Question 20

[The Swan Dragon he/him]

One thing I do want to stress is that Phyto, while plant-based, doesn't actually manipulate the growth of plants. If you guys think that that's an important part, I could add to his profile that enhancing a plant also enlarges it or something.

I very intentionally did not make him your standard "grow faster" epic.

[Edgedancer he/him]

16 minutes ago, Weirdpersonx said:

One thing I do want to stress is that Phyto, while plant-based, doesn't actually manipulate the growth of plants. If you guys think that that's an important part, I could add to his profile that enhancing a plant also enlarges it or something.

I very intentionally did not make him your standard "grow faster" epic.

I don't think that'd be necessary. We put down Epoch as the source for accelerated food growth and that should be enough.

[Comatose he/him]

3 hours ago, Edgedancer said:

I do like working in the Reckoners with my original idea, but I'm not sure if making a new faction for it would be worth it. What we could do is say that the Epoch and Orbit used to work for the same High Epic in charge, who got reckonered. So now they have a succession war on who gets to call the shots. Which might also explain why they haven't reached some kind of equibilirium by now.

I think it's important to remember we don't need to RP every faction - there can be some NPC ones up to their own stuff in the background that doesn't have a huge impact on the main plot.  I do agree that the Reckoners are probably more a small team than an actual faction, since they wouldn't have 'followers' really.

6 minutes ago, Weirdpersonx said:

One thing I do want to stress is that Phyto, while plant-based, doesn't actually manipulate the growth of plants. If you guys think that that's an important part, I could add to his profile that enhancing a plant also enlarges it or something.

I very intentionally did not make him your standard "grow faster" epic.

Yeah I think that's good.  This way he's more distinguishable from Cornucopia and that other plant epic in the Dalles whose name I am momentarily blanking on.  

[The Young Pyromancer he/him]

Or one person could control an entire faction that doesn't make many moves.  Maybe the faction would be expanded if it became relevant.

Proposal:

Sector 3:  No one knows who controls sector 3.  This sector is responsible for the running water and electricity in the city, which shouldn't work, considering the time zones.  People live in sector 3, and it has a reasonable policing force, but no one (at least none of you unless you create a character in this sector) knows who runs it.  There has been many speculations about this ruler, and it is speculated that the Epic's weakness is crowds, hence the secrecy.

I would take control of this sector, and they wouldn't do much at first/at all so it doesn't really need to be fleshed out.

Thoughts?

EDIT: Also, like I have said, if you zoom in to the thing that says n/w Edmonton on the map, you will see a place labeled "Steel-Craft".  I don't know what this is, but it's Nicroburst's

Edited June 28, 2018 by The Young Pyromancer

[Voidus]

Didn't we go with not having individual sectors controlled by a faction? I thought it was going to be more of a factions control a small area of space near their HQ but not a whole section of city.

[Ataraxian Wist she/her]

What do you think of another Faction called the Fence that is basically Edmonton's black market, specializing in Epic tech?

I've already got an Epic whose powers beg him to head this up, and its main hub would literally fit inside of an ice cream truck.

[Comatose he/him]

1 hour ago, Voidus said:

Didn't we go with not having individual sectors controlled by a faction? I thought it was going to be more of a factions control a small area of space near their HQ but not a whole section of city.

I agree with this.  I think there should be significant no man’s land.  

[DrakeMarshall he/him]

48 minutes ago, Comatose said:

I agree with this.  I think there should be significant no man’s land.  

I agree with this concept, in general.

Also though, epics whose powers in great part involve the creation of barriers (Knox, Epoch) would almost have to gravitate towards more tightly defined and maintained borders.

 

If we want another faction, maybe a prominent gifter? The ability to mass-produce low-power epics is not to be underestimated (and is also a significant source of cannon fodder... especially if this character is not being written by anyone in particular).

The memory epic (I might start calling them Lethe unless you tell me not to ) could also be a faction, if you were so inclined, although from the current description I get the feel that this isn't really their style.

 

EDIT:

Random concept for the above-described gifter epic. This gifter has something of a twist, but since we only have hard data on Prof's gifting it's hard to say if they all work exactly the same anyway. Hopefully it makes sense.

 

Epic Name: Node

Type: Bioelectricity Epic

Primary: Can create and manipulate their own bioelectricity. Applications: Electrified skin; Pain immunity/supression; Improved reaction times

Secondary: Can gift a half as powerful version of their power to three normals. The twist is, the three gifted can also gift a half as powerful version to three more normals each. This can go on up to a maximum of 3 layers deep, for a total of 39 gifted people with different tiers of power.

Tertiary: Has telepathic connection to the three people they directly gifted. Able to communicate with them at any range, and may choose to see/hear through them.

Edited June 29, 2018 by Drake Marshall

[The Young Pyromancer he/him]

I still like my mystery Epic.  Maybe I can adapt them somehow?

[DrakeMarshall he/him]

I don't see any reason why in principle a mystery epic couldn't work, so go ahead.

Maybe it's an illusion epic? Everybody knows who the local authority is, and they apparently pay maple guards to police the area... But not much is known about their actual powers, nor has anyone really seen them about, because that's how illusion epics work best. The HQ building might have an illusion over it so it looks dilapidated and abandoned despite being an important center of operations.

Edited June 29, 2018 by Drake Marshall

[The Swan Dragon he/him]

If we wanted, I could spin off and rewrite Ironwood to be the NPC gifter. His power would work really well for that.

Edit: Just saw the proposed gifter above, like his idea.

Edited June 29, 2018 by Weirdpersonx

[The Young Pyromancer he/him]

Oh, I know about the Epic   It's just a mystery that you guys have to uncover...

If Edgedancer is to be the GM I will PM him what I know about the Epic.

Edited June 29, 2018 by The Young Pyromancer

[The Swan Dragon he/him]

Welp. Any questions? We're thinking about having one of the factions be primarily a gifter with their canon fodder. They'd be mostly NPC. That sound about right, Drake?

Edited June 29, 2018 by Weirdpersonx

[The Young Pyromancer he/him]

Edgedancer is the maybe GM.

[DrakeMarshall he/him]

Quote

Welp. Any questions? We're thinking about having one of the factions be primarily a gifter with their canon fodder. They'd be mostly NPC. That sound about right, Drake?

Yep, Node and Node's minions would essentially just be there to flesh out the number of factions, and to give people cannon fodder if they want it.

Edited June 29, 2018 by Drake Marshall
added quote

[Ataraxian Wist she/her]

2 hours ago, Drake Marshall said:

I agree with this concept, in general.

Also though, epics whose powers in great part involve the creation of barriers (Knox, Epoch) would almost have to gravitate towards more tightly defined and maintained borders.

 

If we want another faction, maybe a prominent gifter? The ability to mass-produce low-power epics is not to be underestimated (and is also a significant source of cannon fodder... especially if this character is not being written by anyone in particular).

The memory epic (I might start calling them Lethe unless you tell me not to ) could also be a faction, if you were so inclined, although from the current description I get the feel that this isn't really their style.

 

EDIT:

Random concept for the above-described gifter epic. This gifter has something of a twist, but since we only have hard data on Prof's gifting it's hard to say if they all work exactly the same anyway. Hopefully it makes sense.

 

Epic Name: Node

Type: Bioelectricity Epic

Primary: Can create and manipulate their own bioelectricity. Applications: Electrified skin; Pain immunity/supression; Improved reaction times

Secondary: Can gift a half as powerful version of their power to three normals. The twist is, the three gifted can also gift a half as powerful version to three more normals each. This can go on up to a maximum of 3 layers deep, for a total of 39 gifted people with different tiers of power.

Tertiary: Has telepathic connection to the three people they directly gifted. Able to communicate with them at any range, and may choose to see/hear through them.

Olay, so the Epic I was actually thinking about for The Fence is not quite a gifter, because his powers are kind of weird. Here he is:

Spoiler

Epic name: Karabiner.

Epic Nickname: Linker.
 

Real Name: Frederick Ratzenberger.
 

Real Nickname: Fred.
 

General Appearance:
• Gender: Male.
• Age: Thirty.
• Hair: Blonde.
• Skin tone: Pale.
• Height: 5’9”
• (Usual) Clothes: Khakis, button downs, ties, loafers, and sometimes sport coats.
• Build: Stocky.
• Eyes: Blue.
 

Primary Power: Relink: Links manifestations of Epic power (portals, lightning bolts, fireballs, time zones, emotion beacons, etcetera) to physical objects by touching one to the other. This separates that manifestation from its creator, meaning that they can no longer control it in any way without other powers, and can only be done once for each type of power manifestation possible within each power of each Epic. Can undo any link he has created, though this takes contact and concentration.

Secondary Power: .Chainlink: Linked objects cannot be taken from him or moved from where he places them unless he let's them, at which point he loses all power over them.

PAPEL: Is sparking rich from selling simplified Epic weapons that don't even hurt the source Epics. Has a car that uses a link to one of Funhouse’s (a spatial manipulator) spatial expansion bubbles, effectively making things inside smaller. He lives in it and stores his unsold goods there.

MO: Will kill you with his creations if he feels like it, but would generally rather sell you something for more than it’s worth. Which is a lot, for many of his goods. Loves power, especially the social and financial types, and uses his abilities to gain both.

Brief Backstory: Has been traveling the road circling Edmonton for six years, running the city’s Epic tech market by the name of Edmonton Picket. His origins are unknown, but he has obvious German heritage.

Extended Backstory: Pending.

Weakness: Frisbees with slogans on them.

Faction: The Fence (his trade empire, filled with minor Epics and Link powered Maples), formally known as Edmonton Picket.
Location: Precise location varies. His car houses the entire faction, and drives clockwise or counter-clockwise on an unknown schedule along the street that circles Edmonton.
 

He basically makes Epic tech, with a twist.

EDIT: But they could totally co-manage it, and Node's lackeys would make excellent security, among other things.

Edited June 29, 2018 by Sazedezas

[Comatose he/him]

3 hours ago, Drake Marshall said:

I agree with this concept, in general.

Also though, epics whose powers in great part involve the creation of barriers (Knox, Epoch) would almost have to gravitate towards more tightly defined and maintained borders.

I'm totally fine with some epics having set borders, I just don't think the whole city should be divided out like that.

3 hours ago, Drake Marshall said:

The memory epic (I might start calling them Lethe unless you tell me not to ) could also be a faction, if you were so inclined, although from the current description I get the feel that this isn't really their style.

Lethe it is then  I like it!

3 hours ago, Drake Marshall said:

If we want another faction, maybe a prominent gifter? The ability to mass-produce low-power epics is not to be underestimated (and is also a significant source of cannon fodder... especially if this character is not being written by anyone in particular).

[. . .]

EDIT:

Random concept for the above-described gifter epic. This gifter has something of a twist, but since we only have hard data on Prof's gifting it's hard to say if they all work exactly the same anyway. Hopefully it makes sense.

 

Epic Name: Node

Type: Bioelectricity Epic

Primary: Can create and manipulate their own bioelectricity. Applications: Electrified skin; Pain immunity/supression; Improved reaction times

Secondary: Can gift a half as powerful version of their power to three normals. The twist is, the three gifted can also gift a half as powerful version to three more normals each. This can go on up to a maximum of 3 layers deep, for a total of 39 gifted people with different tiers of power.

Tertiary: Has telepathic connection to the three people they directly gifted. Able to communicate with them at any range, and may choose to see/hear through them.

I think that gifting does work the same way every time?  Didn't we get some confirmation of that in Calamity?

Here's a WOB that kind of goes along those lines:

Quote

Dancingedge

Is gifting/power transference to normal people with Epics an all or nothing deal or could there be an Epic that can gift one ability but has another power he can't gift? And while on topic of quirks in Epic powers, how much do emotions play into them? We have some examples like Steelheart were strong emotions can cause the power to run amok, is there more of aguideline to this or just a quirk of some powers?

Brandon Sanderson

All powers can be gifted if any can. Gifting is a power that modifies other powers. Controlling the powers during times of great emotion is generally more difficult, but this has more to do with human nature than the powers.

Phantine

So gifters can gift gifting?

Brandon Sanderson

No, I'm afraid. That's a separate power.

source

So gifting is a distinct power, and when you have it, you can gift any of your other powers.  I also remember after Calamity came out I had to retcon Euphoria for sure, and maybe some others because of what we learned about gifting.  

If we look at intangibility, for example, in Steelheart David says all intangibles can fly - in that way at least, the power works more or less the same for all intangibles.  

I also think we need to remember there aren't that many unique powers in the Reckonersverse, so chances are much higher that someone would have generic gifting than a unique alternative.  

I do really like the idea of a gifter leading a faction (kind of like how Conflux was perceived, rather than his reality).  

3 hours ago, Drake Marshall said:

I don't see any reason why in principle a mystery epic couldn't work, so go ahead.

Maybe it's an illusion epic? Everybody knows who the local authority is, and they apparently pay maple guards to police the area... But not much is known about their actual powers, nor has anyone really seen them about, because that's how illusion epics work best. The HQ building might have an illusion over it so it looks dilapidated and abandoned despite being an important center of operations.

I also love illusion epics :).  We've had a significant one in Altermind already, so it would be important to change things up to distinguish, but illusions are fun.  

 

[Voidus]

6 minutes ago, Comatose said:

I'm totally fine with some epics having set borders, I just don't think the whole city should be divided out like that.

Lethe it is then  I like it!

I think that gifting does work the same way every time?  Didn't we get some confirmation of that in Calamity?

Here's a WOB that kind of goes along those lines:

So gifting is a distinct power, and when you have it, you can gift any of your other powers.  I also remember after Calamity came out I had to retcon Euphoria for sure, and maybe some others because of what we learned about gifting.  

If we look at intangibility, for example, in Steelheart David says all intangibles can fly - in that way at least, the power works more or less the same for all intangibles.  

I also think we need to remember there aren't that many unique powers in the Reckonersverse, so chances are much higher that someone would have generic gifting than a unique alternative.  

I do really like the idea of a gifter leading a faction (kind of like how Conflux was perceived, rather than his reality).  

I also love illusion epics :).  We've had a significant one in Altermind already, so it would be important to change things up to distinguish, but illusions are fun.  

 

While I do agree that gifting is probably a pretty generic case, and the way Brandon phrased it almost sounded like Gifting comes from something else completely. But other powers do almost universally have some distinction from the generic case, it's one of the things that made David suspect Firefight being an illusionist, that he was too generic of a fire Epic.

[Comatose he/him]

 

 

Quote

Mailliw73

How many Epics have "unique" powers like Firefight or Mitosis?

Brandon Sanderson

Less than 10% are both unique and useful.

Mailliw73

What about unique and useless?

Brandon Sanderson

Happens fairly often.

Mailliw73

So, a power to, say, conjure Big Macs out of their pocket wouldn't be too crazy?

Brandon Sanderson

No. That's actually well within reason.

And actually quite powerful if you don't put a limit on concurrent mass created or speed of creation.

[. . .]

winter_cloud

What are some of the more common powers, then?

Brandon Sanderson

I based this off of comic books, so I assumed classic comic book superhero powers--various forms of flight, invulnerability, control over various types of matter, energy blasts--are common enough to have "standard powersets" for research purposes. Basically, this means that people like David and the loreists can make references that readers with a familiarity with comics can understand.

[. . .]

source

This is the WOB I was going off of (which was basically a jump on for information for this RP).  I guess I was getting caught up on the "unique and useful" bit, and that "common powers" were the ones we know from media.  I guess though you are correct that there is a distinction between "unique powers" and generic powers with a twist.  

(sorry for editing out your part of the question Voidus - it just wasn't on point for these purposes, but it was very good  )

[DrakeMarshall he/him]

1 hour ago, Sazedezas said:

Olay, so the Epic I was actually thinking about for The Fence is not quite a gifter, because his powers are kind of weird. Here he is:

  Reveal hidden contents

Epic name: Karabiner.

Epic Nickname: Linker.
 

Real Name: Frederick Ratzenberger.
 

Real Nickname: Fred.
 

General Appearance:
• Gender: Male.
• Age: Thirty.
• Hair: Blonde.
• Skin tone: Pale.
• Height: 5’9”
• (Usual) Clothes: Khakis, button downs, ties, loafers, and sometimes sport coats.
• Build: Stocky.
• Eyes: Blue.
 

Primary Power: Relink: Links manifestations of Epic power (portals, lightning bolts, fireballs, time zones, emotion beacons, etcetera) to physical objects by touching one to the other. This separates that manifestation from its creator, meaning that they can no longer control it in any way without other powers, and can only be done once for each type of power manifestation possible within each power of each Epic. Can undo any link he has created, though this takes contact and concentration.

Secondary Power: .Chainlink: Linked objects cannot be taken from him or moved from where he places them unless he let's them, at which point he loses all power over them.

PAPEL: Is sparking rich from selling simplified Epic weapons that don't even hurt the source Epics. Has a car that uses a link to one of Funhouse’s (a spatial manipulator) spatial expansion bubbles, effectively making things inside smaller. He lives in it and stores his unsold goods there.

MO: Will kill you with his creations if he feels like it, but would generally rather sell you something for more than it’s worth. Which is a lot, for many of his goods. Loves power, especially the social and financial types, and uses his abilities to gain both.

Brief Backstory: Has been traveling the road circling Edmonton for six years, running the city’s Epic tech market by the name of Edmonton Picket. His origins are unknown, but he has obvious German heritage.

Extended Backstory: Pending.

Weakness: Frisbees with slogans on them.

Faction: The Fence (his trade empire, filled with minor Epics and Link powered Maples), formally known as Edmonton Picket.
Location: Precise location varies. His car houses the entire faction, and drives clockwise or counter-clockwise on an unknown schedule along the street that circles Edmonton.
 

He basically makes Epic tech, with a twist.

EDIT: But they could totally co-manage it, and Node's lackeys would make excellent security, among other things.

I wasn't meaning to imply the Node thing would replace what you were talking about with the Fence (I was just trying to create an NPC faction as filler, although it's possible that Node is on the weak side for holding a significant territory idk). But if you think Node would work well as part of the Fence feel free 

2 minutes ago, Comatose said:

I'm totally fine with some epics having set borders, I just don't think the whole city should be divided out like that.

Agreed. Even Epoch's borders are a little informal; they are more defense fixtures than political boundaries.

Quote

Lethe it is then  I like it!

I thought it was fitting  Not only does the river Lethe erase memories, it specifically claims the memories of the dead.

Quote

I think that gifting does work the same way every time?  Didn't we get some confirmation of that in Calamity?

Here's a WOB that kind of goes along those lines:

So gifting is a distinct power, and when you have it, you can gift any of your other powers.  I also remember after Calamity came out I had to retcon Euphoria for sure, and maybe some others because of what we learned about gifting.  

If we look at intangibility, for example, in Steelheart David says all intangibles can fly - in that way at least, the power works more or less the same for all intangibles.  

I also think we need to remember there aren't that many unique powers in the Reckonersverse, so chances are much higher that someone would have generic gifting than a unique alternative.

I do really like the idea of a gifter leading a faction (kind of like how Conflux was perceived, rather than his reality).

Hmm... Noted. I have another gifter epic profile named Archetype that also has a slightly nonstandard gifting power, but if necessary, I could probably delineate that into two seperate abilities.

Quote

I also love illusion epics :).  We've had a significant one in Altermind already, so it would be important to change things up to distinguish, but illusions are fun.  

Hmmm... I should read the Altermind one. Were the illusions optical-based or mental-based? That would be a decent starting point for how to distinguish them, maybe?

[Comatose he/him]

Altermind was mental/hallucination based illusions, so you are correct that writing an optical illusionist would be a good start.  

[DrakeMarshall he/him]

What if... There was a faction lead by an optical illusionist gifter 

Edit: Now I kind of want to write that, but describing it from the perspective of a vanilla who joins the group.

Edited June 29, 2018 by Drake Marshall

[Edgedancer he/him]

2 hours ago, Comatose said:

 

 

This is the WOB I was going off of (which was basically a jump on for information for this RP).  I guess I was getting caught up on the "unique and useful" bit, and that "common powers" were the ones we know from media.  I guess though you are correct that there is a distinction between "unique powers" and generic powers with a twist.  

(sorry for editing out your part of the question Voidus - it just wasn't on point for these purposes, but it was very good  )

Okay, short on time, so just quickly dropping in on this topic. For gifting, it seems safe to assume that it works effectively the same between Epics. The generic vs unique angle I take with a bit of a grain of salt though. Mostly because of what we'de been shown on screen. Besides some really minor Epics, everything we see is fairly distinct. Flying Epic? Only for intangibels, otherwise they actually control wind or surf on forcefields. Elemental manipulators? Either city wide scale or get a bunch of neat little tricks like forcefields and turning into their element for fast travel. (Unless you count the too generic to exsist Firefight actually being a thing in the other world.) Illusionists? Actually portals in another reality. Invulnerability? One or two cases of actual impenetrable skin, otherwise you get things like danger sense teleportation and live model decoys.

We can argue if all that stuff counts as "unique" powers or generic powers accomplished by unusual means but over all I don't think we need to be too worried about keeping powers "generic" besides the few rules the setting has.

[Voidus]

So it's been a long time since these words were last said but...
 

Spoiler

I made a pony of my Epic

 

[Edgedancer he/him]

1 hour ago, Voidus said:

So it's been a long time since these words were last said but...
 

  Reveal hidden contents

I made a pony of my Epic

 

...maybe I should make new Epics just for the Pony.