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| Font Redux [WIP]; Empowering the powerless | |||||||||||||
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| Tweet Topic Started: Dec 23 2016, 05:44 PM (1,566 Views) | |||||||||||||
| Doc | Dec 23 2016, 05:44 PM Post #1 | ||||||||||||
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Just a Guy
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Old Alternate Paragon Version Font's seen some changes as of late. If you wanna see the old Alternate Paragon version I bodged together way back when (and the context for the first few pages of this thread), it's been left in the spoiler right above. With that out of the way, the mechanics for the new version of this Font are as follows: Powers Push the Limit: A Font is capable of spending up to twice their Current in Potential each round. For every point of Potential spent beyond their Current, they lose 1 Hit Point. This counts as Energy damage targeting the body. Going Critical: While a Font has access to enormous potential power, rarely do they know how to use it beyond channeling it through their own body. A Font can spend a point of Potential as a Full Action to enter an Supercritical State. So long as it doesn’t change their race or size, an Supercritical Font can take on just about any appropriate physical appearance. While in this state, the Font gains a number of additional dots to assign to characteristics equal to their Current. The Supercritical State lasts for a number of rounds equal to the Font’s Current + 3, ticking down at the beginning of each of their turns. At the end of this duration, they can choose to spend another point of Potential or a Hit Point to restart the Supercritical State. Otherwise, they return to normal and gain a level of Fatigue. Sudden Insight: When using a Special Attack, Trick Shot, Spell Combo, or Combo-OK spell, a Font may spend Potential to temporarily improve them. For Special Attacks and Trick Shots, spending Potential allows the Font to append additional Advantages that they know of to the attack with Style Points equal to the amount of Potential spent. For Spell Combos and Combo-OK spells, spending Potential lets the Font add a Combo-OK spell they know with a level equal to the amount of Potential spent to the combo (or create a combo in the case of a Combo-OK spell). In either case, these benefits only last until the end of the attack or spell. Illusion of Normalcy: While a Font doesn’t normally have a Tell before entering an Supercritical State, holding it back does put a strain on them. Whenever the Font spends a point of Potential without entering or already being in an Supercritical State, they must make a Constitution check against TN 15 or gain a level of Fatigue. POWER STAT: CURRENT Resource Stat: Potential. Much like Prometheans, a Font's power comes from a functionally limitless energy source. A Font may store up to triple their Current in Potential at a time, and regains one point of Potential every hour.
Font Dynamo Assets Powerful Dynamo Some Fonts simply have an even more abundant source of power. A Font with the Powerful Dynamo Asset adds an additional dot to any Characteristic while in their Supercritical State. Furthermore, the Font may spend points of Potential as a Free Action to increase a Characteristic by an equal amount – up to twice their unaltered Characteristic. They must spend the same amount of Potential every turn to maintain this – if not, the bonus is instead converted to a penalty for the number of rounds that the bonus was maintained. If a Characteristic is reduced to 0, the Font is unable to act until the Characteristic is above 0. Hastened Dynamo Some Fonts move with a speed far beyond the possibilities of ‘mere’ mortals. A Font with the Hastened Dynamo Asset gains a bonus to Initiative and all forms of movement equal to their Current. Once per turn as a Free Action, such a Font may spend 2 points of Potential to gain an extra Full Action (or 2 Half Actions), along with the ability to use Full Actions and Half Actions on the same turn. In exchange, the Font loses their next turn. Arcane Dynamo Some Fonts have an affinity for the Warp, as if it were the source of their power. A Font with the Arcane Dynamo Asset can shift any Psychic Phenomena or Perils of the Warp rolls they make by an amount up to their Current, or up to double their Current while in their Supercritical State. When casting a spell or Spell Combo, the Font may copy and re-cast one of the spells as a Free Action by spending an amount of Potential equal to the level of the spell. After doing so, the Font isn’t capable of casting spells for a number of rounds equal to the level of the copied spell. Shielded Dynamo Some Fonts channel their power into erecting the ultimate shield. A Font with the Shielded Dynamo Asset gains an amount of Armor and Aura to all locations equal to their Current. These bonuses are doubled while in the Supercritical State. Furthermore, whenever a Font would lose Hit Points, the Font may spend that many points of Potential instead. If Potential is spent this way, the Font in question loses the benefits of Shielded Dynamo for one round. Amplified Dynamo Some Fonts act as force multipliers, explosively increasing the output of others. A Font with Amplified Dynamo that enters a Supercritical State may designate an ally within a number of meters equal to 3 * Current. While in that Supercritical State and within the noted range, the designated ally receives all of the benefits of the Font's Supercritical State, and may use all of the Font's available powers by spending their own Resource Points. However, this Supercritical State is incredibly taxing on the Font; when it ends or the duration is extended, the Font immediately loses 1 Hit Point and gains a level of Fatigue. A lot of this is in great need of fine tuning to find a good balance point. So, suffice to say, feedback would be greatly appreciated. Edited by Doc, Apr 28 2018, 01:15 PM.
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| Username | Dec 23 2016, 06:57 PM Post #2 | ||||||||||||
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An interesting take on the Font again, I rather like the idea of making Drops their own thing more along the lines of pressure that is separate from the Resource. I don't see anything indicating that you lose the drops once combat is over or a maximum amount. A bloodthirsty Font could go around starting fights to store up Drops for later, and then lounge around the house in Avatar form for those sweet, sweet characteristics. I suspect the five times your excellence is intended to be a cap as well, with it just refreshing to that amount. Are they also meant to go away if not used once combat is over, or can keep a hold of the leftovers in case you need to go Avatar during an intense drive or while hacking the gibson you need more Intelligence for instance? I sort of like the later interpretation, as then if a campaign goes without combat for a few sessions they have some special power left over but you'll need to budget it or pick a fight. They get a vast amount of Drops too. Not that many at start, but combat rarely lasts very long. They're unlikely to run out of Drops since until they get Power Stat 5 they don't have much they can actually spend their Drops on. Getting 1 back every time someone is hurt means you'll likely be getting them faster than you can spend them too. Perhaps the 3rd Power dot will allow them to spend their Drops like a Paragon spends pressure? They don't restore as quickly as a Paragon's pressure so they'll need to budget it more wisely or risk losing their Avatar state. Pressure's On: You may spend your Drops as a Paragon would spend Pressure. With Open the Floodgates, does this spending Dots for Action Points still follow the limit for amount of Resource spent per round? For Mighty Hero I think the last sentence is meant to say you can exempt certain people rather than expect them. |
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| Doc | Dec 23 2016, 07:26 PM Post #3 | ||||||||||||
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Just a Guy
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Yeah, that's kinda what I was going for. I never really dug that Font's had to constantly be burning their Resource just to get their standard array of powers, but I was willing to accept that they should have a time limit to better emulate the archetype. And so, here we are.
That is the cap, yes - wording has been altered to more clearly state as much. And yeah, combat and friends getting hurt is the only way they can currently get their Drops back. There's ways to abuse that (picking a fight with a friend and immediately surrendering, for instance), but I'd like to believe people won't do that intentionally. That said, suggestions for a different way of getting back Drops are always welcome.
They do get a lot of points. Short of giving them more things to spend them on, I'll probably have to lower that amount to standard Pressure amounts (plausibly lower, like twice their Excellence, not sure yet). Consider your idea the base to which I'll compare 3 Excellence abilities to, though - things to spend Drops on is a good idea to extrapolate from, if nothing else.
Personally, I'd let them break the limit, but I wanna see if anybody else thinks that may be too strong 'fore I write it as such.
I have no idea what I was actually trying to write there - it was to the effect of what you're saying, but I almost certainly wasn't gonna use exempt (despite it being a good word). That said, I've replaced 'except' with 'hit,' which should work. |
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| Username | Dec 23 2016, 08:05 PM Post #4 | ||||||||||||
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Oh, and I can't believe I forgot to ask but I had an inquiry about Signature Style as well. How does the lack of restrictions work? It seems obvious but there are some odd interpretations. Does the attack need to be made of nothing but that Sword School or Kata advantages? The way I'm seeing it is that only the Advantages of the Signature Style don't need to be offset. So you could build a 10 point Special Attack at Martial Level 5, with 5 Advantage points of your Signature style and then fill the other 5 Points with anything else, declaring that the 5 points from your Signature Style aren't needing to be offset due to Signature Style and the 5 points from the other Schools don't need to be offset either due to the fact that you can go up to your martial level in Advantages without penalty. It seems a bit strong with that interpretation but it would certainly be fun. The Mastermind has a similar ability as an Asset, Flawless Arts. During the discussion of figuring out how it worked we decided it was only allowed to be universal or the chosen school. |
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| Doc | Dec 23 2016, 08:09 PM Post #5 | ||||||||||||
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Just a Guy
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That's the way I was thinking of it, yeah. Edited by Doc, Dec 23 2016, 08:12 PM.
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| roko10 | Jan 4 2017, 03:18 AM Post #6 | ||||||||||||
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Maybe for the Font's last base power you can have something like Hero's Regalia. Something like this: Hero's Garb:You begin play with a weapon and/or a set of armor, purchased as if you had an Inheritance rating equal to your Excellence + 1. You can change the item(s) chosen whenever you buy a dot of Excellence. These items cannot be accessed unless you are in Avatar Mode (in the case you chose armor, this armor appears over whatever you were wearing previously), and disappears when you leave Avatar Mode. |
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| GuardianTempest | Jan 4 2017, 06:30 AM Post #7 | ||||||||||||
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+8:00 GMT || Unlucky & Miserable
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Off the wall suggestion, but perhaps Signature Style can also include Magic Schools as well? So the Font can serve as some kind of Device-less intermediary between Champions and Wellsprings. Although Paragons and its alternates (Fools, Mary Sues) don't have a "Drawback" base ability, perhaps make it so that you need to be in Avatar Form to access the Font's action points and gained powers? Also, should Open the Floodgates mention that "Spending Drops this way do not count towards the limit on resource points." |
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| Doc | Jan 4 2017, 06:47 PM Post #8 | ||||||||||||
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Just a Guy
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The problem with that being that using magic is sufficiently different than doing Sword School/Gun Kata stuff that I'd have to do what I did with Mystic Hero to begin with, but also force it into the short descriptor of Signature Style. I could still easily do that (Mystic Hero is right there, so it's not like I didn't already have something in mind), but I'd rather not bloat the ability too much.
The Action Points will almost certainly stay available all the time. Every other Exalt always has access to their resource points, and I'd rather avoid locking a Font's behind the "must be transformed" clause, 'specially when they're technically using them at 50% efficiency outside of their Avatar form as it is. Now, assuming by 'gained powers' you mean the ones in the table, I can get behind limiting them to Avatar Form. Maybe they can even get a little extra to Open the Floodgates that lets them use them outside of Avatar Form as a little added bit to their capstone.
Probably. I think letting it work like that is alright, anyway. |
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| GuardianTempest | Aug 30 2017, 10:49 AM Post #9 | ||||||||||||
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+8:00 GMT || Unlucky & Miserable
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Nice edits, good work, Doc! I've no choice but to work with five mechanical changes instead of the usual four. Why do you need Signature Style again? It's not like someone given a surge of power would start instinctively knowing something. It also shares a name with the Champion's version, which might cause confusion for the unwitting player group. Perhaps this could be a point of divergence, with a little renaming your version could allow Sword Schools, Gun Kata and Magic Schools. Another selfish nitpick is Avatar Form potentially causing confusion with the Avatar State of the Sage (weredrago2's version). That does give me ideas for cooler names....except I don't know how well they fit. I just realized that Dynamo is a cool-sounding word yet I haven't used it at all in any of my homebrew. Hmm, what would be a good replacement? Enabled Form? Turbine? Validus? Hmmm, "furthers their own alignment" isn't something I often see. Would mimicking the Paragon work better? (Recover Drops upon succeeding at a 2-die stunt or higher) I also added some rewording, mainly to your Avatar Form to cut down the words a bit. Although I believe weredrago2 can do a better job at this. He's good at that sort of thing. Revised Core Edition |
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| Doc | Aug 30 2017, 10:21 PM Post #10 | ||||||||||||
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Just a Guy
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Frankly, it's kinda just a holdover from ages past. I'd be lying if I said I cared much for it at this point, and wouldn't be against making it something more interesting. You're also right that it isn't thematically appropriate that somebody that just gets saddled with immense power immediately has an intrinsic understanding of it or what it allows them to do. Now, with such a thought in mind, I've got the thought of a power that allows the Font to sorta use their power to fuel some variety of shenanigans. Like how Mystic Hero lets the Font do weird spell combos sorta on the fly, but expanded even further. Call it "Sudden Insight" or something, perhaps?
Perhaps change the Power Stat to Dynamo and simply change 'transforming' to 'overclocking'? Then just refer to it as an Overclocked State?
My problem with my own rule is that it has anything to do with the alignment system, which makes me want to agree with you. That said - and I really can't say I have a good reason for it - I'd like to try and avoid having any of their Drop recovery mechanics be succeeding on 2-die stunts. Maybe it's because I already left in the Paragon Action Point recovery methods, but... eh. |
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