Question: A few boon combination questions, all with Army of One. What happens when you use Army of One in conjunction... with Natural Army? with Colossus Armour? with Unseen Shield? with Shadow Bodies?
Well, first let's quantify the idea of "in conjunction with". As I'm sure you know, you cannot use any knacks or boons once Army of One is activated, so any of these powers you wanted to have active would need to be used before Army of One. In addition, it technically doesn't work to use any of them in a double action with Army of One; because Army of One only includes powers you already have active when you activate it, and the power you used on the same action would not yet be active, technically that boon or knack would just fizzle, since it wouldn't be active when Army of One was spent for but couldn't be activated after it was already in use.
But you can absolutely use a bunch of boons, and then use Army of One and have them all carry over, so we assume that's what you're talking about and we'll go from there.
Colossus Armor is easy; all ten of you (or whatever) running around from Army of One have Colossus Armor, as long as you used it first. Hooray! Indestructible army!
In contrast, Unseen Shield and Shadow Bodies don't change. Shadow Bodies simply creates shadow copies of yourself that can run around, but they're already created and rocking themselves out by the time of Army of One, and they aren't an ongoing effect on you that would be duplicated. You'll end up with ten of yourself from Army of One and the same five shadow copies of yourself you already had. Similarly, the Unseen Shield has already been created and is now a free-standing construction that is not attached to you, so you won't sprout a bunch of new Unseen Shields around all your new selves. The one shield is still there, protecting whomever you told it to protect, and will remain so until it's broken or the scene ends. All of the Army of One bodies are you, however, so they're all automatically included in the Unseen Shield as long as you haven't gotten yourself kicked out of it for violence yet.
And finally, you can't use Natural Army with Army of One at all. The only powers you can use while in your animal army form are your mental Epics and knacks; you can't activate boons while transformed into either a single or multiple animal form. You'd need to turn back into your humanoid form before you'd be able to use Army of One anyway, and wouldn't be able to use another boon afterward.
Army of One is honestly kind of a mess of a boon, so we sympathize with the difficulties inherent in using it.
Showing posts with label War. Show all posts
Showing posts with label War. Show all posts
Friday, March 21, 2014
Thursday, October 10, 2013
Murder on the Move
Question: If, under your rules, someone purchases Riastrad at a lower Legend, could they purchase it then again later on to override the current Riastrad to add boons and knacks to it as they grow? Or if they want to do that, must they wait until they are higher Legend to purchase it or can they add boons and knacks to it as they progress if in fact they want it that way?
I tried a scientific experiment for you on this one. I waited until John was going over the plot stuff for Sunday's god-level game, and then casually asked, "Hey, if I want to change what's on Eztli's Riastrad, could I buy the boon again to put a new set of powers on it?"
He said, "No, go to hell," and then got another energy drink and went back to Fatebond sheets.
So there's that. That's generally the answer to any "Can I buy X twice" question, since if he wanted it bought twice he'd already have put it in the power's text. But let me go into it in a little more detail and explain why that is and what you can still do to keep your Riastrad relevant and powerful as you go up in Legend.
The main reason we don't allow re-buying Riastrad is that it's intended to be a boon that grows with you - not just new powers you get later, but also the early powers that build the foundation of your warrior identity. Riastrad isn't just a convenient way to use a lot of powers at once and destroy your enemies, but also the battle-fugue that is individual and unique to you as a warrior; it's horrible, but it's also something that is specific and tailored to you, very seldom the same as anyone else's. What happens to you during Riastrad is part of your Legend, which means it is immortalized along with you. We know exactly what Cu Chulainn does in his Riastrad, to the point where we can probably pinpoint almost exactly what powers he used in it, because it's described as part of his Legend in the stories about his exploits. We want it to function that way for Scions in our games, too!
But that doesn't mean your Riastrad can't grow with you; in fact, it will grow exactly as much or little as you want it to. Riastrad activates powers equal to your total number of War boons; when you buy it, that means at least four powers, probably closer to six or seven. But the great thing about Riastrad is that you can add to it as you go along, at almost the same pace as you get new powers, because every time you buy a new War boon, your total goes up and Riastrad needs one new power added to it. You're not stuck with only whatever you assign when you first buy it; if you want new powers, all you have to do is buy another War boon and bam, you add a new skill to your Riastrad bonanza.
So let's use Eztli as an example, because she's our most dangerous and obvious berserker danger to the world. When she bought Riastrad, she had only four War boons total; she loaded it up with Warrior Ideal, Animal Aspect, Do Not Want and Armor Crusher, making her a terrible juggernaut of damage for as long as the boon's effects last. When she next got Mortal Stroke, she added Mother's Touch to the lineup; when she then got Blessing of Insight, she added Lightning Flyer, and so on and so forth until today's Riastrad mess (which is probably wrong on her character sheet thanks to her getting new War boons lately unless we've finally gotten the stupid outlet situation in our house fixed so I can get my computer loaded up and edit it before this goes to press).
So never fear! Your Riastrad does grow with you, provided you continue to invest in the warlike powers it embodies. You'll gain new capabilities and perform new horrors as you get higher in Legend and gain more powers, and those legendary qualities that people have always heard about on your Riastrad will still remain intact and active as you go.
I tried a scientific experiment for you on this one. I waited until John was going over the plot stuff for Sunday's god-level game, and then casually asked, "Hey, if I want to change what's on Eztli's Riastrad, could I buy the boon again to put a new set of powers on it?"
He said, "No, go to hell," and then got another energy drink and went back to Fatebond sheets.
So there's that. That's generally the answer to any "Can I buy X twice" question, since if he wanted it bought twice he'd already have put it in the power's text. But let me go into it in a little more detail and explain why that is and what you can still do to keep your Riastrad relevant and powerful as you go up in Legend.
The main reason we don't allow re-buying Riastrad is that it's intended to be a boon that grows with you - not just new powers you get later, but also the early powers that build the foundation of your warrior identity. Riastrad isn't just a convenient way to use a lot of powers at once and destroy your enemies, but also the battle-fugue that is individual and unique to you as a warrior; it's horrible, but it's also something that is specific and tailored to you, very seldom the same as anyone else's. What happens to you during Riastrad is part of your Legend, which means it is immortalized along with you. We know exactly what Cu Chulainn does in his Riastrad, to the point where we can probably pinpoint almost exactly what powers he used in it, because it's described as part of his Legend in the stories about his exploits. We want it to function that way for Scions in our games, too!
But that doesn't mean your Riastrad can't grow with you; in fact, it will grow exactly as much or little as you want it to. Riastrad activates powers equal to your total number of War boons; when you buy it, that means at least four powers, probably closer to six or seven. But the great thing about Riastrad is that you can add to it as you go along, at almost the same pace as you get new powers, because every time you buy a new War boon, your total goes up and Riastrad needs one new power added to it. You're not stuck with only whatever you assign when you first buy it; if you want new powers, all you have to do is buy another War boon and bam, you add a new skill to your Riastrad bonanza.
So let's use Eztli as an example, because she's our most dangerous and obvious berserker danger to the world. When she bought Riastrad, she had only four War boons total; she loaded it up with Warrior Ideal, Animal Aspect, Do Not Want and Armor Crusher, making her a terrible juggernaut of damage for as long as the boon's effects last. When she next got Mortal Stroke, she added Mother's Touch to the lineup; when she then got Blessing of Insight, she added Lightning Flyer, and so on and so forth until today's Riastrad mess (which is probably wrong on her character sheet thanks to her getting new War boons lately unless we've finally gotten the stupid outlet situation in our house fixed so I can get my computer loaded up and edit it before this goes to press).
So never fear! Your Riastrad does grow with you, provided you continue to invest in the warlike powers it embodies. You'll gain new capabilities and perform new horrors as you get higher in Legend and gain more powers, and those legendary qualities that people have always heard about on your Riastrad will still remain intact and active as you go.
Saturday, September 14, 2013
Storytelling and Such
Vlog attack! We're about to move to a new house next week so this is the last time you can enjoy our beautiful checkered curtains and depressing walls. To celebrate, we answer a bunch of questions about Storytelling and character creation.
Question: There's an NPC I'm considering for a future game that is a Scion of Mictlantecuhtli. At Hero-level he'd basically serve as a divine messenger boy, at Demigod he'd upgrade to delivery boy, and at God he'd go about trying to break away from the pantheon altogether. The thing is, though, he's not transferrring to another pantheon. In your opinion is that a good idea all around? If so, in what way and if not in what ways?
Question: I know it's a very general question, but how do gods treat Scions? Do they view them as children in the dark, or might some of them consider them adults who just need a nudge? I know they wouldn't treat them as equals because of the power disparity.
Question: I'm not sure if you've explained this before, but how do badass star-level relics work? What does a single star represent? Can uber-talented crafter PCs make them when they're high-enough Legend?
Question: As a Storyteller, I'm having some trouble coming up with events tied to Scions' Fateful Auras that don't involve some kind of Titanspawn or combat encounter. what are some examples of non-combat events that your Scions' Fateful Auras have attracted? And is there a good way to tie Fateful Auras into the heroes' current story arc without them feeling like random encounters? Thanks!
Question: I understand you might cut back on the War purview to focus on the war aspect rather than the lone warrior aspect. If you do end up doing that, what will happen to boons like Riastrad?
Question: When creating new Hero-level Scions, do you require relic Birthrights to have a unique name or just a description?
Question: What are the rules for having a creature as both the Creature Birthright and the Guide Birthright? Is that an inefficient use of points?
Join us next time from our new residential palace, decorated in Cardboard Box Fantasy!
Question: There's an NPC I'm considering for a future game that is a Scion of Mictlantecuhtli. At Hero-level he'd basically serve as a divine messenger boy, at Demigod he'd upgrade to delivery boy, and at God he'd go about trying to break away from the pantheon altogether. The thing is, though, he's not transferrring to another pantheon. In your opinion is that a good idea all around? If so, in what way and if not in what ways?
Question: I know it's a very general question, but how do gods treat Scions? Do they view them as children in the dark, or might some of them consider them adults who just need a nudge? I know they wouldn't treat them as equals because of the power disparity.
Question: I'm not sure if you've explained this before, but how do badass star-level relics work? What does a single star represent? Can uber-talented crafter PCs make them when they're high-enough Legend?
Question: As a Storyteller, I'm having some trouble coming up with events tied to Scions' Fateful Auras that don't involve some kind of Titanspawn or combat encounter. what are some examples of non-combat events that your Scions' Fateful Auras have attracted? And is there a good way to tie Fateful Auras into the heroes' current story arc without them feeling like random encounters? Thanks!
Question: I understand you might cut back on the War purview to focus on the war aspect rather than the lone warrior aspect. If you do end up doing that, what will happen to boons like Riastrad?
Question: When creating new Hero-level Scions, do you require relic Birthrights to have a unique name or just a description?
Question: What are the rules for having a creature as both the Creature Birthright and the Guide Birthright? Is that an inefficient use of points?
Join us next time from our new residential palace, decorated in Cardboard Box Fantasy!
Thursday, July 11, 2013
Mortal Aggravation
Question: Regarding the War boon Mortal Stroke, it strikes me as extremely cheap (1L + 1w) for a power that deals aggravated damage (and based on the damage of a weapon on top of that). Considering that most other powers that deal agg cost at least 5L, is this an oversight? Or was it intended? Is there something I'm not seeing?
It's not an oversight, just a different way of working with the aggravated damage system. Let's dive into it!
To start with, the Strength knacks that inflict aggravated damage - Divine Wrath for grappling, Disfiguring Attack for punching and Hurl to the Moon for throwing - are all available to a Scion from day one with no Legend restriction. Anyone of Legend 3 or above can use them with impunity (Scions of Legend 2 can also technically get them, but they aren't yet capable of paying the 5 Legend to use them), allowing them to start wrecking it up with agg early in their Hero careers. In contrast, Mortal Stroke is a level five boon, which means that no one has access to it until they're Legend 6, well established as Demigods. Unless your game is starting character creation at Legend 6 or higher, Mortal Stroke will never be a "replacement" for other methods of doing agg simply by virtue of being unavailable. That much higher Legend restriction is also one of the reasons it costs less, because Scions have to wait so long and invest in so much War to get it.
More importantly, however, it's a different kind of cost from the Strength knacks, which means that it raises different concerns. The fact that using Mortal Stroke requires an action makes it significantly slower to use in combat, as opposed to the Strength knacks which can all be reflexively activated every time a Scion hits her enemy and don't need a separate five ticks to arm beforehand. Depending on the length of the combat, the abilities of the enemies and what the Scions are trying to achieve, that five ticks (or ten or fifteen or twenty, depending on how many times a Scion needs to use the boon) may be the crucial deciding factor between different outcomes. Scions can get around this sometimes by using Mortal Stroke on a weapon before combat starts to have it ready, but this only saves the first five ticks, and still requires them to drop another action every time they want to re-agg their weapon. That's a pretty hefty restriction in comparison, which is why the Legend cost is so low.
Also, Mortal Stroke costs a point of Willpower, which is a different pool with different possibilities and consequences, which makes it more comparable to the cost of the knacks. While Willpower is easily refilled by Charisma knacks from helpful bandmates, it's a much smaller pool and needing people to refill it also ropes them into having to spend extra actions in combat, which may or may not torpedo other things they need to be doing. Other combat powers also use Willpower, putting it at more of a premium in those crunch situations when people may not have the time to refill it for you, and using large portions of your Willpower pool inevitably puts you at much higher risk of Virtue Extremity, which can rear its head at the worst possible times (especially in combat, when people, objects and environments are in danger of being damaged by the fallout and pissing off any number of Virtues).
So this is all intended, actually. The two are meant to be balanced against one another, the abilities of those with great strength stacked up against those with the battle acumen to bolster themselves and allies so that both are valid ways of getting there but have different difficulties attached.
It's not an oversight, just a different way of working with the aggravated damage system. Let's dive into it!
To start with, the Strength knacks that inflict aggravated damage - Divine Wrath for grappling, Disfiguring Attack for punching and Hurl to the Moon for throwing - are all available to a Scion from day one with no Legend restriction. Anyone of Legend 3 or above can use them with impunity (Scions of Legend 2 can also technically get them, but they aren't yet capable of paying the 5 Legend to use them), allowing them to start wrecking it up with agg early in their Hero careers. In contrast, Mortal Stroke is a level five boon, which means that no one has access to it until they're Legend 6, well established as Demigods. Unless your game is starting character creation at Legend 6 or higher, Mortal Stroke will never be a "replacement" for other methods of doing agg simply by virtue of being unavailable. That much higher Legend restriction is also one of the reasons it costs less, because Scions have to wait so long and invest in so much War to get it.
More importantly, however, it's a different kind of cost from the Strength knacks, which means that it raises different concerns. The fact that using Mortal Stroke requires an action makes it significantly slower to use in combat, as opposed to the Strength knacks which can all be reflexively activated every time a Scion hits her enemy and don't need a separate five ticks to arm beforehand. Depending on the length of the combat, the abilities of the enemies and what the Scions are trying to achieve, that five ticks (or ten or fifteen or twenty, depending on how many times a Scion needs to use the boon) may be the crucial deciding factor between different outcomes. Scions can get around this sometimes by using Mortal Stroke on a weapon before combat starts to have it ready, but this only saves the first five ticks, and still requires them to drop another action every time they want to re-agg their weapon. That's a pretty hefty restriction in comparison, which is why the Legend cost is so low.
Also, Mortal Stroke costs a point of Willpower, which is a different pool with different possibilities and consequences, which makes it more comparable to the cost of the knacks. While Willpower is easily refilled by Charisma knacks from helpful bandmates, it's a much smaller pool and needing people to refill it also ropes them into having to spend extra actions in combat, which may or may not torpedo other things they need to be doing. Other combat powers also use Willpower, putting it at more of a premium in those crunch situations when people may not have the time to refill it for you, and using large portions of your Willpower pool inevitably puts you at much higher risk of Virtue Extremity, which can rear its head at the worst possible times (especially in combat, when people, objects and environments are in danger of being damaged by the fallout and pissing off any number of Virtues).
| Pros | Cons | |
| Strength Knacks | Reflexive Available to all Legend levels | Legend-expensive Usable only by self |
| Mortal Stroke | Legend-cheap Usable on others as well as self | Requires an action to activate Willpower-expensive |
So this is all intended, actually. The two are meant to be balanced against one another, the abilities of those with great strength stacked up against those with the battle acumen to bolster themselves and allies so that both are valid ways of getting there but have different difficulties attached.
Saturday, April 20, 2013
Grimm Tidings
Vlog time again! We continue our Greatest Hits of the Inbox series (and may for a few more until we've gotten the number of questions under control again). Today, Titans and warriors and Yazata, oh my!
Question: If a Yazata Scion has Ashavan for Guardian and summons his Amesha Spenta, who then activates Unseen Shield, does he need to remain non-violent for the shield to function if he's not in it? Similarly, does a Stars Amesha Spenta need to see the stars?
Question: Is Olodumare a god or a Titan? And how can he be the greatest creator and power in the universe if his children like Eshu and Oshun keep punking him?
Question: Have you watched "Grimm"? If so, please give us your opinion of it and how the Grimms might fit into the Scion setting (I think they would fit better in Changeling, but I'm not the only one here). If not, please watch it, it is a neat series.
Question: Are there Titans or Titan Avatars that are sympathetic toward mortals, even if they battle against the gods?
Question: My Storyteller wants to divide the War purview into two separate paths (like the Health purview). I've told him it would be easier just to write two separate Avatars, but he's determined. Any advice?
Yay videos and productivity!
Question: If a Yazata Scion has Ashavan for Guardian and summons his Amesha Spenta, who then activates Unseen Shield, does he need to remain non-violent for the shield to function if he's not in it? Similarly, does a Stars Amesha Spenta need to see the stars?
Question: Is Olodumare a god or a Titan? And how can he be the greatest creator and power in the universe if his children like Eshu and Oshun keep punking him?
Question: Have you watched "Grimm"? If so, please give us your opinion of it and how the Grimms might fit into the Scion setting (I think they would fit better in Changeling, but I'm not the only one here). If not, please watch it, it is a neat series.
Question: Are there Titans or Titan Avatars that are sympathetic toward mortals, even if they battle against the gods?
Question: My Storyteller wants to divide the War purview into two separate paths (like the Health purview). I've told him it would be easier just to write two separate Avatars, but he's determined. Any advice?
Yay videos and productivity!
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
God of War
Question: Don't you think that Blessing of Ammunition needs a boost? I think it's severely underpowered for its level.
Blessing of Ammunition, in its original form in the Scion: God, was for a long time in the running for the coveted title of Worst Boon Ever. It was god-level and heftily expensive, but all it did was provide unlimited ammunition to a single weapon for a single scene, something that was better (and permamently) done by a single dot on a relic. It was intensely lame, especially for war-gods who weren't in situations that made ammunition matter. We were baffled when, given the opportunity to do something about this awful mess, both Scion: Companion and Scion: Ragnarok subsequently added new boons to the War purview but still failed to add an alternative level eight option for those who didn't want to have to buy something that sucked.
Of course, we've worked on Blessing of Ammunition, so it doesn't suck anymore (thank goodness!), and we've also added alternative options for those who want to get something else as their level-eight War boon.
Like many high-level War boons, Blessing of Ammunition is intended for gods who are leading armies, defending from sieges or otherwise strongly affecting the tides of an entire war, not just fighting on their own. It's still not useful for a Scion to use it on their own weapon, since if they're a ranged fighter at god-level the odds are strongly present that they've already got a relic weapon with unlimited ammunition, but it's incredibly useful for supplying armies or comrades under that Scion's command. Scions may still affect individual weapons if they want to, but the really powerful part of Blessing of Ammunition is the ability to bless ammunition containers with endless supplies.
Think about it: a god with Blessing of Ammunition can see to it that a ship's store of cannonballs never runs out, that a fort under siege has endless bullets, that a rogue submarine never runs out of torpedos in its tubes or that an invading army's quivers of arrows never run dry. Armies that are not made up of gods or Scions (so, most armies everywhere) become incredibly powerful when they don't have to restock or maintain ammunition and can rain ceaseless death down on their opponents, and a War-god with this boon can help them do that with barely any investment on his part. The ability to do so permanently for a permanent Willpower is nice, but even that isn't necessary - War-gods with high Wits can provide these benefits for months at a time with a single Legend and Willpower point, very concretely turning the tide of battles and wars they choose to interfere in.
It also seems like a small thing, but making it impossible for anyone to botch with that ammunition is also a very big deal. Especially if used on mortal armies, where botching happens tragically often and losing men to a weapon backfire or losing attack opportunities due to a magazine jam makes a very big difference if one side is doing it and the other is not.
Basically, this is a boon that is now very effective at letting gods of war buff an entire army or platoon so that it becomes much more awesome than the ones arrayed against it; it's a boon that is designed for changing the outcomes of wars, not for individual Scions to get fighting benefits of their own from. Gods of war should be able to go out there and pretty effortlessly affect wars even if they aren't fighting in them, blessing those mortals who call on them for aid, and this boon allows them to do so.
If you guys happen to have ideas about other things Blessing of Ammunition should do to make it better, however, we're always glad to hear them. We're pretty comfortable with it, but it is still more of a specialty power than some, so we recognize that it still has limitations.
Blessing of Ammunition, in its original form in the Scion: God, was for a long time in the running for the coveted title of Worst Boon Ever. It was god-level and heftily expensive, but all it did was provide unlimited ammunition to a single weapon for a single scene, something that was better (and permamently) done by a single dot on a relic. It was intensely lame, especially for war-gods who weren't in situations that made ammunition matter. We were baffled when, given the opportunity to do something about this awful mess, both Scion: Companion and Scion: Ragnarok subsequently added new boons to the War purview but still failed to add an alternative level eight option for those who didn't want to have to buy something that sucked.
Of course, we've worked on Blessing of Ammunition, so it doesn't suck anymore (thank goodness!), and we've also added alternative options for those who want to get something else as their level-eight War boon.
Like many high-level War boons, Blessing of Ammunition is intended for gods who are leading armies, defending from sieges or otherwise strongly affecting the tides of an entire war, not just fighting on their own. It's still not useful for a Scion to use it on their own weapon, since if they're a ranged fighter at god-level the odds are strongly present that they've already got a relic weapon with unlimited ammunition, but it's incredibly useful for supplying armies or comrades under that Scion's command. Scions may still affect individual weapons if they want to, but the really powerful part of Blessing of Ammunition is the ability to bless ammunition containers with endless supplies.
Think about it: a god with Blessing of Ammunition can see to it that a ship's store of cannonballs never runs out, that a fort under siege has endless bullets, that a rogue submarine never runs out of torpedos in its tubes or that an invading army's quivers of arrows never run dry. Armies that are not made up of gods or Scions (so, most armies everywhere) become incredibly powerful when they don't have to restock or maintain ammunition and can rain ceaseless death down on their opponents, and a War-god with this boon can help them do that with barely any investment on his part. The ability to do so permanently for a permanent Willpower is nice, but even that isn't necessary - War-gods with high Wits can provide these benefits for months at a time with a single Legend and Willpower point, very concretely turning the tide of battles and wars they choose to interfere in.
It also seems like a small thing, but making it impossible for anyone to botch with that ammunition is also a very big deal. Especially if used on mortal armies, where botching happens tragically often and losing men to a weapon backfire or losing attack opportunities due to a magazine jam makes a very big difference if one side is doing it and the other is not.
Basically, this is a boon that is now very effective at letting gods of war buff an entire army or platoon so that it becomes much more awesome than the ones arrayed against it; it's a boon that is designed for changing the outcomes of wars, not for individual Scions to get fighting benefits of their own from. Gods of war should be able to go out there and pretty effortlessly affect wars even if they aren't fighting in them, blessing those mortals who call on them for aid, and this boon allows them to do so.
If you guys happen to have ideas about other things Blessing of Ammunition should do to make it better, however, we're always glad to hear them. We're pretty comfortable with it, but it is still more of a specialty power than some, so we recognize that it still has limitations.
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Chlanna nan con thigibh a so's gheibh sibh feoil!
Question: Is it just me or does Warrior Ideal (War 3) do the same thing as Battle Cry (War 2), only worse?
It's just you. But I'll explain and then we can all be in this together.
When you use Battle Cry, you are unleashing a terrifying roar that targets those that oppose you and strikes them with crippling fear. It affects a limited number of people and inflicts a dice penalty, but affects all those people regardless of where they are, what actions they're taking or who they're targeting.
When you use Warrior Ideal, on the other hand, you are targeting only yourself, drawing on your inherent facility with battle to allow you to become an embodiment of a certain kind of warrior. Those who attack you are disoriented and frightened by your new badassery. It affects unlimited people (as many as choose to attack you) and inflicts a penalty of successes, but it does not affect anyone who isn't attacking you or who chooses to take actions other than fighting.
Battle Cry affects the whole field of battle, and it not only makes enemies bad at fighting, it makes them bad at everything else, too. They are so shaken by your bloodthirsty shout that they find it harder to concentrate, harder to plan, harder to call on their magical powers, and so forth. They become overall worse at everything they do, which not only helps you fight them but also helps your comrades fight them and prevents them from succeeding at any other, non-punches-related shenanigans they might try to get up to. Warrior Ideal, on the other hand, is specifically a bonus power that is placed on yourself, making you so impressive and battle-worthy that enemies have difficulty standing up to you; it levies a harsher penalty and can affect anyone and everyone who tries to touch you, but it's completely useless for helping your friends or stopping enemies from using powers or taking other actions. The first power is weaker in effect but has a much larger range and scope of utility, while the second power is more powerful in effect but much more limited in what it can do and affect.
So there you have it. :) Battle Cry and Warrior Ideal both inflict negatives on enemies, but the way they do so and the balancing levels of power versus utility make them quite different in result. And if you want to be super badass you can always pop both to really put the fear of your own personal God into enemies, whether they come at you or not.
It's just you. But I'll explain and then we can all be in this together.
When you use Battle Cry, you are unleashing a terrifying roar that targets those that oppose you and strikes them with crippling fear. It affects a limited number of people and inflicts a dice penalty, but affects all those people regardless of where they are, what actions they're taking or who they're targeting.
When you use Warrior Ideal, on the other hand, you are targeting only yourself, drawing on your inherent facility with battle to allow you to become an embodiment of a certain kind of warrior. Those who attack you are disoriented and frightened by your new badassery. It affects unlimited people (as many as choose to attack you) and inflicts a penalty of successes, but it does not affect anyone who isn't attacking you or who chooses to take actions other than fighting.
Battle Cry affects the whole field of battle, and it not only makes enemies bad at fighting, it makes them bad at everything else, too. They are so shaken by your bloodthirsty shout that they find it harder to concentrate, harder to plan, harder to call on their magical powers, and so forth. They become overall worse at everything they do, which not only helps you fight them but also helps your comrades fight them and prevents them from succeeding at any other, non-punches-related shenanigans they might try to get up to. Warrior Ideal, on the other hand, is specifically a bonus power that is placed on yourself, making you so impressive and battle-worthy that enemies have difficulty standing up to you; it levies a harsher penalty and can affect anyone and everyone who tries to touch you, but it's completely useless for helping your friends or stopping enemies from using powers or taking other actions. The first power is weaker in effect but has a much larger range and scope of utility, while the second power is more powerful in effect but much more limited in what it can do and affect.
So there you have it. :) Battle Cry and Warrior Ideal both inflict negatives on enemies, but the way they do so and the balancing levels of power versus utility make them quite different in result. And if you want to be super badass you can always pop both to really put the fear of your own personal God into enemies, whether they come at you or not.
Friday, September 28, 2012
Suit Up
Question: How do you propose a Scion that comes from a culture that doesn’t use much armor (or any at all) use the War 7 Boon Colossus Armor?
This is really a question of stunting and flavor, but those things are at the heart of the game, so it's a good one anyway. Colossus Armor is indeed much easier to envision for cultures that have easily recognizable armor fashions, like the Japanese samurai or the Roman centurions, than it is for folks like the Gauls, who generally ran into battle screaming and mostly naked.
Let's ignore, for a moment, what Colossus Armor's mechanics actually do; it makes you very large, very strong and very sturdy, but that's going to happen no matter what form it takes, so it's not really relevant to trying to figure out what the armor itself looks like for individual Scions. To begin with, there are very few cultures that had no armor whatsoever, so start with a little research; since the mechanics don't really depend on the kind of armor here (because this is a War boon and you are a War god, so people saying "but your armor doesn't cover your knees!" are not really making a valid point), armor that doesn't fit the Giant Suit of Armor idea is still perfectly acceptable. A Scion of the Aztlanti might suddenly appear in a massive ichcahuipilli regardless of the fact that it only covers the chest without taking any penalties from what is clearly a culture-appropriate stunting of a power.
If you've got absolutely no armor options (Gauls and African warriors have a particularly hard time with this), then consider stunting more creative ways of armoring yourself. A Gaulish warrior, for example, might appear covered in giant swaths of woad war-paint, which would not in the regular world confer any armored protection but which should work just fine for a Gaulish war-god activating his Colossus Armor. If there's nothing cultural to go on, some Scions may have to fall back on imagery that's more tailored to their personality or other powers - an African death god might become covered in the bones of her deceased ancestors, for example, or an Australian earth-god might appear with the dust and stone of his native land forming impenetrable armor to fit him.
While it's easy to get bogged down in the idea that this has to be a full, enormous suit of armor (particularly with that picture in the Scion book of the giant centurion suit), there's really no reason that should be so, any more than every Scion should have to stunt their Warrior Ideal or Dreadful Mien or Mystery exactly the same based on their culture of origin. It's absolutely a great idea for those players who love that culture's war-gear aesthetics and want to be part of them, but if a Scion doesn't have an appropriate source in their home culture, or even just wants to reinterpret themselves a little differently, there's no reason that they can't if they're not infringing on another culture's imagery. Colossus Armor's effects don't vary with the armor's appearance, so players should feel free to stunt whatever's most mythically badass and makes the most sense for their character.
This is really a question of stunting and flavor, but those things are at the heart of the game, so it's a good one anyway. Colossus Armor is indeed much easier to envision for cultures that have easily recognizable armor fashions, like the Japanese samurai or the Roman centurions, than it is for folks like the Gauls, who generally ran into battle screaming and mostly naked.
Let's ignore, for a moment, what Colossus Armor's mechanics actually do; it makes you very large, very strong and very sturdy, but that's going to happen no matter what form it takes, so it's not really relevant to trying to figure out what the armor itself looks like for individual Scions. To begin with, there are very few cultures that had no armor whatsoever, so start with a little research; since the mechanics don't really depend on the kind of armor here (because this is a War boon and you are a War god, so people saying "but your armor doesn't cover your knees!" are not really making a valid point), armor that doesn't fit the Giant Suit of Armor idea is still perfectly acceptable. A Scion of the Aztlanti might suddenly appear in a massive ichcahuipilli regardless of the fact that it only covers the chest without taking any penalties from what is clearly a culture-appropriate stunting of a power.
If you've got absolutely no armor options (Gauls and African warriors have a particularly hard time with this), then consider stunting more creative ways of armoring yourself. A Gaulish warrior, for example, might appear covered in giant swaths of woad war-paint, which would not in the regular world confer any armored protection but which should work just fine for a Gaulish war-god activating his Colossus Armor. If there's nothing cultural to go on, some Scions may have to fall back on imagery that's more tailored to their personality or other powers - an African death god might become covered in the bones of her deceased ancestors, for example, or an Australian earth-god might appear with the dust and stone of his native land forming impenetrable armor to fit him.
While it's easy to get bogged down in the idea that this has to be a full, enormous suit of armor (particularly with that picture in the Scion book of the giant centurion suit), there's really no reason that should be so, any more than every Scion should have to stunt their Warrior Ideal or Dreadful Mien or Mystery exactly the same based on their culture of origin. It's absolutely a great idea for those players who love that culture's war-gear aesthetics and want to be part of them, but if a Scion doesn't have an appropriate source in their home culture, or even just wants to reinterpret themselves a little differently, there's no reason that they can't if they're not infringing on another culture's imagery. Colossus Armor's effects don't vary with the armor's appearance, so players should feel free to stunt whatever's most mythically badass and makes the most sense for their character.
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