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Old 03-01-2017, 01:23 PM   #1
PseudoFenton
 
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Default Power side effect that causes lights to flicker?

I'm trying to build a few powers that when a transformation takes place, a ghost materializes, or someone warps into a new location, they cause the lights to flicker there and electrical devices to generally "fuzz" and brown out for a short time as that event occurs (but not continuously afterwards).

This is seen in loads of modern media as a tell-tale sign of something paranormal occurring, and so I would just use Nuisance Effect, as it makes the power obvious. But I'm not sure it fits, as it can often unsettle those present (although one could argue a reputation or accompanying skill is needed for this), disguise changes or appearances of the entity with the power, or disrupt recording equipment etc, all of which seem quite handy when trying to cover up your power (and therefore not really a disadvantage).

Any ideas of how to build something like this?
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Old 03-01-2017, 01:25 PM   #2
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Default Re: Power side effect that causes lights to flicker?

Seems to be a -5% Nuisance Effect (makes ability really obvious), to be honest.

Not sure how else it'd be handled.
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Old 03-01-2017, 01:43 PM   #3
Christopher R. Rice
 
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Default Re: Power side effect that causes lights to flicker?

Quote:
Originally Posted by PseudoFenton View Post
I'm trying to build a few powers that when a transformation takes place, a ghost materializes, or someone warps into a new location, they cause the lights to flicker there and electrical devices to generally "fuzz" and brown out for a short time as that event occurs (but not continuously afterwards).

This is seen in loads of modern media as a tell-tale sign of something paranormal occurring, and so I would just use Nuisance Effect, as it makes the power obvious. But I'm not sure it fits, as it can often unsettle those present (although one could argue a reputation or accompanying skill is needed for this), disguise changes or appearances of the entity with the power, or disrupt recording equipment etc, all of which seem quite handy when trying to cover up your power (and therefore not really a disadvantage).

Any ideas of how to build something like this?
I wrote up a variant of Supernatural Features in my article "Safe as Houses" in Pyramid #3/58: Urban Fantasy II (p. 10) that does this.
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Old 03-01-2017, 02:29 PM   #4
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Default Re: Power side effect that causes lights to flicker?

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Originally Posted by PseudoFenton View Post
as it can often...

Any ideas of how to build something like this?
Define what the ability does. Buy those abilities. If it paralyzes people with fear of the impending supernatural, Terror. If it just makes them a little nervous, perhaps an Affliction. If it conveniently blocks video recording, consider Obscure, maybe Zeroed. If you don't know exactly what the effects are, step one is to make a list of the effects you want to see come up in the game.

The way not to build an ability is to start with the low-level physical description ("brief interruption of electricity"), and then try to reason your way into all the game-mechanical effects you can make sound plausible in the middle of play. That way lies munchkinism and exploitation of mis-priced abilities. Maybe in theory the power interruption could conveniently hide your power -- but you didn't pay for that up front, so it just so happens not to be that fortuitous this time (or any other), or even the reverse, the interaction actually reveals your power (a side effect of being caught on video or in mirrors at least as common as the other).

If you're happy to trust the GM and players to be fair and reasonable, then the pricing doesn't much matter in the first place. Just call it Nuisance Effect, and balance out some positive and negative Nuisances and Side Effects. Step 1, listing out all the effects, will still be useful in getting into the right ballpark for the "Nuisance Effect".

You could also make a random table, and weight all the costs by their likelihood on the table.

If you want the ability to be mostly positive, improvised by the player, then perhaps look at Control (Electricity). (I generally don't care for Control all that much, but it's a catch-all.)
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Old 03-01-2017, 02:36 PM   #5
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Default Re: Power side effect that causes lights to flicker?

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Originally Posted by Ghostdancer View Post
I wrote up a variant of Supernatural Features ... that does this.
Although that is a constant effect, I just want it whilst the power is first activated. Ie, an alternate form that you have just changed into, or a ghost who has just appeared. Once changed/visible, the lights should return to normal again, even though the power is still "on" as it were. Can't quite work out how to make it only trigger briefly.
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Old 03-01-2017, 04:07 PM   #6
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Default Re: Power side effect that causes lights to flicker?

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Originally Posted by PseudoFenton View Post
Although that is a constant effect, I just want it whilst the power is first activated. Ie, an alternate form that you have just changed into, or a ghost who has just appeared. Once changed/visible, the lights should return to normal again, even though the power is still "on" as it were. Can't quite work out how to make it only trigger briefly.
If it's that brief, it probably isn't worth a limitation at all. I might give you a quirk for it, but that's it.
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Old 03-01-2017, 08:39 PM   #7
Christopher R. Rice
 
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Default Re: Power side effect that causes lights to flicker?

Quote:
Originally Posted by PseudoFenton View Post
Although that is a constant effect, I just want it whilst the power is first activated. Ie, an alternate form that you have just changed into, or a ghost who has just appeared. Once changed/visible, the lights should return to normal again, even though the power is still "on" as it were. Can't quite work out how to make it only trigger briefly.
Use Temporary Disadvantage and halve the value.
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Old 03-02-2017, 02:11 PM   #8
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Default Re: Power side effect that causes lights to flicker?

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Use Temporary Disadvantage and halve the value.
Is this just a rule of thumb, or is this a rule I'm unaware of?
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Old 03-02-2017, 02:57 PM   #9
Christopher R. Rice
 
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Default Re: Power side effect that causes lights to flicker?

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Is this just a rule of thumb, or is this a rule I'm unaware of?
General rule of thumb, like "It's always safe to say '-20%' for a limitation if you are unsure" or "Resort to -5% for either/or modifiers in most cases."
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