Scan and Sense X

[Baelor]

Hey,

My Daughter is taking a stab at GMing for the first time and she has chosen BASH to get her GMing feet wet! We were working out characters, using a random power generator that I had made earlier and we started talking about the differences between Scan and Sense X.

This sort of power is one of my favourites in comics for a lot of reasons, but I have to confess, I find I had trouble nailing down what the distinctions are between the two for my daughter and the other player.

I would love to hear about how people are using these in play.

I would also appreciate hearing specifically from BASHMAN about what his design philosophy was for the two powers.

Thanks

Baelor

[Dragonfly]

Hi Baelor!

Cool story about your daughter GMing!

Anyway, I asked a question about Sense X and Scan a few weeks back. From what I gather, the best way to understand Scan is like a Tri-Corder in Star Trek (or Starship Sensors, for that matter). It allows you to detect and analyze a wide range of things. It's also pretty precise. ("I'm picking up dilithium crystals, 15 meters to the west, 3 meters under ground. Scanning for life forms, there are three, all klingon, converging on that site. At the current pace, they'll be there in 10 minutes. We'd better hurry!")

Sense X is restricted to a single substance (magic, gold, mutants) and is more vague. You might sense the presence of something, and a general direction, but you don't know precisely where until you start to get closer. At that point it becomes more defined, but Sense X never has the analytical capabilities of Scan. ("I sense dilithium ... this way. Follow me.")

I hope this helps.

Best,

Dragonfly

[Baelor]

Cool, thanks, Dragonfly. That clears things up wonderfully.

[MrJupiter]

Hi Baelor!

Cool story about your daughter GMing!

Anyway, I asked a question about Sense X and Scan a few weeks back. From what I gather, the best way to understand Scan is like a Tri-Corder in Star Trek (or Starship Sensors, for that matter). It allows you to detect and analyze a wide range of things. It's also pretty precise. ("I'm picking up dilithium crystals, 15 meters to the west, 3 meters under ground. Scanning for life forms, there are three, all klingon, converging on that site. At the current pace, they'll be there in 10 minutes. We'd better hurry!")

Sense X is restricted to a single substance (magic, gold, mutants) and is more vague. You might sense the presence of something, and a general direction, but you don't know precisely where until you start to get closer. At that point it becomes more defined, but Sense X never has the analytical capabilities of Scan. ("I sense dilithium ... this way. Follow me.")

I hope this helps.

Best,

Dragonfly

Very well explained!

[BASHMAN]

Another important distinction is that Scan has to be actively used, while Sense X will work passively. Elves have "Sense X (Secret Doors)" in D&D for instance "My Elf-Senses are Tingling!... There's a secret door over there".

If "X" is around, you'll know it. If you have Scan, you won't know X is around unless you are actively searching for it.