Advantages List: Cinematic vs Realistic

[sir_pudding]

Originally Posted by malloyd

it actually does make sense to take Zeroed (divination)

Immunity to Divination is right there in the Basic Set description, which is the only thing there that actually makes any sense at all.

[malloyd]

Originally Posted by sir_pudding

Immunity to Divination is right there in the Basic Set description, which is the only thing there that actually makes any sense at all.

Pretty much. Just ignore most of the actual text of Zeroed with respect to databases and treat it as Immunity to Database Queries in the same way as it is Immunity to Divination vs the spells and it's a perfectly sensible advantage. It's only if you "foolishly" assume text that makes up most of the description is how it is supposed to work that it doesn't make sense.

[Flyndaran]

Originally Posted by sir_pudding

Obviously this is one of those perpetual things, but IMO not cinematic.

...

Luck is magical cinematic as character ability. Even if a meta-gaming feature to improve survivability.

[Flyndaran]

Originally Posted by Varyon

Luck is spelled out in Tactical Shooting as a realistic Advantage, so should be moved on the list. I also don't think Double Jointed is spelled out as cinematic, and it's probably necessary to make a good contortionist.

....

Flexible is realistic, but double jointed isn't. Remember the definitions were switched from 3rd to 4th.

Most contortion is a slow to use skill, in my opinion, rather than a quickly used anatomical feature.

[Captain Joy]

Originally Posted by Varyon

EDIT: And now Vicky has uFAQ'd it for us. Yay, Vicky!

Excellent. I've updated my … the list.

[sir_pudding]

Originally Posted by Flyndaran

Luck is magical cinematic as character ability. Even if a meta-gaming feature to improve survivability.

I've answered this in the appropriate thread, because I suspect this is going to be a long thread drift.

[Flyndaran]

Originally Posted by Captain Joy

...
Intuition - realistic, but Danger Sense - not realistic? Explain yourself, man.

They're both psychic powers. If you're alert and intelligent enough to guess well, then that's what you are.
I suppose people may throw around the "meta-gaming" explanation, but you can't call them realistic advantages at their base.

[SCAR]

Originally Posted by Varyon

Danger Sense - realistic, really?
Tactical Shooting, p.36.

Ok then. This actually relates to something I posted in another thread, what may be supernatural effects achieved through mundane means. By which I mean, there are aspects of Danger Sense, and scenarios, where the effect would definitely be supernatural, but as the entry in Tactical Shooting says, there are also circumstances where they represent a mundane effect.
Even with the TS reference, I'd still put it as borderline cinematic.

Originally Posted by Varyon

TL is set by the setting's reference culture, not by the highest TL culture in the setting. If you were playing in the America's during the early points of colonization, and the reference society were the TL0 natives, someone playing as a TL 4 colonist would need 4 levels of High TL.

Yes, obviously - silly me.

Originally Posted by Varyon

Improved G-Tolerance- can we tell if this is realistic yet?
Fighter pilots say yes.
(EDIT: The USAF has done a lot of experiments when it comes to humans handling acceleration, and something they learned from this is that some people can tolerate extreme G-forces far more readily than others - so Improved G-Tolerance is probably a realistic trait.)

Ok then, still only realistic for 2 levels.

Originally Posted by Varyon

Photographic Memory - this might be borderline cinematic
I know a guy who clearly has this, so I'd call it realistic.

Is Sherlock Holmes cinematic or realistic?
Is one person who seems to have a given trait enough for it to be 'realistic'? two, three? how many before we can consider it realistic?
I'd stand by my calling it borderline cinematic.

Originally Posted by Varyon

The above TL 4 colonist may require Unusual Background in addition to High TL. Similarly, Martial Arts spells out several realistic Unusual Backgrounds (typically as Perks) for allowing otherwise-cinematic skills/Techniques/Advantages. It is arguably a metagame construct, of course.

A UB which allows access to 'otherwise cinematic' traits, has to be considered as cinematic. It's also definitely a metagaming trait.

[Flyndaran]

Originally Posted by sir_pudding

The supernatural protection from Divination aspect of Zeroed isn't realistic for obvious reasons.
Living longer in good health is of obvious utility. It is also realistic. Zeroed ....

Except that running the numbers leads to people living past 110 far too often for realism.
But realistic aging sucks so bad, that I doubt anyone would ever want to play games with it.
Also people start aging much sooner than 50.

[Flyndaran]

Originally Posted by fartrader

It's always baffled me that Absolute Direction is listed as Mundane by default. No human has that ability as it's written. Of course, if you apply the Requires Signal limitation because it's on a non-human character, like a machine, then it's merely Exotic. I'm not sure it's merely Cinematic either, as it borders on the Supernatural, if it's not that outright.

Absolute direction is innate dead reckoning, limited photographic memory for paths taken, and ability to detect fields like magnetic north.
No earth animal I know of has all three.
Humans may have the first two realistically.