Re: [BNW] PC Regs/Delta Offspring/Delta Animals [Matt]

[Mark Kilfoil <kilfoilm@nbnet.nb.ca>]

At 12:08 AM 16/02/01 -0800, you wrote:
>Do PC Regs get Delta Points?

Since there aren't any official rules that I recall on PC Regs, I'd say 
"It's up to you"...

But here's my 2 bits (4 bits CDN):

No -- sorta.

I'd probably look into devising something *else* to give them, something 
called "Reg Points".

Reg points might be more generally applicable than Delta points, but have 
less effect.

Regs have it tougher if they are on the wrong side of the law, but they 
also can go whereever they like with only a minimal amount of hassling from 
the authorities.  Most Regs going this route would likely arm themselves 
with weapons sufficient to defend themselves and potentially even get a few 
good licks in.

Regs would get along well with Gadgeteers, giving that new suit or vehicle 
or weapon someone who can use it beyond what the Gadgeteer him- or herself can.

Along a similar line, I played a game of Hell On Earth [future of Deadlands 
-- think far future western set in a nearly destroyed, toxified world] in 
which my character was a normal human amongst a group of mutants with what 
amounted to superpowers.  He got by, but it *was* tough road to follow.  I 
found other ways to deal -- sometimes by just *being* innocuous and get in 
the shot from the least unexpected place, sometimes by arming myself to the 
teeth.

It's a Regs world, and although it might seem like its not a fair trade, 
consider just how often some detector might be lurking around the 
corner.  If you want to make it easier for the Reg, make them much more 
often, and have much more often sweeps.

Of course, just hanging around unregistered Deltas is bound to get you 
busted, unless you can talk *real* fast...

>What are the odds of a PC Reg awakening when "killed"?

Odds?  About 1 in something...

There aren't any hard numbers, from what I remember, but the general 
guideline seems to be "enough to make them a perceived threat, but not 
enough that they can exercise it."

BUT, you mentioned a *PC* Reg, and that changes everything...

If you want him or her to be awakened, "make it so".

If you don't want them to be awakened, "make it not so".

If you want to leave it up to change, decide how likely it should be, pick 
up a die and roll it.  For a PC, you might want to make it 80% or higher 
(1-8 on a d10, or below 80% on percentile).

If the player is bored with the character, and would rather just let the 
character stay dead, debate to yourself whether making this character a 
Delta would have on the Player...  Are they likely to continue to play that 
character?  Would they see this as a gross violation of their 
character?  Some players react very badly to GMs just waving their wand and 
making it so, and react badly to arbitrary (roll & table) decisions...

You also have to consider what kind of Delta they would become...  There 
seems strong evidence (if not particular examples) that indicate that the 
type of Delta they become is somehow related to the circumstances in which 
the character lives and dies.  (The best evidence of this was in the Glory 
Days sourcebook -- Sandmaster IIRC is the best particular example..)

As for effects that might make the roll succeed more easily, that's a tough 
one...  Again, no evidence that I recall points out that there are 
particular cause-and-effect relationships with the Delta awakenings, 
although my personal view on that is that there are in fact a million 
different effects from everything around, and the true expression of Delta 
abilities is not the end product but the extreme, momentary adaptability of 
the Deltas to the immediate situations which cause their near-demise;  in 
other words, the Delta ability is like a momentary collapsing of 
evolutionary forces, a leap forward in possibilities all shrinking down to 
one instant, in which a successful adaptation is expressed and the Reg 
becomes a Delta -- or no expression is reached, and the person dies.  Or 
perhaps it is the ability to choose between alternative timelines, 
searching for the momentary adaptation which will allow the person to live...

Who knows?  It is a mystery, and likely to remain a mystery...  Suits me 
just fine...

(Although I do agree with those who suggest more should be spelled out 
about Delta-hood, I would suggest that a small chart of typical effects, 
reactions, and situations would be more in keeping with the setting's 
motivation than just spelling out all that there is to Deltahood, once and 
for all, amen...)

>I feel all PC's to some extent
>are "Destined for Greatness", the stories weaved in a
>RPG all revolve around the player characters after
>all.

Yes, and no...  While the stories in the games revolve around the PCs, I 
feel that you should not just hand out such boons as dying and becoming a 
Delta unless the player really deserves it...  If you hand out such changes 
all the time, then people will come to expect them, and the prize becomes 
lessened...

>What kind of offspring do Deltas have? Reg/Delta/Both?

Since the only known way to become a Delta (that I'm aware of) involves a 
near-death experience, I'd say that all children are born Reg...  However, 
in those cases where the Delta ability seems to represent a species changes 
(such as the Aquarians), it might be more natural to have the children of 
these Deltas be the same kind...  Of course, if you decide that Delta 
powers represent some sort of change on the genetic level (as opposed to 
simply an expression of everyday genes that are in us all), there can be a 
strong case for the child being born a Delta...  I'd simply suggest that 
the child of a Delta might favour the Delta genes, but would be born a Reg 
who might become a Delta.

>They've been around for a long time now...so there's
>probably been plenty of study (and children to test).

How long has the human species known about genes?  About the common 
cold?  And where are our total knowledges of them?  I suspect that there 
are two problems with thinking that they should have everything "worked out 
by now":  1.  Humanity never really has everything worked out, and 2. There 
is no common X-Factor as such that can be simply isolated and demonstrated, 
but rather that it is a much more complex interaction of several, perhaps 
hundreds of variables, some of which may not even on this plane of 
existence, let alone scientifically studiable.

>Do Delta Powers act like positive or recessive traits,
>or do they not act like genetically inherited
>characteristics at all? We've made great strides in
>mapping the human genome, I doubt the Brave New World
>is any different.

Our world doesn't have Deltas or supervillians, either...  I think there 
are plenty of things that could hold up research into the genes behind 
Deltahood (if it even is genes).

After all, we've completed the mapping of the human genome -- but we still 
don't know much of what it does.

>And lastly, have there ever been any recorded cases of
>animals with Delta powers? I would think it unusual
>for humans to be the only creatures on earth
>exhibiting unexplained abilities, but then again we
>still don't know the source of Delta Powers...

Do dogs have near-death-experiences?  Does a cat have memories of old 
dreams and experience deja-vu?  Does a spider even have the capacity to 
know that it fire lightning bolts out of its legs, or even be able to 
control such phenomenon?

Humans are the most complicated beings on the planet.  Deltas might just be 
the next step beyond that...

Do you *really* think that a cow is evolved enough to fly?  ;)

encafONE