Domhani Bairdéir 02

[Maidhc O Casain]

For Mike P Only:

[sblock]Now that would be very neat, to be able to "sense an opponent when I could not see them, neat way to look at that. I'd like to look into that. Where would I look in the material you gave me to find out more about this stuff?[/sblock]

For Mike Only:

[sblock]On your portable hard drive, look under 'RPG Stuff/HERO Files/HERO System Publications' and open 'HERO System, 5th Edition Revised.' The relevant information starts on page 160.

Here's how I'd break it down for a truly useable ability:

Detect Emotions: 5 points
Sense (means it's on all the time - you don't have to use a 1/2 Phase action to 'activate' it): 2 Points
Discriminatory (he can tell which emotion he's detecting): 5 Points
Targeting (makes the sense useable for combat, etc.): 10 Points

So, for 22 Points you've got a sense that will allow him to determine the direction and distance to anything within his normal 'line of sight' - a 120 degree arc in front of him - that feels emotions. However, at this point value he wouldn't be able to differentiate between 'friend' and 'foe,' and if he uses it without sight he might be swinging at his allies (almost everyone in combat is going to feel the same basic range of emotions).

For an extra 5 points, he could change 'Discriminatory' to 'Analyze,' allowing differentiation between friend and foe, more precise differentiation between emotions, etc. This would bring the total to 27 Points.

At this level, the ability would work almost exactly like sight. Feeling creatures could still 'sneak up' behind him, though they would have to make a surprise roll because this is an extra sense, not a replacement (his hearing and other senses continue to work as well, so he might hear an enemy approaching and turn to face him - thus bringing the things emotions into his 'line of sight'). This sense could be 'blinded' by the presence of extraordinarily strong emotions (such as a person who is 'enraged' or 'berzerk') - though turning away from the source of this emotion would restore normal functionality.

For 2 more points (29 Point total) he could increase the Arc of Perception to 240 Degrees, and for 5 more (32 Point total) to 360 Degrees. This would give feeling creatures a drastic reduction in their ability to surprise him, but would also negate his ability to turn away from the source of 'blinding' emotion - the presence of such within his range would 'blind' the ability no matter which way he was facing.

You could buy the adders in whatever combination/order you desire, and you can start at a very basic level and add on as you get more points (Rationale: He gets better with it the more he practices/uses it).

I think the optimum level would be everything mentioned except the Increased Arcs of Perception (they'd definitely be useful, but might make the ability a little too useful for your GM's taste, and to me the need to turn to sense what's behind you makes it cooler). I'm not forbidding these adders, just commenting that I think the ability would be more 'flavorful' without them.

You should also note that not all creatures that might attack you feel emotions. Most undead, constructs (like Golems), etc. won't, for example.

For what it's worth, I think this would be a very cool addition to your character![/sblock]

 

[Maidhc O Casain]

For Mike Only:

[sblock]One more thing about using Empathy as a targeting sense:

In some cases, feeling creatures may be able to mask their feelings, or the 'background level' of feelings in the area may be high enough that a PERception roll will be required to pick out one particular source of emotion (in a large crowd, especially at an emotionally charged event such as a rally or performance, for example). This could affect Skáth's ability to actively find someone (when he's 'looking' for them) or his ability to pick up a possible threat (to just 'notice' someone who's angry in the crowd). Individual feelings would get lost in the background noise. PERception roll modifiers that would apply will affect this (the larger the crowd, the more difficult to percieve individual sources). You can buy modifiers to his PER for this ability at the cost of 1 CP per +1 bonus.[/sblock]

 

[draven14]

Cerallos

OOC: Wow, that's a lot of spoilers! lol

IC: With a slight bow of his hooded head, "Lady Dilis, I am Cerallos," he says simply and awaits the others.

 

[arkansasdave]

Béar

Béar neither politely nor gracefully introduces himself.

 

[Maidhc O Casain]

OOC: Does that mean he introduces himself but not politely or gracefully, or that he doesn't introduce himself at all?

 

[arkansasdave]

Béar

OOC: Ahh, yes. I see. I meant to say that Béar will indeed introduce himself, but he will do it like a true jerk--very unfriendly.

 

[Maidhc O Casain]

Once More . . .

OOC: Got it.

IC:

"Well, now that we all know each other, what shall we do? From the fact that you and I have encountered at least one of the same people in our travels it would seem that our destinies are linked for now. I'd like to travel with you for a bit and see what happens. Cerallos, I notice you carry several javelins. Would you mind loaning one to me, until we stumble across my gear?"

 

[Scotley]

OOC: Wow, that's a lot of spoilers! lol

OOC: [sblock=for the other players]I didn't want us to feel left out, so I did our own spoiler. I think the DM spoils Skath. Its that whole shared name thing. [/sblock]

 

[Scotley]

Gavril

"We can but hope your things are nearby, perhaps even in one of the other cells." He gestures down the hall at the other doors. "Dare we open another?" he asks his companions.

 

[mleibrock]

backing up - sorry

As Skath introduces himself to the lady, he will fly over to her hover about 18 inches from her face and, "My name is Skath. Welcome to our group. I am curious how you came to be here alone...you mention you were on the trail of Illé Sorden, were you doing this alone? What would have been his destiny had you caught up to him? Are you a magic user? Sorry about all the questions but it makes for a tighter group if we each know the strengths and weaknesses of the others."