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Post by Polar Bear on Jan 30, 2014 2:11:19 GMT
I'm transferring a rather obscure character from legend into DWAiTaS stats, and I'm mostly done, but there are two feats he accomplished that I can't figure out how to replicate.
One is that according to legend, he could send an owl as his ambassador. In other words, he could send the owl to whomever he wanted and speak through the owl at a long distance (though they couldn't speak back to it or anything; it was a one-way channel). I have no clue how to write that up.
The other is that he allegedly once caught an arrow in midair. I'm sure it would cost a story point for such a show-off-y feat, and his coordination and athletics are both reasonably high, but ... catching an arrow? How do I write up a Trait for that?
In case it isn't obvious, this obscure legendary character is originally a magical one, but for my purposes, I'm transferring him over to being an abandoned-at-youth alien who grew up with super powers.
So ... Traits?
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Post by Curufea on Jan 30, 2014 3:02:31 GMT
Owl = Telepathy (special good), Restriction (one way communication), Restriction (visual image of an owl during communication) Arrow Catching = Armour (special, good), Restriction (only versus physical missile attacks that can be caught in the hand)
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Post by Polar Bear on Jan 30, 2014 11:18:14 GMT
Love the write-up on the owl! Unfortunately, said character also has armour; for the arrow, he was just showing off. Any other ideas?
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Post by Escher on Jan 30, 2014 12:44:57 GMT
The other is that he allegedly once caught an arrow in midair. I'm sure it would cost a story point for such a show-off-y feat, and his coordination and athletics are both reasonably high, but ... catching an arrow? How do I write up a Trait for that? Story Points are made for doing this kind of impossible thing, if he did it as a one-off feat. However, if you want a Trait, here's a starting point. (I don't want to pre-empt the Ninth or Tenth Doctor Sourcebooks but this Trait also works well for the scenes where The Ninth walks through the fan blades in ‘End of The World’ and when Jenny cartwheels through the laser beams in ‘The Doctor’s Daughter’.) -----------------------------------------------------------
New Trait
Preternatural Timing (Special Good)Due to alien ability, skill, or other exotic means or training, the character can perform an action with a virtually superhuman level of timing. Effects: Once per adventure after spending a Story Point, the character can attempt a seemingly Zen-like impossible act of coordination and timing, such as catching a flying arrow, stepping unharmed through the whirling blades of a giant air conditioning fan or cart wheeling through a web of security laser beams. The character makes a normal contest using the higher of Awareness, Coordination or Ingenuity with Athletics against an attacker's Coordination + Marksman roll (or relevant other attributes + skills) or a Difficulty Level set by the GM. The GM may also allow the 'Taking Extra Time' bonus * ( 'give me time. and a crayon...' p.42 GM's Book, 11th Doctor Edition) Preternatural Timing costs 1 Story Point ** ------------------------------------- * Taking twice as long adds a +2 bonus to the roll, three times as long adds +4, and so on up to a maximum bonus of +10. ** open to debate Edit: this is not as far fetched as you think: “This is about processing at an entirely different sensory level because he’s not visually processing it. This is a different level of anticipatory processing…”
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Post by Polar Bear on Jan 30, 2014 18:24:10 GMT
Love it. I'm using it, & everyone should add it no matter what.
I'll credit both of you if I ever actually write this up as an adventure for the Diary fanzine. Thanks so much!!
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Post by Escher on Jan 30, 2014 18:45:32 GMT
Love it. I'm using it, & everyone should add it no matter what. I'll credit both of you if I ever actually write this up as an adventure for the Diary fanzine. Thanks so much!! You're welcome! The example with the Ninth Doctor actually works perfectly. The difficulty is Nearly Impossible 30.It takes one round only. He prepares as he focuses for five rounds for a maximum bonus of +10. Assume his Ingenuity is 9 and his Athletics 2, he needs to roll 9 or more to succeed. He spends a Story Point and rolls the dice and takes a single step through the blades…
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Post by Curufea on Jan 30, 2014 20:45:54 GMT
I was thinking also of Tenth and throwing the rock in Human Nature....
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Post by Stormcrow on Jan 30, 2014 22:00:58 GMT
If this is a non-player character you don't need custom traits: just use Special. For instance, "Special: owl that delivers verbal messages."
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Post by Escher on Jan 30, 2014 22:12:30 GMT
I was thinking also of Tenth and throwing the rock in Human Nature.... That would fit nicely!
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Post by Polar Bear on Jan 31, 2014 0:08:16 GMT
If this is a non-player character you don't need custom traits: just use Special. For instance, "Special: owl that delivers verbal messages." Yes, it's an NPC. I've never noticed this "Special" before. Can you direct me to it in, say, the GM Handbook, the 10th or 11th Ed. Adventure Books, or Cat's Eye? (Those are the only "official" Cubicle 7 products I own, the 11 box set plus Judoom/Arrowdown and Cat's Eye.)
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Post by Curufea on Jan 31, 2014 0:11:45 GMT
I think he's referring to GM fiat. It's an NPC - it doesn't need to use rules written in the book - just make it up and write it down as a reminder for your own continuity.
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Post by chickenpaddy on Jan 31, 2014 0:22:10 GMT
The Special trait can be found in the alien traits section of the GM's book. It's used to define any trait that doesn't already exist.
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Post by Polar Bear on Feb 1, 2014 2:57:00 GMT
Beautiful. Thank you!
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