Re: New to OVA: A Few Questions
Posted: Sat Apr 30, 2016 5:48 pm
Not that OVA is overly concerned about balance, but part of the reason Companion works the way it does is so you can’t create a team of exponentially more powerful characters by taking Companions who have Companions who have Companions *fades off into distance.* By relegating the Ability to sidekick status, you never have to worry about this really egregious abuse of the system. It’s also how most anime tend to work. These companions are either weaker than the protagonists, or they’re relegated to “special attack” status and probably don’t need to be a separate character at all.The Reddest Mage wrote:1) So in summary I think what I'm looking for is a Unique Ability that allows a player character to have someone on equal or even higher standing, such as another player character or a Heroic-type NPC, as a Companion without any of the usual Character Point total limitation rules. Each level wouldn't be based on the total number of Abilities and/or Weaknesses of the Companion, but would instead be a narrative reflection of their general usefulness, loyalty, bond, etc. If it did have a mechanical function though, I'm thinking that the level might either be determined by how many such companions the character has (sort of like Minions, but looser, like "a handful of companions," "a few companions," etc. instead of a specific number), or provide a one-time bonus to a Companion's rolls during a dramatically appropriate moment to assist them (sort of like the Trust Unique Ability that Yuu and his pet monster dog have), and this could be done a number of times per adventure as the level of the owner's Ability.
Any suggestions for this?
But if collecting companions is something that all your PCs are going to do, perhaps instead of including the stats of the monster into the PC’s Abilities (which is going to get messy fast if you’re constantly getting new ones), you should instead give the PCs something like Yuu’s trust Ability, which represents the ability to befriend and command these monsters. The actual strength of the monster is limited by circumstance (You can only get new monsters by beating old monsters and using those monsters on new monsters, etc.) and don’t really need to be included on the PCs’ character sheet.
Does that make sense?
I skipped over prognostication because it’s sort of impossible to pull off well and fairly in the game. There’s a reason it’s usually the wise NPC that sees the future: It gives the GM/author of the story the ability to say WHEN and WHAT is said, and HOW MUCH.2) And totally unrelated, but I was considering the usual psionic powers, and while OVA already covers some of the main ones with Psychic, Sixth Sense, Spirit Medium, and Telekinesis, how would you recommend handling being able to see the future or past, or gain knowledge of the present, and other such forms of divination, as a Unique Ability in OVA? Should each level determine how far into the future or past one could gain information on a successful roll? Should each level determine the Difficulty Number of gaining such information?
When this is given to the PCs, you sort of beg the situation where players check the future every five seconds, and GMs lack the Ability to, you know, see the future themselves, so it makes it difficult.
But if you want to do something like this. I would make it really handwavy and just apply a Unique Ability to it.
I would handle the dream-reading/control EXACTLY like Psychic. Just rename the Ability and use it, rules and all, exactly the same. (Except with the understanding that it influences dreams instead of reality.)2.5) Similarly, what about other psychic abilities like astral travel (leaving the body), or being able to enter into and/or control dreams? How might you suggest handling those two psychic abilities with Unique Ability?
As for astral travel, it strikes me as more a plot device than anything, and I’d be content to handwave it or give it a small point value “Unique Ability."
Yes, your understanding is correct. However, Time Freeze must be activated every round you want to use it. Outside of combat, you can be a little looser about it.3) Just to make sure I understand Time Freeze correctly, if someone had the Time Freeze Ability at the +3 Level, and on their turn they wanted to use Time Freeze and then make two attacks that Round, the Acting Multiple Times rule would normally be -3 penalty due to making three actions in one Round, however since Time Freeze offsets the Acting Multiple Times penalty by the Level of Time Freeze, a +3 Level in Time Freeze would cancel out the -3 penalty for making three actions in one Round. So basically someone with Time Freeze +3 could activate Time Freeze and then attack twice that round without any penalties, is that right?
Does one have to spend an action to activate Time Freeze every time they use it in a combat? Or does one use an action to activate it the first round its used, but then during subsequent rounds it's considered to be still in effect so the user doesn't have to spend an action to use it again? And if Time Freeze should have an Endurance cost, such as from having Perks or from being linked to the Endurance Use Weakness, does the person spend that Endurance each time its used in combat to offset those Multiple Action penalties, or only the first time its activated? In short, how long does the time freeze effect last?
I think considering the offhand is usually not worth doing. Characters can wield two swords, two guns, two pretty much anything and look cool doing it. If you really want to apply a penalty, make it –1, and make Ambidextrous a +1 Unique Ability.4) In OVA, would using ones non-dominant hand (off-hand) incur a penalty modifier, such as when dual wielding with two weapons, or when forced to perform an action with ones other hand? If so, how much? And would being ambidextrous be a Unique Ability, and if so how would you suggest it function?
Your suggestion of “Boss Reserve” would be fine.
With the cover of the night, I sneak my way into forbidden magitech labs & handcraft Babbage Engines powered by lightning elementals from which I answer FAQs not even directed at me! I'm SO AWESOME! 
Uh, yeah, it was my pleasure 
