{"id":1699,"date":"2013-06-03T05:16:51","date_gmt":"2013-06-03T12:16:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/arcdream.com\/home\/?p=1699"},"modified":"2013-06-03T16:14:25","modified_gmt":"2013-06-03T23:14:25","slug":"better-angels-powers-and-aspects","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arcdream.com\/home\/2013\/06\/better-angels-powers-and-aspects\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Better Angels’ Powers and Aspects"},"content":{"rendered":"

Here’s a handy summary of the powers and aspects available to player characters in the\u00a0Better Angels<\/em><\/a> rulebook.<\/p>\n

DEMONIC POWERS<\/h2>\n

A supervillain can use powers whether the demon is active or not. Each is based on a particular Sinister Tactic.<\/p>\n

\"Better-Angels-alchemy\"<\/a>Alchemy (Greed)<\/em><\/h3>\n

Roll Cunning<\/b> Greed<\/i> to attack by transforming someone. To bribe someone with Generosity<\/i>, change 1D to 1MD if your Greed <\/i> is at least as high as your Generosity<\/i>.<\/p>\n

Animal Form\u00a0(Espionage)<\/em><\/h3>\n

Roll Cunning<\/strong> Espionage<\/em> to change shape. The higher your Espionage<\/em>, the more effectively you can take the animal form. See page 73.<\/p>\n

Armor\u00a0(Cowardice)<\/em><\/h3>\n

Roll Open<\/strong> Cowardice<\/em> to activate Armor for the rest of the scene. It reduces the Width of physical attacks on you by one. Physical weapons no longer give Width bonuses to injure you.<\/p>\n

Arrogance\u00a0(Cowardice)<\/em><\/h3>\n

Any attempt to persuade you using Nurture<\/em>, Honesty<\/em>, Deceit<\/em> or Corruption<\/em> has its Height reduced by your Cowardice<\/em> rating. If this reduces the set\u2019s Height to zero, the attempt fails.<\/p>\n

Banish\u00a0(Cowardice)<\/em><\/h3>\n

To attack, roll Sly<\/strong> Cowardice<\/em>. The first attack in a scene gains +3 Advantage from surprise; all further attacks that scene gain +1 Advantage from surprise.<\/p>\n

Body Control\u00a0(Deceit)<\/em><\/h3>\n

Roll Devious<\/strong> Deceit<\/em> to force someone to obey a command with Height in words for the rest of the scene. Disobeying costs a point of Nurture<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Clairvoyance\u00a0(Espionage)<\/em><\/h3>\n

Roll Patient<\/strong> Espionage<\/em> to scan at a distance of one mile per point of Espionage.<\/p>\n

Crime-Time (Greed)<\/em><\/h3>\n

Read the description here<\/a>. Roll\u00a0Cunning<\/strong>\u00a0Greed<\/em> to take about sixty seconds’ worth of actions that can earn you a bonus for surprise. The bonus is worth +1 to +3 Advantage (GM’s decision), depending on what you described.<\/p>\n

Dead Ringer\u00a0(Deceit)<\/em><\/h3>\n

Roll Insightful<\/strong> Deceit<\/em> to look like a specific person for the rest of the scene, or until you halt the effect or use Dead Ringer to look like someone else. Spotting the deception takes a Cunning<\/strong> Espionage<\/em> roll at Difficulty 5; or an Insightful<\/strong> Honesty<\/em> roll at Difficulty equal to your Espionage if you speak to them and they know the subject well.<\/p>\n

Dominator Strike\u00a0(Cruelty)<\/em><\/h3>\n

Roll Sly<\/strong> Cruelty<\/em> with +1 Advantage to attack. It always uses Cruelty<\/em>, never Courage<\/em>. Dominator Strike is also Persistent, Fearsome, Enervating, Hot, Stunning, or Nasty; see page 75.<\/p>\n

Impossible Beauty\u00a0(Corruption)<\/em><\/h3>\n

Roll Devious<\/strong> Corruption<\/em> to gain Advantage equal to the roll\u2019s Width for the rest of the scene to Corruption<\/em> or Deceit<\/em> rolls made to influence people.<\/p>\n

Ineffable Defense\u00a0(Espionage)<\/em><\/h3>\n

Any rolls that use surprise or secrets for bonuses against you have their bonuses reduced by your Espionage<\/em> score.<\/p>\n

Psychic Objects\u00a0(Greed)<\/em><\/h3>\n

Roll Cunning<\/strong> Greed<\/em> to create an object that lasts until the end of the scene. You can produce a number of objects in one scene equal to your Greed<\/em> score. The greater your Greed<\/em>, the larger the object; see page 77.<\/p>\n

Regeneration (Cowardice)<\/em><\/h3>\n

See the power description here. Roll\u00a0Open<\/strong>\u00a0Cowardice<\/em> to restore and dots that were slid or lost in\u00a0Open<\/strong> and\u00a0Sly<\/strong> to the levels they held when the scene began.
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

Summon\u00a0(Greed)<\/em><\/h3>\n

To summon an object or to attack, roll Cunning<\/strong> Greed<\/em>. The first time it\u2019s used to attack in a scene, it gets +1 Advantage for surprise and +1 Advantage as a weapon bonus. After the first time in the scene, it gets the +1 bonus as a weapon.<\/p>\n

Telekinesis\u00a0(Deceit)<\/em><\/h3>\n

To attack or lift something or someone, roll Insightful<\/strong> Deceit<\/em>. The first time you use it against someone who hasn\u2019t seen or heard about your power it gains a +2 surprise Advantage and a +1 weapon Advantage. After that it gains only +1 for surprise and +1 as a weapon. You can lift about 100 pounds per point of Deceit<\/em> and move things at about the pace of a brisk walk.<\/p>\n

Teleport Self\u00a0(Corruption)<\/em><\/h3>\n

Roll Insightful<\/strong> Corruption<\/em> to teleport. The range is about one mile per point of Corruption<\/em>. If teleporting lets you surprise an enemy, it gives you +1 Advantage for surprise.<\/p>\n

Terror\u00a0(Cruelty)<\/em><\/h3>\n

Roll Devious<\/strong> Cruelty<\/em> against one target\u2019s Insightful<\/strong> Nurture<\/em> to remove one point of Courage<\/em> from the target. When the target\u2019s Courage<\/em> hits zero, Terror has no further effect.<\/p>\n

That Hideous Strength\u00a0(Cruelty)<\/em><\/h3>\n

Gain +1 weapon Advantage with hand-to-hand attacks for Cruelty<\/em> 1, +2 for Cruelty<\/em> 2 or 3, or +3 for Cruelty<\/em> 4 or 5. You can perform impossible feats of strength; see page 80.<\/p>\n

Wither\u00a0(Corruption)<\/em><\/h3>\n

Roll Devious<\/strong> Corruption<\/em> to grab someone and slide a point of Open<\/strong> to Sly<\/strong>. Advantage applies from surprise but not from secrets or a weapon. The attack can be dodged or blocked normally.<\/p>\n

DEMONIC ASPECTS<\/h2>\n

Each aspect is based on a particular Sinister Strategy.\u00a0An aspect can be activated only with the cooperation of the demon, and only if the aspect’s governing Strategy is greater than zero. The supervillain can ask for the aspect to be activated, and must “pay” for it by sliding one point off a Virtuous Strategy. Or the demon can activate the aspect without the villain’s permission, but this requires rolling a set with the governing Strategy (just the Strategy’s dice) and it slides a point off that Strategy to its Virtuous opposite.<\/p>\n

Aqua-Form (Sly)<\/h3>\n

Read the description here<\/a>.\u00a0Change into water. Weapons that depend on physical impact (bullets, blades, automobiles) lose their Advantage bonus for attacks against you. However, explosives, fire and cold-based attacks have their Height increased by 1. You can also fit through tiny gaps, resist being pushed or pulled around, etc.<\/p>\n

Carapace (Sly)<\/h3>\n

Every physical attack on you has its Height reduced by your Sly<\/strong>. If Height goes to zero the attack fails.<\/p>\n

Cloven Hooves (Cunning)<\/h3>\n

Doesn’t necessarily give you actual hooves. Make an arrangement with a victim. When the agreed circumstances occur, the victim gains +1MD to one Strategy for the rest of the scene. After that scene, the victim loses a point from a Strategy of your demon\u2019s choice and you gain a point to a Sinister Tactic of your demon\u2019s choice. If the victim dies while using that +1MD, you get a free point of Cunning<\/strong> and your demon claims the victim\u2019s soul in the afterlife.<\/p>\n

Darkness-Shrouded (Devious)<\/h3>\n

Inky darkness radiates 10 feet from you for every point of Devious<\/strong>. You can see through it. You can permit one extra person per point of Devious<\/strong> to see in the darkness. Attacks against enemies who can\u2019t see gain +1 Advantage from surprise. No one outside the darkness can gain surprise bonuses against you or your allies in the darkness. Any attack into the darkness is at Difficulty equal to your Devious<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Flame-Wreathed (Devious)<\/h3>\n

Anyone who hits you hand-to-hand must slide a point of Courage<\/em> unless they\u2019re somehow protected from fire. When you make hand-to-hand attacks, add Devious<\/strong> to Open<\/strong> Cruelty<\/em>. This can raise your dice pool beyond 10 dice.<\/p>\n

Ghost Form (Cunning)<\/h3>\n

You can activate and deactivate Ghost Form once per point of Devious<\/strong>. It takes an action to activate it or deactivate it but does not require a roll. At the end of the scene it automatically wears off.<\/p>\n

Giant (Sly)<\/h3>\n

For the rest of the scene, you grow about five feet taller per point of Sly<\/strong>. You get all the effects of the power That Hideous Strength, but based on Sly<\/strong>. When you take damage that would affect Open<\/strong> or Sly<\/strong>, you can choose which it affects.<\/p>\n

Glory (Devious)<\/h3>\n

Read the description here<\/a>.\u00a0Every social action you take has its Height increased by an amount equal to your Devious<\/strong> score. \u00a0If the Height exceeds 10, the action becomes immune to Gobble Dice.<\/p>\n

\"Better-Angels-wings\"<\/a>Horned (Sly)<\/h3>\n

Add Sly<\/strong> to the Height of hand-to-hand attacks. If this boosts Height above 10, that attack roll is immune to gobble dice.<\/p>\n

Invisible (Devious)<\/h3>\n

Gain +3 Advantage from surprise on all actions where being unseen is a plus\u2014until people realize you\u2019re there. Then the bonus drops to +1. Add Devious<\/strong> to Cunning<\/strong> Greed<\/em> rolls when attempting to hide, on top of all surprise bonuses.<\/p>\n

An Utmost Foulness (Cunning)<\/h3>\n

Read the description here<\/a>. Gain a weapon or tool Advantage equal to half your Cunning score (round up) by changing your body into whatever shape you need.<\/p>\n

Wings (Cunning)<\/h3>\n

The greater your Cunning<\/strong>, the faster you can fly; see page 86. Once per scene, when you\u2019re hit you can declare that it hit your wings instead of your body. You lose the use of Wings for the rest of the scene but take no damage from the attack.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Here’s a handy summary of the powers and aspects available to player characters in the\u00a0Better Angels rulebook. DEMONIC POWERS A supervillain can<\/p>\n

Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1703,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[144],"tags":[46],"class_list":["post-1699","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-better-angels","tag-powers"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/arcdream.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Better-Angels-alchemy-large.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1wrNI-rp","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/arcdream.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1699","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/arcdream.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/arcdream.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arcdream.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arcdream.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1699"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/arcdream.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1699\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1711,"href":"https:\/\/arcdream.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1699\/revisions\/1711"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arcdream.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1703"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/arcdream.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1699"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arcdream.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1699"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arcdream.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1699"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}