Author Topic: Character Concept - Homebrew Power Feedback  (Read 11411 times)

Offline Lavecki121

  • Posty McPostington
  • ***
  • Posts: 1891
    • View Profile
Character Concept - Homebrew Power Feedback
« on: October 23, 2012, 02:11:24 PM »
So I decided to make a Martial Arts guy and I wanted a supernatural power that derived from the Chinese Zodiac. I looked to Jackie Chan Adventures for some inspiration and this is what I have so far:
Rooster – Levitation/ Telekinesis
•   Wings

Ox – Strength/Durability
•   Inhuman Strength.
•   Inhuman Toughness

Snake – Invisibility
•   Glamours / Greater Glamours
•   Cloak of Shadows (only if took glamours)

Sheep – Astral Projection
•   Spirit Form
•   Gaseous Form

Rabbit – Super Speed
•   Supernatural Speed

Dragon – Combustion/Pyrokinesis
•   Breath Weapon
•   Some sort of Sponsored Magic (If not breath Weapon)

Rat – Animates Inanimate Objects
•   

Horse – Healing
•   Supernatural Recovery

Dog – Immortality
•   Wizards Constitution
•   Physical Immunity
•   +4 for a Catch

Pig – Laser Vision
•   Modified Breath Weapon
•   Some sort of Sponsored Magic also Possible

Monkey – Animal Shape Shifting
•   Beast Form (multiple beasts)
o   Aquatic
o   Claws
o   Diminutive
o   Hulking
o   Spider Walk
o   Supernatural Sense
o   Wings

Tiger – Balance/Split Personality
•   Split Personality
o   Homebrew Power
o   Every Time any of the powers are used there is a chance that this one will happen instead.
o   Person in split into two personas a “good” and a “bad”
o   The “good” one is the PC and the “bad” one becomes an NPC
o   Until they are reunited they have diminished powers and diminished skill set
o   Each also has their own Aspects relating to their new personality

There are a few that are underpowered (or in the case of rat, non existent). I am thinking that This will work like Modular Abilities, whereas it will take a standard action to shift between each. Since it is limited to these powers I had the buy cost at -1 instead of the normal -2 that Modular Abilities has. Also there are only 4 Modular Points for each power. I really would like to flesh this out a little more and appreciate the help

Offline Addicted2aa

  • Conversationalist
  • **
  • Posts: 175
    • View Profile
Re: Character Concept - Homebrew Power Feedback
« Reply #1 on: October 23, 2012, 02:48:36 PM »
You might want to cap at 3 instead of 4. Being able to pick a supernatural, strength, toughness, Speed, essentially at will, may be too high to allow a cost of only 1 for the ability.

Giving glamours for invisibility, without limiting it in some way is giving the user far more than invisibility.

Pick either spirit of Gaeous form, based on which seems more appropriate(probably spirit, but I haven't read the entries or know the fiction off which the ability is based)

I would be very hesitant to offer sponsored magic in any form, even a very limited version.

Need to put a catch on the healing and toughness abilities.

For dog, I would go with living dead over either wizard con or Phys imm.

For monkey, it's tricky. Giving them a second set of modular abilities both requires a lot of tracking and also really stretches the reach of this power. It is also currently a 8 cost power as written. I think multiple beast forms might be enough.

Tiger, I don't know about limiting skills. That will hamstring the character. In a low power game they can survive a few sessions without the powers, though you might want give them the equivalent refresh, indicating an increase in free will for the PC half and a decrease in free will for the NPC half. In a high power game, where players are spending 8 refresh or more on powers, losing access to powers is brutal.
Everything I need to know in life I learned from Fear The Boot

Offline Lavecki121

  • Posty McPostington
  • ***
  • Posts: 1891
    • View Profile
Re: Character Concept - Homebrew Power Feedback
« Reply #2 on: October 23, 2012, 03:08:22 PM »
You might want to cap at 3 instead of 4. Being able to pick a supernatural, strength, toughness, Speed, essentially at will, may be too high to allow a cost of only 1 for the ability.
I was thinking this would be fine because you can only take the powers as written, there is no way to do it another way. I could take the normal -2 that modular would cost anyway and that might balance it out

Offline Addicted2aa

  • Conversationalist
  • **
  • Posts: 175
    • View Profile
Re: Character Concept - Homebrew Power Feedback
« Reply #3 on: October 23, 2012, 03:14:44 PM »
I was thinking this would be fine because you can only take the powers as written, there is no way to do it another way. I could take the normal -2 that modular would cost anyway and that might balance it out

I agree if it's limited enough that a -1 would work. I'm just not sure the version above is limited enough
Everything I need to know in life I learned from Fear The Boot

Offline Lavecki121

  • Posty McPostington
  • ***
  • Posts: 1891
    • View Profile
Re: Character Concept - Homebrew Power Feedback
« Reply #4 on: October 23, 2012, 03:20:05 PM »
You are probably right, because it is giving you access to the big 4. As modular abilities normally does.

Offline Sanctaphrax

  • White Council
  • Seriously?
  • ****
  • Posts: 12404
    • View Profile
Re: Character Concept - Homebrew Power Feedback
« Reply #5 on: October 23, 2012, 06:50:09 PM »
Yeah, I'd make it cost 2.

Anyway, there are a bunch of already-existing Custom Powers that could work here.

Telekinesis for Rooster.
Displacement with the Invisibility upgrade for Snake.
Natural Weaponry for everything with Breath Weapon.
Immunity, No Metabolism, and Undying for Dog.
Incite Effect for Rat.
Quasi-Modular Abilities for Dog or as inspiration for the final Power.

The only animals that I think would be difficult are Monkey and Tiger.

Offline Lavecki121

  • Posty McPostington
  • ***
  • Posts: 1891
    • View Profile
Re: Character Concept - Homebrew Power Feedback
« Reply #6 on: October 23, 2012, 07:20:33 PM »
And that is why you are one of my favorite people on here Sanctaphrax.

Also I constantly forget to look at custom Powers list.
I am thinking of making this power separate for each so that it wouldnt have to be a modular type thing, but each power would be encased in an IoP Talisman (+1 refresh).

Offline Sanctaphrax

  • White Council
  • Seriously?
  • ****
  • Posts: 12404
    • View Profile
Re: Character Concept - Homebrew Power Feedback
« Reply #7 on: October 23, 2012, 07:30:32 PM »
You can only have one Item Of Power.

If you were using the Limitation custom Power with the Item Limitation upgrade you could avoid that issue, but that'd be kinda fiddly.

Offline Mrmdubois

  • Posty McPostington
  • ***
  • Posts: 1345
    • View Profile
Re: Character Concept - Homebrew Power Feedback
« Reply #8 on: October 23, 2012, 07:40:19 PM »
Actually you can have multiple items of power, but they would all be treated as an instance of the IoP ability, and obviously the discount only applies once.

Offline Lavecki121

  • Posty McPostington
  • ***
  • Posts: 1891
    • View Profile
Re: Character Concept - Homebrew Power Feedback
« Reply #9 on: October 23, 2012, 07:54:28 PM »
Actually you can have multiple items of power, but they would all be treated as an instance of the IoP ability, and obviously the discount only applies once.
Correct. Also I may make the option that only one can be "active" at a time. Because of that I really want all of the animals to have the same refresh rate. The total of all abilities being -4 for each talisman

Offline Mrmdubois

  • Posty McPostington
  • ***
  • Posts: 1345
    • View Profile
Re: Character Concept - Homebrew Power Feedback
« Reply #10 on: October 23, 2012, 08:32:39 PM »
To start out with anyway.  In the cartoon there's multiple instances of more than one coin being used at a time.

Offline Lavecki121

  • Posty McPostington
  • ***
  • Posts: 1891
    • View Profile
Re: Character Concept - Homebrew Power Feedback
« Reply #11 on: October 23, 2012, 08:41:27 PM »
To start out with anyway.  In the cartoon there's multiple instances of more than one coin being used at a time.
I know but I feel you would take a major refresh hit if you lost 4 every time you picked up one of these coins

Offline Mrmdubois

  • Posty McPostington
  • ***
  • Posts: 1345
    • View Profile
Re: Character Concept - Homebrew Power Feedback
« Reply #12 on: October 23, 2012, 08:49:48 PM »
No one said it would be easy.

Offline Lavecki121

  • Posty McPostington
  • ***
  • Posts: 1891
    • View Profile
Re: Character Concept - Homebrew Power Feedback
« Reply #13 on: October 23, 2012, 09:25:59 PM »
No one said it would be easy.

LoL thats true I guess. I want his goal to be collecting these things so maybe they were stolen from his monestary and he has a box that can contain their magic, so that at the begining of the day he would have to decide what to take with him (and still leave enough refresh if he happens to find one.)

Offline Lavecki121

  • Posty McPostington
  • ***
  • Posts: 1891
    • View Profile
Re: Character Concept - Homebrew Power Feedback
« Reply #14 on: October 25, 2012, 05:31:49 PM »
So I was looking through the Custom Powers List and came upon this beauty:

Quote from: Custom Powers
QUASI-MODULAR ABILITIES [-Varies]
Description: You have the ability to alternate between multiple power sets.
Musts: You must "pre-pay" a number of refresh points equal to the total value of each set of powers that this power affects, plus a surcharge of one refresh.
Skills Affected: Varies.
Effects:
Two Power sets. Pick out two sets of powers, each with a total refresh cost one less than the cost of this power. You may use either set of powers, although it takes a full action to go from using one to using the other. The GM decides what is and what isn't a valid choice for inclusion in the power sets provided by this power.
Item Of Power Collection [-0] You own multiple items of power. Design a number of Items Of Power equal to your Resources skill. At any given time, you may use or loan out items with a total refresh cost up to one less than the refresh cost of this power. You do not receive the Item Of Power discount. If you have the Tracing power, then you may summon and dismiss these Items Of Power out of and into thin air. If not, you must treat them as physical objects.

Specifically refferencing the IoP Part