Offcial Errata and Interpretations

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Greetings All.  This thread is going to serve as the point where we will place official errata and interpretations, regarding various rules issues you've brought to the GM staff, or that we've noticed ourselves.  There will be printed copies available for review at future events.  If you have any questions/concerns/comments, please direct them to me at "ascombatgm@gmail.com".

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Investigation, Enhanced Investigation and Counter Intelligence:

Counter Intelligence will do the FOLLOWING:

-When against the skill "Investigation" or item based analogs, it will block any information retrieval.  The subject of the investigation will also know, with IC force, that someone is looking into them, but they will not know who.
-When facing the genuine Fleming Skill "Enhanced Investigation", the subject must provide both sides of their CC for data mining.  The subject also knows NOTHING IC'ly.
-When facing an Item based analog of "Enhanced Investigation", the subject must provide both sides of their CC for data mining.  However, the subject is aware of the observation, though they do NOT know who is conducting it.

Explanation: CI is a generic skill.  Enhanced Investigation is a special, house granted, skill.  Items have been known to manifest similar qualities to House Skills, but usually they tend to be slightly "cheaper" quality.  Flemings have been at the spying game since the word go.  To them resistance is, and should be, futile, save the pricey option of a Lord ability.

Tangentially, Items, save very unique items granted by the Senior System GM's, should never ever be substitutions for Lord abilities.  If we allow them to be, it would take one intelligent and dedicated item creator to circumvent the entirety of the rule book and create items to serve as analogs for all the nifty and special house skills in the book.

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Mental Order of Operations

Here's how it works:

-Posession trumps Mesmerize, as the Posessor is taking over the whole of actions
-Mesmerize trumps all skill based mental manipulation, Enhanced or Regular
-When it comes to comparing skills, All commands work in a "Last in, First out stack".

IE: Avatar A hypnotizes Avatar B.  A controls B for 15 minutes, and may continually issue commands.  If B is coerced/suggested by an Avatar C, they must ATTEMPT to carry out the premise of the Coercion or Suggestion to the best of their ability.  Avatar A never loses control for their 15 minutes, however.  If they wish to countermand a coercion they may do so, at the cost of their action to reassert control, and avatar B loses their action.  If they wish to countermand a Suggestion they may do so at no cost to themselves, but B still loses their action.

If C tries to Hypnosis B, it becomes a contest of the value of the original hypnosis, versus the new attempt.

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The Nature of Shadow Form, Infravision, Detect Invisibility, and their interactions with other skill/items/powers

"Shadow Form" is "Shadow" in name only.  It is of a (X), or spiritual, nature.  When in Shadow Form, the avatar is maintaining an advanced form of invisibility.  This Form cloaks not only the body from detection, but also the mind.  This is why the general presence of the avatar can be felt in the room, and narrowed to with a 5' x 5' x 5' area for the purposes of directing address, however She/He cannot be targeted physically or mentally.  She/He must interact physically, believe they are somehow being acted on physically, or be actually acted upon physically by AoE, in order to drop them out of the altered state.

Infravision, and any items simulating it, both the Tech and Fantasy forms, are NOT means of seeing through anything but the power Darkness, and any analogs.  This is why they are so inexpensive.   They allow you to see through the dark, when you are in it, not see things that are hidden/invisible.

Among the things Infravision will not counter are:
-Shadow Form (Gothic)
-Invisibility (Fantasy)
-Hide in Shadows
-Hide in Daylight

Detect Invisibility is a magical means by which the physically invisible and hidden may be revealed.  It will counter, among other things, Shadow Form, Invisibility, and Hide in Shadows.  The countering of Hide in Shadows is possible only up until the end of round Hide in Shadows was invoked.(See posting "Regarding Lightfoot "Hide in..." skills")  Detect Invisibility will NOT counter Hide in Daylight.

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Regarding Lightfoot "Hide in..." skills

The Lightfoot "Hide in" skills are both means of escape ONLY, and NOT covert maneuvers to permit stealthy observation, ambush, etc.

The execution of the skills consists of a vanishing from sight.  In "Shadows", per the rules, the avatar must not be being acted upon by any tangible game effect.  With "Daylight" this occurs at any time, even with interruption of actions.

After the vanish, the Lightfoot uses natural and trained ability to escape the scene, conveniently avoiding all AoE blasts, mental detection, etc.  To accomplish this escape with Hide in Shadows, it takes the amount of time that the remains until Step 7, Clean Up and Establish Next Round(pg 13,AS 3.0 BETA).  Escaping via Hide in Daylight, is instantaneous.  This difference in time taken is what allows the employment of the Detect Invisibility power to bring a Hide in Shadows Lightfoot back out before they escape.

Players employing Hide in Shadows should make their declaration, remove their house button, and remain at the scene of combat until the Clean Up step of that round.  Players employing Hide in Daylight remove their buttons, and leave immediately.  In either event once a Lightfoot has successfully escaped they are no longer IC in the vicinity of the action they escaped from.  They are no longer aware of what is going on in the Nexus for the next 10 minutes, as they are too focused on escaping and remaining hidden, to observe and interact with their surroundings

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Special Items and Nano-Magnetism

The Tech power Nano-Magnetism may be used to remove non-stealable items up to, and including, Special class items.  Per the rules of the power, the item winds up in the posession of the avatar employing Nano-Magnetism.  Note that Special class items can NOT be equipped by anyone except their true owner, as reflected by the user restriction on the item card.  Disarming of a Special class item there fore does not allow for the free Item Swap, as you cannot swap in something you cannot equip.

However, Special class items are bound to an Avatar, and as such may, barring Nexal interference, may be recalled to an Avatar at any time.  The owner of the Special item may simply call for its return, without using an action.  They will however have to use an action to Item Swap the returned item back into their ready pouch, aka equip it.

Therefore, Nano-Magnetism is a means by with an Avatar may be disarmed, but, under most circumstances, they may never be deprived of their Special class item for any longer than they choose to be.  Also, because the recall of a Special class item is NOT an action, it cannot be reacted to and interfered with.  The reequipping, however, is an action, which may be reacted to as normal.

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Fleming Disguise III and User Restrictions on items

A Fleming that is impersonating another avatar, under the auspices of Disguise III, may do the following if faced with an item with a user restricition:

-If it is a Special class item, the disguise DOES NOT FULFILL the user restriction.  Special class items, even for terrans, have a unique metaphysical investment between the avatar and the item in question.  Whether conscious or unconscious, the owner has made a choice to be bonded with their Special item.

-If it is not a Special class item, the disguise DOES FULFILL the user restriction, for any user restrictions that denote the avatar they are impersonating.  It is assumed, under Disguise III, that a Fleming has done their homework for the impersonation, and has a way to mimic/disarm/temporarily hack the fingerprints, biometric sensors, magical imprints, passkeys/words, etc. necessary to use the user restricted item.

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Warp Reality rewritten

The following was designed at the Convert-o-Rama event, but never made it into print.  It is the current official wording for the toon power Warp Reality.

Warp Reality (Z,Y) Cost 25 AP.EM Requirement: 10 An avatar with this power can transmute any part of, or all of the value, any one effect of any one Item, Skill, or Power at the time it is being used to affect any primary or secondary Stat (EXCEPT LUC and LB).  For example, the user can declare that instead of causing 12 points of calculated damage, an Energy Bolt will add 12 points of INT, or remove 12 points of MIND.  To determine the maximum amount transmuted, the following calculation is used: (3AC + EM).  If there is any amount of the original value of the Item, Skill, or Power, that goes untransmuted, it must be dealt with, and resolves, as per normal.  No matter what the duration of the original effect, the changed effect will remain in effect until the end of the NEXT Action or Reaction performed by the user.  If EM or LIFE was changed the then new warped points will be subtracted first, even though they are slated to disappear soon.  The change cannot cause any permanent loss to any Avatar, nor can it cause instant death.  Also, the change does not work on Items with Continuous effects; it must be used at the time when the effect of another Activated Item(excluding the normal use of Weapons), Skill or Power is established.