I had thought that Altered Traits was basically "if the other categories don't cover it, build it as an advantage", but that's pretty definitely not the case. For instance, Intercom (T:RPM 45) is just the Sense+Duration+Range costs, and doesn't include Telecommunication for both, which would likely more than double the cost. Yet Mantle of Glory is a Greater Strengthen effect in addition to the 60 points for Terror.
In
the Transmogrification thread, Ghostdancer said that Altered Traits is about whether control of the ability is part of casting or given to the subject:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ghostdancer
Put another way, transforming a stone statue into a living breathing version of itself requires a Greater Transform Matter + Greater Transform Body + Greater Create Mind (and that's RAW), but requires no Altered Traits. You almost never use Altered Traits unless it's adding a ability that's under the control of the subject, not the caster. In this case, the subject cannot change shapes back and forth, therefore you don't need Altered Traits.
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Later on, PK said that Altered Traits is about the baseline of what a thing is:
Quote:
Originally Posted by PK
Nope. The point of a Transform turning a person into, let's say, an animal is that it turns them into a baseline version of that animal. They get whatever the stats for that animal are. You'd only need to use Altered Traits if you wanted to add additional advantages, disadvantages, or attribute modifiers to that template (e.g., a "winged cheetah" would need another 30 points worth of Altered Traits, unless winged cheetahs were something that already existed in your game).
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In addition, Transmogrification
doesn't include Altered Traits to change you into something else, while Sylph Form
does - presumably this indicates that there are no actual beings in the baseline RPM world with Body of Air? What's more, Haste includes Altered Traits even though the Speed can't be turned off by the subject
and there exist "faster humans" to match up to. And there probably aren't any normal humans wandering around with DR6, couldn't I get the benefits of Ghost Shirt and more (admittedly with some drawbacks, but...) by turning into a demon or some other supernatural being with great DR and other advantages, paying for the upgrade from Control (5) to Transform (8) out of the
30 I don't have to pay for Altered Traits?
Basically, I don't understand what
needs Altered Traits and what I can do (significantly more cheaply) just by effects.