03-01-2017, 01:23 PM | #1 |
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Land of the Britons
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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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03-01-2017, 01:25 PM | #2 |
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: On the road again...
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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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03-01-2017, 01:43 PM | #3 | |
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Portsmouth, VA, USA
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Re: Power side effect that causes lights to flicker?
Quote:
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03-01-2017, 02:29 PM | #4 | |
Join Date: Sep 2007
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Re: Power side effect that causes lights to flicker?
Quote:
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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03-01-2017, 02:36 PM | #5 |
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Land of the Britons
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Re: Power side effect that causes lights to flicker?
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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03-01-2017, 04:07 PM | #6 | |
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Saskatoon, SK, Canada
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Re: Power side effect that causes lights to flicker?
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03-01-2017, 08:39 PM | #7 | |
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Portsmouth, VA, USA
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Re: Power side effect that causes lights to flicker?
Quote:
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03-02-2017, 02:11 PM | #8 |
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Land of the Britons
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Re: Power side effect that causes lights to flicker?
Is this just a rule of thumb, or is this a rule I'm unaware of?
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03-02-2017, 02:57 PM | #9 |
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Portsmouth, VA, USA
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Re: Power side effect that causes lights to flicker?
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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