[UA] Avatar: The Gamer Help

[Niall]

2008/6/6 Eslington ~ <eslington at gmail.com>:

> Mechanically, I like the 1-50% channel the most, and think the 71-90%
> channel is probably overpowered. (Once you've got it, that's an almost
> universal, quite reliable paradigm skill. Goodbye possibility of
> insanity!)


I agree 71-90 is a little powerful. An alternative might be to allow the
avatar to flip-flop any use of a mental skill where the skill is less than
the avatar. This represents the gamers ability to play out scenarios in
their head, thinking 20 moves ahead that sort of thing.

I like the 91%+ channel but its a little too physical in its application.
Also the other channels seems to be quite bookish/knowledge orientated and
this is more video-gamer.

How about

91%+ The Gamer's ability to assess the various elements of a game or
situation enable them to almost perfectly assess the enemy based on limited
information. The Gamer can spend an action to observe his enemy (or the
forces of his enemy) and will gain a good understanding of their power and
limitations (are they an adept, what sort, how many charges, any allies in
hiding) as are relevant to the current situation (so it wouldn't tell you
that your mugger is a member of the Inquisition, but it would tell you that
he is deadly with that knife)

Niall



>
>
> Overall, I think the concept is maybe a little too tounge in cheek, yes.


Its a little too roleplaying orientated. I would rather see it continue to
be focused on wargamers and board gamers,although I think the change of name
from strategist to gamer is a good one (


>
>
> ----
>
> What I think we'd see more often is gamers who end up channeling
> archetypes when they get a little too into their characters.
>
> You know who I mean. The guy who LARPs as Legoland the elf on
> weekends, has his wall covered in aluminium elf-blades, always plays
> the same character at his game meetings ("But Jim, we're playing
> Serenity. There are no elves in space!"), tries to live by "elfish law
> and wisdom" in public and is working on legally changing his name.
>
> That kind of guy, if he chose a role close to an archetype, could
> channel it pretty effectively.
>
> ----
>
> For "The Gamer", I'm thinking there must be some kind of strategist
> archetype (In this modern age, it's probably "The General", since
> leaders riding out to war with their troops is largely outdated.)
> which someone could channel.
>
> I'm thinking there's a guy out there, with the wargaming obsessiveness
> of Parson Gotti (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/erf.html) and a nerdy
> military self-image similar to Arnold Rimmer's (Red Dwarf), who
> accumulates enough symbols and gaming victories* that he's able
> accidentally break the barrier from his subtle 1-50% channel to the
> slightly less ignorable 51-70% channel, despite never having joined
> the army and never having dirrected a real
> guns-death-and-other-unpleasentness battle.
>
> *He even has this little ritual where he plants a tiny homemade flag
> bearing his homemade coat of arms into his opponent's wargaming
> terrain when he wins a game.
> That's still not quite as obnoxious as those chessmaster bastards down
> at the park who knock over your king and stub out their cigarettes in
> the square of your defeat.
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