Destroy this game system!

[BTRC]

I've just posted revision N (where N is a large number) of the in-development "power creation" chapter for EABA v2. In other words, a new super-power/magic/gadget system. Or perhaps "yet another" instead of "new". Anyways...

I know it is a long way from perfect, but I figure the best way to improve it is to throw it to the sharks. So, the chapter in its entirety (80 pages) is now available for download at:

http://www.btrc.net/forum/6-eaba-v20...-powers-take-2

So, if you are a munchkin, min-maxer, powergamer or general system geek, have at it. Any and all useful comments on it appreciated.

Greg Porter
BTRC games

[vicky_molokh]

I skimmed the link, but didn't find the construction rules description nor a link to the document detailing it. Am I having a bad perception day, or is there none? The thread seems similar to the local one with the question about examples of 12 abilities/powers.

[BTRC]

The file link is mid way down the first page of that topic (message #733). The file is:

http://www.btrc.net/media/kunena/att...EABA2_ch6b.pdf

Greg

[ak_aramis]

Originally Posted by vicky_molokh

I skimmed the link, but didn't find the construction rules description nor a link to the document detailing it. Am I having a bad perception day, or is there none? The thread seems similar to the local one with the question about examples of 12 abilities/powers.

You have to have an account on the BTRC boards to see the download link.

[gjc8]

I haven't had a chance to look through the whole thing yet, but I'm somewhat concerned about mutability, depending on what P points are allowed. Assume you've got 12P to spend. You want 3 powers, whose modifiers (without applied scope and mutability) are +6 each. Put them all in a suite, you get +8, for a scaling factor of x6; if you buy them up equally you get +24 for each.

Alternately, take one, make it an Omnipower (-6) or give it Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary mutability (-4) changeable between actions (-3). Stick it in a suite with 5 other powers (+5), for a final modifier of +5 or +4, and scaling factor of x4. Spend 7P on that power (leaving 1 each for the other 5) and you've got +28 in your "metapower", which if I'm reading this right can do anything the first character's three powers could do and more.

Also, I don't see a reason not to give a power "between adventures" mutability, but that might be a feature rather than a bug.

[BTRC]

Sorry about requiring a forum account to get the download. I had adjusted the forum settings to allow guest access, but four hours later I started getting viagra spam posts on the board, so I had to reinstate the account system.

[BTRC]

I haven't had a chance to look through the whole thing yet, but I'm somewhat concerned about mutability...

This is exactly the sort of feedback I am looking for. Which modifiers end up being too powerful, or are useless because other modifier combos do the job better. And you're probably right about "between adventures" mutability. If you have mutability at all, that should be the default for a +0 modifier.

If you want to duplicate this post over on the BTRC side and add any new comments you might have, that would be great. Don't be afraid to tweak the system and change the modifier values to make things work for you. The system is a long way from being set in stone.

As I pointed out to someone else, don't look at this as a too-long chapter, look at it as a quite short supplement book. I wish I could make it even shorter, but damn it is a complex subject.

[vicky_molokh]

Haven't finished reading, but why must powers have a 'positive' log-efficiency? I mean, why must it be that one Point grants at least one level of power/effect? Aren't there any effects so strong that they might cost more than that per level? (E.g. a weapon that can ignore almost any armour, including that of a battleship, even though it doesn't do much actual damage.)

[BTRC]

Haven't finished reading, but why must powers have a 'positive' log-efficiency? I mean, why must it be that one Point grants at least one level of power/effect?

That's a reasonable question, and one I had not considered. I was using existing game mechanics for the scaling (the table that gives the scaling multiple) and that's just the way it worked out. In general, the points available for powers (which in EABA are separate from those for attributes and skills) may be insufficient for wrecking battleships, but players can be fiendishly clever... I'm not too worried about powers penetrating battleships, however. Mental effects, scrying, teleporting and such. EABA has built-in mechanics to prevent someone from sinking a battleship with a small expenditure of points. I hope.

I suppose I could extend the table into negative values to give a ">1 point for 1 point of effect" power. I'll have to consider that. Thanks.

[vicky_molokh]

Originally Posted by BTRC

That's a reasonable question, and one I had not considered. I was using existing game mechanics for the scaling (the table that gives the scaling multiple) and that's just the way it worked out. In general, the points available for powers (which in EABA are separate from those for attributes and skills) may be insufficient for wrecking battleships, but players can be fiendishly clever... I'm not too worried about powers penetrating battleships, however. Mental effects, scrying, teleporting and such. EABA has built-in mechanics to prevent someone from sinking a battleship with a small expenditure of points. I hope.

I suppose I could extend the table into negative values to give a ">1 point for 1 point of effect" power. I'll have to consider that. Thanks.

The idea wasn't to wreck a battleship - it was to do minor damage to anything. An example would probably the elsewhere-mentioned '1 point of disintegration' - say you can disintegrate 5g of matter per use, whether soft flesh, kevlar, or armour steel.