Question about Ghost Veil:
So the description of Ghost Veil says “Ghost Veil: You may shift partially into the ghost field, becoming shadowy and insubstantial for a moment. Take 1 stress when you shift, plus 1 stress for each extra feature: It lasts for a few minutes rather than a moment—you are invisible rather than shadowy—you may float through the air like a ghost—you may pass through solid objects.”
And we were wondering, if you use the basic 1 stress ghost veil and don’t pay for the extra features, what does it do?
It makes you become shadowy and insubstantial for a moment? How can that be used? It’s not enough to let you float up onto a balcony in that moment, or quickly step through a wall.
So is it just a special effect to spend stress and look creepy for a moment? Or is there an obvious use that we’re missing?
I’d presume it’d be used to get advantage on other rolls, such as spending the stress during a melee roll to change the risky roll into a controlled roll (and narrate their attacks passing through the insubstantial form) or something? Except even that is narrating “passing through solid objects”
I read it as 1+1(or more) stress to get the effect you were after with the ability. Interesting food for thought, but other than appearing shadowy or insubstantial for fictional position I think it would require more than one stress.
Cool. Assuming that’s how it works, how would you handle being insubstantial during combat? I assume it’d depend on how much time one dice roll represents?
So, to fight an opponent with reduced risk, would you pay 1 + 1 (pass through objects) + 1 (last a few minutes) and assume the dice roll represents a skirmish? Or just pay to pass through objects and assume – since you can’t be stabbed – that you stride up to them and stab them through the head and it’s over in a moment?
Would dashing across a courtyard require the “a few minutes” as well as the “invisible”? Would just being shadowy be enough?
“Appearing shadowy or insubstantial for fictional position” is pretty strong in a game where positioning and effect is based on the fiction. And even a moment is useful.
The ability to appear shadowy would definitely gain additional additional effect for prowl rolls where you are trying to quickly duck behind a column to avoid the guard walking down the hall. And if a guard tries to grapple you, being insubstantial for a moment would give you additional effect to squirm free.
I might even rule that moment of being insubstantial is enough for small objects to pass through you, even if you can’t fully pass through objects. For instance, that moment of of being insubstantial would likely be just enough to help shake off a pair of handcuffs.
Colin Fahrion Cool, thanks – that’s what I was trying to figure out, where the boundary between “needing another effect” vs “being insubstantial” lies. I like the idea of slipping out of handcuffs or ducking behind a column, since they don’t require any of the “special effects” but make sense that the power still helps 🙂
Thinking about it, I could also see the shadowy nature changing position for that same jump behind a column situation — changing from Risky to Controlled as they are one with the shadows. This might make more sense given that a player can without the power always spend a stress point to push and gain +1 effect anyway. Or alternately, allow them to do both Ghost Veil for +1 Effect and Push for +1 Effect.
Obviously with spending just the one stress for the base power it only acts for one roll. It would benefit to spend one more stress so the shadowy power could last for a few minutes to help get through that clock.
Yep, that’s how it meant to be used.
(I hope to have all the expanded notes for all of the special abilities in the next update, so stuff like this will be more spelled out.)
Awesome, thanks guys 🙂