater than 15.
- No one power can be at a level higher than 4. Immunities can be any level.
- You cannot take the same power or immunity twice (though you can have a power and an immunity in the same category). Taking it once is assumed to cover all possible uses of that power or immunity.
- If you buy any traits to start with, then the costs of those traits are subtracted from your max total levels.
- Any leftover levels after character creation may be spent later, for free.
- The only exception to the above is if you purchase the "Make an Archmage" perk from the shop.
Power Categories
Magic is broad and capable of just about anything. It would be impossible to define exactly how everyone's magic works because we want people to be creative and to design interesting magic. Rather than attempt to finely define something that has near infinite possibilities, we created some very broad categories to try to describe how someone might use their magic. We call those categories 'Powers.' Based on a character's magical abilities, there will be multiple ways for her to use her them. The ways that powers can be used are divided into four roles (Aggression, Maneuver, Interference, and Prediction), and each of those four roles is divided further into three types, resulting in twelve power types in total.
Broadly speaking, each power role represents a type of objective you can achieve with your power, and the power type represents the method you use to achieve that objective. Use this guideline for deciding what power types your character uses.
Aggression: Neutralizes enemies by...
- Force: physically hitting or restraining them.
- Disruption: damaging them with environmental hazards.
- Subdual: attacking their minds.
Maneuver: Stops enemy attacks by...
- Protection: blocking or mitigating the damage.
- Enhancement: granting extra power to the attack's target.
- Field: positioning oneself and manipulating the terrain.
Interference: Makes enemies vulnerable by...
- Obstruction: hindering their movements.
- Illusion: hiding or falsifying sensory information.
- Corruption: taking control of enemy resources.
Prediction: Takes advantage of enemy activity by...
- Sense: detecting where they are.
- Deduction: predicting their plans.
- Absorption: drawing power from their attacks.
Examples
This section gives some guidelines on how strong a power of a given level can be. It's not necessary to use this on your character profile, but we'll be using this to resolve any disputes regarding whether it's possible for a character to do something with her power. This can also be used to get an idea of what an immunity of a given level represents, because it shows what a character is capable of withstanding. Also consider using these guidelines as a gauge of what your character can accomplish in a single Incursion.
The most important thing when designing your character's magic is ensuring that it's fun and interesting to fight against. It should have weaknesses that could conceivably be exploited. Furthermore, even though some of the higher power levels have planet-changing effects, it should always make sense for a rival team of mages to be able to arrive and stop it before anything irreversible is done. So, long wind-up times and abilities that only reach their fullest effect under certain conditions are encouraged. There should always be a chance to oppose an Incursion. When deciding how a power might be opposed, it helps to consider the following questions.
- How is the magic targeted? Touch? A burst of thrown energy? A few moments of intense staring? There should be some way to avoid it.
- What aspect of your magic is out of your control? Is there a delay before it takes effect? Does it have a blind spot? Is it only used subconsciously? The easiest way to make an ability overpowered is to make it always activate flawlessly in response to any situation.
- How can you lose a fight? Running out of stamina? Being hit by your weakness? Getting punched in the face? There should be a nonlethal condition for disabling your character.
Each of the power roles and power types have their own guidelines described below. There are also some universal guidelines. Each power type has two scaling effects listed at each level. A power might be able to produce a higher-level result in one effect in exchange for only ever producing a lower-level result in the other effect. For example, a level 4 Protection power might be level 6 for the purpose of the area protected in exchange for being only level 2 for the purpose of the degree of protection given. Furthermore, if a power has an especially-severe limitation, then it might be able to produce effects 1 level higher. Here are some examples of especially-severe limitations.
- The power works less than half the time (only in sunlight, only while sleeping).
- The power only affects a single material (like glass for a physical power, or anger for an emotional power).
- The power's effects cannot be scaled down (an explosive power can't be used for anything less than city-destroying blasts).
- The power can be completely stopped by employing a simple countermeasure (like drawing lines of salt on the ground).
Aggression
When a power is used as Aggression, it's something that directly attacks the enemy. It's the sort of thing that singlehandedly ends a fight unless it's stopped somehow. Aggression powers can inflict both physical and mental trauma.
The Aggression power type does well against Prediction but poorly against Maneuver. It's encouraged to make an Aggression power so overwhelming that predicting it doesn't really help, but you should be able to imagine ways for any of the Maneuver power types to thwart you - unless, of course, you're immune to them.
Aggression (Force)
Level | Effect |
0 | Can hit as hard as a punch and exert force as heavy as a person. |
1 | Can hit as hard as an elephant gun and exert force as heavy as a truck. |
2 | Can hit as hard as a car crash and exert force as heavy as a blue whale. |
3 | Can hit as hard as a high explosive tank shell and exert force as heavy as a freight train. |
4 | Can hit as hard as a bomber jet and exert force as heavy as the largest buildings. |
5 | Can hit as hard as a suitcase nuke and exert force as heavy as a small town. |
6 | Can hit as hard as a uranium bomb and exert force as heavy as a cubic kilometer of metal. |
7 | Can hit as hard as a hydrogen bomb and exert force as heavy as Mount Everest. |
8 | Can hit as hard as humanity's combined nuclear arsenal and exert force as heavy as an island. |
9 | Can hit as hard as a catastrophic earthquake and exert force as heavy as a small country. |
10 | Can replicate the impact that killed the dinosaurs and alter lunar orbits. |
The variables for Aggression (Force) are the amount of explosive damage and the degree of pushing force that can be exerted. A more destructive power might focus on the former, while a more control-based power might focus on the latter. Questions to consider:
- By what mechanism is the force projected? The user's muscles? Telekinetic power? Launched projectiles?
- Can the power exploit Newton's laws, or does it completely ignore them?
- Is the exerted force useful for any non-combat purposes as well?
Example Force powers:
- Level 2: Superpowered lifting and punching. (Damage 3, Pushing 1)
- Level 5: The ability to reverse gravity, lifting up huge chunks of earth and bringing them down like meteors. (Damage 5, Pushing 5)
- Level 7: Command over a hi-tech spaceship (complete with tractor beam) that can glass a planet's surface. (Damage 10, Pushing 4)
Immunity to Force might mean:
- You're heavily-armored, protecting you from being hit and flung around.
- Your power makes you incorporeal, so direct hazards just pass right through you like a ghost.
- Your own telekinesis is focused on your own body, protecting you from harm.
Aggression (Disruption)
Level | Effect |
0 | Can dismantle fragile items at arm's length. |
1 | Can dismantle load-bearing structures in a room-sized area. |
2 | Can dismantle simple machines in a house-sized area. |
3 | Can dismantle clockwork devices in a football-field-sized area. |
4 | Can dismantle biological systems in a city-block-sized area. |
5 | Can dismantle electronic interactions in an urban-district-sized area. |
6 | Can dismantle chemical interactions in a city-sized area. |
7 | Can dismantle molecular structures in a small-country-sized area. |
8 | Can dismantle atomic structures in a subcontinent-sized area. |
9 | Can dismantle subatomic particles in an continent-sized area. |
10 | Can damage the fabric of spacetime across the entire planet. |
The variables for Aggression (Disruption) are the degree of disruption and the size of the disruption. Degree level 4 is sufficient to be fatal to humans, but higher degrees can make it harder to shield oneself from the effect. While both Force and Disruption can involve causing physical destruction, Disruption uses indirect methods that often work more slowly but can be effective even against targets resistant to structural damage. Question to consider:
- How does the power do damage? Chemical reactions? Extreme temperature? Something completely unlike any natural physical process?
- How is the power directed? Is it an emanation? A spray? Touch-based?
- Which materials are affected, and which aren't?
Example Disruption powers:
- Level 2: Cause something to age at 10,000x speed by touching it. (Degree 4, Size 0)
- Level 4: Make it rain a heavy, immobilizing gunk that clogs machinery and is exhausting to fight through. (Degree 3, Size 5)
- Level 7: Summon a hurricane of flame that scorches the land down to the bedrock. (Degree 6, Size 8)
Immunity to Disruption might mean:
- You end fights quickly enough that the disruption doesn't have time to set in.
- Your body doesn't follow the laws of biology, so breaking it down doesn't bother you much.
- You manifest your own disruption effect which interferes with other ambient effects.
Aggression (Subdual)
Level | Effect |
0 | Can hurt one person. |
1 | Can paralyze several people at once. |
2 | Can cause brief unconsciousness in dozens of people at once. |
3 | Can cause overwhelming agony across a neighborhood. |
4 | Can induce sleep for a whole town. |
5 | Can cause lasting trauma across a city. |
6 | Can induce a coma for everyone in a metropolis. |
7 | Can cause mental disorders throughout a province. |
8 | Can cause permanent brain damage for a whole country. |
9 | Can damage people's personalities across a continent. |
10 | Can utterly erase minds throughout all of humanity. |
The variables for Aggression (Subdual) are the severity of the effect and the number of people affected. Although it's not necessarily physical, it's still like the other Aggression powers in that it serves the function of "ending fights." Questions to consider:
- What is the mechanism of the effect? Pheromones? Venom? Psychic powers?
- What does it feel like to be under the influence of the power?
- How, if at all, can the effects of the power be reversed?
Example Subdual powers:
- Level 2: Fire an "agony beam" that functions like a raygun. (Severity 3, Number 1)
- Level 5: Release a huge cloud of gas that puts everyone who breathes it to sleep. (Severity 4, Number 6)
- Level 9: Speak mind-breaking primal truths that retain their effect even when recorded or written down. (Severity 9, Number 9)
Immunity to Subdual might mean:
- Your mind works on inhuman principles and is therefore immune to conditions that might affect human minds.
- You fight using non-sentient proxies.
- Your power continues to work even if you're in pain or unconscious.
Maneuver
When a power is used as a Maneuver, that means it's protecting oneself or an ally. It prolongs fights by avoiding and mitigating damage. There are countless possible ways to inflict damage, but Maneuver powers have some level of effectiveness against all of them.
The Maneuver power type does well against Aggression but poorly against Interference. It's encouraged to make a Maneuver power broad enough to be helpful against any sort of Aggression, but you should be able to imagine ways for any of the Interference power types to stop it from working - unless, again, you're immune to it.
Maneuver (Protection)
Level | Effect |
0 | Can take a mundane attack for someone within arm's length. |
1 | Can provide protection equivalent to a concrete barricade for a whole room. |
2 | Can provide protection equivalent to tank armor for a house. |
3 | Can provide protection equivalent to a battleship hull for a large crowd of people. |
4 | Can provide protection equivalent to a bomb shelter for a city block. |
5 | Can provide protection equivalent to a fortified bunker for an urban district. |
6 | Can provide protection equivalent to the bottom of a mine shaft for a sprawling city. |
7 | Can provide protection equivalent to the center of a mountain for a small country. |
8 | Can provide protection equivalent to the bottom of the ocean for a subcontinent. |
9 | Can provide protection equivalent to an interposing moon for a continent. |
10 | Can fold and stretch spacetime itself to protect an entire planet. |
The variables for Maneuver (Protection) are the degree of protection and the area protected. The degree of protection is described in physical terms, but a Protection power can stop plenty of other sorts of effect as well. Questions to consider:
- Do you pre-emptively stop damage from being taken, or do you repair damage after it's done?
- Is your power always on, or does it come out whenever needed?
- What is it like to be protected by your power?
Example Protection powers:
- Level 2: Produce supernaturally-durable armored clothes for allies to wear. (Degree 1, Area 3)
- Level 5: Heal all injuries, no matter how severe, with a touch. (Degree 10, Area 0)
- Level 7: Project an enormous force field (Degree 9, Area 5)
Immunity to Protection might mean:
- Your attacks ghost right through any sort of shielding.
- You attack in unexpected ways that are hard to prepare against.
- Your attacks are specialized for destroying the shields themselves.
Maneuver (Enhancement)
Level | Effect |
0 | Can provide a single person with mundane assistance. |
1 | Can provide a squad with abilities equivalent to expensive equipment (sports cars and civilian-grade weapons). |
2 | Can provide a battalion with abilities equivalent to restricted equipment (APCs and machineguns). |
3 | Can provide a regiment with abilities equivalent to heavy equipment (tanks and rocket launchers). |
4 | Can provide a division with abilities equivalent to operational equipment (helicopters and airdropped bombs). |
5 | Can provide a field army with abilities equivalent to strategic equipment (small warships and coastal bombardment). |
6 | Can provide an army group with abilities equivalent to rare equipment (battleships and missiles). |
7 | Can provide a country's armed forces with abilities equivalent to unique equipment (scramjets and nukes). |
8 | Can provide a whole country with abilities equivalent to theoretical equipment (interplanetary spacecraft and nanomachines). |
9 | Can provide a whole countinent with abilities equivalent to futuristic equipment (interstellar spacecraft and antimatter). |
10 | Can provide a whole species with abilities beyond human comprehension. |
The variables for Maneuver (Enhancement) are the degree of enhancement offered and the number of people who can benefit at once. In some cases, using an Enhancement power means giving the targeted ally the ability to fight off an attack. In other cases, Enhancement users will fight with the aid of large numbers of NPC minions, deploying them to protect vulnerable allies. Questions to consider:
- Do the abilities granted by the user work independently of her own knowledge or desires?
- Are the powers attached to any kind of focus or equipment?
- Do the beneficiaries need to satisfy any particular requirements to make use of the power?
Example Enhancement powers:
- Level 3: Lead a squad of soldiers equipped with hi-tech powered armor. (Number 1, Degree 5)
- Level 6: Grant blessings to all those who worship you. (Number 10, Degree 2)
- Level 9: Possess a willing avatar and grant her immense supernatural power. (Number 0, Degree 18)
Immunity to Enhancement might mean:
- You end fights so quickly that there's no time to bring enhancement to bear.
- Your attacks turn enemies (and their enhancements) against each other.
- You're able to weaken enemies in order to counter their enhancements.
Maneuver (Field)
Level | Effect |
0 | Can manipulate objects within arm's length and move at a run. |
1 | Can manipulate doors and windows and move at freeway speeds. |
2 | Can manipulate entire houses and move at drag racing speeds. |
3 | Can manipulate office buildings and move at the speed of sound. |
4 | Can manipulate skyscrapers and move at cruise missile speeds. |
5 | Can manipulate an entire urban district and reach escape velocity. |
6 | Can manipulate a sprawling city and reach anywhere on Earth in 10 minutes. |
7 | Can manipulate a small country and reach anywhere on Earth in 3 minutes. |
8 | Can manipulate a subcontinent and reach anywhere on Earth in less than a minute. |
9 | Can manipulate a continental plate and reach anywhere on Earth in a matter of seconds. |
10 | Can reshape the planet and reposition oneself anywhere on it in an instant. |
The variables for Maneuver (Field) are the area controlled and the speed that can be reached. Both abilities involve gaining a positional advantage in order to prevent enemies from landing their attacks. Where Disruption is about attacking enemies within an area, Field is about defending allies within an area. Questions to consider:
- Does the power create things, or does it shape what's already there?
- Does your power aid travel, give you extra speed, or allow outright teleportation?
- Can you fly?
Example Field powers:
- Level 2: Slow down time to avoid attacks and carry allies to safety. (Area 0, Speed 4)
- Level 4: Stretch and warp space itself within visual range. (Area 4, Speed 4)
- Level 8: Reshape geographic features at will and quickly form a functional body anywhere on the planet. (Area 10, Speed 6)
Immunity to Field might mean:
- Your attacks easily blast apart the environment.
- You tend to fight from a vantage point that's difficult to counter.
- Your own manipulation of the battlefield is specialized for negating enemy positional advantages.
Interference
When a power is used as Interference, that means it's making enemies vulnerable. It relies on teamwork, creating opportunities for allies to land the decisive hit. In general, this means stopping enemies from defending themselves or each other.
The Interference power type does well against Maneuver but poorly against Prediction. It's encouraged to make an Interference power that's practically impossible for Maneuvers to outright stop, but you should make it feasible for enemies to work around the effects of the power with Prediction and clever tactics (except for those Prediction powers you're immune to).
Interference (Obstruction)
Level | Effect |
0 | Can stop anything as large as a person or small as a baseball. |
1 | Can stop anything as large as a car or small as a marble. |
2 | Can stop anything as large as an elephant or small as a flea. |
3 | Can stop anything as large as a destroyer or small as a grain of fine sand. |
4 | Can stop anything as large as an aircraft carrier or small as a particle of dust. |
5 | Can stop anything as large as a mountain or small as a bacterium. |
6 | Can stop anything as large as a killer asteroid or small as a virus. |
7 | Can stop anything as large as a minor moon or small as a strand of DNA. |
8 | Can stop anything as large as a dwarf planet or small as a molecule of oil. |
9 | Can stop anything as large as Pluto or small as a molecule of water. |
10 | Can stop anything as large as the Earth or small as an atom. |
The variables for Interference (Obstruction) are the largest and smallest items that can be reliably caught with the power. It has some similarities to Protection and Field, but while the Maneuver powers are about helping allies, Obstruction is about trapping enemies in vulnerable positions and keeping them from effectively joining forces. Questions to consider:
- Is the obstruction environmental, created from nothing, or does it have some other source?
- Does the obstruction persist after it is no longer needed?
- What effect does the obstruction have on the surroundings?
Example Obstruction powers:
- Level 1: Shoot out powerful metal chains to wrap around targets. (Large 2, Small 0)
- Level 4: Throw sheets of cloth and then freeze them in time so that they become impossible to move aside. (Large 4, Small 4)
- Level 7: Deploy force field projectors that stop anything smaller from passing through. (Large 4, Small 10)
Immunity to Obstruction might mean:
- You don't need to move in order to use your powers.
- You fight using minions who can't all be easily trapped at once.
- You have movement abilities that are hard to counter.
Interference (Illusion)
Level | Effect |
0 | Can disguise oneself with mundane means. |
1 | Can create room-sized illusions that don't look realistic but still hide the truth. |
2 | Can create house-sized illusions that look real from a distance. |
3 | Can create football-field-sized illusions that seem real until thoroughly investigated. |
4 | Can create city-block-sized illusions that fool all human senses. |
5 | Can create urban-district-sized illusions that fool all animal senses. |
6 | Can create city-sized illusions that fool scientific equipment. |
7 | Can create small-country-sized illusions that directly befuddle the mind when seen. |
8 | Can create subcontinent-sized illusions that are difficult to disbelieve even when proven false. |
9 | Can create continent-sized illusions that allow victims to be manipulated at will. |
10 | Can engulf a planet in an illusion that effectively replaces reality itself. |
The variables for Interference (Illusion) are the size of the illusion and the realism of the illusion. Some Illusion powers might directly affect targets' minds, while others might actually produce (or hide) light and sound. Although both Subdual and Illusion powers target the mind, they differ in that Subdual powers aim to disable the target, while Illusion powers are used to mislead and manipulate. Questions to consider:
- Does your power only affect minds, or does it result in "real" (but deceptive) physical effects?
- Do the illusions need to be crafted separately for each viewer, or are they shared for everyone in the area?
- Do the illusions present any coherent image, or do they just manipulate the targets' emotions?
Example Illusion powers:
- Level 2: Suffuse the area with unnatural darkness that can't be banished by mundane lights. (Size 3, Realism 1)
- Level 6: Produce a mind-affecting light that drives all who see it into a blind rage. (Size 3, Realism 9)
- Level 9: Engulf an entire planet in a parallel dream world. (Size 10, Realism 8)
Immunity to Illusion might mean:
- You have an unnatural "sixth sense" that deceptive powers can't account for.
- You have an ability to notice missing details and inconsistencies in order to disbelieve illusions.
- Your power acts indiscriminately, making it no less effective even if you've been misled.
Interference (Corruption)
Level | Effect |
0 | Can take control of a single handheld item. |
1 | Can manipulate unworked material to become useless. |
2 | Can manipulate natural phenomena to make them stronger or weaker. |
3 | Can manipulate composite material to change its basic shape. |
4 | Can manipulate machinery to wield it as if it were held in hand. |
5 | Can manipulate electronics to act with fine precision. |
6 | Can manipulate chemicals to react in impossible ways. |
7 | Can manipulate microbes to replicate or destroy themselves. |
8 | Can manipulate plants to change into other things of their type. |
9 | Can manipulate animals to act autonomously in ways helpful to the power's user. |
10 | Can manipulate people to act with a new and superhuman intelligence. |
The variables for Interference (Corruption) are the type of thing that can be manipulated and the degree of manipulation possible. More complicated things are more difficult to meaningfully manipulate. Where Field focuses on manipulating the environment in order to protect allies, Corruption is about manipulating the things enemies are using in order to render them vulnerable. Questions to consider:
- How is the manipulation performed? Possessing spirits? Superhuman hacking?
- What happens to a corrupted target after the corruption ends?
- If the corruption can directly target people, then what does it feel like to be corrupted?
Example Corruption powers:
- Level 3: Take control of flowing wind and water to harass enemies. (Type 2, Degree 4)
- Level 6: Curse enemies with dangerously bad luck. (Type 5, Degree 7)
- Level 7: Turn into a ghostly form and steal enemies' bodies. (Type 10, Degree 4)
Immunity to Corruption might mean:
- You don't rely much on tools or the environment to fight.
- You fight in indirect ways that make it difficult to determine how to effectively sabotage you.
- You suffuse things with your own energy that resists the influence of other powers.
Prediction
When a power is used as Prediction, that means it's turning the tables on attacking enemies. Instead of protecting allies, it's about preparing to make a decisive counterattack. Effectively, it helps the team set traps.
The Prediction power type does well against Interference but poorly against Aggression. Neither power will be stopped by Prediction, and it's always better to predict correctly than to predict falsely, but keep the combat advantage balance in mind when writing the resolution for a Prediction usage. Prediction being triggered by an Interference usage means that the trap is sprung and achieves great success. Prediction being triggered by an Aggression usage means that the Aggression-user still probably gets the better of the exchange.
Prediction (Sense)
Level | Effect |
0 | Can use human senses to detect things in their range. |
1 | Can detect anything human-sized or larger in the same room. |
2 | Can detect anything mouse-sized or larger in the same house. |
3 | Can detect anything mite-sized or larger within a football field. |
4 | Can detect all lifeforms and viruses in the same city block. |
5 | Can detect all chemical traces present in the same urban district. |
6 | Can detect every single atom in the same city. |
7 | Can detect all electromagnetic waves within a small country. |
8 | Can detect all protons and neutrons on the same subcontinent. |
9 | Can detect all quarks and electrons on the same continent. |
10 | Perfect knowledge of all quantum wavefunctions across the planet. |
The variables for Prediction (Sense) are the size that can be detected and the area in which detection is possible. Questions to consider:
- Does the power replace or augment an existing sense, or is it an entirely new sense?
- Must the user focus the sense on a desired subject, or is it always uncontrollably active?
- What is it like to perceive the world using only the power?
Example Sense powers:
- Level 3: See through walls. (Size 2, Area 4)
- Level 5: Complete knowledge of one's own body and everything touching it. (Size 10, Area 0)
- Level 8: Vastly superhuman hearing that provides complete knowledge of everything happening on the landmass. (Size 7, Area 9)
Immunity to Sense might mean:
- Your power can work without affecting the physical world.
- You cause so much chaos that it's difficult to sort through the sensory information to make any meaningful conclusions.
- You're tricky enough that seeing what you're doing isn't necessarily enough to realize your intentions.
Prediction (Deduction)
Level | Effect |
0 | Can make mundane predictions with mundane information. |
1 | Can predict a few seconds into the future for events involving only classical kinematics. |
2 | Can predict the next few minutes for events involving physical interactions down to the chemical level. |
3 | Can predict the next hour for events involving physical interactions down to the quantum level. |
4 | Can predict hours in advance for events involving animal-like intelligences. |
5 | Can predict the next few days for events involving only the user herself. |
6 | Can predict the next few weeks for events involving only people the user knows closely. |
7 | Can predict the next several months for events involving only people the user knows casually. |
8 | Can predict the next several years for events involving only one person the user doesn't know. |
9 | Can predict the course of a generation for events involving multiple people the user doesn't know. |
10 | Can predict the course of a civilization for events involving any number of other intelligent entities, even non-humans. |
The variables for Prediction (Deduction) are the time period predicted and the complexity of the situation that can be predicted. Those with Deduction powers can also make conclusions about the past which aren't limited by the time period variable. Deductions about the future are necessarily vague, but they allow the user to make plans that are completely reliable. Making deductions regarding other characters should be done only with the other player's cooperation. Questions to consider:
- How are the deductions made? Super-intelligence? Peering through spacetime? Communing with spirits?
- What type of information about a situation does the user need in order to deduce how that situation will turn out?
- How much freedom does the user herself have to defy and affect her own deductions?
Example Deduction powers:
- Level 2: Set things up so a Rube Goldberg-like series of events will always make things work out in your favor. (Time 3, Complexity 1)
- Level 5: Understand and manipulate people by using perfect social skills. (Time 3, Complexity 7)
- Level 8: Pick from all possible futures based on how things would turn out over the next month. (Time 6, Complexity 10)
Immunity to Deduction might mean:
- Your powers have a truly random element that not even you can predict.
- Your power is impossible to avoid, even if your target knows that it's coming.
- You can deduce which things your target will deduce that you'll deduce that she'll deduce that you'll deduce about her.
Prediction (Absorption)
Level | Effect |
0 | Can absorb and emit energy at mundane (metabolic) rates. |
1 | Can absorb and emit energy at the rate of a sports car engine. |
2 | Can absorb and emit energy at the rate of a diesel locomotive. |
3 | Can absorb and emit energy at the rate of a passenger jet. |
4 | Can absorb and emit energy at the rate of a power plant. |
5 | Can absorb and emit energy at the rate of a small country. |
6 | Can absorb and emit energy at the rate of a large country. |
7 | Can absorb and emit energy at the rate of a species. |
8 | Can absorb and emit energy at the rate of a hurricane. |
9 | Can absorb and emit energy at a rate sufficient to cause large-scale climate change. |
10 | Can absorb and emit energy equal to the combined solar energy a planet receives from the Sun. |
The variables for Prediction (Absorption) are the rate of energy gathering and the rate of energy emission. Note that being able to absorb the energy of an attack doesn't necessarily mean being immune to the attack itself. Although the levels are described in terms of real-world physical energy, it's possible for an Absorption power to work entirely with some other type of fantastical energy, like "pain" or "order." Questions to consider:
- Do you use a power in the same way as you absorb it, or do you convert it into another sort of energy?
- How possible is it to transfer and steal the energy?
- Can you only take energy when attacked, or do you gather it from your environment?
Example Absorption powers:
- Level 2: Gather energy from the light of the sun and expend it for periods of superhuman ability. (Gathering 1, Emission 3)
- Level 4: Take damage from one area and use it to reconstruct another area. (Gathering 4, Emission 4)
- Level 7: Sap power from anyone who fights you - the stronger they are, the faster you consume their energy. (Gathering 12, Emission 2)
Immunity to Absorption might mean:
- The energy you fight with is poisonous to anyone else.
- You fight very efficiently and precisely, only expending any significant energy for a guaranteed knockout blow.
- Your attacks absorb energy rather than spending it.
Resetting Powers
If you want to know how to level up powers, see the shop thread. This section is about switching your powers from one type to another. For the most part, power types are not allowed to be changed. There are only three reasons power types can be changed, and they are as follows:
- Mulligan
- Every character gets one free reset. This is called a mulligan. Mulligans do not require any reason for the change.
- Mulligans must be used with in one month of the character being accepted. The staff post made when the character is accepted will serve as the timestamp.
- To use a mulligan to change your powers, PM all staff by clicking here, tell them that you're using the mulligan and write out your new powers. Staff will respond to the PM with an okay, or will let you know if you need to make any changes (if your math is off for example). Don't forget to update your hidden profile with your new powers as well.
- Plot Reasons
- If significant changes happen to the character, sometimes they might be able to change their powers. For example, a mundane character could end up developing magic abilities. Another example is if a person with powers already starts using their powers in a drastically different way, such as a character that used to be a pacifist deciding they want to use their powers to fight lethally.
- If you want to change your powers for plot reasons, PM all staff members with the reasons you think your character should be allowed to change their powers. The staff will discuss it and get back to you.
- If your request is approved, then PM all staff again with your new powers. The staff will respond with an okay or will let you know if you need to make changes (if your math is off for example). Don't forget to update your hidden profile with your new powers.
- If your request is rejected then you cannot change your powers.
- Unpredictable Trait
- The Unpredictable Trait is a trait that lets the character change their powers between battles. See the shop thread for more details.
- To change your powers, PM all staff with your new powers. The staff will respond with an okay or will let you know if you need to make changes (if your math is off for example). Don't forget to update your hidden profile with your new powers.
Once you change your powers, a post will be made in the Power Change Alert thread, unless you're changing powers due to the Unpredictable trait. The powers themselves will not be mentioned, only the fact that you changed them. If someone used the Espionage trait against you, they will get updated information if you use a mulligan, but they will not if powers were changed for story reasons or due to the unpredictable trait.
Example of Powers
Here's an example of how to list your powers on your secret sheet. This example uses a mage whose power is pyromancy, creation and control of flames. She's a starting character, so she has 15 levels to spend. Note that even though she only bought two immunities, she can get a third one later when she levels up.
Powers:
Aggression (Disruption) 4 - Anything that spends any significant length of time in her flames will be burnt to a crisp.
Interference (Illusion) 1 - She can conceal things with thick smoke, and at higher levels she might be able to make realistic flame constructs.
Interference (Corruption) 4 - The pyromancer can make tools and surfaces become too hot to touch, or even make them melt and become useless.
Immunities:
Aggression (Subdual) 1 - Her flames grow out of control if she's not focusing on them, so knocking her out will often just make her more dangerous.
Prediction (Sense) 2 - The light, heat, and smoke produced by her flames are overwhelming for most mundane and magical senses.
Traits:
Hidden Power 3 - The pyromancer's power is very destructive, so she usually has to hold back in order to avoid killing other mages. But when things get serious, she can cut loose and fight at full power.
Power level: 15
Aggression (Disruption) 4 - Anything that spends any significant length of time in her flames will be burnt to a crisp.
Interference (Illusion) 1 - She can conceal things with thick smoke, and at higher levels she might be able to make realistic flame constructs.
Interference (Corruption) 4 - The pyromancer can make tools and surfaces become too hot to touch, or even make them melt and become useless.
Immunities:
Aggression (Subdual) 1 - Her flames grow out of control if she's not focusing on them, so knocking her out will often just make her more dangerous.
Prediction (Sense) 2 - The light, heat, and smoke produced by her flames are overwhelming for most mundane and magical senses.
Traits:
Hidden Power 3 - The pyromancer's power is very destructive, so she usually has to hold back in order to avoid killing other mages. But when things get serious, she can cut loose and fight at full power.
Power level: 15