Great White Games/Pinnacle Entertainment Group

[nareau]

Just started running my first SW campaign this weekend, and have a PC with the Arcane Background: Weird Science. It's set in 1932, and the PC is a fan of Tesla.

We started talking about creating some kind of "Control Machine" power, and I'm wondering how you would handle such a thing. Here's my idea:

Control Machines
Rank: Novice
Power Points: 2
Range: Smarts
Duration: 3 (1/round)
Trappings: Smell of ozone, small sparks, hair standing on end
Control Machines allows you to control basic machines at a distance. This can include illuminating lightbulbs, starting a car, jamming a radio, or even jamming a gun. This spell has no effect on complicated systems such as computers or robots.

Too powerful? Too weak? To vague? Love to hear your thoughts.

[robert4818]

[The Dread Polack]

A power is a general description of what you're doing while a Trapping is a description of the details of how you're doing it and what it looks like.

If you want to control a robot, I'd go with the Puppet power. The trappings would be that it only works on machines, but maybe the duration is a bit extended. Using common sense, you'd also assume that if someone could jam the signal you're using to control the gizmos, or you could also piggy-back a little elemental control onto it and for 1 PP you could do simple things like turning on light-bulbs. That would cover most of what you want to do.

Does that make sense?

[SavageGamerGirl]

There's a power in the Fantasy Companion called Legerdemain.

In short, it lets you make skill checks at a distance, such as opening doors, flipping switches, and so on.

With the right trappings, this might be what you're looking for.
_________________
'But I don't want to go among mad people,' Alice remarked.
'Oh, you can't help that,' said the Cat: 'we're all mad here.'
The Order of the Dice... OF DOOM!