John Sometimes Forgets to Title His Posts

Question: I was just looking to get some clarification on your system for Perception & Distance. Humans can see skyscrapers from miles away but Hero Scions can't? How do you and John handle sight in terms of ranged combat at Hero level in your games? If, according to the chart, my character could only see 8 yards, would my character be unable to fire his gun at anything further than 8 yards? Or say he liked to throw spears and could hurl them 600 yards - would he not be able to hit anything that was further than 8 yards away without some penalty?

Great question and one I've been meaning to address.

On the perception chart, you'll notice that an average score for a human would be 3. On the chart, this corresponds with 6 yards, or almost 20 feet. This was the starting point for the chart the hopeful correlation between an average human's 20/20 sight and a Scion's growth beyond that 20/20 sight. So for the rest of the chart, it expands on that idea, each level showing how far you can see with about an average human's 20 foot accuracy. You could read big letters, but not a book. You can see movements in someone's facial muscles, but not see nose hairs. You could smell a flowering rose, but not a piece of chicken in an airlocked plastic container. You could hear normal conversation, but not whispering.

And then, of course, your senses go past these points. A Scion who can see 10 miles away with 20/20 vision can probably see 100 miles away as a human could see a skyscraper downtown. Mostly the chart rating shows a distance that is useful for most things in game; how far the PC can see and still get useful information, colors of clothes, make Perception + Empathy rolls about deceit, and use powers accurately.

What does use powers accurately mean? Just like range on a gun or bow, I would add increasing difficulty based on the increments in distance they are away. And for things that didn't have a roll (Shadow Step usually comes up), they can't quite see clearly enough to succeed. Yes, you can see a "shadow" on the top of that mountain, but you actually can't quite see it very clearly. A lot of the darkness you see isn't actually dark, it's actually a dark-colored object or your vision just sucks, etc.

The second question is about ranged combat, and I think you nailed it on the head. Small penalties make sense for both Scions and humans (and help balance the potency of ranged combat). If I can't see your body as well, I can't aim as well. If you double the distance of a dart board, even world pros will become significantly less accurate (obviously also there's a bit of muscle difference for that). Olympic javelin throwers can hurl a javelin, but if asked to be accurate to the point of hitting someone who is attempting to dodge, and hitting them in the right spot to do maximum damage, that's gonna be significantly more difficult (and for humans, fairly impossible). So just like boon usage, increasing dice penalties for the further away the target is. Not crippling penalties at first, but continually more difficult. Guns get to cheat and add scopes of course, so even a human can be a crack shot at 200 yards.