Great White Games/Pinnacle Entertainment Group

[smarttman]

I'm working on a post-apocalypse setting, and I was thinking about allowing characters to be able to have two Arcane Backgrounds (which will be granted through an Edge, I think)

In this way, the character could have Cybernetics while also having mutations.

However, while I think this is cool from a story perspective (mutant bear with a cyborg arm!), I really don't see the benefit mechanically.

Both of the Backgrounds would probably have separate Power Point pools, and Powers couldn't be used interchangeably, most likely (So, the Bolt on your Super Science wouldn't be able to be used with Psionics.) Unless I make each background have exclusive powers they can take, which I don't REALLY plan on doing, it seems that multiple Arcane Backgrounds would just be a headache.

Does anyone have any suggestions on what to do?

[robert4818]

[shinryu]

Well, there's any number of ways to look at this from the as written rules:

1) Separate power pools are a big deal, actually, as it quasi-doubles or quadruples your Power Point pool.
2) Different powers have severely different requirements in terms of outside investment (separate skills for super powers vs. a universal skill for everything else, for example).
3) You can share Weird Science and everything gets its own power point pool, which is a huge deal if that is how you emulate cyborgs.

In terms of other ways you could differentiate them, a distinct powers list is probably the best reason to do so, but you could declare that one background uses No Power Points (so it's harder to use but never runs out), for example; one could also decide certain backgrounds gain or lose effectiveness in certain environments (the radiation screws up cyborg parts but the mutants actually do better).

An alternate way to handle mutants and cyborgs might be to declare them "races"; a mutant or cyborg gives up his free edge but gets 4-6 points on the race creation table to play around, keeping in mind he needs to keep the points over +2 balanced with Hindrances. This seems especially appropriate for full-conversion type cyborgs (who probably should have Construct, say) or mutants since many of their mutations might really not be powers as such like that extra arm or the patagia (or the crippling hunchback or the constantly oozing sores and such).

[Zetesofos]

Interesting that is is a new thread, I'm having a similar problem in a campaign I'm working on myself. Currently, I 5 types of arcane backgrounds in my system (Magecraft, Mysticisim, Sorcery, Thaumaturgy, and Alchemy) - And I wouldn't be surprised if at some point, players might try to have cross disciplines.

What I"m trying to figure out is there a benefit I could construct out of having multiple arcane backgrounds AND, if so, should it be innate, or require an additional edge to access.

Because each background has different different backlashes, starting power limits, arcane skills, and other effects, I've thought about letting them choose the lesser of any negative effect, but...it doesn't feel to F.F.F.

Any more general benefits that might work if you gained multiple backgrounds?

[robert4818]

[kronovan]

Clint Black proposed a solution for dual AB's that I really liked in this thread about a year ago. I just happened upon it a few weeks ago when I was searching for something else. Here's the contents of his reply in that post:

[Rerun941]

Wouldn't it just be easier to use Arcane Background (Super Powers) and use "Mutations" and "Cybernetics" as trappings?

And if you need a spell caster, there are rules in the Super Powers Companion for making the Sorceror Supreme archetype.

[Clint]