[Basic] Advantage of the Week: Altered Time Rate

[Otaku]

Last Week: Ally; Ally Group
Next Week: Alternate Identity; Temporary Identity; Zeroed

This week's subject is Altered Time Rate (p.B38-39, Powers p.41-42). It is a leveled Advantage, costing a hefty 100 points per. A character with Altered Time Rate experiences time more quickly, so that for every level of the Advantage you experience an additional subjective second. For example, with Altered Time Rate Lv4, from your characters perspective five seconds are passing for every one second those without this trait experience.

Mechanically this enables some very nice options. In combat, each level corresponds to an additional maneuver on your turn in combat. This includes Concentrate Maneuvers for tasks like Spells, run faster by taking multiple move maneuvers or of course make multiple attacks. It can allow for more extensive planning, besides your character experiencing additional time, according to the rules on p.B38 you may always attempt a Sense Roll or IQ-based Skill roll to make plans or recall information at no penalty to additional actions. When it comes to interacting with others, where their reactions matter, you have to deliberately slow yourself down; Feinting at high speed may look cool, but if your opponent doesn't have time to react to it, it won't do you any good in combat.

Powers includes a Enhancement that allows you to be even faster outside of combat as well as a Limitation that prevents Altered Time Rate from affecting how many maneuvers you get in combat (see Powers p.42 for details). If you really want a better reaction time, Combat Reflexes or even Enhanced Time Sense are your go to options, whether you have Altered Time Rate or not. If you really want to be able to move faster, buying up your Basic Speed, your Basic Move, and or Enhanced Move exist expressly for that, and can again be combined with Altered Time Rate.

1. Have you used Altered Time Rate for any of your characters before?
2. How well has it worked for you, or those you've gamed with whose characters have possessed Altered Time Rate?
3. Are there any areas of confusion or uncertainty with regards to it?
4. Is there anything you might like to change about it?

With regards to that last one, the previous [Basic] Advantage of the Week proved that an especially crunchy discussion is likely better suited to its own thread (though linking to it for reference seems like a sound idea). My own attempt last week to encourage others to help me find unifying rules for Allies, Contacts and Patrons went most poorly, and as I am the one that pushed for it I am of course to blame for potentially killing off more on topic discussion. >_<

I myself have some questions about Altered Time Rate, but I'll wait until we have some more general discussion out of the way. I actually have misunderstood this Advantage for many years, possibly dating back to 3e (since all the characters I have built with it never ended up seeing any play, I am not sure if I had it wrong the whole time, or it just sort of "happened").