Tuesday, January 8, 2008

Paranoiac's Positioning - Wits Knack

The following Scion Knack was, of course, inspired by the description of first rank in Warfare in the Amber Diceless RPG.

Paranoiac's Positioning - Wits Knack - Prerequisite: Opening Gambit

To say you're just a touch paranoid would be an understatement - though you like to think of yourself as merely prudent. You expect ambush at all times, and constantly reposition yourself to prepare for it. You never sit with your back to a window or door, and constantly occupy the most readily-defensible part of the room unless forced to abandon it.

At the start of every battle (even before you act) you are assumed to be in the highest degree of cover logically possible, on the highest ground that wouldn't create social distress, with your back to a wall, if at all possible. As such, you typically get +2 to your DV, and are immune to higher ground penalties from non-flying foes. The number of people who can attack you at once in close combat is reduced by one. Effectively, treat this knack as if the player were constantly saying "I use my Epic Wits to find the most defensive location in the room. Then I stand over there." If the locale involves some feature that could give better defensive benefits, the GM should point them out and offer them to the PC.

These conditions last until someone forcibly repositions you, or you clearly and intentionally move to a lesser position. Actions taken that might possibly result in the preservation of these bonuses are assumed to automatically do so. The GM is required to explicitly notify you before you commit any action that would reduce or negate these bonuses. Should he or she forget to mention such, they must either let you retract the action, or claim the bonuses (at least until your next action) anyway. The ST cannot remove your Cover bonus unless you are standing on a featureless empty lot - if there's any terrain around at all, you'll keep it between you and the enemy.

This knack assumes you have full access to your senses and locomotive powers. Should you be blinded, restrained, or Inactive, you are at the mercy of the GM's common sense.

1 comment:

rbbergstrom said...

Made minor revisions - just spelled out more clearly that one aspect of the Knack is that it saves the group from the annoyance of some player constantly asking "What's the most defensible part of the room?" and then moving there. Instead, it's assumed they are already in the best spot, and that best spot is high ground, with at least partial cover, and minimal approach routes for badguys seeking to gang up.