Handicap (Action)

Heroic Action Role-Play

This is a Method for using Powers in Action. Methods are a part of Traditions and define how Powers are used in each campaign.

Handicap

Blind seers and lame but magically powerful smiths are a staple of legends. This is also something the GM can impose temporarily on players, due to damage or other complications of limited duration. Perhament handicaps should be left for the player to decide.

You have some physical handicap that is tied to your power. Perhaps you developed your power to make up for the handicap, or it is a side effect of having acquired the power. You can even have several handicaps if you like. Some examples:

• Blind - Still has a general awareness of moving creatures within Mind meters.
• Deaf - You cannot hear spoken conversation and are easily surprised. The perception element of all your skills are equal to your Mind, but you can use the perception element normally with actions, including as an active defense.
• Lame - Prevent movement as a part of normal basic actions. On a full move action, you can take a normal move instead of a full move
• Crippled arms prevent most physical manipulation and the use of weapons and implements.
• Mute - Prevents mundane speech. Make sure to enforce this strictly.
• Albino - Highly sensitive to sunlight, imposing visual penalties and causing Hits with extended exposure. Looks spooky.

Limitation

The handicap does not limit your power, instead the handicap itself is limiting. Your powers develop at the price of your physical prowess.

Focus Condition

Focus

Whenever your handicap causes you acute problems, actual penalties, setbacks, or damage, you can focus. Willfully provoking your handicap does work, but the situation must actually cause you some penalty or discomfort. Using powers to overcome your handicap prevents you from using it to focus, but often powers will only negate part of the handicap, in which case you can still use the remainder to focus.

Brian is lame, but has the magical ability to hover. He needs to kick a fallen branch out of the way to clear a path for his friends. Since he cannot, he can focus, despite that Hover negates most of the penalties of being lame.