Wild Talents question

[Tadanori Oyama]

Yeah, it's crazy high because it's built to reflect the observed traits of the paper itself. I haven't watched enough Dr. Who to know the limitations on the thing.

My turn to ask for help.

I'm creating a villain character who summons small horbes of demon servents to do things for him.

The plan is to give him a large pool of dice with Variable Effect and Augment attached with the useful power that the power summons a horbe of demons. My thought it is that this would create a threat pool to represent the group, which would then act on it's own. I haven't ever tried anything like this. Has anyone got any experience with powers that create new entities in their use?

[Flawless P]

Minions default power with attached skill dice for the skills you want them to have?

Seems like this is the easy way to do it.

[Tadanori Oyama]

There's a Minions power? Like, in the book as one of the example powers? I need new glasses apparently...

[Flawless P]

Yep and it even gives my suggestion for customizing them.(Well I suppose it was their suggestion first.)

Minions 2/die 8d2hd (24 pts)
Useful(Range)
Extras and Flaws: Permanent +4 (if you want several different groups otherwise Duration), Delayed Effect -2, Slow -2
Summons 10 Demonic minions of expert quality. It takes time for the portal that brings them forth to open and doings so is a draining ordeal that cannot be repeated again until you take a moment to recoup the energy required.

Attached ideas
Hellfire Blast
Claws
Detect Magic Ability
Perception Skill
Lockpicking


You could even take Variable Effect and If/Then for different kinds of demons that the attached powers only work for. That would be getting a little complex though.

Hope I helped. The only reason I was able to come up with something is because in the WT game i'm getting ready to start while we were discussing concepts this idea came up. So I had toyed with this a little bit already.

[Tadanori Oyama]

Cool. I found the power in the book after you mentioned it. I created an Attacks, Defends, and Variable Effect Useful, all tied to the summoned demons to make them a rounded threat.

[Flawless P]

So lets talk complicated powers for a second here...

Alchemy Rocks! 12/die 2hd [48 pts]
Attacks[N/A] Defends [N/A] Useful [N/A]

Attacks, Defends, and Useful Extras and Flaws:

Variable Effect +4
Permanent +4
Always On -1
If/Then -1(No Hard Dice on Stats and Skills)
If/Then -1(Only for Variable Effect)
If/Then -1(Requires a work space and materials)
Delayed Effect -2

Effect: The character can create basic Alchemical items for use by himself or his comrades. Any stat or skill dice given by this power are given as normal hyperdice and not as hard dice. It takes time for the items to become useable.

The following are my attempts at making items using this power. I tried as hard as I can to cause the Willpower cost to 0.

Alchemist Fire
Attacks [Range]
Extras and Flaws: Burn +2, Go First +2  Scattered Damage -1, Depleted -1, Limited Damage (Killing) -1, Focus -1
Effect: On a successful hit the opponent takes two points of killing damage to random hit locations and is set on fire. Curzon can create 6 uses of this power at a time.

Big Alchemist Fire
Attacks [Range]
Extras and Flaws:  Burn +2, Go First +2, Area +3,  Scattered Damage -1, One Use -4, Limited Damage (Killing) -1, Focus -1
On Width+2 Initiative this Alchemists Fire goes off doing 3 Area dice of damage and setting everyone within 10 yards of the blast on fire as well as dealing 2 additional killing damage to two random hit locations.

Healing Potion 2hd
Useful [Touch]
Extras and Flaws: Engulf +2, Go First +6, Touch Only -2, One Use -4, Focus -1, Accessible -1
At Initiative eight, heals two shock and two killing from every hit location.

Stat Tonic 2d
Hyperstat
Duration +2 One Use -4

Potion of Invisibility
Useful[Touch]
Extras and Flaws: Go First +6 Duration +2, Touch Only -2, Focus -1, Accessible -1, One Use -4

What do you guys think? I am doing this right... I may have misinterpreted the rules but I think I followed the example for Variable Effect correctly.

[Tadanori Oyama]

You need Augment to effect other people's die pools.

In my game I'd put more limits on it, like "Uses Willpower in place of Power Points when constructing alchemy" so that things costing less than 1 per die would be free and probably have them only good for Width days.

What's fun about Wild Talents is that these kinds of restrictions aren't universal, it's designed to allow the game master and players to tailor the level of their own game.

[Flawless P]

It's true that group preferences do play a large part in the power construction department...

The only reason I didn't put Augment on the tonic that increases a stat is because in the Variable Effect description it states that you can turn the dice from the power into dice for stats as long as you have all three qualities with your variable effect. I am still trying to get down the nuts and bolts 100% before I alter it to suit my own balance.

Either way thanks for the feedback... I made a similar power using a spellbook focus and calling the guy a 3.5 style wizard with prepared spells and whatnot, so I want to make sure I have a good handle on the abilities before I try to stat something that complex.

[Tadanori Oyama]

If they have all three Capacities Variable Effect and Augment are kinda the same thing, I suppose, just in different ways.

[Flawless P]

I think that the real differences are that Augment doesn't add to the power capacities of the dice pool it is added to, and the extras are all or nothing.

The Variable Effect dice do add to the Capacities and you get to use willpower to match the new dice with your normal dice in terms of extras and flaws.

I knew this was a complicated subsystem of the game(since the book told me as much) but I didn't count on it being this tough. I think I am starting to get my head around it however.

[Tadanori Oyama]

Variable is supposed to represent a power that can change its function, basically becoming a new power. Since Hyperskills are essentually powers Variable Effect can be used to emulate them, becoming a Hyperskill (for a single turn unless it has Duration or another extender).

Augment adds itself to another ability but it doesn't actually change what it is. So you can either build Augment to add dice or add Extras. Variable Effect can't "add" Extras, it can just become new powers.

There is also timing. Variable Effect is supposed to be rolled to change the effect into the new power before it can be activated. Augment, however, can be triggered outside of normal limits.

So both have complex similar effects but are fairly different in a deeper level. This is the part of the game that makes me head hurt a little.

[Flawless P]

I understand what you mean with the head hurtiness stuff.

Additional info I have learned. (That has nothing to do with the Augment/Variable Effect stuff above)

Characters are generally better off trying to "Attach" all their meta abilities to some kind of Transformation power.

I.E.

Turn Purple 2/die 2hd [8 pts]
Useful[Self]
Extras and Flaws: Endless +3, Self Only -3
The characters skin turns purple.

Then give him super strength and regeneration and hard armor and light armor and immunity and eye lasers all for -2 Flaw of being attached to his Turn Purple power.

The only detriment I can think of to this is if someone tries to nullify your powers or if you find a reason not to be Purple all the time.

I guess you could just make the flaw worth less or nothing at all but that seems kind of unfair to them since it is still a detriment in some ways... I think making it a -1 might be more what I am going for.

Does anyone have experience with something like this?

[Tadanori Oyama]

Yeah, it's mentioned on the TvTropes site in their section about Wild Talents. It's a legit build by the rules. If one of my players wanted to build like that I'd require a significant flaw in the Transformation ability, some specific and somewhat easy way to counter act it for example.

Also note that a 2HD power can be hard to get off if the fight surprises you. One Width 3 hit or someone with 1 Go First Extra and you'll lose that set unless you put Interference on it.

And since Wild Talents is group by group regulated, the game master is free to tell someone they can't do that.

[Flawless P]

Finally started my Wild Talents New Arcadia clone campaign.

Lineup

Ex-Military Telepath with a mind blast that stuns enemies and a suggestion type ala Jedi Mind Trick.

A young guy who uses his teleportation powers to make sure he doesn't acutally have to work. Starts heroing due to his thrill seeking nature. Can teleport other and enemies without going with them. Can also call objects within line of sight to his hands, this acts as a disarm attempt if the item is attended.

A sentient robot super scientist with the gadgeteering miracle. He can also turn from robot form to car form. He plans to use this power to transform into vehicles in general like helicopters and speed boats eventually but is limited at the moment.

I've got a few random npc's who will be making appearances, one is named Harmony after the crazy npc from Eclipse Phase except her power is that she is unable to die. She doesn't have much in the way of skills or useful knowledge she just keeps getting back up.

Which lead to a weird metaphysics question that I solved with a seperate useful quality.

If you have Regeneration with Permanent +4, Always On -1 and you die... you technically keep regenerating because if the power was meant to stop when you died it would be Endless not Permanent. So no matter how anniahlated you are your body should continue to work. This begs the question of, "What happens to my soul when I die." Assuming we make theology a 100% fact for this world... does your soul return to your fully healed body? Or does your body heal but your mind and soul leave it?

Either way I added Useful(Cannot Die) as an additional effect so that I don't have to worry about that.

TLDR; Described my player characters for my ripoff game. Does Regeneration stop you from dying?

[Tadanori Oyama]

As written you would die like normal but regeneration wouldn't stop functioning just because you die. If the character returns to life or not is up to the GM. This is the kind of thing that needs to be decided when creating the power.