New Abilities

In this thread, moderators can post new abilities for discussion on the system and list them as an edit to the list on this thread. If you are not a moderator, and would like to submit an ability to the system... go right ahead! I check back by here regularly and I'll list it as I go if someone else doesn't beat me to it.

Abilities up for discussion are waiting for the mods to discuss them, possibly rebalance, reword, or expand on them, and decide how they fit into the game. Not all abilities get past this point, but usually the only ones we scrap are the ones that just aren't different enough from an existing ability to merit a new ability post or are too blatantly rule-breaking to allow.

Abilities to added have had the approval of at least one other mod (any moderator can approve or disprove an ability in a post) and myself. They are moved from one list to another and soon added to the abilities section.

When posting new abilities, please post them in the following code after removing all * marks;

REGULAR ABILITY CODE
<*b>ABILITY NAME IN CAPS<*/b>
&*nbsp;&*nbsp;&*nbsp;<*b>Description:<*/b> Ability description here
&*nbsp;&*nbsp;&*nbsp;<*b>Mechanic:<*/b> Ability mechanic. Look at pre-existing abilities as an example.

ADVANCED ABILITY CODE
<*b>ABILITY NAME IN CAPS<*/b>
&*nbsp;&*nbsp;&*nbsp;<*b>Description:<*/b> Ability description here
&*nbsp;&*nbsp;&*nbsp;<*b>Requires:<*/b> Any ability or level requirements.
&*nbsp;&*nbsp;&*nbsp;<*b>Mechanic:<*/b> Ability mechanic. Look at pre-existing abilities as an example.

FIGHTING STYLE CODE
<*b>ABILITY NAME IN CAPS<*/b>
&*nbsp;&*nbsp;&*nbsp;<*b>Description:<*/b> Ability description here
&*nbsp;&*nbsp;&*nbsp;<*b>Requires:<*/b> Any ability or level requirements.
&*nbsp;&*nbsp;&*nbsp;<*b>Mechanic:<*/b> The (insert ability name here) fighting style grants access to the following three abilities;
&*nbsp;&*nbsp;&*nbsp;&*nbsp;&*nbsp;&*nbsp;<*i>Ability 1:<*/i> Mechanic here.
&*nbsp;&*nbsp;&*nbsp;&*nbsp;&*nbsp;&*nbsp;<*i>Ability 2:<*/i> Mechanic here.
&*nbsp;&*nbsp;&*nbsp;&*nbsp;&*nbsp;&*nbsp;<*i>Ability 3:<*/i> Mechanic here


Abilities To Be Discussed
Battle Focus (physical defense)
Contagion (magical attack, disease)
Enlightened, Defensive (utility power, defensive)
Resistent Strain (magical attack, disease)




Abilities To Be Added





~@~

Okay, so here's the first of the disease related stuff that I've got. I've got a few more, but I want to see how the basic one goes over first.

CONTAGION
   Description: You spread a disease to disable your enemy. It may not do damage as fast, but like the tortoise, it wins the race in the end.
   Mechanic: When you make a successful Magic (if unarmed), or Attack check (for a weapon), your opponent must succeed on a Resistance check against your Magic or lose 1 hit point every other round following the incubation time of the disease until the Remove Disease ability is applied to the afflicted character. The incubation period of this ability is two rounds. Contagion does not do any initial damage. Anyone the afflicted comes into contact with (via magical or physical means) must make a Resistance roll versus the afflicted person’s Magic roll or contract the disease. The effect of this ability is cumulative, meaning that multiple attacks with Contagion stack with each other.

   You cannot contract strains of disease that have you as their source. You can only be subject to one strain of disease at a time. A strain of disease is considered a chain with a similar penalty and source. Only the most recent strain of disease does damage and can be passed on. (Example: You cast Contagion three times on a fighter; Its effects stack with each other. This is considered one strain. You then cast Contagion paired with Specialized Virus (insert attribute) on the same target. The target only has the second strain of disease and can only pass on that strain of disease.) This ability can be combined with a physical attack once per turn, but not with any other magical attacks in the same turn. This attack can only be used if your opponent is within reach.

~@~

Btw, here's the abilities that I've made to block it:

CARRIER
   Description: You don’t get sick from diseases, but you can still make others sick.
   Mechanic: You do not suffer the effects of diseases. You may still pass on the disease to others as if you were affected by the disease. Using this ability is automatic.

~@~

PERFECT HEALTH
   Description: Your ability to avoid getting sick has gotten better.
   Requires: Carrier, 10th level
   Mechanic: You can no longer pass on a disease. Using this ability is automatic.

~@~

And only because I ended up mentioning it in the mechanic of Contagion:

SPECIALIZED VIRUS
   Description: Your disease is different than a normal disease. It hurts the health of other parts of the body and even the mind.
   Requires: Contagion
   Mechanic: Each time that your opponent would normally lose hit points due to Contagion, they also temporarily lose 1 point from their attribute modifier chosen when you gained this ability until they either reach 0 in that attribute (falling unconscious) or the Remove Disease ability is applied to them. This ability adds a round to the casting time of Contagion, increases the incubation time of Contagion by one round, and must be used in combination with Contagion, but is otherwise automatic. This ability can be gained multiple times, each time specifying damage to a different attribute score.

~@~

Nice work Mustard, those are something that I've been meaning to try doing. in all id say good job.

Well here's some more food for thought. A new weapon and a fighting style for it as well as a preexisting weapon.

RING BLADE
   Description: You know how to wield a ring blade in combat. Its unique circular shape makes it good for throwing, but it makes it difficult to wield with other weapons.
   Mechanic: +6 on all Attack rolls made with the ring blade. The ring blade cannot be combined with any other physical attack during the same turn. The ring blade can be used at a range, as long as you can see your opponent.



HURRICANE WALTZ
   Description: You weave together the deadly motion of your weapons and your fluid grace, striking with the full force of the largest and most powerful storm known.
   Requires: Ring Blade or Wind Razor, must have completed the Dancer ability path
   Mechanic: The Hurricane Waltz fighting style grants access to the following three abilities:
      Twisting Gale: Whenever you use your weapon at range, it attacks first one target then ricochets to another one. It only ricochets a number of times equal to 1/4 your character level rounded down plus 1. (A 4th level character would be able to ricochet his weapon 2 times, attacking a total of 3 times, while an 8th level character would be able to ricochet 3 times, attacking a total of 4.) The ricochets granted by Twisting Gale do not stack with extra attacks gained through the Martial Artist ability path. They are instead of the extra attacks granted by the Martial Artist ability path, but only for ranged attacks. Melee attacks are counted as normal.
      Storm Surge: The bonus granted by your chosen weapon increases by +2 whether being used in melee or at ranged.
      Eye’s Wall: While you wield your weapon, you are in constant motion. Thus you gain a bonus to your Defense rolls equal to the bonus granted in melee by your chosen weapon whilst wielding your chosen weapon.

Here's some more food for thought and a boon for all the Dancers out there:

SWIFT DEFENSE
   Description: You react quickly to danger, giving you an edge in your defense.
   Mechanic: You gain a bonus to your Defense checks equal to 1/3 your Swiftness modifier. Using this ability is automatic.


IMPROVED SWIFT DEFENSE
   Description: You react even more quickly to danger, giving you a greater edge in your defense.
   Requires: Swift Defense, 5th level
   Mechanic: You gain a bonus to your Defense checks equal to 1/2 your Swiftness modifier. Using this ability is automatic.


SWIFT STRIKE
   Description: Your quick blows makes them both harder to avoid and hurt more.
   Mechanic: You gain a bonus to your Attack checks equal to 1/3 your Swiftness modifier. Using this ability is automatic.


IMPROVED SWIFT STRIKE
   Description: Your quick blows can be devastating.
   Requires: Swift Strike, 5th level
   Mechanic: You gain a bonus to your Attack checks equal to 1/2 your Swiftness modifier. Using this ability is automatic.

I have to agree with Mustard, A certain Samuari and Capt. would get a real kick outta it.

Not to mention that our favorite assassin could benefit as well.

I agree with you, Relish. All builds with the Dancer path would definitely want these abilities. Tho' any fighter who's looking to eek out a few more points out of somewhere for their attack would like these as well. Might encourage them to take the Dancer path even.

The mechanics seem sound. Like God Speed only twisted to suit the new purpose.

I assume that they would be for Defense and Attack respectively?

Yep. I dont want them to be movement modes--they seem too broken that way.

So you think theyd be in demand as abilities?

Oh, definitely--not only by the three characters already mentioned, but by at least one villain and any fighter for the ring blade or wind razor, which would require them to pick up the Dancer path. If you've got to have a 10 in the score, why not pick up something to helps you hit that much harder?

I can see a new bodyguard build arising from these abilities too.

Did you already have a plan for how Swift Strike would stack with similar abilities such as...[looks up the name of the abilities real quick]...Jindouyún (of Monkey Staff) or Kaze-Ken (of Kaze-Ryu)? Or how Swift Defense stacks with Kaze-Toku (of Kaze-Ryu)? We can do either a straight stacking (which gets really ugly very fast--no pun intended) or taking whichever is greater (which would be the Swift Strike in the case of Jindouyún and Kaze-Ken in the other). We already know that we do 3/4 Swiftness when Kaze-Toku and Kaze-Ken are mixed with Improved Swift Defense and Improved Swift Strike, respectively. This is what we did with Improved Strong Attack and its similar abilities (and is a nice way of handling mixing the two +50%s), but the math breaks down a little for matching the base Swifts with their comparable abilities. Who would want to go from straight stacking Swift Attack and Kaze-Ken (83% of Swiftness) to the modified stacking of Improved Swift Attack and Kaze-Ken (75% of Swiftness)?

What do you think?

Then, the basis is, that when using 2 50% sources, it actually lowers the combined score by 1/3, but when using a 50% and a 33%, the result is higher by at least 3/4 ths.

How hard would it be to allow only the basic Swift Strike and Swift defense through disscusion? Although it would help out those who don'y have access to Monkey King or Kaze-Ryu, since only 1 char to this point knows Kaze-Ryu.

Yeah, i noticed that too now that you mention it, Mustard. I would say that youd take whichever is greater. That way you dont run into the same problem as you do with straight stacking. Your point is a good one. Whod want to drop from the higher number to a lower? tho Salt has a point too: theres only one, maybe two, characters who have the already approved abilities in question. So minimum problems.

There's also the idea of having the similar abilities stand in for Swift Strike and Swift Defense for the purposes of meeting the requirements for the Improved versions.

Salt, I would like to have all four abilities implemented. Their mechanics are sound. We have other similar abilities already in place proving that. It's when we mix the basic Swifts with some of those similar abilities that the math breaks down.

But only if we do a straight stacking. Relish might be right. Taking whichever is higher might be the simplest solution. For the sake of game balance, I don't think counting the fighting style sub-abilities as fulfilling the requirements is a good idea.

And here's some more abilities to chew over:

BATTLE FOCUS (physical defense)
   Description: You demonstrate caution even while under the effects of your emotions.
   Requires: 3rd level
   Mechanic: Any single penalty to your Defense is reduced by 2. You can only reduce one penalty in this way per turn. Using this ability requires you to suffer a penalty to Defense, but is otherwise automatic.

~@~

IMPROVED RAGE (physical attack)
   Description: You reach a greater depth of frenzy than you could have before and gain greater benefits because of it.
   Requires: Rage, 5th level
   Mechanic: When you execute this ability, you gain a +8 on Attack and Endurance for a number of turns equal to your (newly modified) Endurance modifier as your adrenaline increases your power and stamina, but also take a -4 penalty on Defense as you become more careless, leaving yourself open. The increase to Endurance gives you 16 hit points for the duration of the ability. This ability cannot be combined with any physical attack in the same turn. This ability can be activated once per combat. These bonuses and penalties are instead of those from Rage, not in addition to those of Rage. Using this ability is otherwise automatic.

~@~

PERSISTENT POISON (magical attack)
   Description: Your poison has a knack for escaping its removal from a system.
   Requires: Any poison ability
   Mechanic: Anyone attempting to use Remove Poison on someone whom you poisoned using the selected poison attack must first succeed at a Magic roll versus your Resistance roll in order to successfully remove the poison. Failure indicates that the person remains poisoned. If your poison is already persistent, then you gain +4 on your Resistance rolls against Magic rolls made to remove the poison. This ability can be gained multiple times, each time granting an additional +4 to Resistance rolls. This ability can only be taken every five levels for the same poison. Using this ability requires the selected poison ability, but is otherwise automatic.

~@~

[laughs a little] Peanut Butter is going to have a book to go through when he gets back. Doesn't mean we can't discuss abilities while he's away. Just means he's going to be busy when he comes back from hiatus.

No worries Mustard, I like reading books, but it has been awhile. To make this simple, and since I've approved most of these in one form or another over time, I'm going to make a list of approved abilities followed by my comments on abilities still needing to be retooled before approval.

Approved At This Time
Carrier (Magical Resistance)
Perfect Health (Magical Resistance)
Specialized Virus (Magical Attack)
Ring Blade (Physical Attack)
Hurricane Waltz (Physical Attack)
Swift Defense/Improved Swift Defense (Physical Defense)
Swift Strike/Improved Swift Strike (Physical Attack)
Improved Rage (Physical Attack)
Persistent Poison (Magical Attack)


Now on to the ones needing retools...

CONTAGION
I don't remember this one being near as complicated when you showed it to me last time. It could honestly do without the majority of the second paragraph and could do with some serious rewording to be within the parameters of AVA's standard language so as not to seriously confuse players. I know this isn't the ideal answer, considering how many things depend on it, but I can't honestly say it's ready for posting as is. Note that Carrier and Perfect Health, which have clear mechanics and do not need to be retooled at all, were still approved. Specialized Virus was similarly clear, although it may need to be retooled later if Contagion's retool is too limited to make it feasible.

BATTLE FOCUS
Wait, what? It reduces a penalty to Defense but requires one to use it? Or do you mean it should require one? In that case, put it in the requirements. Be clear about your mechanic language to avoid confusion!

Thanks for the approvals on those mon capitan. Now, on to the other topics...

CONTAGION

What is it exactly that doesn't need to be there? Sorry to say, but it does need to be that wordy. Otherwise you wind up with a first level character/villain whose taken Carrier that infects himself, lets be modest and say fifty times? On shaking another characters hand that person gets one resistance roll against all diseases that first character is infected with. Can we say broken (Looks at Mayo and his 70 some odd attacks with a 1st level char.)? Yes, it's using terminology that's new to AVA but so what, we'll evolve as a system by integrating new things. We've worked around it before haven't we (Looks at Oregano's initial poison upgrades)? Diseases are a new category. We have to establish how they are going to work.

BATTLE FOCUS

I believe this is a simple and unintentional warping of words. To this end I believe this may be a more appropriate wording...

BATTLE FOCUS (physical defense)
   Description: You demonstrate caution even while under the effects of your emotions.
   Requires: 3rd level
   Mechanic: Any single penalty to your Defense is reduced by 2. You can only reduce one penalty in this way per turn. Using this ability requires you to designate a penalty to be reduced, but is otherwise automatic.

This allows you to take the ability and apply it when the situation arises rather than forcing a character to pick up an ability that forces a defense penalty on them.

Um...Peanut Butter...about Contagion? I haven't changed it since I sent you a copy of the Disease abilities that I had come up with at the time....you can check your folder, if you don't believe me....

Speaking of the Disease stuff I sent you and the diseases we came up with at the same time...I need you to pick an icon for the Disease sub-category before I can post it. I need to post the sub-cat before I can finish the necessary coding for any Disease ability that gets approved. I personally like Icon 5, but Relish is fond of Icon 4. I wouldn't mind Icon 4, but I feel a little like it's a direct rip-off of IRL...

And how do you want me to handle the abilities that you had me stat out in that same discussion? Technically, they're yours, not mine so I don't feel comfortable posting them for discussion, but Diseases are already looking to be so powerful--even more so if you want me to take out the restraints from Contagion--that I really think they should be really nit-picked over to keep them from becoming broken...or worse: TPKs...

so... yeah... i am new to AVA in the player sense... but i have been reading a lot of the abilities and notice that you have a lot of mind-affecting ones, but none to tell you if there are any active effects and where they are around you. so i thought about this ability and with the help Mustard and Relish came up with it.... i hope you like it and i can't wait to be in a game.

ENLIGHTENED, DEFENSIVE (utility power)
   Description: You have a knack for finding those who have been affected by mind-altering abilities.
    Requires: Sixth Sense, Exorcise Spirit, 3rd level
    Mechanic: If you spend time observing the area around you, taking no other actions, you glean information about the people in that area as follows:

      1st Turn: You become aware of the absence or presence of mind-affecting effects in a number of feet surrounding you equal to twice the total of your Magic and Resistance modifiers.

      2nd Turn: You become aware of the exact nature of the mind-affecting abilities that you sensed in the first turn. (Example: You’d be able to say someone is under the effects of Mind Control, Veil of Madness, or Enchanting Presence.)

      3rd Turn: You pinpoint who has the mind-affecting ability placed on them.

      4th Turn: You can tell how long the person identified in the third turn has been under the mind-affecting ability and how deep-seated it is. (Example: You get a length of time as well as what bonus the person is getting when they resist the Mind Control they are under.)

      5th Turn: You gain the knowledge of how difficult it would be to remove the mind-affecting effect from the victim. (You gain the knowledge of the controlling person’s Resistance modifier plus any relevant bonuses (but without the roll).

Welcome to AVA, Cliff--I mean, Dark Phoenix. Finding everything okay? I know I told you this IRL, but I really like this ability. It would lend itself well to a healer build designed to combat mind-affecting abilities...sorta like an anti-Puppetmaster...hmm...do I smell a possible new ability path?

And sorry, guys...I know it's getting cluttered here in the Development section, but I would like all the discussions and posed abilities (even the approved and posted ones) to remain up until Peanut Butter has a chance to really review them instead of popping in occasionally like he's been doing. That way he can see what we've come up with on certain things...I personally am really curious how he would handle the problem with the basic Swifts and their similar fighting style sub-abilities...

I promise to clean it up again after he's back from hiatus for the summer. Promise.