Characters with power limiters

Bicorn · 09-03-2017, 02:53 AM

Thinking about how to best implement the "limiter accessory" trope for a character in a manner that best fits how such things usually work in genre media.

In superhero comics and action anime you often see characters who cannot fully control their powers, so they have to use some sort of limiter that keeps those powers sealed when not needed; releasing the limiter may involve taking off (or putting on) an item, or it might happen when exposed to some stimulus.

For the limiter, Accessibility might be an appropriate way to model it; "only while not wearing the limiter" is probably worth no more than -10%; might even be 0% since lack of access to the power is a trade-off for not having to deal with the problems it causes. For the stimulus-based ones, Trigger seems like the logical choice.

For the lack of control aspect, Uncontrollable seems like an obvious choice, but how that works mechanically doesn't really fit how these sorts of characters are usually portrayed - the issue is usually more about inability to hold back (e.g. being so strong that you destroy things that you try to interact with) than about spontaneous manifestations of the power.

Opinions? Suggestions?

09-03-2017, 02:53 AM	#1
Bicorn Join Date: Aug 2015	Characters with power limiters Thinking about how to best implement the "limiter accessory" trope for a character in a manner that best fits how such things usually work in genre media. In superhero comics and action anime you often see characters who cannot fully control their powers, so they have to use some sort of limiter that keeps those powers sealed when not needed; releasing the limiter may involve taking off (or putting on) an item, or it might happen when exposed to some stimulus. For the limiter, Accessibility might be an appropriate way to model it; "only while not wearing the limiter" is probably worth no more than -10%; might even be 0% since lack of access to the power is a trade-off for not having to deal with the problems it causes. For the stimulus-based ones, Trigger seems like the logical choice. For the lack of control aspect, Uncontrollable seems like an obvious choice, but how that works mechanically doesn't really fit how these sorts of characters are usually portrayed - the issue is usually more about inability to hold back (e.g. being so strong that you destroy things that you try to interact with) than about spontaneous manifestations of the power. Opinions? Suggestions?