Re: [BNW] Glory Days Questions

[MKirk2112@aol.com]

In a message dated 9/1/2000 10:52:54 AM Eastern Daylight Time, 
crow_steve@hotmail.com writes:

<< >>*heh* Not sure which type of adventure setting _would_ suit
 >>Translators.  "Hi, my campaign involves you sitting around at HQ
 >>translating and doing development stuff - what package do you want
 >>to take?"  Translator, Gadgeteer, Ace (for those chauffeurs),
 >>and...that's about it.  Very much a package that was
 >>genre-appropriate, but not one any self-respecting PC that wants to
 >>_do_ something would take.
 >
 >I think it ends up being that while they aren't tagged as such, some
 >of the packages will just automatically be NPCs.  I thought that when
 >I first read the Hounds and the Boosters, and even teh Snuffers.  I
 >mean, really, you are playing a superhero game and the power package
 >you pick allows you to make other folks tougher?  Hmm...I think that
 >would get old fast.  For me anyways.  I can see many teams wanting
 >Boosters on their side, but they'd rarely be PCs.  Even given the
 >fact that in BNW your powers are less important to the char concept
 >in many ways than say your skills or background, it still doesn't
 >make some packages PC material.  I even told all my players which
 >ones I would reccomend against b/c of that fact.
 >
 
 I think they have their use as PCs...but it depends on what kind of campaign 
 you're running. If I had, say, a Defiance team that was trying to track down 
 rogue Deltas and find new ones, a Hunter would be fairly useful.
 
 That, and there's nothing that says your Booster can't be doing something 
 after he's "boosted" his fellow Delta.  Like, say, whip out a gun and fire a 
 few AP rounds into that Defender.  :)
 
 Although as you say powers are less important, I know my players (before we 
 folded, and as they have commented since) tend to think of Deltas in 
 super-heroic terms. While it is true that, say, your Joe-Average off the 
 streets could take down most Deltas with a couple of well-placed shots, that 
 also means that your less-powerful PC Deltas can take down a more powerful 
 Delta as well.  Your Hacker, say, can with a decent gun and some AP rounds 
 actually take down a more powerful Delta.  They don't have to just sit 
 around and watch the battles around them.
 
 >I think Glory Days just has too many that seem lower powered.  I
 >admit that I got the book more for tha packages (and for the
 >background info) than the campaign setting, since I don't ever plan
 >to run it in WW2....but there just seem to be few that would work
 >well in the modern day campaign (for a PC).
 >
 
 Once you overlook the location-specific range of packages, I actually 
 thought that the GD packages were in general were _more_ powerful on average 
 than in previous books. There's nothing to rival a Charger or a Bomber or 
 Goliath, but at least most of them have _some_ kind of combat application, 
 as well as other uses as well. Jungler and Dunemaster (and maybe Wereshark) 
 are pretty much useless outside their locale.  That leaves us with 7 
 packages.  Ace is about on a par with other skill-boosters, although a bit 
 less combat-oriented.  Translator is useless.  That leaves us with 5 pretty 
 decent mid-range (or slightly higher) effectiveness Power Packages that 
 would work modern-day.
 
 (Maybe we should work out a numerical 1-10 ranking system for powers so that 
 we can make such comparisons on a book-by-book comparison?  Lets see, with 
 Blaster at 10 and Translator at 1...  ;) )
 
 >I note that no one has addressed my concerns regarding the
 >bookkeeping aspect of the Translator, but in conjunction with other
 >comments, I can't imagine it being a really interesting one to play
 >in a general campaign.  It would have to be one designed around
 >needing a Translator or most of the time he's as useful as the
 >Dunemaster would be in Crescent City.  "Ok, Tongues, you taunt the
 >villian in as many languages as you can, while I blast him!"  One
 >high on espionage might work well, however--for a DP campaign working
 >outside the US, frex.  But even still...
 >
 
 As I noted, I would agree that the Translator seems to be the most 
 NPC-oriented of the Power Packages to date, managing to beat out Hacker.
 
 >Jennifer
 >
 >The White Crow
 
 
 ---
 
 Steve Crow
 
 "Worm Can Opener Extraordinare"
  >>

I just got "Glory Days" a few days ago, but I think the Translator power 
package is one of the most useful there is in that book.  

One reason for that, however, is that the first thing I do is make up new 
Tricks ... I do this for every package, actually.  I have one for the 
Translater package called "Babble" that allows the Translator to alter the 
language that another character speaks and thinks in (requires touch).  If 
the target, for example, cannot understand French and the Translater alters 
the target's language to French with this trick, the target can no longer 
understand her teammates, nor can she even understand herself.  The target 
cannot coordinate actions with her teammates, and she cannot perform any 
action that requires any kind of conscious thought (she can still do 
reflexive or automatic things like dodge blows, keep from running into walls, 
etc.).  Obviously, this trick has tremendous combat implications, a criticism 
given for the package before.

Also, in contemporary campaigns (like the one I run) the Translator could, in 
theory, read computer code with the Codebreaker Trick if you interprete the 
way the Trick is described somewhat losely.  Being able to read code would be 
a HUGE advantage in the information gathering department and could, in some 
situations, negate the need for a Hacker.

Information is power, and I think if a Guide is fairly loose in her 
interpretation of the way this package's powers are defined, the package 
becomes quite useful in combat and noncombat situations.

Also, if the character is a leader type, it allows her to command a very 
diverse group of deltas.  In a contemporary campaign, especially one in which 
the players are playing Delta Primers, this would make the character very 
valuable on international missions.

BTW, nice tricks you made up for the Translator package on your website, 
Steve.

Guide Matt