New skill - Flash Move (critique)

[Bicorn]

This is an Esoteric Skill meant for emulating one of the most popular special tricks in action manga/anime: the sudden burst of movement that makes the character move so fast it looks like they teleported.

You may know it as Flash Step (shunpo) if you're a Bleach fan, or Shave (soru) if One Piece is your thing, Body Flicker Technique (shunshin) if you prefer Naruto, Lightning Flash (raisen) if Kengan Ashura is your jam, or any of a number of other names. Whatever it's called it's extremely popular, so I thought I'd try to design a skill for it.


Flash Move (Will/VH)

Prerequisites: Trained by a Master and either Flying Leap or Power Blow

With this skill, the user can focus his chi to momentarily obtain an amazing burst of speed. With a successful roll the user can either move up to his full Move or perform a full-length jump in addition to any other maneuver they are performing; the movement must be along a path the user could otherwise take. (e.g. flashing up a wall requires combining the skill with Lizard Climb.)

The extra move can occur either before or after their maneuver, though moving afterwards is at -3 to skill. When this technique is used together with a normal Move maneuver to cover additional distance the user appears to "flicker" as they alternate between normal running and flashing. Using the skill together with a Concentrate maneuver is at -3 to skill; additionally, if what the user is concentrating on involves a roll (e.g. spellcasting, using chi abilities, etc.), that roll gets -3 as well. You can attempt to flash twice in a turn, both before and after your normal maneuver, but that is done at an additional -5 to both rolls.

Used immediately prior to attack, a Flash Move gives a penalty to the opponent's active defense equal to the difference between the attacker's and defender's Basic Speed (ignore fractions); even if the defender is as fast or faster, there is a minimum penalty of -1 unless they have Enhanced Time Sense or succeed in a Danger Sense roll.

The skill can also be used as an Active Defense, rolling against (Flash Move/2)+5; a success allows the effect to be used out-of-turn to move out of the way of an attack.

Normally, someone cannot be attacked during the flash as they move too quickly to react to. If the flashing character does become target of an attack (e.g. from a Wait performed by a character with Enhanced Time Sense, or due to moving through a zone of suppressive fire) their extreme speed give +2 to Dodge.

If this technique is used to move into concealment, watching characters without Enhanced Time Sense will need a perception check with a penalty equal to the flashing character's Move to tell which way they went; the penalty can be waived or reduced if there are telltale signs (disturbed dust, rustling leaves, etc.)

Each use of Flash Move costs 1 fatigue.

This skill can be combined with Flying Leap to perform an enhanced jump without using a turn, at -5 to the Flying Leap skill.


Critique and suggestions?

[JulianLW]

You should check out Mailanka's "Flash Step" skill for his Psi-Wars game here:

http://psi-wars.wikidot.com/wiki:sefelka-sonostra

It's a bit simpler than your version, and it matches the other existing esoteric skills a bit more closely. But it's very similar to yours. And I would say might be simpler to use, in practice.

I could see the added benefits of your skill being added to Mailanka's "Flash Step" as either techniques or perks.

[Bicorn]

Originally Posted by JulianLW

You should check out Mailanka's "Flash Step" skill for his Psi-Wars game here:

http://psi-wars.wikidot.com/wiki:sefelka-sonostra

It's a bit simpler than your version, and it matches the other existing esoteric skills a bit more closely. But it's very similar to yours. And I would say might be simpler to use, in practice.

I could see the added benefits of your skill being added to Mailanka's "Flash Step" as either techniques or perks.

Thanks! I'll check it out.

[ronwit]

Here and I thought this was a skill about critiquing the Flash movie.

[Anthony]

I would probably do something such as

Technique: Instant Move (cinematic, defaults to Stealth-10, cannot exceed stealth)
You have learned the technique of hiding by means of extreme speed. When taking the Move or Move and Attack action, you may spend 1 fp to use this as stealth, even if you are plainly visible and would normally be unable to use stealth, but only for as long as you continue moving (you may use it without spending fp at an additional -5). Observers get no bonuses to their perception rolls for plain sight or target movement speed. If you successfully hide from someone, you get the benefits of being unseen (see Visibility, B394) and you ignore the rules for Runaround Attacks (B391).