Sean Waters Posted December 23, 2005 Report Share Posted December 23, 2005 Thinking about mental powers, but it could apply elsewhere too.... How would you build a power that made it easier for you to find someone later? I was thinking specifically about mind scan - say you can hit someone with a 'beacon' power that allows you to find them more easily - to you they 'glow in the dark', so even if they go to ground in another city you can still pick them out easily (although you could do something simliar by, say, changing someone's pheremones so that they are an easy target for your tracking scent...) The two approaches I thought of are from quite different directions. The first is basically just additional levels with the power which require some sort of attack roll or other ritual before you can use them. The second approach is to transform your target, either with transform itself, or maybe uncontrolled images. I can see advantages to both approaches, but can't work out which is the best bet, or if there is something I have not thought of at all: any ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugh Neilson Posted December 23, 2005 Report Share Posted December 23, 2005 Re: Beacon I go with the limited levels, Sean. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sean Waters Posted December 23, 2005 Author Report Share Posted December 23, 2005 Re: Beacon I go with the limited levels' date=' Sean.[/quote'] My problem with that (absent another limitation of some sort) is that there is no way that the TARGET can do anything to get rid of the 'glow' (which may or may not be appropriate depending on concept and sfx). Doing it the other way, of course, costs a lot more.... Oh, and Merry Crimbo, one and all Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugh Neilson Posted December 23, 2005 Report Share Posted December 23, 2005 Re: Beacon Well, the target can't do much about being transformed either. You could simply establish how the target can make these levels go away and factor that into the limitation factor. It would be very much a custom, ability, but then I think this WOULD be very much a custom ability. And why just Mind Scan? Garlic Juice: +5 levels to Smell PER rolls; can be removed by washing off. Come to think of it, perhaps a variant of the Negative Skill Levels rules would work well here - we're just applying a favourable modifier for those trying to perceive the target, which isn't much different from forcing the target to take a negative modifier to his own rolls. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Constantine Posted December 23, 2005 Report Share Posted December 23, 2005 Re: Beacon How about a new custom megascale sense? Sense people I've marked. Probably more expensive then the levels, but less expensive than the transform. Would only have to be megascale to work with mindscan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wormhole Posted December 23, 2005 Report Share Posted December 23, 2005 Re: Beacon I'd do something like this: Images to Mental Group, +5 to PER rolls, 1' radius, Usable As Attack (+1), Ranged (+1/2), Based On ECV (+1); Set Effect (psychic homing beacon; -1/2). Add other Mods to taste. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dust Raven Posted December 23, 2005 Report Share Posted December 23, 2005 Re: Beacon I almost always achieve this effect with a combination of Cosmetic Transform (sometimes with IPE, effects are invisible), and Detect. It's how I write up Spiderman's tracking bugs, that chemical spray that makes you glow in UV light and Tag body spray. I wouldn't mind using some kind of PER Modifier UAA. I'm not too sure how to cost it though. Would you buy it with the same cost as a PER Bonus then apply the UAA and other applicible Advantages (such as Ranged)? Seems like it would be really cheap, and maybe too cheap, for something that only affects a single sense. I wouldn't want to charge more though, in case you wanted an effect that did affect all senses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Constantine Posted December 23, 2005 Report Share Posted December 23, 2005 Re: Beacon I almost always achieve this effect with a combination of Cosmetic Transform (sometimes with IPE, effects are invisible), and Detect. It's how I write up Spiderman's tracking bugs, that chemical spray that makes you glow in UV light and Tag body spray. I wouldn't mind using some kind of PER Modifier UAA. I'm not too sure how to cost it though. Would you buy it with the same cost as a PER Bonus then apply the UAA and other applicible Advantages (such as Ranged)? Seems like it would be really cheap, and maybe too cheap, for something that only affects a single sense. I wouldn't want to charge more though, in case you wanted an effect that did affect all senses. Careful, DR. We almost kind of agreed on something there.... Merry Christmas! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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