SYSTEM: ICONS
ICONS: A Sample Combat
Here are the two characters I rolled up over the last two days:
| Strobe | | Vacuum Flux |
|---|
| Prowess | 2 (Poor) | | Prowess | 3 (Average) |
|---|
| Coordination | 7 (Incredible) | | Coordination | 5 (Good) |
|---|
| Strength | 4 (Fair) | | Strength | 6 (Great) |
|---|
| Intellect | 4 (Fair) | | Intellect | 5 (Good) |
|---|
| Awareness | 5 (Great) | | Awareness | 4 (Fair) |
|---|
| Willpower | 5 (Great) | | Willpower | 5 (Good) |
|---|
| Stamina | 9 | | Stamina | 11 |
|---|
| Determination | 2 | | Prowess | 2 |
|---|
| Specialties | Power (Stunning) (+1), Technology (+1) | | Specialties | Power (Gravity Control) (+1), Science (+1) |
|---|
| Powers |
- Incredible (7) Reflection
- Extra: Alternate form (Light)
- Extra: Stunning Limit: Not vs machines or through machines
| | Powers |
- Incredible (7) Density
- Extra: Gravity Control (Affliction)
- Extra: Telekinesis
- Extra: Flight
|
|---|
| Qualities |
- Lady of Light
- Scarred by the service
- Has to help
| | Qualities |
- Something to prove
- "I'm the event, meet the horizon!"
- "Nah, not weird yet."
|
|---|
And we set up with one of those classic Superheroes Have A Misunderstanding On Meeting things...
What has gone before: A new villain called Egomaniac appeared and Strobe got into a fight with him; he eventually led her to a science center and trapped her between mirrors in a laser exhibit, then escaped. Young North Reiss, secretly
Vacuum Flux saw the chance to beat up on Strobe, whom he assumed was causing the problem. (Hey, Egomaniac
waved before leaving.) So Strobe got out by the expedient of turning physical, and a densitized Vacuum Flux is there to hit her....
The (Anticlimactic) Fight
Page 1
| Panel | Description | Vacuum Flux | Strobe |
|---|
| Vacuum Flux |
He gets in the first shot. Dense, he's strength 7 (6+1), and she's not expecting anything, so treat her as Prowess 0. He rolls a 1 for a total of 4 (Prowess of 3 plus 1). |
- Sta 11
- Det 2
- Prowess 3 + roll 1=4
|
|
| Strobe's Prowess is 2, but we're treating it as 0. She rolls a 3, for a total of 3 (0+3) |
4>3; Moderate success (no slam) |
Prowess 0 + roll 3=3 |
| Dense, his Strength is 7, so subtract 7 from Strobe's Stamina. |
|
|
| Strobe |
She switches to light form; her strength is pitiful so she decides to try Stunning. She rolls a 5, and that gets added to her Coordination of 7. |
Coordination 7 + roll 5=12 |
|
| His Coordination is 5, and though he rolls a 5, she hits. |
12>10 Moderate success (no slam) |
Coordination 5 + roll 5=10 |
| Test to see how well the Stunning worked: Test Incredible Stunning against Incredible Strength, and both roll a 4. |
Stunning level 7 + roll 4=11 |
Strength 7 + roll 4=11 |
| No effect. |
Page 2
| Panel |
Description |
Vacuum Flux |
Strobe |
| Vacuum Flux |
He flies over to punch her again: He swings and rolls a 3. |
Prowess 3+ roll 3=6 |
|
| She dodges even though he can't touch her; she rolls a 4, and he thinks he grazed her or missed. |
Prowess 2+ roll 4=6; Moderate success (no slam) |
Marginal success (no effect) |
| Strobe |
Now that she knows he's not Egomaniac, her concern is to take this away from bystanders. She can fly through closed windows (she's light), so she does, and tags her "Lady of Light" quality, so she can spend a Determination point for a recover. She gets 5 back (the higher of her Strength or Willpower). |
> |
|
Page 3
| Panel |
Description |
Vacuum Flux |
Strobe |
| Vacuum Flux |
He follows, but he can't travel through glass except by breaking it...which he does. Shards of glass fall down on the crowd, which are mostly kids and teenagers. |
|
|
| Strobe |
The GM compels Strobe to return and obey the "Has to help" quality. Strobe gets a Determination point for this. (If Strobe had refused, it would have cost her player a Determination point.) |
|
> |
Page 4
| Panel |
Description |
Vacuum Flux |
Strobe |
| Vacuum Flux |
Turn occupied by turning around, which is a little harder for him, being as he's solid and all. |
|
|
| Strobe |
A teenage boy (North's friend Connor) was badly hurt by the falling glass. Strobe can't turn solid to help (some guy keeps punching her) so instead he settles around and surrounds the injured teen and tries to be a healing light. That is, she's going to stunt Healing. |
|
|
| She's going to activate the "Has to Help" quality and stunt the Healing power off her Alternate Form: 7 Stamina will bring Connor back to full health. |
|
|
Page 5
| Panel |
Description |
Vacuum Flux |
Strobe |
| Vacuum Flux |
In the tradition of this sort of thing, he totally misunderstands and yanks Connor out of her embrace before she can heal him. (I don't think a roll is necessary.) |
|
|
| Strobe |
She says, "Wait." She says, "I'm trying to help, because the ambulance won't get here on time. |
|
|
| Persuasion: it's rolled with Willpower. Neither has relevant skills. She wants to increase her effort, so she activates her "Lady of Light" quality and spends her last Determination point for a +2 to the roll. |
5+3=8 |
5+6+2=13 (massive success!) |
Really, that looks like the end of the fight.
How long does a stunt last?
It's not in
ICONS Assembled but in
Great Power it says on page 22 that a stunt lasts until the end of combat or the end of the chapter, whichever comes first.
You could rule that the Healing stunt went away in this example, but I would probably allow it to stay: the intent was to help the injured boy, not to lay a smackdown on VF, so it seems in keeping with the intent (and comic books) that it be useful.
On the other hand, if she had stunted, oh, Energy Drain with the intent of really whacking him, I'd rule that stunt is over because the fight's over.
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