From the Lurk:
Ghost Veil: You may shift partially into the ghost field, becoming
shadowy and insubstantial for a few moments. Take 2 stress when
you shift, plus 1 stress for each extra feature: It lasts for a few minutes
rather than moments—you are invisible rather than shadowy—you
may float through the air like a ghost.
How would this work in combat? Could a lurk fade in and out of reality in combat. If so, anybody care to give my a guess at the mechanics of it?
It would improve your position in combat I think, right?
Our Lurk used it in response to being shot and having to resist. He burned stress to succeed, and we called it evading Level 3 Harm.
Blake Hutchins I bet that looked cool!
I actually had something like this happen in a session recently!
A Lurk was trapped in a locked room when two other characters were fighting bluecoats outside. So they used this ability to get out of the room and behind one of the Bluecoats. Since the crew was Tier 0 and the Bluecoats were Tier 3, I gave them increased effect when the Lurk attempted to stab the Bluecoat (up from nothing to limited) as well as increased positioning since it was catching the Bluecoat off guard.
“Insubstantial” means most things would pass through them, probably setting their position for an attack at Controlled, while also having limited effect (the insubstantiality would go both ways). Maneuvering while in this state would probably have great (or extreme) effect. Note: a few moments is probably just enough for one action.
Matthew Terry It did! It was his first ever exposure to Blades, and it rocked. He’d just blown a roll under Desperate circumstances, so it was going down hard.
In case of RAW you could even use more then +1 stress for even more additional or increased effects, makings this special abillity in my point of view one of the strongest in the entire game.
What a player could do with it or could not, would i decide on the situation in which he is using it, if it would develop/progress/evolve the situation, what is the price (how much stress) the player has to pay for it, what would be the effect and the danger of this feat be.
For example if the player wants to become incorporeal to dogde some bullets or a swordcut, as a substitute for resisting, thats fine iw ould let him do it even without an additional diceroll.
Escaping from a locked room, apear behind a bluecoat an backstab him, thats a bit complicated … the cost for that would be the normal 2 stress for pushing and so activation of the skill, 1 stress for the escaping the room and 1 more for beeing able to backstab the bluecoat before he can react, makes a total of 4 stress. The thing is i wouldn’t give him a controlled situation for the attack, i would at least give him a risky if not even desperate. The risk in this situation would not be that the bluecoat would give him a bitchslap for his attempt, no the risk would be more on the part of the supernatural side that he looses a “part” of himself on the incorporeal realm, something like his shadow which then goes arround and does a lot of mischief, which later will be blamed on the character. The attack in of it self i would let be either way be succesfull, if he doesn’t criticly fail on his roll, because it progresses the situation develops even new ones.