David Brin Those Eyes

Coinage · 08-31-2020, 12:37 PM

Hey. Just wanting to pick some brains and get some ideas. I just read David Brin's short story Those Eyes. It can be read free on this link: https://www.davidbrin.com/fiction/thoseeyes.html. In that story, fairies hide from humans. Brin has an interesting way of explaining why the fairies hide from humans. Here are some quotes

QUOTE/
Four teenagers blink, captivated by the light shining across their upturned faces. We had them nicely snared, but the distraction of that cursed voice weakens our grip. Gryffinloch murmurs alarm.
"We shouldn't have tried so many at once!"
"The voice has us confused," Fyrfalcon answers. "Take care —"
I cry out. "One wakens!"
Three of those young faces still exhibit rapture as they stand uncritical, accepting. But the fourth — a gangling child-woman — casts another kind of glow. As she rouses, her eyes narrow and her mouth forms words. Tapped into her mind, I sense her effort to see. To really see!
What am I staring at? Why... it looks transparent, as if it isn't really there at...
"Flee!" Fyrfalcon screams as we are blinded by that deadly gaze!
/ENDQUOTE

Later:

QUOTE/
By now those teenagers are rubbing their eyes, already convinced we were hallucinations. That is what happens when humans see us with skepticism. Now we blow away like leaves, like wisps of shredded dreams.
Perhaps the world's winds will bring some of us together to begin anew. Meanwhile, I can only drift and remember.
/ENDQUOTE

I was wondering if anyone had any ideas how to stat this? Ideas would be appreciated.

Rolando · 08-31-2020, 08:38 PM

Invisibility with resisted by Will maybe? or IQ, Per or a skill maybe?

with some special, setting specific, modifiers.

Ejidoth · 08-31-2020, 09:15 PM

Weakness (Skeptics; 1d per minute) [-40]
Like a vampire to sunlight, but instead of sunlight the hazard is being directly observed by people that think you must not be real.
Something like that.

Could argue for [-60], based on how hard it is to hide from humans and how commonplace not-believing-in-elves/UFOs is.

Coinage · 08-31-2020, 09:46 PM

Thx for the replies. I think weakness might be a good idea. I think Kromm mentioned something like that in a post way back in 2005 here: http://forums.sjgames.com/showthread...688#post149688. He mentioned in post #7.

QUOTE/

If you really want to suffer direct HP loss at 1d/second, apply Reduced Time 6, +120% to the cost for 1d/minute, for a base cost of -44 points. Holy items and such are "Rare" (-22 points) or at best "Occasional" (-44 points). Just be warned that this is rather . . . lethal, and more likely to kill you than Terminally Ill. Even a tough vampire with 20 HP will be taken out in about 30 seconds this way and crisped beyond even supernatural recovery in just over a minute.

/ENDQUOTE

So, maybe a super-charged version of Weakness with the reduced time. Weakness would be "observed by humans with Mundane Background?"

Coinage · 08-31-2020, 10:04 PM

Another possibility, if you REALLY want to go hardcore, is to add an Instant Death condition, maybe from the Magic-Death Spells supplement.

How does that sound?

08-31-2020, 12:37 PM	#1
Coinage Join Date: Jan 2018	David Brin Those Eyes Hey. Just wanting to pick some brains and get some ideas. I just read David Brin's short story *Those Eyes*. It can be read free on this link: https://www.davidbrin.com/fiction/thoseeyes.html. In that story, fairies hide from humans. Brin has an interesting way of explaining why the fairies hide from humans. Here are some quotes QUOTE/ Four teenagers blink, captivated by the light shining across their upturned faces. We had them nicely snared, but the distraction of that cursed voice weakens our grip. Gryffinloch murmurs alarm. "We shouldn't have tried so many at once!" "The voice has us confused," Fyrfalcon answers. "Take care —" I cry out. "One wakens!" Three of those young faces still exhibit rapture as they stand uncritical, accepting. But the fourth — a gangling child-woman — casts another kind of glow. As she rouses, her eyes narrow and her mouth forms words. Tapped into her mind, I sense her effort to see. To really see! What am I staring at? Why... it looks transparent, as if it isn't really there at... "Flee!" Fyrfalcon screams as we are blinded by that deadly gaze! /ENDQUOTE Later: QUOTE/ By now those teenagers are rubbing their eyes, already convinced we were hallucinations. That is what happens when humans see us with skepticism. Now we blow away like leaves, like wisps of shredded dreams. Perhaps the world's winds will bring some of us together to begin anew. Meanwhile, I can only drift and remember. /ENDQUOTE I was wondering if anyone had any ideas how to stat this? Ideas would be appreciated.

08-31-2020, 08:38 PM	#2
Rolando MIB Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Panama	Re: David Brin Those Eyes Invisibility with resisted by Will maybe? or IQ, Per or a skill maybe? with some special, setting specific, modifiers.

08-31-2020, 09:15 PM	#3
Ejidoth Join Date: Jul 2009	Re: David Brin Those Eyes Weakness (Skeptics; 1d per minute) [-40] Like a vampire to sunlight, but instead of sunlight the hazard is being directly observed by people that think you must not be real. Something like that. Could argue for [-60], based on how hard it is to hide from humans and how commonplace not-believing-in-elves/UFOs is.

08-31-2020, 09:46 PM	#4
Coinage Join Date: Jan 2018	Re: David Brin Those Eyes Thx for the replies. I think weakness might be a good idea. I think Kromm mentioned something like that in a post way back in 2005 here: http://forums.sjgames.com/showthread...688#post149688. He mentioned in post #7. QUOTE/ If you really want to suffer direct HP loss at 1d/second, apply Reduced Time 6, +120% to the cost for 1d/minute, for a base cost of -44 points. Holy items and such are "Rare" (-22 points) or at best "Occasional" (-44 points). Just be warned that this is rather . . . lethal, and more likely to kill you than Terminally Ill. Even a tough vampire with 20 HP will be taken out in about 30 seconds this way and crisped beyond even supernatural recovery in just over a minute. /ENDQUOTE So, maybe a super-charged version of Weakness with the reduced time. Weakness would be "observed by humans with Mundane Background?"

08-31-2020, 10:04 PM	#5
Coinage Join Date: Jan 2018	Re: David Brin Those Eyes Another possibility, if you REALLY want to go hardcore, is to add an Instant Death condition, maybe from the *Magic-Death Spells* supplement. How does that sound? Last edited by Coinage; 09-01-2020 at 05:27 PM.