Basic Action Super Heroes!

Samuraidad wrote:Excellent ideas! Weaken as a defense drain sounds perfect.

I also wonder if the intimidation rules that Bashman created might work also just replacing another effect (enraging instead of scaring). Completely forgot about the intimidation rules. Then again, I really like the idea of making this a power rather than a skill. I'm going to play with and see what I come up with.

Thanks!

BASHMAN wrote:

Samuraidad wrote:Excellent ideas! Weaken as a defense drain sounds perfect.

I also wonder if the intimidation rules that Bashman created might work also just replacing another effect (enraging instead of scaring). Completely forgot about the intimidation rules. Then again, I really like the idea of making this a power rather than a skill. I'm going to play with and see what I come up with.

Thanks!

Yes, that sounds perfectly fine. The effect (a moderate hindrance) would stay the same, but the cause (anger vs. fear) would be different.

BASHMAN wrote:It is something anybody can attempt. In lieu of a Mind roll, if you have an appropriate skill, you can use it instead (but for taunting, I cannot think of what would work (Streetwise maybe?). For tricking someone, Deception would work, though).

Intimidation
Sometimes enemies don’t want to have to harm each other—simply to scare the opponent. When a lion roars at an approaching stranger, or the Thieves’ Guild makes a veiled threat about the safety of a person’s loved ones, they are trying to use intimidation. Typically Intimidation is made in lieu of attacking. Start by rolling a Stat check based on the type of intimidation used—an act of physical intimidation, such as the lion’s roar, is made by rolling Brawn (and adding any size modifiers as with any other Brawn check) or possibly Agility (as in the case of a swordsman showing off a flurry of moves to his opponent). An act of verbal intimidation is made by rolling Mind, or maybe using an appropriate skill—Streetwise, Deception, or Society could all be used for this. The target rolls a Mind check against this intimidation check (or alternatively rolls their own Intimidation ability)—higher number wins, ties go to the Hero. If the target succeeds, it indicates no fear. If the target fails, means the target is scared—and has a -2 Dice penalty to all rolls made against the source of fear. This includes social interaction as well as combat. The state of fear lasts for the rest of that scene.
Note: The Frightening Presence Advantage gives you +2 to your Multiplier to intimidate. Fearless characters are immune to the effects of Intimidation (and have a +2 Dice bonus to intimidate others themselves). Craven characters can be intimidated, but if their cowardice is triggered via damage, intimidation has no additional effect—they are already scared.
Taunts
Taunts work similar to Intimidation, except instead of eliciting fear in your opponent, you can achieve a similar effect by enraging them. Taunts seek to enrage an opponent by mockery, causing them to make mistakes. To taunt an enemy, you’d usually roll Mind against their Mind, or maybe the Streetwise or Society skill would be appropriate, just as you would roll for a verbal intimidation. It is even possible that the Perform skill could be used to taunt an enemy. The effect is nearly the same: a moderate hindrance that lasts for the rest of the scene, except that the hindrance applies to every action the victim takes until they successfully strike or taunt you. After that, the effect ends. Of course, you may choose to taunt the enemy again… Note that some creatures may be immune to verbal taunts (they cannot understand them), but poking them with a stick or some other action would certainly enrage them! In such a case, roll Agility vs. a Mind roll by the creature.
Note: The Berserk disadvantage means that a character who is successfully taunted will have to make a 20 Mind check or go berserk. The Pride disadvantage gives a victim a -2 Dice Penalty to resist a taunt. A character with the Virtuous advantage gets a +2 Multiplier bonus to resist taunts.
Tricks
A trick works by befuddling your opponent through deceit, and functions mechanically similar to a taunt. Tricks can be both physical and mental in nature, so you can roll Agility or Mind depending on the type of trick – but tricks are always resisted with a Mind roll or mental skill. You can also use skills, such as Stealth or, of course, Deception, which can likewise be countered with Deception/Detect Deception. If you successfully trick an opponent, you get a Moderate Benefit (+2 Dice Bonus) to all rolls against them until the end of the next page. An example of a physical trick would be throwing sand in an opponent’s eyes, while a mental trick might be telling them that their shoe is untied.
Note: The Silver Tongue advantage gives you a +2 multiplier bonus to perform verbal tricks. A character with the Shrewd advantage has a +2 multiplier bonus to resist tricks. If the target has the Trusting disadvantage, the person attempting to trick them gets a +2 multiplier bonus.