Jul 23, 2015 4:17 pm
Izaac Cain has been published to the library. Feedback and requests for clarifications are appreciated.
Step #2: Character Creation
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Jul 23, 2015 11:39 pm
Now I am wondering what I should take for my abilities. I was thinking Empathy since it is a forced empathetic reaction. Also, Empathy encompasses truthsaying. I know I can't connect to people but I can read them. I have Notice, Stealth, Empathy, and Athlectics flagged right now as necessary skills. Also, I'll need help understanding how to build powers and stunts. I am probably going to take that Parkour (Athletics) Stunt but other than that, I don't quite understand what having the refresh of nine means for stunts/powers. What would be the sweet point of Powers to remaining refresh rate?
Jul 24, 2015 1:21 am
Easy question first...I think Provoke makes more sense for your character. This isn't just because Harbringer is using Empathy and will. Based on what you've talked about so far, Provoke implies the "forcing someone to do what you want" approach you seem headed for. But choosing your final Powers or Aspects might alter something.
So, on Stunts and Powers. The "by the book" answer is that you should have 3 refresh left over when you are done. That is not mandatory though. When you play Fate in a face-to-face game, you get a number of Fate Points equal to the number of Refresh that you have every time you sit down for a new session of play. (3 being the typical number) Since we are playing online that won't work. I will probably be telling you "refresh" you Fate Points every 3-5 scenes depending on how intense they may have been or if you advanced the plot, or if there is a time jump. **Note: If you end a scene with more than your Refresh number you will not lose Fate Points, you just don't get any more at that time.**
Stunts are trick or things that your character can do that make them special and set them apart from other characters. You've seen how each skill offers a few (3?) examples of stunts tied to each skill. Some require the spending of Fate Points some only trigger under certain circumstances but don't cost Points. Powers are effectively the same thing in our game, but rather than being related to Skills, they represent the superhuman abilities your character can have. In the Venture City Stories it gives several examples of powers. The Speedster can move 3 zones in a single move at no cost of a Fate point. Normal people can move one zone, two maybe with a skill check. **Note: Zones represent various areas in a scene. Typically you can only affect things in your current zone. Punch a gangbanger, pick up a trashcan, etc. Ranged attacks obviously improve your area of effect in accordance with their nature (a gun or whip, or a lighting bolt). In this game, I imagine a typical zone to be about half a city block, or two building lengths, but it could vary depending on the situation. Think about running across a room and punching someone in a short amount of time, i.e. one round of actions. However far a normal person might concievably be able to get and do something.**
Let's look at Superman for examples. For my example I will put forth that Supes has one power set. Let's call it "Kryptonian Physiology". In this set Superman typically gains the following abilities (he gains and loses powers depending on the writer, this is the traditional list) Flight, Super Strength (probably at a +6 or +8 in my opinion) Super Speed, X-ray Vision, Heat Vision, Ice Breath, and Invulenerability (Armor 10, as I would judge it).
So, by my estimation Kal-El would need 13-14 refresh to get all that. And he would be unplayable because you can't spend your refresh down to 0 in this game. You have to have one point. His draw back is huge because...I mean come one. Kryptonite kills him in minutes. Seems fair. He probably has a tone of special effects, I don't list Extra Damage among them because his strength is so high, he doesn't need the help.
The Flash on the other hand also has one Power Set, and probably just one power, Super Speed. You could throw on things like Whirlwinds and Phasing through walls, but in the way I would build him, those would be special effects. He would need to roll Athletics really well in order to pull those things off. So Flash would be at maybe 4-5 points. However, he also has crime solving skills. As a CSI he can analyse a crime scene in ways normal, untrained people can't. That could be just a Notice Skill check, but it could also be a stunt that provides a bonus to Notice rolls becausehis ability is beyond what normal people can do, but it is unrelated to the fact he can move so fast.
So, make up a list of what Warp can do with his powers and any special gifts he has that arent because of the powers, and don't worry about the cost. After we see the list we can determine the refresh cost and makes adjustments.
So, on Stunts and Powers. The "by the book" answer is that you should have 3 refresh left over when you are done. That is not mandatory though. When you play Fate in a face-to-face game, you get a number of Fate Points equal to the number of Refresh that you have every time you sit down for a new session of play. (3 being the typical number) Since we are playing online that won't work. I will probably be telling you "refresh" you Fate Points every 3-5 scenes depending on how intense they may have been or if you advanced the plot, or if there is a time jump. **Note: If you end a scene with more than your Refresh number you will not lose Fate Points, you just don't get any more at that time.**
Stunts are trick or things that your character can do that make them special and set them apart from other characters. You've seen how each skill offers a few (3?) examples of stunts tied to each skill. Some require the spending of Fate Points some only trigger under certain circumstances but don't cost Points. Powers are effectively the same thing in our game, but rather than being related to Skills, they represent the superhuman abilities your character can have. In the Venture City Stories it gives several examples of powers. The Speedster can move 3 zones in a single move at no cost of a Fate point. Normal people can move one zone, two maybe with a skill check. **Note: Zones represent various areas in a scene. Typically you can only affect things in your current zone. Punch a gangbanger, pick up a trashcan, etc. Ranged attacks obviously improve your area of effect in accordance with their nature (a gun or whip, or a lighting bolt). In this game, I imagine a typical zone to be about half a city block, or two building lengths, but it could vary depending on the situation. Think about running across a room and punching someone in a short amount of time, i.e. one round of actions. However far a normal person might concievably be able to get and do something.**
Let's look at Superman for examples. For my example I will put forth that Supes has one power set. Let's call it "Kryptonian Physiology". In this set Superman typically gains the following abilities (he gains and loses powers depending on the writer, this is the traditional list) Flight, Super Strength (probably at a +6 or +8 in my opinion) Super Speed, X-ray Vision, Heat Vision, Ice Breath, and Invulenerability (Armor 10, as I would judge it).
So, by my estimation Kal-El would need 13-14 refresh to get all that. And he would be unplayable because you can't spend your refresh down to 0 in this game. You have to have one point. His draw back is huge because...I mean come one. Kryptonite kills him in minutes. Seems fair. He probably has a tone of special effects, I don't list Extra Damage among them because his strength is so high, he doesn't need the help.
The Flash on the other hand also has one Power Set, and probably just one power, Super Speed. You could throw on things like Whirlwinds and Phasing through walls, but in the way I would build him, those would be special effects. He would need to roll Athletics really well in order to pull those things off. So Flash would be at maybe 4-5 points. However, he also has crime solving skills. As a CSI he can analyse a crime scene in ways normal, untrained people can't. That could be just a Notice Skill check, but it could also be a stunt that provides a bonus to Notice rolls becausehis ability is beyond what normal people can do, but it is unrelated to the fact he can move so fast.
So, make up a list of what Warp can do with his powers and any special gifts he has that arent because of the powers, and don't worry about the cost. After we see the list we can determine the refresh cost and makes adjustments.
Jul 24, 2015 2:11 am
The Warp's Skills
+4: Provoke
+3: Notice, Athletics
+2: Stealth, Investigate, Will
+1: Burglary, Fight, Shoot, Contacts
The Warp's Powers and Abilities
Feel the Void: On contact with the Warp's skin, people are given visions of the Great Abyss that undergirds reality.
Heightened Senses: Because of the nature of the Great Abyss, everything is more significant here. Very little escapes his notice.
Sense the Strands of Fate: The Warp can actually see the strands of fate that link people, places, and things.
Danger Sense: Because of his ability to see the strands of fate and his heightened senses, The Warp senses dangerous situations before they happen.
Parkour: A holdover from his days climbing up the highrises to get away from the streets.
The Strands Don't Lie: The Strands of Fate never lie and along with his heightened senses, he can tell when others are lying.
Crow Control: When the two crows Hugs and Mugs ate from the Warp's eye, they became linked. He now can communicate with them and other crows tend to follow their lead.
Beneath Notice: Because of his homelessness and his raggedy appearance, most people don't notice him.
+4: Provoke
+3: Notice, Athletics
+2: Stealth, Investigate, Will
+1: Burglary, Fight, Shoot, Contacts
The Warp's Powers and Abilities
Feel the Void: On contact with the Warp's skin, people are given visions of the Great Abyss that undergirds reality.
Heightened Senses: Because of the nature of the Great Abyss, everything is more significant here. Very little escapes his notice.
Sense the Strands of Fate: The Warp can actually see the strands of fate that link people, places, and things.
Danger Sense: Because of his ability to see the strands of fate and his heightened senses, The Warp senses dangerous situations before they happen.
Parkour: A holdover from his days climbing up the highrises to get away from the streets.
The Strands Don't Lie: The Strands of Fate never lie and along with his heightened senses, he can tell when others are lying.
Crow Control: When the two crows Hugs and Mugs ate from the Warp's eye, they became linked. He now can communicate with them and other crows tend to follow their lead.
Beneath Notice: Because of his homelessness and his raggedy appearance, most people don't notice him.
Jul 24, 2015 6:53 am
OK. Great list.
So...Feel the Void, is this the ability he uses to take people down? If so, how do you see it functioning? I'm thinking when he touches people he forces their minds to perceive the Great Abyss, causing mental stress. And you do this by using Provoke to pay open their minds. So an attack that causes mental stress would cost 1 refresh.
Heightened Senses, Danger Sense are effectively just functions of Notice. Catching someone in a lie is usually a full action of Empathy, but your character has a gift that goes beyond reading people, so it makes sense to work off of Notice. So I think 1 refresh for the added function, then 1 refresh per+2 to your notice skill. I would think +6 as an absolute maximum.
Controling the crows: This is an Odin reference right? The scope of functionality is the question here. I love the idea. I'm tempted to give you the ability to see through their eyes for free because they are also touched by the Great Abyss. They will go where you want and be functionally immortal, if something squashes or eats them or something, they will come back after a short amount of time. To up their value I am willing to add that The Warp can direct them to attack causing either physical stress or the effects of "Feel the Void" if I understood what you were going for their. At the cost of a Fate point each time, you can direct their actions completely and use The Warp's skills as long as the action could be taken by a bird. So lifting a manhole cover is probably too much, but they can fetch small items or chew through rope with enough time, that sort of thing. Basically Warp could take actions at a range without needing to phisically be there. Again this would be 1 refresh because it wouldn't have the full functionality of The Warp actually being there and costing a Fate point to use the direct control feature.
Parkour: The Fate core book describes this as +2 to Athletics while running on roofs and being in similar precarious situations. Would cost 1 refresh like normal.
Beneath Notice: Since you mentioned this being about his homeless guy appearance and not about a power this sounds like a normal stunt. If that's true, I will refer to the Fate Core book again and the Stealth skill. There it gives "Face in the Crowd" as a +2 to Stealth when in a crowded area. For you it seems like we should change "crowded area" to "places a homeless person would not be out of place". So as long as you weren't acting like a superhero and punching people in the face or something, you would get this bonus any time you were out on the street, or in a public park or something like that. If you were in a board room or a swanky night club the bonus would not work. Again as a standard Stunt this would cost 1 refresh.
By my count you are looking at a cost of at least 5 refresh. If you want the full functionality of the birds it would be 6, and if you want more than a +2 to notice it would be another 1 per +2. Keep in mind this is all negotiable, and there is a "leveling up" that will happen where you can improve these abilities or get more stunts. I'm thinking every three to five big scenes depending on how this game goes.
So...Feel the Void, is this the ability he uses to take people down? If so, how do you see it functioning? I'm thinking when he touches people he forces their minds to perceive the Great Abyss, causing mental stress. And you do this by using Provoke to pay open their minds. So an attack that causes mental stress would cost 1 refresh.
Heightened Senses, Danger Sense are effectively just functions of Notice. Catching someone in a lie is usually a full action of Empathy, but your character has a gift that goes beyond reading people, so it makes sense to work off of Notice. So I think 1 refresh for the added function, then 1 refresh per+2 to your notice skill. I would think +6 as an absolute maximum.
Controling the crows: This is an Odin reference right? The scope of functionality is the question here. I love the idea. I'm tempted to give you the ability to see through their eyes for free because they are also touched by the Great Abyss. They will go where you want and be functionally immortal, if something squashes or eats them or something, they will come back after a short amount of time. To up their value I am willing to add that The Warp can direct them to attack causing either physical stress or the effects of "Feel the Void" if I understood what you were going for their. At the cost of a Fate point each time, you can direct their actions completely and use The Warp's skills as long as the action could be taken by a bird. So lifting a manhole cover is probably too much, but they can fetch small items or chew through rope with enough time, that sort of thing. Basically Warp could take actions at a range without needing to phisically be there. Again this would be 1 refresh because it wouldn't have the full functionality of The Warp actually being there and costing a Fate point to use the direct control feature.
Parkour: The Fate core book describes this as +2 to Athletics while running on roofs and being in similar precarious situations. Would cost 1 refresh like normal.
Beneath Notice: Since you mentioned this being about his homeless guy appearance and not about a power this sounds like a normal stunt. If that's true, I will refer to the Fate Core book again and the Stealth skill. There it gives "Face in the Crowd" as a +2 to Stealth when in a crowded area. For you it seems like we should change "crowded area" to "places a homeless person would not be out of place". So as long as you weren't acting like a superhero and punching people in the face or something, you would get this bonus any time you were out on the street, or in a public park or something like that. If you were in a board room or a swanky night club the bonus would not work. Again as a standard Stunt this would cost 1 refresh.
By my count you are looking at a cost of at least 5 refresh. If you want the full functionality of the birds it would be 6, and if you want more than a +2 to notice it would be another 1 per +2. Keep in mind this is all negotiable, and there is a "leveling up" that will happen where you can improve these abilities or get more stunts. I'm thinking every three to five big scenes depending on how this game goes.
Jul 24, 2015 7:00 am
KennyGardnerIII says:
Izaac Cain has been published to the library. Feedback and requests for clarifications are appreciated.Jul 24, 2015 6:55 pm
Against characters with mental powers. The general idea is that when an adversary uses mental powers, they're also opening themselves up to incursions by Izaac.
Last edited July 24, 2015 7:43 pm