Signature Moves

[Ganondorf]

This is an idea I had floating around in my head. A lot of characters have special items or abilities unique to their character. However, for the most part, a lot of these don't have rules to govern them. As a Move they'd be watered down, or they might not even be able to work as a Move. As an Artifact, they're subject to being stolen, which for something integral to the character is less than appealing. As such, I felt there HAD to be a way to implement these things without a) breaking the balance of the game and b) leaving people feeling they weren't up to snuff. Here's my idea.

Signature Moves.

The premise of a Signature Move is that it would grant a boon to your character, but would come at a cost. Since some people might be tempted to mitigate the cost by tagging it to something minor, I've decided that the price you pay for your bonus will always be the same. Straight Damage. Signature Moves would be a risk vs reward system, where you weigh the risks of increasing your damage vs. the benefit of whatever your move does.

Here are some examples of what that would look like:

+1 to a single stat for the duration of the scene/fight would cost 2 damage to your character. Yes, this would allow you to increase your stat up to a +10. Putting yourself at 20 damage, however, would kill you at the end of your post, rather than allowing you to use the bonus through the fight.

Regaining 1 SP would cost you 5 Damage. You might ask why SP hurts more than a stat. It's simple. SP is far more versatile and, frankly, it's far more "gamey" than a stat boost.

Use of a Super Move, Power-Up, or Assist for a round without SP cost will burn you for 3 damage per SP it would normally cost. This is a bit more restrictive (since you have to pick 1 of the three) than a flat SP boost, so it hurts less.

Here's an example of a Signature Move:

Prototype Energy Core (Proto Man): The small bot has learned to increase the efficacy of his Energy Core to grant him additional SP, but overloading his core in the manner tends to wreak havoc on his systems. By pushing his Core, Proto Man can grant himself an additional SP, to be used as he wishes, but the strain on his systems causes him to take 5 damage.

That's the basic premise of what I had come up with. Let me know what you think.

[Tom Marvolo Riddle]

I applaud this, I was actually thinking of doing something along those line for top dark magic Tom was going to use that weren't worth full Supers

[Ganondorf]

Anyone got any comments on if something like this feels balanced enough? Should we have a list of options to choose from, or allow them to be fully customizable? Is Damage the best way to balance the pros of the Signature Move?

[Amber Veritz]

This would be perfect for Akame (her power up runs a risk of killing her) so yeah, I like this idea. It would allow a (kinda) free-reign attack but still keep the gameplay balanced.

[Ganondorf]

Are the penalties steep enough that these don't HAVE to be mandatory to keep up with someone with them? I don't want people to feel like that HAVE to get one just to not fall behind.

[Sasuke Uchiha]

Are the penalties steep enough that these don't HAVE to be mandatory to keep up with someone with them? I don't want people to feel like that HAVE to get one just to not fall behind.

If implemented, I would feel obligated to get one, or I would feel like I was missing the boat/not maximizing my potential.

Edit: That's not necessarily a bad thing, but totally what would happen.

[Ganondorf]

I see.

[Trixie]

The penalties are fine with me. Even in singleplayer threads I'd love the ability to toast myself into oblivion with a Signature Move that could level a structure and take out something. I've done the 3 OOC day dying thing. No biggie.