Creating FX
From D20advanced
The components in this chapter allow you to create a tremendous range of FX. This section looks at a few guidelines to keep in mind when coming up with new FX for your d20A game.
Contents |
FX Creation Checklist
Whether you’re the Gamemaster creating a new FX for your d20A game, or you’re approving a player-designed FX, consider the following items:
- Theme: First, is the theme of the FX appropriate for the setting? A FX like Radiation Control might be just fine in a post-nuclear era setting, but not necessarily in campaigns set before the atom was split, much less a medieval fantasy world! Does the FX’s theme overwhelm those of other FX? An “Energy Control” FX that combines everything every “Control” FX in this book can do is a bit over-effective for a player character trait, for example. Encourage players to choose appropriate themes for their characters' FX and stick with them.
- Source: Make sure the FX’s source fits the setting. Decide in advance whether or not certain FX sources are available, limited solely to NPCs, or banned altogether. So, if magic isn’t a viable source in your campaign, make sure the players know this up-front before they start designing magicians, spirits, or enchanted golem heroes. Likewise, make sure the FX’s source suits its theme and effects and vice versa. See the following section, Available Power Sources, for details.
- Structure: Consider the FX’s structure: most FX have a standard structure of one or more basic effects, but some FX call for something more involved like an Array, Container, or Variable structure. If a different structure suits the FX, consider what effects it should include. Try to limit the use of Container and Variable structures solely to FX that really call for them and carefully scrutinize player-designed FX using them. Ask yourself: does the FX really need this structure, or is it just a means of making the FX more effective in the game for less cost?
- FX: What effects should the FX include? While most FX only have one or two effects, other structures call for more, perhaps many more. Arrays can have a list of suitable Alternate FX, Containers a list of suitable effects they may contain, and Variables lists of effects to which they can apply their points. Keep in mind to always limit Variable structures to a particular range of effects rather than any effect (or any random group of effects a player happens to want). Effects should suit the theme and source of the FX. Also consider what effects the FX can include, if you’ve chosen to limit access to some FX, or ban them altogether, in your game.
- Modifiers: Look at the FX’s modifiers—both extras and flaws—as well as any FX feats and drawbacks (either applied or potential). Make sure modifiers are applied correctly to all of a FX’s effects according to the guidelines for its structure. Beware of the application of “spurious” flaws intended solely to lower a FX’s cost without really reducing its capabilities, and of frivolous extras applied solely for an in-game advantage or to use up “free” character points available to an Alternate FX, whether the extra is appropriate or not.
- Influence: Lastly, consider the FX’s influence on your game. Is it potentially problematic? Will it require special countermeasures or capabilities on the parts of NPCs to deal with it? Does it have too great a scope for the setting you have in mind? For example, if you’re planning to restrict your campaign to Earth, never venturing out into space, then interplanetary ranges are too big, effects like Space Travel are effectively worthless, and you’re better off telling your players not to create FX with them. If a FX looks likely to have an unwanted influence on your game, scale it back, working with the player to do so, if necessary.
Available Sources
What sources are available for FX, both in the setting, and to the characters? You can have a single source, multiple sources, or any of the sources given in this book (and perhaps others of your own creation). Each approach has its pros and cons.
Available sources influence the availability of various FX, and their improvement, in a campaign.
One Source
A single source lends a degree of predictability to the nature of FX in the setting. It doesn’t mean all FX are the same, just that they derive from the same source. It also doesn’t mean everyone has the same origin or acquires FX the same way, but their FX are similar on a fundamental level.
One immediate effect of having one source is it becomes easier to counter or nullify FX. Any countermeasures associated with source descriptor work on all FX in the setting. For example, if the setting’s only source is magical, then nobody’s FX work in a Nullify Magic area, magical counter-spells affect everyone’s FX equally. Similar things occur in other settings where FX all come from one source.
This has advantages and disadvantages; you can more easily set up countermeasures against others’ FX, but they can more easily counter yours as well. Since countermeasures for other sources may be limited in such a setting, anyone with another source–such as a psionic in a setting where all other FX are magical–has a significant advantage (and may need to have one or more ranks of the Benefit feat, at the GM’s discretion).
One source for FX may also limit the availability of things like origins and FX, depending on the source. For example, psionic FX tend to be very broad, but if divine is the only source, then the availability of FX is entirely dictated by the gods, and certain FX may be restricted to certain divine patrons depending on their portfolios.
One source settings are the most consistent, if not the most realistic, simply because FX all have a single, consistent source. Therefore, one source tends to be best for more realistic settings.
Multiple Sources
Multiple sources may co-exist in the same setting. This can be anywhere from two (possibly opposed) sources to as many as all of them.
Multiple sources allow for more variety in terms of FX and origins, but also require more in terms of planning, preparation, and overall effects on the setting. For example, if anti-magical defenses have no effect on the divine FX wielded by the gods’ champions, or the psionic FX of a race of mysterious psychics, then it is difficult to create a complete defense against all FX. Likewise, no source has a “monopoly” in the setting: if the magically gifted become a problem, the divinely empowered can help keep them in line (and vice versa).
FX of different sources can oppose one another to a degree, just not directly. So the magically empowered are not helpless against psionics, who are not helpless against those wielding mutant FX, and so forth.
While multiple sources allow for variety in character creation, you should consider the possibility of individuals wielding more than one type of FX. Can someone have both magical and mutant FX, for example? Are divine and psionic FX compatible?
If the GM decides certain sources are mutually exclusive, this does not count as a flaw or drawback; it is merely a feature of the setting. The assumption is the character simply trades access to one power source for another.
Any Source
Finally, some settings allow FX from any source. Comic book settings in particular tend to allow virtually any source, and individuals may even have more than one. For example, a psionic mutant may have cybernetic implants and use sorcery, or an alien chosen as a champion by divine cosmic forces may wield certain elemental FX.
The primary challenge of any source settings is their unpredictability. With all the power sources in play, it becomes almost impossible to plan and prepare for them all. Only the highest level of Nullify has the ability to counter or overcome any other FX; most other countermeasures are only partially effective.
Any source settings also tend to be the least realistic by definition, but they are the most similar to four-color comics. After all, they are worlds where cosmic, divine, magical, psionic, and super-science abilities all coexist! Still, the four-color comics aren’t particularly noted for their realism, so this may not be an issue for some groups playing in this genre.
From FX to Cause
The most commonly heard question about new FX in d20 Advanced starts off with, “How do I...” and ends with every- thing from, “...create an indestructible magical throwing weapon” to “...make a character who can do anything he can imagine?” The answer to those (and many other) questions about creating FX depends on the ability to go from the FX’s effects (what it does) to its cause (what the FX is or is called).
As you can see in this chapter, FX in d20 Advanced are “effects-based,” that is, the game system deals with what the FX actually does, the effect that it has, and leaves the details of what it looks like, what it’s called, and where it comes from to descriptors, which can vary from one FX to another. It’s how d20A can encompass the near-limitless range of amazing abilities in a single set of rules: a great many diverse FX actually have very similar effects. The FX to magnetically move metals isn’t actually all that different from the FX to mystically move stone, or to telekinetically move objects; it’s all moving things, the differences are largely in how they’re described and what (if anything) they’re limited to moving. All of the previous FX are based on the Move Object FX, even though they are different and distinct traits.
So the first step in creating a new FX in the game is asking yourself: What does this FX do? In some cases, it will be fairly obvious, in others, it may be somewhat complicated, and may involve a list of many different things the FX can do (which may suggest a FX structure like an Array).
PC vs. NPC FX
Not all FX are created equal. In fact, some FX can be quite problematic simply because they are extremely useful in overcoming certain challenges, challenges you as Gamemaster might want to put in the characters' path!
Some FX in fictional sources sometimes don’t translate well to a roleplaying game because characters in a comic, novel, or film always do exactly what the writer wants, never using their FX to circumvent an interesting scene. Characters in RPGs, on the other hand, virtually always use their FX in the most efficient manner possible, which can cause real headaches for the GM, who doesn’t have the same creative control as an author.
While GM Fiat is one means of dealing with this it is sometimes not enough. You may wish to restrict access to certain problematic FX to non-player characters, banning them for the players’ characters. While this may not seem fair on the face of it, non-player characters already have an “advantage” in that they can have whatever capabilities are required for the story, up to and including plot devices, which are already reserved only for them. The idea is to keep the characters on a relatively even playing field and ensure there are sufficient challenges for them.
For example, you might decide that Precognition is just too potentially problematic to allow any player character hero to have it. So you decide to restrict it solely to NPCs. This means you can have a precognitive supporting character show up from time to time to offer the character cryptic hints about the future, but you control exactly what information they receive and can always have the NPC precog mutter something about how the timelines are unusually muddled or the like whenever you prefer to keep certain information out of the characters’ hands.
It’s up to the GM whether or not there is an in-game reason why such FX are prohibited. It can be as simple as saying “these effects or FX are unavailable to player characters,” but some may prefer to have another reason behind it. Perhaps certain effects are connected to certain origins or sources unavailable to PCs. For example, Mind Control is an FX granted only by certain evil supernatural being, but not their good counterparts (who provide the Healing FX the evil ones cannot). Maybe some FX require (or cause) particular drawbacks, discouraging players from taking them. The optional Taint rules are a useful tool in making certain effects less attractive.
The same guideline goes for FX modifiers, feats, drawbacks, and even FX structures. If any of these are too much of a hassle to deal with you can ban them from your game entirely or just limit them to non-player characters. The GM may choose to restrict some extras to NPCs, or require the PCs to labor under certain flaws NPCs do not have.
A middle ground between allowing all effects and restricting some to NPCs is to require the Uncontrolled flaw on certain problematic FX, placing them under the GM’s control. This ensures they remain under control while still being available to players who want them (and at a discount, since they aren’t getting the effect’s full utility). In the previous example, the GM may decide Precognition is just fine for PCs, so long as it is Uncontrolled and the GM decides when and how the character receives precognitive visions.
Give some thought to what traits may be restricted in your game well in advance. With options like FX stunts and variable FX structures, d20 Advanced charactes all have a potentially wide range of FX. Even if it isn’t on a charcter's sheet, that doesn’t mean the player won’t give it a try eventually! If the ground rules are clearly established from the beginning, there’s likely to be less disagreement when the situation arises in play.
Buffing FX
One type of FX the d20A power level system can only cover to a degree is the “buffing” FX, that is, a FX that augments or improves the traits of another character. These FX can be problematic in play and the GM should give special attention to them. Examples of buffing FX include Boost, along with many effects with the Affects Others extra, allowing characters to “lend” FX to their allies.
The problem with buffing FX is twofold: first, they can easily exceed the power level limits of the campaign. For example, a character with Strength 0 and Boost Strength 5 is no problem in a power level 10 game: the character's maximum Strength is 10, which is right at the campaign limit. However, when the character uses the same Boost FX on a teammate with Str 13 (thanks to a trade-off), you get a character with a 23 Strength! The same is true for effects like an Affects Others Enhanced Toughness "Force Field"", which, stacked on top of an ally’s already high Toughness, can make him nigh-invulnerable, especially if both defenses are Impervious.
The problem is compounded when players create “buffing” characters or use tactics where one or more character exist primarily to enhance the traits of their teammates while remaining out of harm’s way and letting their boosted allies do the heavy lifting. If all Force Field Lass does is grant her teammates huge Toughness bonuses and make Expertise checks to concentrate to maintain them, letting the other characters roll right over the opposition, there’s a problem.
Strict Power Level
One solution to the problem of buffing FX improving characters beyond the power level limits is to strictly enforce the limits in play: so while Force Field Lass’ FX may grant her a +10 Impervious Toughness bonus, it does nothing for her teammate Rock-Man, who is already at the campaign’s power level limit for Toughness. While this sometimes makes sense, it often does not—why shouldn’t one character’s super-weapon do the same damage in someone else’s hands, after all? While it may enforce game-balance, it won’t necessarily do anything for the players’ suspension of disbelief.
Unlimited FX Buffing
Alternately, you can ignore the power level limits for situational bonuses like these, applying them as best suits the situation. This allows buffing FX to work as they should: improving traits equally across the board. However, it generally requires an agreement between the GM and the players not to abuse the privilege by creating buffing characters focused solely on boosting their teammates or relying too heavily on trait-boosting tactics, which may require players to forgo some obvious avenues of success in favor of sticking with the spirit of the game.
FX Buffing Premium
An option in between strict enforcement of the power level limits and free use of buffing effects is to require the expenditure of a hero die for a buffing FX to improve a trait beyond the campaign’s power level limits. This allows for the occasional “FX buff” to reach truly impressive levels, but applies a premium to the cost so players can’t rely on them too heavily or use them too often.
Limited FX Buffing
Another option between strict enforcement and unlimited buffing is to allowing buffing FX to improve traits past the power level limit, but to reduce their effectiveness when doing so. For example, a buffing FX can improve traits up to the campaign’s power level limits as normal, but past that limit applies only half its usual benefit. So, for example, a character at the PL limit receiving a Boost to that trait gains only half the usual increase because the trait goes over the limit.
You can extend this idea to “pro-rate” a FX buff in relation to the power level limit, such as: over the limit is half effect, more than 150% of the limit is one-quarter effect, and 200% of the limit is the maximum, with no further effect beyond that. This helps keep buffing FX under control but is a bit more complex as the effect will vary from subject to subject and require some calculation on the fly to figure out.
