Great White Games/Pinnacle Entertainment Group

[ferret]

I'm in the process of fleshing out a modern conspiracy/horror game based loosely off of the AoO ruleset.

I'd like to work up a list of 20 or so powers that are eclectic, useful and not particularly offensive (damage-wise, bonus points will be awarded for powers that actually offend people).

Don't worry about listing all the boring stuff like power points or duration, just hit me with the goods.

I'll start:

A slice of Suburbia
Ever notice how every Walmart you've ever been in looks pretty much identical? Turns out that, meta-physically speaking, they are. Don't like Walmart? Substitute a Starbucks, Subway, Home Depot, or any other chain or national franchise.
Here's how it works:
Pick two Starbucks, say, Orlando and Seattle (make sure the hours of operation overlap). Walk in, order your Orange Mocha Frappachino or whatever and have a seat. Read the newspaper, flirt with the barista, whatever, the point is, you have to play through the entire experience. If it's Walmart, you have to shop and waste time looking for an employee, you get the picture.
Now, here comes the tricky part: When it's time to go, watch the door carefully. If someone is coming through at the same time, it won't work. On both sides. That means you've gotta either get lucky or spot them just as the door starts to open and shut it before they try to step through.
If you do, you'll open the door in Orlando and step out in Seattle.

Everybody loves Kung-Fu fighting
Ever wanted to kick ass like Bruce Lee? Or Stephen Segal, or Fedor Emelianenko? Well, now you can. First, you need a costume. Get one. Make it's as close as you can. Next, you'll need some make-up, because you have to look like him too. If it's Bruce, dye it black, if it's Fedor, it's time to bust out the trimmers. You get the idea.
After that, get some videos and start watching. You need to watch at least eight hours of your hero bustin' chops and breakin' legs. You can watch the same video over and over, or different ones, doesn't matter. Once you've done that, the real fun begins. Still in your costume, go to a martial arts school of any type. In a pinch, a biker bar would probably work, though I don't recommend it. Pick a fight. Lose. You have to lose or it doesn't work. (Yes, this is a nod to Fight Club.)
The next day (assuming there is a next day), you will kick ass like Bruce Lee.

[Jordan Peacock]

Mechanics-wise, are these supposed to be Powers in the Savage Worlds sense, that are purchased as part of an Arcane Background, or is this some sort of "everyman magic" as part of the game setting -- i.e., anybody who actually follows these rules gets a chance at the magical effect?

Anyway, just for the sake of chiming in, off top of my head:

Car Wash Rain Dance:
So the saying goes, if you wash your car, that's when it's going to rain. There's some truth to it, but it's more likely to come true the dirtier the car is, and the longer it has gone without a wash. Best of all is a grimy car that has NEVER been washed since it was first driven off the lot.

Common Knowledge Paradox:
The joke is that if you take a cat and tie a piece of toast to its back, butter-side-up, then toss the cat in the air, the cat will hover in place, because "a cat always lands on its feet" is cancelled out by "buttered toast always lands buttered-side-down." That isn't actually what happens, but there's a certain truth to it, in that nobody actually witnesses someone proving it wrong.

The idea behind this trick is that there is POWER in cliches and "common knowledge." You need to take two cliches that are generally accepted as true by the general populace, but totally contradictory of each other. Find a way to put it to the test, deliberately, with witnesses. Part of the trick is finding the right number and type of witnesses, because in theory the more the better the effect, but all present need to have heard of the cliches you're "testing," and to believe or accept them enough that they might nod in agreement if asked about them. (One tough part of this is that you need to put YOURSELF in the right mindset, as your own cynicism or disbelief is the most likely to kill the trick.)

Once you toss the cat or take whatever other action is required to put the action to the test, something magical happens. Maybe it's the power of shared perspective, principle of observation, or some sort of Jungian collective unconsciousness stuff -- insert some psychobabble or quantum technobabble here -- but if the power kicks in, those present CANNOT witness either of the cliches being disproved.

For a brief moment, you might have a hovering cat, or some other implausible outcome as the power of expectations wars with the laws of physics. Then there's a flash, or everything fades to black. The exact outcome ... well, honestly, nobody quite knows for sure what happens next. You might find yourself waking up in a hotel room with a hangover, or walking through the park and suddenly realizing you're hungry. From the point of view of all involved, time "fast-forwards," everyone disperses, and most folks unacquainted with the weird corners of the universe will find some rational explanation. Nobody remembers how the experiment turned out, or where the cat went.
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[farik]

The Wrong Train

If you can distract a target the moment before they get on public transportation once aboard they will find it is the wrong one and are headed to a random destination (excluding their intended location).

Do you Feel Lucky Punk
In a firefight after an opponent double taps, three round bursts, or uses autofire you can adjust the number of rounds they have left in the gun. Failure they have 50% more, Success they have 50% less, Raise they are out of ammo.

Obscuring Bus
If a Bus or large truck breaks line of sight between you and a pursuer you become invisible until both of you have moved. So you can either stand there and hope the pursuer runs off looking for you or you can try to make a break for it while they are standing there looking around for you.

Free Drinks
If you step up to a crowded bar you will find an abandoned half consumed drink of your preferred adult beverage.


Wet Floor Hazard
You can generate a slippery surface by placing a wet floor sign.

Fire doors can't be barred
You receive a bonus to unlock or force open any unmarked side doors.

[Virgobrown72]

[ferret]

Some of these are really good. Let's keep it going.

The basic principle is this. There is no such thing as 'magic' in the standard sense. However, reality is pliable, in that at certain times and in certain ways, the laws of the universe don't work like you'd expect or break down entirely.
This works exactly like a cheat or exploit in a video game. Think of an exploit in a modern mmorpg, or a game like Skyrim. Once you figure out the trick, you can do it as often as you like. You don't need mana or power points or any artificial restraints like that, but there are some very important caveats to consider.
First, you're insane. Sane people don't break the universe. If you actually think you can, you're crazy.
Second, other crazy people will hunt you down and kill you for what you know. Show off? Someone is going to hunt you down and do bad things with a pair of pliers and a blowtorch until you give up the goods...or the ghost.
Third, blowback. Did I mention reality doesn't like it when you make a mockery of her rules? Do it, and sooner or later she's going to kick you right in your nugget pouch.

For the majority of these, some little ritual would be required; a series of steps that have to be precisely followed, just like a video game cheat. It should require a certain amount of preparation and forethought.

In the case of the Wet Floor sign, that is an artifact. Imagine a bugged item or location in a video game. For whatever reason, that particular floor sign isn't like all the rest. When you place it on the floor, it dictates that the floor should be wet, and so it is. And it doesn't have to be water. Think crazy. It's slick with pig-fat, or urine, or red wine.

For Free Drinks, it could be an artifact cardboard coaster. Put it on the bar, and a bartender will set a drink on top of it. Or, you've noticed that at a specific time, or when a specific set of people are at the bar (a blonde and brunette on one side, a guy with a comb-over on the other, empty stool in-between), you can slid up and get a free drink.

Common Knowledge Paradox
This is a great idea. Essentially, it lets you escape any situation, so long as you can pull off the paradox. As a twist, I'd rule that it only works once. After that, reality has figured out what would happen, IE..the cat lands on its feet and gives you the stink eye for taping toast to its back.


Here's one that draws upon another mundane mystery of life:
The Bottomless Sock Drawer
Go to the store and buy a new pair of socks. For this cheat to work, they must never have been worn. Put the item you want to 'lose' in one of the socks, and tie the end so it doesn't fall out. Obviously, for this cheat to be of any use, the item in question must be able to survive a drying cycle.
Throw both socks in the dryer. Set the timer for one hour. When it's done, the empty sock will remain. The other has disappeared, along with whatever you put inside. Place the remaining sock in your freezer.
When you want to retrieve the item, simple throw the lone sock in the dryer and run another cycle. When you open the door, both socks will be there.

[Jordan Peacock]

Heh. I can imagine some sort of Sanity mechanic tied in with such a campaign. E.g., you might have to sacrifice a point of current Sanity in order to get a trick to work, or any time you use such a power, you have to make a Spirit check with a penalty (penalty could be tied to the "disruptiveness" of the power, perhaps increasing if you use it more often, as you evidently have come to accept the broken power as part of your "new normal"). Or there might be some roll that is made AGAINST your current Sanity, so higher Sanity penalizes your chances of pulling off a particularly daring trick.

Another thing -- I lost it in my "edits" (I tend to write-and-delete a lot when writing longer posts), but I was going to mention that any paradox that has already been publicly tested and recorded and widely watched is pretty much off-limits. In other words, if Mythbusters has already busted it, sorry, but it's probably not going to work.
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[Snate56]

Mythbusters has been wrong on so many occasions...




SteveN
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"We've got a blind date with destiny... and it looks like she's ordered the lobster." <The Shoveller>

[steelbrok]

anyone remember GURPS IOU? seems like this would work very well with that setting

[ferret]

[Jordan Peacock]

[Snate56]

I'm thinking filibuster wouldn't work because you can't "talk" until it's your turn, then it wouldn't matter how long you talked because time would start up again when you finished.
Interesting concept, though. Maybe it could be used by a character on hold.



SteveN
_________________
"We've got a blind date with destiny... and it looks like she's ordered the lobster." <The Shoveller>

[Sadric]

Or filibuster is a edge (pre: Persuassion d8+, Spiritd8+)
You could so fast your enemys are stunned. As long as you could talk no one with a actioncard lower then you could attack you.
talking is the only action you could do this round, if you are shaken you cant longer talking.
Next round you and all with a lower card then you are on hold and keep their card.
You have to roleplay about what you talk, and its quit possible that you talk to much (about your secret plan, secrets or anything else)

[ferret]

[Jordan Peacock]

How about something based off of the notion of the "six degrees of Kevin Bacon"? (That is, the idea that "anyone" can trace a connection to Kevin Bacon in six steps in the vein of "My brother's co-worker's acquaintance's hairdresser's next-door-neighbor taught Kevin Bacon in high school," or something like that.)

So basically, the "power" would involve striking up a conversation with the "target," and in a matter of a few minutes of banter, you will just happen to stumble across a common relationship, even if it's pretty tenuous (you both grew up in the same city, both know some crazy funny guy, both are fans of some obscure work of fiction). In game terms, it would amount to an excuse for a Charisma bonus.

As for downsides or limitations (if those aren't already inherent in the use of such "powers"), perhaps the "connection" is imaginary -- a false idea planted into the target's head -- so the impression isn't lasting, and there's the chance of a "Hey, waitaminute!" moment some time later, without warning. (So it's best only to use this with someone you're only likely to spend a few minutes with, and then - one hopes - never see again, because otherwise there's a good chance that this person will feel as if he or she has been tricked once the effect wears off, even if your intentions were harmless.)

Either that, or else the sense of "connection" works both ways; the target is more favorably disposed toward you, but YOU also feel a more positive disposition toward the target, and are at a massive penalty to any action you might take to intentionally harm the target (directly or indirectly). It's a "friend-making power," not a "quick way to swindle strangers."
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[ferret]

That's an interesting idea, Jordan.
Funny story, I know a person who can pretty much do this. Her ability to draw connections with people borders on the uncanny. I'm convinced that I could drop her in the middle of any town in the US and within an hour, not only would she find somebody that knows somebody that she knows, but she'd end up at their house, drinking wine and cooking a fabulous dinner. She's just like that.

Back on track, I imagine the power would do a little more than that. The reason why that game works is because everybody is separated from Kevin Bacon by six degrees or less. Everyone is separated from everyone else by six degrees or less. Imagine that. You know someone who knows someone who knows everyone. I guess the ultimate expression of this ability would be a turn of the whole if A=B and B=C, then A=C, in other words, using this power, you could convince Kevin Bacon that, either you know him personally, or are good friends with someone who does.

I like your ideas for limitations. In addition, I'd add one more. Every time this ability is used, the person loses one 'degree' of separation between them and random people. The effects are exponential. The first time you use the power, a connection is severed between you and one person. It could be your mother, it could be some random person in North Korea. The next time you use it, 2 people are severed, then 4, 8, 16 and so on. Each time, the chances that someone you know and love, someone important to you, suddenly doesn't know you exist.

[Snate56]

Then there's the bad relationships:
"Hey!, Your cousin's lawyer is the guy who sent my innocent brother to the gas chamber!"

So when you use this power, a relationship is always found, the nature of which is determined by the success or failure of the roll.

SteveN
_________________
"We've got a blind date with destiny... and it looks like she's ordered the lobster." <The Shoveller>

[Jordan Peacock]