New shticks, but expect constructive criticism, or perhaps a mention of a sourcebook something close to it appears in. Here's one:
TELEKINESIS: Creature shtick (but can be used in theSorcery Movement shtick effect if another effect doesn't cover it).
Skill: Creature power. Range: Creature power AV. Can use this like the sorcery movement shtick remote manipulation (except for using the creature power in place of sorcery skill, it uses the same rules), or to project strength(or damage rating) equal to it's Magic minus 3. It can be used as a blast, or to (as a stunt) grab a target. Additional shticks add 2 to the effective strength/damage, and up to 4 shticks can be purchased.
Here is another 2: (Creature shtick) Summoning Resistance:+3 per shtick for rolls to resist being effected against it's will by the Summoning shtick. This is primarily intended for GMCs, since PCs usually use Damage immunity for this.
(Tranimal shtick) Transformation: No, you still can't change freely back and forth into your base animal, but you can change a normal animal into a transformed animal. There are 3 conditions:
- The target animal must be unusually intelligent for it's kind (GMs option).
- You need to be able to communicate with it with a Doolittling shtick.
- You need to make a successful MAG based Medicine skill roll (difficulty?), probably means you are from the 69AD juncture (it is possible that primitive societies in 1856 also use folk medicine, but a tranimal from such wouldn't be Lodge connected).
How about "Awaken Soul"? Although I'd personally make it really difficult!
As an example of hidden problem such a shtick can generate (something that only occured to me as I was running out of room during the original message)...My player character did not have this shtick, it was known only to tribal elders who died during his origin, so the uses of such a shtick never got explored to it's fullest. If an animal is turned into a transformed animal, it would be a GMC with no inherent loyalty to the "parent", so I wouldn't make it too difficult. However, I belatedly realized that this could dependably be used on player characters who had reverted....
"Awaken Soul" is a good name by the way.
Unless you incorporate a sentence to say that it can't be ... or that it can be (which makes it a good goal for a campaign - "Why do you have that pet spider in a cage?""It's a long story ... and it's not a pet ..."*), but make it incredibly difficult when applied to reverted animals. After all, their soul has had their shot at being human, and, given that they're now animal again, presumably fluffed it ...
- NB reverted transformed dolphins or sharks may be more of a problem to transport.
THROWMASTER (Path of Flying Steel [in the Hand sourcebook BotV], prerequisite is Bite of Steel). Chi cost is 2, Shot cost is 3. Requires only a single improvised weapon ( a spike, ball bearing, heavy coin, etc) to have the same effect as Hail of Steel has with it's required ammunition. In addition, this comes in handy for propelling non-aerodynamic objects accurately over a safe distance at supernatural creatures who find them baneful (sutras, mystical rice paper at Jiangshi, etc).
I've checked out the Vital Blow schtick from the Weapon Schticks section of Bryant Durell's page, and I thought to myself, "why isn't this a gun schtick?"
Vital Blow, for those of you who haven't seen the page on weapon schticks, allows you to ignore your opponent's Toughness entirely when figuring damage for a weapon attack (and, I suspect, was modeled after the iaijitsu duels seen in so many samurai movies), but you can't do active dodges when doing this, and you're at -2 to your passive dodge AV no matter how many schticks in it you rack up because all your focus is on your opponent.
My main stipulation when it comes to using this schtick for guns would be a prohibition on using it with autofire weapons, since 1) it's not in the spirit of the genres that this schtick would lend itself to (like say, Westerns), and 2) using a signature autofire weapon with this schtick would not be good for game balance, to say the least.
Now I just need an appropriate name for the Gun Schtick equivalent of this, since "Vital Shot" sounds kinda lame to me...
innocence.com/fengshui/house ... ticks.html
Hmmm... I don't know. Seems a little too powerful. Allowing an "ignore toughness" hit for another character usually involves some kind of roll, either Intrusion or something from the Path of the Passive Wings. And the disadvantages feel disproportionate to the advantages. If I allowed this sort of thing, it'd be character and story specific, something like, "Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die!"
I like the idea of "calling out" a named character for some mano y mano, but I'm not sure how I'd balance it mechanically. Maybe +2 vs. that one character, -4 DV to any other? Spend a schtick to reduce to -3, then again for -2. Still... how often do your killer gunmen not shoot just one person at a time? I guess you could pick one character at the beginning of the scene, and you'd have to stick with it for the rest of the scene.
Some Creature Schticks:
The Master’s Voice: Select one category of things that would normally not be able to be communicated with—animals, plants, mindless zombies, office appliances, vehicles, etc. The character can speak with such things, and use social skills (Intimidate, Leadership, even—eww—Seduction). While the precise results of such efforts are subject to GM approval, in general the subjects will attempt to accommodate the Creature within the bounds of the roll. (The Zombie Emperor was a fun one-shot villain who kept awakening all sorts of bound undead and recruiting them using this Schtick.)
Spectral Snatch [Pre-Req Insubstantial]: This is a carefully developed application of the Insubstantial Schtick. Essentially, it allows the spirit to ‘grab’ an object and pluck it up while remaining ghostly—thereby causing the item to join their insubstantial state. The object can thus be removed from a safe, a pocket, or even an opponent’s hands. It will not work if the item is wrapped, even in part, in one of the Creature’s forbidden materials, of course. The DC for this is the same as it would be to phase through to get to the spot the object is stored, plus 5. If the object is being actively held or worn by someone, then use the target’s Dodge AV instead. Note that the item’s material is unimportant; only the storage container’s material matters (ie, if you cannot use Insubtantial to pass through silk, you cannot remove a letter from a silk pouch, but you COULD remove a silk scarf from a wooden box). Add 5 to the DC if the target is a Signature Object of any sort, and even then the item will eventually make its way back to the proper owner.
This one is a bit different, more of a house-rule on variant applications of Signature Weapon:
Signature Move/Object/Schtick: Just like Signature Weapon, this gives the user a +3 bonus to the Outcome of any roll involving the item. Some examples:
Using the special tactics, like joint-breaking, from Golden Comeback increases the Outcome of any attack roll made using that attack.
Using a specific Special Effect from a Sorcery Schtick increases the Damage caused, or the Outcome interpretation by +3.
A specific set of tools can be used to benefit specific Skill rolls—GM discretion to determine if a tool can be applied to the Skill in a given circumstance.
The cost of this Schtick varies:
If used to amplify an unarmed attack maneuver, treat it as a Fu Schtick.
If used to amplify a Schtick of any sort, treat it as a Schtick of that sort.
If used to amplify a Skill, treat it as an Auxiliary Schtick.
One GMC in my campaign, Johnny Two-Smokes, is a Free Sex Militant who has Signature Object: Whenever he has a cigarette in hand (even unlit), he gains a +3 to the Outcome of any Seduction roll. Yes, that's right, he makes smoking look cool. Similarly, the villainous Agent Payne (a Pledged Operative) had Signature Move: Joint Breaking multiple times--once each for hips, knees and fingers. People really hated getting into brawls with him.
When in doubt, have a man come through the door with a gun in his hand. ~Raymond Chandler.
Spend a fortune point. Immediately a new gmc/gmc group enters the scene. The gmc is not immediatly aligned with anyone else in the current scene. Make a charisma roll vs a dc based on how unlikely is that a new person would arrive just then. If you make the roll the new gmc will be helpful. Otherwise they will persue their own agenda.
Just an idea.
There should be a Schtick called "it's all in the reflexes" after the line in 'Big Trouble in Little China' but I haven't had any good ideas to go with the name. Suggestions?
In our current campaign we made a variant of 'Kiss for Luck' that meant a PC could transfer Fortune temporarily (for the rest of the session) to someone else. This proved a neat way of having a character supporting her colleagues, and the PCs found it very handy when fighting big nasties to help improve the capacity of one or two PCs who were best suited to a given combat situation. Any more Fortune schticks out there?