Power Modifiers

Sample Modifiers

Below are examples of power modifiers appropriate to broad categories of powers. They attempt to stay true to the way novels and movies depict those powers. Each lists its individual subcomponents to make it easier to customize and to demonstrate the principles of design. The overall modifier is the sum of these parts – don't apply the component modifiers a second time! Be sure to change the generic names to suit specific powers.

Biological

-10%

Your power is a physical capability of your body. It's fatiguing to use because your metabolism must supply all of the energy: pay an extra 1 FP whenever you use an active ability (Costs Fatigue, 1 FP, -5%). Anything that upsets your unique metabolism might deprive you of your power – including targeted pathogens, drugs, and nanotech designed by your enemies (technological countermeasures, -5%).

Chi

-10%

Your power emanates from your life force – a mysterious energy often called chi or ki. To strengthen your chi to the point where you can channel it for superhuman feats, you must engage in exercises and meditation for a few hours each day. This requirement is a -10-point disadvantage (-10%), most often Disciplines of Faith (Monasticism or Mysticism) or a comparable major Vow. Should you neglect this, your power fails you the first time you call upon it under stress (+0%). To restore it, you must take 1d days to rebalance your chi (+0%). Until you do, you feel ill; the GM should choose one of these afflictions from Irritating Conditions: Coughing/Sneezing, Drowsy, Nauseated, or Pain.

Cosmic

+50%

Your power originates from the energy of creation! Your abilities ignore the ordinary countermeasures that work against wild advantages, and you always have access to them – nothing can neutralize your power or cut off its energy source. This is identical to the +50% level of the Cosmic enhancement. If you have individual abilities with more expensive versions of Cosmic, your power modifier only covers the first +50% of their value; after that, you must pay for Cosmic normally.

Divine

-10%

A deity grants you your power. Nothing can prevent your god's power from reaching you...but your patron expects certain behavior in return. The precise details depend on your god.

A good god expects you to lead a virtuous life. The required moral code is a -10-point disadvantage (-10%), typically Honesty (12), Sense of Duty (Coreligionists), or a major Vow. Should you transgress, your god will suspend your power – but since he's benevolent, he won't cut you off if this would endanger you (+5%), save for the most egregious of sins. To make amends, you must offer significant penance: up to a month of fasting, questing, or equivalent (-5%).

An evil god lets you do as you wish, provided you make suitable sacrifices, corrupt the innocent, etc. These requirements are worth -10 points (-10%), most often in the form of Intolerance or a heinous major Vow such as "Kill someone on the night of the full moon." If you forget, your deity will revoke your power instantly (+0%). It will turn on you in horrible ways until you make amends (-5%). A single killing or desecration will get you back in favor – since you've already sold your soul, this should be easy for you (+5%).

An ineffable force of nature only rarely concerns itself with mortal affairs, leaving you free to act in its name as you see fit. But it has principles – often strange, confusing ones – that constitute a -10-point disadvantage (-10%), perhaps a Code of Honor such as "Respect nature, and violently oppose those who do not" or a complex Trademark that few can understand. It will immediately cut you off for any perceived improbity (+0%). To get back in good standing, you must complete a minor quest (+0%) suggested to you through omens.

Elemental

-10%

Your power lets you manipulate an "element": one particular kind of natural matter or energy, or its absence. Examples include Air, Cold/Ice, Darkness, Earth, Electricity, Heat/Fire, Light, Radiation, Sound/Vibration, and Water. This power isn't psionic or channeled from an elemental god; powers like that are Psionic or Divine, respectively. Instead, you're cosmically attuned to your element; in effect, you are an elemental spirit.

The GM should choose a mundane countermeasure or insulator that can interfere with your elemental energy. Either way, this is worth -10%. If your element would not logically merit the full -10% for countermeasures or channeled energies, the GM may rule that this limitation is a little of both. It's fairest if every elemental power is more or less equally limited.

Magical

-10%

Your power channels ambient magical energy (mana). This is difficult to block and found almost everywhere. "No-mana zones" – areas where your power doesn't work at all – occur only rarely in nature. However, low-mana zones are more common, and all rolls to use your abilities are at -5 in such regions. This aspect of the limitation is worth -5%.

In addition, a variety of anti-powers can thwart your abilities. The Mana Damper advantage simulates the effect of a low- or no-mana zone, while Magic Resistance shields others from your attacks. Moreover, spells that dispel or protect against magic affect your abilities exactly as if they were spells. This is worth another -5%. This modifier is identical to the Mana Sensitive limitation.

Moral

-20%

Your power comes from some cosmic moral principle – Chaos, Evil, Good, Order, etc. – that transcends the mortal and even the divine. This isn't a true cosmic power...it's more like half a cosmic power, because it has an opposing anti-power (-5%): Chaos vs. Order, Evil vs. Good, and so on. This anti-power offers its wielders Neutralize and Static abilities (and perhaps other gifts) that they can use against you. Your power gives you similar weapons, of course.

Your ability to tap this power stems from your dedication to a moral code, to which you must adhere at all times. This is a -15-point disadvantage (-15%), usually Fanaticism – although Honesty (9) or Sense of Duty (Humanity) is just as likely for Good. If you falter, even for a moment, you lose your power instantly (+0%). To get it back requires an extreme demonstration of commitment that costs at least 2d days of lost time or earnings (+0%). Details are up to the GM, who should pick something appropriate to your power; e.g., a large donation to charity, for Good.

This modifier only exists in settings with absolute morality, where moral forces battle openly in the world and are both tangible and detectable.

Nature

-20%

Your power channels the vital energy that surrounds all living things. This exists even in the driest deserts and on the most barren peaks, but the ravages of civilization interfere with it, acting as a mundane insulator against your power (-10%). You're at -1 to use your abilities in a despoiled wild place such as a clear-cut forest, -3 in a city, -5 amidst ordinary pollution, and -10 in a poisoned wasteland.

Technology – not technological countermeasures, but any technology – also impairs your power. In effect, it's a mundane countermeasure (-10%). You're at a penalty equal to half the TL (round up) of the most advanced manufactured item you're carrying, wearing, or riding in or on. Use the full TL of implants. Thus, a TL3 sword gives -2, while a TL8 pacemaker gives -8.

An ability that requires no die roll loses 10% of its effectiveness (bonus to reactions or skills, DR, etc.) per -1 instead. If the penalties total -10 or worse, you're powerless.

This modifier best suits Animal Control, Plant Control, and Weather Control powers.

Psionic

-10%

Your power is an innate capability of your mind. The energy comes from within, but a large number of countermeasures exist, including anti-powers in the form of Antipsi power (-5%) and technological countermeasures in the form of "psychotronic" or "psi-tech" defenses (-5%).

The Basic Set includes several specific examples of psionic powers: ESP, Psychic Healing, Psychokinesis, Telepathy, and Teleportation.

Spirit

-25%

Your power comes through commanding spirits: you give orders and the spirits do the work. Since only those with powers of their own are likely to realize this, it's often hard to distinguish your abilities from chi, psi, etc. But there are some important differences.

Spirits are fickle (-20%), and whether they answer your summons at all depends on an unmodified reaction roll. You can command them, but you must show basic respect. This imposes a -5-point disadvantage (-5%) – typically Disciplines of Faith (Ritualism), Sense of Duty (Servitor Spirits), or a simple Trademark in the form of a small offering or token. If you fail to live up to this, the spirits turn against you, depriving you of your power at the worst possible moment (-5%). Since they ultimately want you to turn them loose on the world, though, it's easy to make amends – a minor sacrifice, such as a food offering, is usually enough (+5%).

The spirits associated with an individual ability might be more or less friendly, giving from -4 to +4 on reaction rolls. If so, that one ability has an extra -5% modifier per -1, or +5% per +1, on top of the basic power modifier that applies to all abilities.

In some settings, spirits aren't this capricious and the GM might dispense with the reaction roll. This reduces Spirit to -5%.

Super

-10%

Your power is a "generic superpower." Details depend on the game world. What's common to all such powers is that they face Neutralize and Static – as wild advantages and as part of various anti-powers (-5%) – and that weird-science devices built by gadgeteers can block them or even steal them (-5%). In effect, this is just a special form of the Psionic limitation. In many settings, the two are one and the same.

Certain super-powers are subject to mundane insulators or countermeasures that limit their ability to affect the world. For instance, being underwater might be as effective as Static or a power-suppressing serum for negating a fire-related power. If your power is like this, you may give it both the Super and Elemental modifiers. This is an exception to the restriction against "stacking" power modifiers.

Evaluating Power Modifiers

After determining which advantages best suit the power, it's time to work out the modifier that makes those traits part of the power. This enhancement or limitation is the power modifier.

The power modifier converts any advantage that has it into one of the power's abilities. If that's all it does – if it implies no additional restrictions or capabilities – it's worth +0%. This is comparable to the situation for advantages that don't belong to a power: the source is background color, a "special effect," and doesn't affect game play. The buyer pays the listed cost for the advantage and gets its benefits as written.

But a power's source or focus often suggests restrictions. Most powers let the user channel some kind of energy, and energy can run out...or be choked off at the source. If the power is supernatural, the wellspring might be willful – an entity that demands propitiation or attaches conditions to the gifts it bestows. Super-powers frequently have dramatic "fatal flaws." And all but the mightiest powers can meet their match in the form of manmade countermeasures or diametrically opposed powers. Any of these things would make the power modifier a limitation.

More rarely, the opposite is true, and the power increases the scope of advantages tied to it by letting them ignore built-in limitations or making them useful in situations where they normally wouldn't be. If so, the power modifier is an enhancement.

In all cases, the final value of the power modifier is found by adding up the individual limitations and enhancements it encompasses.

Countermeasures

A countermeasure is anything that blocks or negates an advantage or its effects. Even "wild" advantages (those not associated with powers) face countermeasures. For instance, Terror is worthless against those with the Unfazeable advantage, and someone with Night Vision can be blindfolded. But when a countermeasure that doesn't affect the wild version of an advantage does affect the version a power provides, that's a limitation. The size of the limitation depends on the nature of the countermeasure and how likely it is to appear during an adventure.

Mundane Countermeasures

If the power loses much of its utility – or just doesn't work – in a reasonably common environment likely to occur in nature, and enemies could exploit this weakness using only everyday items and knowledge (not just specialized technology or training, or other powers), add -10% to the power modifier. Individual abilities can't claim a further discount for an overlapping limitation such as Accessibility, Environmental, or Terminal Condition, however.

Example 1: Because fire requires oxygen, the GM may rule that no ability of the Heat/Fire power works without it. For instance, if the user is underwater or in a vacuum, he can't use his jet-like Flight, "ignite" his Body of Fire, or launch fiery Innate Attacks. Even if oxygen is present, his enemies might be able to extinguish his Body of Fire and blunt his attacks using water, sand, or a fire extinguisher. This gives a -10% limitation – and rules out Accessibility limitations such as "Not underwater" and "Not in a vacuum" on specific abilities.

Example 2: Sound/Vibration power requires the user to have a direct path through air, water, or another fluid to anything he wishes to affect. His Innate Attacks don't work in a vacuum, his Rapier Wit and Terror rely on subtle vibrations that radio can't transmit, and so on. In a soundproof room, his abilities would stop at the walls. These drawbacks add -10% to the power modifier – and individual abilities can't also claim "Only with a direct fluid path" as an Accessibility limitation.

As the examples suggest, this modifier suits elemental powers best. The GM may allow it for other powers. Neither an "environment likely to occur in nature" nor "everyday items and knowledge" is likely to affect a supernatural power...but "the will of a true king," "true love," or something similar just might. If the GM doesn’t mind powers being contingent on intangibles, he's welcome to permit such things as mundane countermeasures.

Anti-Powers

If the setting includes natural or artificial countermeasures expressly intended to knock out the power – perhaps even all powers of the same source – that's a limitation. The size of the limitation depends on how extensive the countermeasures are:

• If the countermeasures are specific capabilities found only in the hands of those with unusual advantages (notably Neutralize and Static) or skills (including cinematic skills and magic spells), add -5% to the power modifier. For instance, the Dispel Magic spell and Mana Damper advantage can knock out magical powers, so magical powers can claim this -5%.
• If the countermeasures consist of specialized technology that works for anyone who possesses it (jamming fields, shield helmets, drugs that shut down the power or grant immunity to it, etc.), add -5% to the power modifier. For example, if particular drugs and frequencies of sound disrupt the biofeedback needed to make a body-control power work, the power gets this -5%.
• If both situations apply, add -10% to the power modifier. This is the case for psionic powers, which are blocked by Antipsi power and by shield helmets, dampers, etc. This is also true for "generic superpowers" (see Super, below), which are traditionally subject to Neutralize, Static, and a plethora of weird-science gadgets.

These limitations are cumulative with the -10% for mundane countermeasures.

Opposed Powers

Some powers "oppose" others; e.g., Heat/Fire vs. Cold/Ice, Good vs. Evil, or Antipsi vs. any psi power. A power might be able to claim an opposed power as a countermeasure. The effects, if any, on power modifiers depend on how the two powers interact.

If it takes a specific, active use of one power to cancel out each specific, active use of another, neither power qualifies as an anti-power, and their power modifiers are unchanged. Consider Heat/Fire vs. Cold/Ice: the environmental effects of their respective abilities often cancel each other out, and fire and ice attacks might be able to shoot each other down (see Defending with Powers), but neither power can completely prevent the other from working.

If a power is subject to mundane countermeasures that another power just happens to emulate, it gets only the -10% under Mundane Countermeasures. There's no additional discount for the existence of a power that can exploit its flaws. For example, Heat/Fire power receives -10% because vacuum, water, and cold can negate it. It gets no extra bonus if Vacuum, Water, and Cold/Ice powers exist. Next to the world's oceans, the boundless vacuum of space, and so on, a few people with powers is insignificant.

An opposed power normally only counts as an anti-power if it contains Neutralize and Static abilities that can negate all of the other power's abilities at once. In this situation, the affected power can claim the -5% described under Anti-Powers. The number of anti-powers is irrelevant – the limitation is a flat -5%, not -5% per anti-power. The GM may rule that other powers rate as anti-powers. Two possibilities are powers that offer Afflictions with Negated Advantage enhancements intended to cancel another power's Talent or abilities, and those that include Obscure for the express purpose of blinding a power that focuses primarily on enhanced senses. A power should never receive the -5% discount unless another power specifically targets it, though.

Bear in mind that a power can negate another power without being negated by it. For example, Antipsi interferes with Telepathy, but Telepathy doesn't foil Antipsi – indeed, no power can block [[Antipsi! On the other hand, fiction is full of powers that are mutual anti-powers (e.g., Good and Evil), in which case both powers have a -5% limitation.

No Countermeasures

Powers that face no countermeasures except those that affect the wild versions of their abilities add +0% to their power modifier. This is the "default" situation; it applies to any power that can't claim a limitation under Mundane Countermeasures or Anti-Powers.

Example 1: It's traditionally impossible to neutralize chi powers. Two such warriors can use their powers to block one another – and in most tales, the stronger fighter eventually exhausts the weaker. However, neither warrior can deprive the other of all of his abilities in an instant...and few legends suggest that mundane or technological factors can render such powers useless. Thus, chi powers get +0%.

Example 2: In myths where gods bestow powers upon their servants, no mortal can rob the blessed of their powers. Divine powers therefore have +0%.

The fact that a power faces no unusual countermeasures doesn't mean that its abilities can bypass things that would normally negate them. For example, if Invisibility belongs to a power that gets +0% for countermeasures, the power has no special flaws that people without See Invisible can exploit to see the user. This doesn't render Invisibility immune to its usual countermeasures, though – it's still useless against those with See Invisible, because that's a weakness built into the advantage.

A few powers – such as those of deities and godlike supers – do offer abilities that aren't subject to the countermeasures that affect wild advantages. For powers like this, the "countermeasures" aspect of the power modifier is actually an enhancement. This is the equivalent of the Cosmic enhancement; therefore, we refer to such powers as "cosmic powers."

Cosmic powers add +50% to their power modifier. This lets their abilities ignore the things that normally block, shut down, or nullify wild versions of those traits, unless those countermeasures are themselves cosmic; e.g., only a cosmic barrier can block cosmic Insubstantiality and only cosmic vision can penetrate cosmic Invisibility. Furthermore, nothing can take away the wielder's power – his abilities work on any world he visits, are present in any body he occupies, and so on.

This power modifier counts as the first +50% of all Cosmic enhancements added to the power's individual abilities. For instance, if the ability includes an irresistible attack, it costs +250% over and above the +50% in the power modifier, for a total of +300%.

The basic +50% for a cosmic power enables the power's abilities to work ormally against attacks and opposing abilities enhanced with more expensive Cosmic options.

Required Disadvantages

Some powers stem from dedicated exercise, meditation, prayer, etc. The devotee walks a path that limits his freedom or puts significant demands on his time. In return, he enjoys special abilities. Should he deviate from his chosen path, he loses his power until he takes suitable steps to set things right. This might be merely inconvenient...or downright dangerous.

Anyone who wishes to possess a power like this must take certain self-imposed mental disadvantages to reflect his dedication. The GM determines these traits – not the buyer. They are prerequisites for all of the power's abilities, and also for its Talent.

The most common "required disadvantages" are Disciplines of Faith and Vows – but Code of Honor, Fanaticism, Honesty, Intolerance, Sense of Duty, and Trademark are also appropriate. In general, required disadvantages should total between -5 and -15 points. See Suggested Disadvantages (below) for guidelines. Required disadvantages give the usual number of points. This reflects their effects on the taker's day-to-day life – he must live up to the standards they demand. If he fails, he suffers whatever mundane effects the GM feels are appropriate: loss of standing in his religion or community, psychological breakdown, or just fewer bonus character points.

Since the power-wielder also loses his power if he falters, he has further to fall than an equally dedicated individual who lacks powers. This gives him a discount on the cost of his abilities. See Required Behavior and Power Modifier to work this out.

Suggested Disadvantages

Some powers require just one self-imposed mental disadvantage; others prescribe behavior complex enough to justify several. Below are suggestions that suit particular sources and foci. All have variable point costs. The more severe the disadvantage, the harsher the ultimate limitation will be.

Code of Honor, Honesty, and Sense of Duty

These disadvantages are appropriate for powers that emanate from gods or spirits that actively monitor their servants' moral conduct – that is, divine and spirit powers. The most likely result of a holy man failing to uphold his deity's moral code is the immediate and total loss of power. To recover his abilities, he must atone. This might include a time-consuming cleansing ritual, a sacrifice, or an ordeal (possibly involving privation or scarification).

-5 points: A Code of Honor or Sense of Duty that applies to a small group, such as "all shamans," would suit certain spirit powers and the divine powers of lenient deities. A "good" deity of this kind might instead require Honesty (15).

-10 points: A Code of Honor or Sense of Duty that affects a large group, such as every member of a religion, is appropriate for most divine powers. Honesty (12) is equivalent – again, mainly for "good" deities.

-15 points: Honesty (9), or a Code of Honor or Sense of Duty that applies to everyone, is only really suitable for those who wield the power of pure Good, or the divine powers of the most benevolent (or just) deities.

Disciplines of Faith and Vows

Disciplines of Faith and Vows often indicate a personal commitment to a program of diet, physical exercise, and meditation. This is the traditional origin of chi powers: the master balances yin and yang in every aspect of his life, and contemplates the nature of the universe. His efforts provide the physical and mental discipline that fuels his power. But should he neglect his exercises and meditation, his abilities will fail under stress! To recover them, he must spend time in contemplative isolation, or undertake a quest for "re-enlightenment."

These disadvantages can also be religious in character, and suitable for divine and spirit powers. In this case, use the point-cost guidelines under Code of Honor, Honesty, and Sense of Duty (above).

-5 points: Disciplines of Faith (Ritualism) is suitable for spirit powers. A minor Vow, such as chastity, fits almost any supernatural power, whether it comes from within or without.

-10 points: Disciplines of Faith (Monasticism) and (Mysticism) suit both chi and divine powers. Major Vows (e.g., "Never draw blood in battle.") also come in at this point level, and suit many divine powers.

-15 points: Disciplines of Faith (Asceticism) or a great Vow (e.g., "Only fight in self-defense.") would only be appropriate for divine powers granted by exacting deities – or for chi powers that demand complete, lifelong dedication.

Fanaticism and Intolerance

A few powers spring from the wielder's unswerving dedication to a set of beliefs rather than from his purity or enlightenment. This is typical of powers that focus on fundamental moral principles, such as Good and Evil, and of divine and spiritual powers given – often grudgingly – by amoral gods, primeval spirits, and Things Man Was Not Meant To Know. In fiction, such powers are nearly always frightening, whatever their moral bent.

Fanaticism demands unquestioning loyalty. If the fanatic refuses one order, makes any concession that might weaken his cause...he's cut off, and his abilities might even turn against him! Intolerance requires an active effort to convert, enslave, or destroy the target group. Any gesture of clemency leads to immediate power loss. In both instances, the nature of the needed reparations mirrors the harsh character of the disadvantage, with sudden injury or affliction being likely.

-5 points: Intolerance of one particular group – possibly fairly abstract (e.g., "Evil") – is suitable for many of the divine powers and pure moral powers of fantasy, which often rely on their opposition to some other force for definition.

-10 points: Intolerance of everyone who doesn't worship the same god is appropriate for almost any divine power. Fantasy tends to reserve this for evil deities; good deities are more likely to demand -10-point Honesty or Sense of Duty.

-15 points: Like other -15-point traits, Fanaticism only suits divine powers bestowed by demanding, judgmental deities. It's also a perfect fit for the powers of pure Good and Evil in settings where compromise is impossible.

Trademark

Trademark is the least common required disadvantage. It works just like the rest of these traits, but with a twist: the user must leave a physical sign of his work wherever he uses his abilities. Otherwise, his power fails him the next time he calls upon it. The only way to rectify the oversight is to return to the neglected site and mark it appropriately – which might prove difficult if it's a bloody urban battlefield crawling with detectives, or an enemy stronghold. This is most suitable for spirit powers.

-5 points: A simple Trademark might be a single rune or holy symbol, left behind by the user of a divine or spirit power to honor the entity he serves.

-10 points: A complex Trademark resembles a simple one, but the mystic marks are more elaborate and time-consuming, and might offer clues as to the ritualist's identity (his totem, tribal mark, etc.).

-15 points: An elaborate Trademark means the sorcerer must conduct a cleansing ritual after using his power in order to dissipate dangerous spiritual residues that could rebound upon him. He might leave behind fetishes, animal sacrifices, or his own blood.

Required Behavior and Power Modifier

If a power requires disadvantages, any violation of the behavior code that those traits imply costs the user all of his abilities. The limitation value depends on how taxing the code is, how rapidly the power departs after a transgression, and how difficult the power is to recover. The GM should calculate the effects of these factors on the power modifier using the following guidelines:

1. Choose the required disadvantages, normally worth between -5 and -15 points, and apply a limitation numerically equivalent to the point value of those disadvantages. For instance, a -10-point Vow is worth -10%. This part of the modifier is identical to the Pact limitation; you can't take that a second time.

2. Decide on the speed with which the power vanishes (choose one):

• Gradually, with enough warning to escape a dangerous situation: +5%.
• Quickly enough to endanger the user in combat: +0%.

Add -5% if the power doesn't just vanish but turns against the user!

3. Determine the act necessary to restore the power (choose one):

• A day out of adventuring to pray, meditate, etc., or sacrifices worth a day's income: +5%.
• A week out of adventuring, or sacrifices worth a week's income; a minor quest; or minor harm (1d injury or an irritating affliction): +0%.
• A month out of adventuring, or sacrifices worth a month's income; a major quest; or serious harm (4d injury, crippling, or an incapacitating affliction): -5%.

4. Add all of the above together to find the final adjustment to the power modifier. If positive, reduce it to +0%. If a power requires minimal devotion, only departs gradually if the user neglects this, and returns if he takes a day to set things right, it isn't limited (the wielder can use it in the current situation and make amends before the next time he needs it) – but it isn't more useful than a power without this modifier.

It's possible to get large limitations – up to -25% – using these guidelines. The GM may allow such modifiers, but they're only appropriate for powers granted by a merciless god who would strike down his own servant for the slightest impure thought. The GM must enforce this ...and the players have no room to complain, because they're getting a big discount on a wide array of useful advantages.

Channeled Energies

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