Power Reserve and Power Stunts

Here are a few new mechanics I have been working on.

Power Reserve

This Advanced Power allows the character to have a reserve earmarked for the activation of multiple Standard Powers and Talents. This collection should be centered around a theme like energy constructs, animal powers granted while shape changing or the artifacts contained within a utility belt. This should never be just a random collection of Talents and Powers.

The base  Power Reserve must be purchased in 15 XP increments. Each rank represents a potential rank for an allocated Talent or Power. Talents and Powers that may use the Power Reserve must each be purchased at a cost of 3 XP per rank.

Example: The Comet wants to have a Power Reserve for his Comet Force which will allow up to 6 ranks of Powers to be active. This will cost 90 XP for the Power Reserve. He wants three Standard Powers (Energy Projection, Flight and Force Field) to be able to use the Power Reserve. This will cost 3 XP for each rank of Power added. Comet wants to buy the maximum ranks for each of the Powers; 5 ranks of Energy Projection, 3 ranks of Flight and 5 ranks of Force Field. The total cost for this Power Reserve and associated Powers will be 129 XP.

Which Powers and Talents, and the rank of each, which may be used must be allocated at the start of your character’s turn. Normal limitations on the maximum rank of a Power still apply. Regardless of allocation, Powers that require an action to activate still do. Once a Power is activated, it will stay active until it is turned off or no longer has any allocation within the Power Reserve.

Example: When it is the Comet’s turn he must decide how to allocate his Power Reserve. He has several options. Energy Projection has a level maximum of 5, Flight has a level maximum of 3 and Force Field has a level maximum of 5. Below are some possible Power/rank allocations:

·        Energy Projection 2, Flight 2 and Force Field 2

·        Energy Projection 5, Flight 0 and Force Field 1

·        Energy Projection 5, Flight 1 and Force Field 0

·        Energy Projection 1, Flight 3 and Force Field 2

·        Energy Projection 3, Flight 3 and Force Field 0

·        Energy Projection 0, Flight 1 and Force Field 5

Talents and Powers used through a Power Reserve may not be boosted using Style points (See Boosting Talents and Powers, p.XX).

Custom Power Stunts for Powers accessed through a Power Reserve must be purchased outside the Power Reserve (See Custom Power Stunts, p. XX). You may purchase Custom Power Stunts for a Power up to the Power Reserve rank but your character may only apply as many as appropriate to the currently allocated rank for the Power.

Example: Comet wants to add some variety to his Energy Projection. At rank 1, the attack does Willpower N damage. Because his total potential Power Reserve allocation for Energy Projection is rank 5, Comet may purchase up to 5 Custom Power Stunts for Energy Projection.

Comet decides to spend a total of 6 XP to buy two Custom Power Stunts. The first will make his attack dish out lethal damage instead of nonlethal. The attack now deals Willpower L damage. This would require a rank 2 Power Reserve allocation of Energy Projection to use.

The second Custom Power Stunt turns his attack into a pulse of energy that explodes into a 10-foot radius burst that deals Willpower N to all within the area. This would require a rank 3 Power Reserve allocation of Energy Projection to use.

Because he now has two Custom Power Stunts, if Comet allocates 3 ranks to Energy Projection to his Power Reserve at the start of his turn, he will have access to the following options:

·        A Willpower +4 N ranged attack that may target a single opponent.

·        A Willpower +2 L ranged attack that may target a single opponent.

·        A Willpower N ranged attack that targets everyone within a 10-foot radius.

If Comet instead allocates 5 ranks of Energy Projection, his options are the same but the damage for each will be increased:

·        A Willpower +8 N ranged attack that may target a single opponent.

·        A Willpower +6 L ranged attack that may target a single opponent.

·        A Willpower +4 N ranged attack that targets everyone within a 10-foot radius.

If Comet only allocates 2 ranks of Energy Projection, his options are reduced:

·        A Willpower +2 N ranged attack that may target a single opponent.

·        A Willpower L ranged attack that may target a single opponent.

Power Stunts

Power Stunts are specializations Powers.  These specializations allow for variations in the base Power without the need to repurchase the whole Power to achieve the flexibility. Multiple Power Stunts may be purchased for a single Power up to a maximum of the Power level.

Example: Snowfire has the Power, Energy Projection 2. He may purchase up to two Power Stunts for that Power.

Each Power Stunt costs 3 XP to purchase.

Standard Power Stunts

Many Standard Powers have predefined Power Stunts. If this is the case, the Power Stunts available for the Power will be listed at the end of the Power description in the Advanced section.

Custom Power Stunt

Custom Power Stunts are used to restructure or modify a Standard Power. The Standard Power must be advanced to level 2 or higher before qualifying for the purchase of a Custom Power Stunt.

Custom Power Stunts are constructed by applying Enhancements and Limitations similar to Ritual or Artifact creation. The result of the modification must be a zero Enhancement change.

Example: Snowfire wishes to purchase a Custom Power Stunt for his Energy Projection 2. He wants to modify his Heat Blast to become a Fire Blast which deals lethal damage rather than nonlethal damage. This reduces his Power’s attack rating by 2N (a -2 Limitation) and changes the Damage Type from N to L (a +2 Enhancement).

Spontaneous Power Stunt

Spontaneous Power Stunts are activated using Style points. The Power Stunt is temporary. A new Standard or Custom Power Stunt may be activated by spending 1 Style point. The limit on the maximum number of Power Stunts per Power still applies. A Spontaneous Power Stunt lasts for duration of a combat or scene.

Example 1: Magnum is being attacked by the villain Quill. Quill has Energy Projection 2 with the Piercing Power Stunt. Magnum wants to increase his protection from Quill’s attack. Magnum can spend 1 Style Point to spontaneously activate the Standard Power Stunt, Hardened Armor to negate the Piercing Power Stunt. 

Example 2: Snowfire wants to use his Energy Projection 2 to attack a 5ft radius area rather than a single target. Since he has two levels in Energy Projection, Snowfire can spend 1 Style Point create a Spontaneous Custom Power Stunt which reduces his Power’s attack rating by 2N (a -2 Limitation) and adds 5ft Area Effect (a +2 Enhancement). 

MASH - Some New Flaws

I was working on compiling flaws today. Here are some new ones I have created. I would appreciate your feedback.

Physical Flaws:

Allergy: Your character has a negative reaction to a common substance. When inhaling, ingesting or within close proximity to the substance, you suffer a -2 penalty to all Attribute and Skill rolls. You earn a Style point whenever your character is exposed to the substance or when forced to avoid an action or situation because of the presence of the substance.

Vulnerability (Severe): Your character suffers extra damage from a particular substance, such as sliver or cold iron, or special effect, such as magic or sunlight. In addition to any damage caused by an attack using the substance or special effect, you suffer 2L Caustic damage. You earn a Style point whenever your character is threatened with his vulnerability or when forced to avoid an action or situation because of the presence of the substance or special effect.

Social Flaw:

Half-breed: Your character is the result of mixed parentage. This could be as simple as having parents of different cultures or as extreme as parents of different races. This may be an issue with one or both of your parental groups or with society in general. You earn a Style point whenever the issue of your parentage causes you difficulty.

Misc Flaw:

Jinx: Unlucky and unfortunate events occur when you are around. Allies within 10 feet of you take a -1 penalty to the first roll that they attempt during the turn. This penalty is increased per level of Unlucky Aura power that you possess. Your allies earn a Style point each time they are adversely impacted by your influence of probabilities.

Here is the Power description referenced in the Flaw.

Unlucky Aura

Prerequisites: None

Your character can negatively impact the luck of his enemies.

Benefit: Your character has a pool of 2 unluck points. Your pool of unluck points is replenished at the start of each scene.

You may spend Style and unluck points to apply penalties to the rolls of others within 50 feet. For each point spent, you apply a -1 penalty to the target’s roll.

For every 2 unluck points remaining in your pool, each turn you may impose a -1 penalty to the first roll for each enemy within 10 feet of your character.

Normal: Your character cannot affect the rolls of others.

Advanced: You may buy this power three times. Your character gains an additional +2 unluck points in their pool per additional level purchased.

Special: Your character may acquire the Jinx flaw as an additional flaw to receive + 2 unluck points in their pool.

There is a social flaw for a Martian alien race which makes me wonder if I should create a couple of new human flaws.

Gendered (Alien only): Unlike most the race, your character is not androgynous. He or she exhibits either traditional masculine or feminine traits, making your character stand out as different. Unfortunately, your character does not look like others of your race, which may cause discomfort. You earn a Style point whenever your character’s atypical appearance causes her to be rejected or ostracized by others.

Do you think that Trans-gendered and Homosexual should have their own social flaws or are these topics that are best left alone? Depending on your perspective, these may not be flaws at all.

More MASH Playtest

Looking for information from many of you regarding your characters.

I have been working with Dan, Randy, Bruce and Dave. I think we are making good progress. I would really like to see what Kelly, Steve and Alan have written down. Please send me what you have.

If David has and origin story and wants to take a stab at starting a character. please do. Characters are built like a normal HEX guys but instead of spending 15 XP you get 75 XP. You should pick an Archetype, Motivation, an Origin and a Flaw.

New skills = Interface (INT) - interacting with computers and devices
Targeting (DEX) - used for making attacks with Powers not covered by another skill or mechanic

Powers - still a work in progress but if you tell me what you are looking for I should be able to provide some suggestions (or get to work on creating something).

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Origins

Origins define the source of a character’s Powers. In some cases, an Origin may define why a character does not have Powers.

Like Archetypes, Motivations and Flaws, Origins are another way to shape a character. They provide role-playing and story hooks and can sometime determine how NPCs and other powers react to a character.

At character creation, you must select an Origin which best fits your character.

Alien – A character with the Alien Origin gains their super-human powers through an alien nature or physiology or some alien benefactor. Typical aliens have Powers shared by all members of their race and do not manifest additional Powers through experience. This is defined by their racial template. Powers granted by an alien benefactor are often strange and unpredictable. Existing Powers may change or new powers may manifest over time. Visitors from another planet, gods and members of interstellar law enforcement agencies are examples of characters with this Origin.

Magic – A character with the Magic Origin typically gains their super-human abilities through the harnessing and focusing of magic energies and the use magical artifacts. Sometimes the character is exposed to a magical source or is granted Powers from a magical benefactor. Sorcerers, angels, demons and zombies are examples of characters with this Origin.

Mutant – A character with the Mutant Origin have naturally occurring Powers which are not typical to most members of its species. They can hone and expand their Powers through practice and experience. Characters with self-manifesting Powers usually have this Origin.

Natural – A character with the Natural Origin does not have any super-human abilities beyond the natural equipment of a member of its species. Animals, dinosaurs, insects and plants usually have this Origin.

Skilled – A character with the Skilled Origin does not have any super-human abilities but has raised abilities and skills through rigorous training. They will never manifest a Power through experience. A Skilled character can access Powers and other abilities through the use of artifacts and equipment and Martial Arts. Vigilantes, soldiers, secret agents and everyday people usually have this Origin.

Super Science – A character with the Super Science Origin gains their super-human abilities through a scientific process, lab accident or exposure to or use of an advanced technological artifact. Characters with cybernetic implants, characters with pharmaceutically granted Powers, eugenically altered species, artificial life forms and subjects of radioactive accidents are examples of characters with this Origin.

Dual Origins

Some character concepts do not fit into just one Origin. It these cases you should feel free to select a Dual Origin. At character creation, select two Origins from the list above. Characters with a Dual Origin gain the benefits and disadvantages for both Origins.

Some classic examples of a Dual Origin are:

• Despotic super-scientist with the magical heritage [Super Science/Magic]
  
• Shape changing alien with the collective powers of elemental earth, water, wind and fire gained through scientific experimentation [Alien/Super Science]
  
• Sorcerous trickster god of a medieval pantheon [Alien/Magic]

Playtest Changes

They're making so many changes to the playtest that I think buying the softcover was a mistake. 

Significant changes to death and dying coming up (again) and a huge change to Resonance:

https://www.twitch.tv/videos/310195277

Should I Create A New Blog for the Supers Playtesting?

Should I create a new blog to use for the Supers playtesting or do you think the Tuesday blog is enough?

More Modern Age Super Heroes Stuff

As some of you have started to create you characters and have questions. Until I provide you with what I have written down so far, it seems like a little more guidance is needed.

Zero Level Skills

Depending on the time and place where characters grow up, they will be exposed to different Skills as part of their daily life. When certain cultures depend on a Skill for survival, or it is considered commonplace, it doesn’t always make sense that a character would have no expertise in that Skill unless they put points into it. As an optional rule, the Gamemaster may provide a list of zero level Skills that everyone from the culture or era has some minimal familiarity with. When using these skills untrained, these characters are able to roll their base Attribute rating without the usual -2 penalty.

Gamemasters should allow players to swap out Skills based on their specific character background. For instance, characters from a rural environment might have Ride instead of Drive and Survival instead of Interface as Skills. Characters from a densely populated metropolis might have Streetwise instead of Drive as a Skill. The asthmatic son of two college professors might replace Athletics with an Academics Skill while a wealthy debutante might replace Brawl with Diplomacy.

Characters of an Alien race or from a different time period may have a different list of Zero Level Skills.

Improving a Skill Level from 0 to 1 at character creation costs a half point. Improving it during play costs 1 Experience point. After the first Skill level is acquired, Experience cost reverts to normal.

I built the Manhunters using the following :

Athletics
Brawl
Drive
Empathy
Survival

I have been considering changing the standard to:

Athletics
Brawl
Drive
Empathy
Interface

Or should I drop Drive and keep Survival?

Interface

Base Attribute: Intelligence

Interface represents the Skill of using and understanding technical devices. This includes routine operations and troubleshooting of computers, tablets, smartphones, remote controls, infotainment systems, ATMs, vending machines, kiosks, etc. Characters with this skill are able to use technology effectively, whether using devices for their intended purposes or for new purposes.

Your character may specialize in the following areas:

• Communication Systems: Ability to use phone, intercom, radio and media devices 
• Computers: Ability to use computers
• Controllers: Ability to use programmable devices, remote controls and video game controllers
• Self-Service: Ability to use vending machines, self-checkout and kiosks
• Social Media: Ability to use chat, text, e-mail, social media sites, video conferencing and collaboration software

Using Computers 

The use of computers in a modern world is a much more complex proposition than can be covered under a single skill. Common areas of computer expertise can be mastered using the following:

• Craft (Computer) – Ability to build and repair computers
• Interface – General ability to use a computer utilizing the native interfaces and programs
• Investigation – Ability to utilize search engines to return desire results
• Larceny – Ability to by-pass security and hack databases and sites
• Science (Computer) – Ability to program computers using a variety of computer languages and tools

An Official Resonance Response

http://paizo.com/community/blog/v5748dyo6sg8k?Positives-and-Negatives

The Paizo devs pay attention and occasionally chime in on the facebook group.  They know a lot of people hate Resonance and posted an official reply.  I'm copying it here as well as linking since their site has been notoriously janky.

Positives and Negatives

Friday, September 6, 2018

Over the past few weeks, I've been spending some time talking to folks on the unofficial 2nd Ed Pathfinder Playtest group on Facebook. Mostly I've been listening to people's thoughts and anecdotes about the playtest, but I've also been answering a few rules questions and conversing about various subjects. Something that's come up a couple of times in that group and in other forums is how we, the folks at Paizo and especially the design team, respond to criticism.
We are no stranger to playtests. Each time we launch a playtest, we get a pile of feedback, both positive and negative. Both are important. Of course, we all love hearing what you like, and in a perfect world we would bask in the glory of your adoration... but we only create worlds of fantasy, we don't live in one. We playtest to hear what you think about the rules and to get your take on what is sound, exciting, and fun. Sometimes you might not care for our initial design. Sometimes you'll spot problems with the initial design. We want you to tell us. No, we need you to tell us. We're making this game not for ourselves, but for all of us to play!
Case in point—let's talk about Resonance Points.
Yeah, that's right. I'm going there.
Let's talk about exactly what design challenges Resonance Points were designed to solve, as that seems to be a point of some confusion.

First, they're meant to address the economy of lower-level consumable magic items as you level up. This is colloquially referred to as the wand of cure light wounds issue in Pathfinder First Edition, but it's more systemic than that. In short, as you go up in level and your ability to purchase and craft (or find) lower-level consumable magic items increases, they actually become the most economical use of resources. When you are limited only by what you have on hand, the amount of bang per buck makes higher-level magic items nearly pointless.

This problem and the Pathfinder First Edition method of item pricing also played havoc with lower-level items with limited uses per day. Designers, by nature, want you to use the items they created in actual play. But adventure designers are often under budgetary constraints to make not the best item for the story, but the one that does the trick while still conforming to the amount of treasure output in the design guides. These factors often created a race to the bottom, design-wise, spawning tons of these little X-per-day buggers that characters could afford, featuring relatively powerful (and always useful) effects that often became more useful as you gained levels. All of this creates a sort of mini-nova during climactic encounters, as characters spend a handful of swift and immediate actions ramping up to their optimal tactics. This is especially true for classes in the Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook, since they typically have fewer class-based options competing for the use of swift and immediate actions.
Another problem Resonance Points are trying to address is what is often called the "Christmas Tree" effect of games that impose limits based solely on magic item slots. This goes hand in hand with the cheap consumable (or X-uses-per-day items), as many players rush to fill their slots with items featuring charges or uses per day. While slots still exist in the Pathfinder Playtest, they are the exception rather than the rule, and their primary goal is simply reducing redundancies (like wearing two pairs of boots at the same time and similar nonsense).
Lastly, the Resonance Point system is intended to eliminate or at least severely limit the bookkeeping involved in those X-uses-per-day and X-rounds-per-day items. Instead of tracking a bunch of little point pools, Resonance Points can do the job in most, if not all, cases, with the rest limited to once per day. Admittedly, this aspect was not as thoroughly implemented as it could have been in the playtest rules.
Those are the main issues that the Resonance Point system is trying to confront. Are there problems with the current implementation? You bet. The most glaring one is that it's currently not doing a good job of reducing the number of magic item use-per-day pools at higher levels. We're going to need to pound the system into shape a little more to achieve that goal.
A big issue is that a lot of folks just plain don't like Resonance Points. There are many reasons for that. It's new and different from what people are used to. Other folks don't see the challenges this system is trying to tackle, or they don't see them as problematic. More telling is that even many who do understand the issues have some misgivings, feel that this solution is too artificial, or see it as just plain punitive. We anticipated that. But even with all of the issues, we knew that the current design of Resonance Points would give us valuable information about play patterns and consumable use throughout the playtest, and it has done that in spades already and continues to do so.
Better still, it has given us valuable information on how to solve the issues that the Resonance Point system confronts in a better and more pleasing way for the final game. In short, your use of the current incarnation of Resonance Points throughout the playtest helps us come up with better mechanics to use in Pathfinder Second Edition. You've done a great job in providing us that information already, and as we move into higher-level play, that useful data will become more abundant.
So, in the case of Resonance Points, positivity of play and critical comments have guided us in the right direction. We already have a few options on how to either fix or replace the mechanic, and we are going to keep on kicking ideas around as the playtest data keeps flowing in. So keep on filling out those surveys and sharing your opinions. Getting your thoughts on the game and how it plays, no matter how you express them, is what the Pathfinder Playtest is all about.
Stephen Radney-MacFarland
Senior Designer

Next week September 11th

I won't be able to game on Tuesdays for the next three weeks (September 11, 18 &21)
Due to Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and Stratford.

More Thoughts on Modern Age Super Heroes

Your character concepts should fit the world that we have agreed to explore. I have pulled together some ideas here: http://tuesdaygame.blogspot.com/2018/07/modern-age-super-heroes-play-test.html. (I have modified things slightly so it may be worth another look.)

Not only do the characters need to fit the world, they need to fit each other. Having 7 or 8 wacky character concepts may not in fact make for a great gaming experience.

In addition to your various character concepts, you collectively need to be thinking about your team. Your team should have a name. You should also have a reason to be together. That is where team motivations come in. 

Team Motivations

Like a player character, a group or team will likely also have a motivation. This is the main reason or principle upon which the team was initially formed. As members of a team, characters may also earn Style Points when acting in support of the group’s motivation.

When forming a super team, the players should choose a motivation that best fits the team’s goals and direction. Here are some potential team motivations:

•       Adventure/Exploration - The team goes on missions for the challenge and encountering the mysteries and wonders the world/universe has to offer.
•       Common Enemy - The group has come together to pool their resources to thwart a threat that they cannot hope to defeat as individuals.
•       Goal - The group has a specific, common task to complete. Each member may have different reasons for wanting the task done but all agree that it needs to be done.
•       Ideology - The team defends a dream, an idea or principal.
•       Justice - Standing up to evil and wrong doing for the sake of seeing it vanquished or undone.
•       Loyalty - Members of this group are beholden to a person, company, organization, country or region. This could be a form of patriotism, a mercenary code, family bonds or ties of brotherhood.
•       Protector - The group has a mandate to safeguard a place, a person or people. This may be as bodyguards, vigilant champions or members of a police force.
•       Revenge - Driven by a need to make someone pay for injustices real or imagined.
•       Survival - The team has banded together to survive an adverse place or circumstance.

If a group ever fulfills its motivation, it is possible that the team may dissolve or may adopt a new motivation to be their replacement focus.

Handy Link

One of the facebook nerds whipped this up:

http://pf2.espigabb.com/