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Old 03-31-2016, 10:46 AM   #1
MIB.6361
 
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Default DF 9: Void/Sound/Ether Elemental

Page 30, the template for the VSE Elemental.

As part of it's standard template, the Elemental has Flight (Temp disad: Noisy 5, -10%) [36] and Injury Tolerance (Diffuse) [100].

Adding the Nothingness Lens, it gains Insubstantiality [80] and doesn't remove or modify either of the Advantages listed above.

Insubstantial and Diffuse overlap a lot in benefits and Insubstantial seems to take away the disadvantages of Diffuse.

Also, Insubstantial creatures can float quietly about, so the Noisy Flight is pointless except for the increased Air move.

I'd just drop Flight and Injury Tolerance, but the loss of Flight means the Speed increase for the Nothingness template is nearly wasted.

Thoughts, suggestions?
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Old 03-31-2016, 11:15 AM   #2
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Default Re: DF 9: Void/Sound/Ether Elemental

Insubstantiality plus Diffuse means that even your delvers with Affects Insubstantial spells and weapons will still only be doing one or two points of injury per strike, which seems entirely appropriate to an embodiment of nothingness to me.

As for Flight, on one hand removing it slows it down, but on the other should a Nothing elemental really make that much noise (Langoliers aside)? I'd replace it with a level of unmodified Enhanced Move.
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Old 03-31-2016, 11:21 AM   #3
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Default Re: DF 9: Void/Sound/Ether Elemental

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Originally Posted by MIB.6361 View Post
Page 30, the template for the VSE Elemental.

As part of it's standard template, the Elemental has Flight (Temp disad: Noisy 5, -10%) [36] and Injury Tolerance (Diffuse) [100].

Adding the Nothingness Lens, it gains Insubstantiality [80] and doesn't remove or modify either of the Advantages listed above.
That's weird. I hadn't noticed that before.
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Insubstantial and Diffuse overlap a lot in benefits and Insubstantial seems to take away the disadvantages of Diffuse.

Also, Insubstantial creatures can float quietly about, so the Noisy Flight is pointless except for the increased Air move.
Agreed.
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I'd just drop Flight and Injury Tolerance, but the loss of Flight means the Speed increase for the Nothingness template is nearly wasted.
I disagree. Basic Speed still affects Move and Dodge, which is basically what it does for everyone else.
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Thoughts, suggestions?
I like your idea of just dropping IT and Flight. I'm not really sure what the authorial intent was for that lens, but I agree with you that IT and Flight are both mostly useless once you have Insubstantiality. The Speed increase seems fine, though. Speed 5 is much better than 4.
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Old 03-31-2016, 02:32 PM   #4
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Default Re: DF 9: Void/Sound/Ether Elemental

Such an entity should expect to run into weapons and spells with Affects Insubstantial unpleasantly often. Without the IT, a couple (magical) arrows to the vitals will drop it.

As for the Flight, it's faster than the movement that Insubstantial gives, without affecting things like Dodge.
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Old 03-31-2016, 11:54 PM   #5
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Default Re: DF 9: Void/Sound/Ether Elemental

Ok, so lets say I take it exactly as it's written. 40 point Small VSE Elemental plus the 145 point Nothingness Lens.

I have an Elemental made of Nothingness. It's a swarm of "something" (Diffuse) that's also ghostly (Insubstantial). So it's virtually unhitable unless you can affect Insubstantial, and then you'll only do 1 or 2 points unless it's a cone or area effect.

As an Insubstantial creature, it can float around silently at move 5.
OR, it can use it's Flight for Move 10, but then it goes from being completely silent to Noisy 5!
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Old 04-01-2016, 02:47 AM   #6
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Default Re: DF 9: Void/Sound/Ether Elemental

Remember, this is an elemental of the void, sound, and the ether. It represents a slightly broad and vague, but mostly highly weird, concept of the fifth elemental state.

With the Nothingness lens applied, it's quite literally a screaming void - a being that's barely there, but which moves in the form of echoing noise. I imagine it as a slightly hokey '50s Hollywood special effect - a pulsing black blob, surrounded by glare and accompanied by a lot of primitive electronic sound effects. And yeah, it spends a lot of points on being insanely hard to hurt, even for PCs who think that they have special abilities that let them hurt anything.
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Old 04-01-2016, 08:07 AM   #7
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Default Re: DF 9: Void/Sound/Ether Elemental

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Originally Posted by Nereidalbel View Post
Such an entity should expect to run into weapons and spells with Affects Insubstantial unpleasantly often. Without the IT, a couple (magical) arrows to the vitals will drop it.
It doesn't have Injury Tolerance: No Eyes [5], so you can still stab it in the eyes!
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Old 04-01-2016, 08:16 AM   #8
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Default Re: DF 9: Void/Sound/Ether Elemental

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It doesn't have Injury Tolerance: No Eyes [5], so you can still stab it in the eyes!
Diffuse includes No Brain, though, so that'll just blind it and not do any extra damage.
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Old 04-01-2016, 09:07 AM   #9
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Default Re: DF 9: Void/Sound/Ether Elemental

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It doesn't have Injury Tolerance: No Eyes [5], so you can still stab it in the eyes!
Good luck finding the eyes on a floating JJ Abrams lens-flare.
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Old 04-01-2016, 09:09 AM   #10
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Default Re: DF 9: Void/Sound/Ether Elemental

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Originally Posted by Phil Masters View Post
Remember, this is an elemental of the void, sound, and the ether. It represents a slightly broad and vague, but mostly highly weird, concept of the fifth elemental state.

With the Nothingness lens applied, it's quite literally a screaming void - a being that's barely there, but which moves in the form of echoing noise. I imagine it as a slightly hokey '50s Hollywood special effect - a pulsing black blob, surrounded by glare and accompanied by a lot of primitive electronic sound effects. And yeah, it spends a lot of points on being insanely hard to hurt, even for PCs who think that they have special abilities that let them hurt anything.
Thanks for your input Phil. We're going to play it as it's written and with your added description.
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