Mega-Dexterity

 

Mega-Dexterity is one of the more common Mega-Attributes. A Mega-dexterous nova is faster, more agile and stealthier than normal, and he often has a better reaction time. Mega-Dexterity is especially useful for novas whose powers are not quite so overt or "flashy" as most.

The Mega-Dexterity rating is added to the character's Initiative, run and sprint scores. Furthermore, when a nova with Mega-Dexterity is in combat and another character tries to use a delayed action to interrupt the nova's action, the interruption is not automatic. Instead, both characters must make Dexterity rolls; the one with the most successes goes first. If a nova with Mega-Dexterity and a character without it act at the same time, the Mega-Dexterous character is automatically considered to have the higher Initiative, and thus, he gets to go first. If both characters have Mega-Dexterity and the Enhanced Initiative enhancement (see "Mega-Wits"), the standard rule applies.

• Stupendous: You can juggle knives in zero-g — with your feet. You may make Dodge rolls against bullets or other ranged attacks without seeking cover or hitting the ground.

•• Amazing: Your reactions are so fast that even a martial-arts master cannot match them.

••• Incredible: Whenever you run by someone, they can barely see you — all they feel is the wind.

•••• Spectacular: You can do your chores in just a few seconds. At this level or higher, you may pluck bullets out of the air by making a normal Block roll.

••••• Godlike: You can perform acts of manual dexterity so precise that even machines cannot duplicate them.

 

Mega-Dexterity Enhancements

Enhancements that characters with Mega-Dexterity may learn or purchase include:

Accuracy

Some Mega-Dexterous novas have an uncanny ability to aim attacks and judge how to place their blows for best effect. Certain novas claim that this enhancement is the ultimate in hand-eye coordination, while others speak of "mystic forces" guiding them. Whatever the reason, anyone who's seen them in combat can't help but admire their ability.

System: In addition to any other bonuses provided for having a Mega-Attribute, the character receives three more dice to roll when attempting to hit any target with any attack (whether close combat or ranged combat). The character must take a turn to aim the attack. This bonus applies only to firearms, martial arts, melee and quantum-power attacks; attacks involving Brawl do not get the bonus (since they depend on raw power and ferocity, not precise aim).

This enhancement stays active for a single attack (hit or miss).

Enhanced Movement

You're fast — really fast. You can run faster than the proverbial speeding locomotive at times. Your reaction time isn't any quicker than the normal Mega-Dexterous nova, but when you've got to cover the miles to get somewhere, you can cover them quicker than anyone else.

System: The character's pace when walking, running, sprinting or swimming is multiplied by (1 + Mega-Dexterity) for one turn (if the player spends one quantum point) or one scene (if the character spends three quantum points). Thus, a character with Mega-Dexterity 2 could spend a quantum point to triple her movement (1 + Mega-Dexterity 2) for one turn.

The effects of Enhanced Movement are cumulative with those of Hypermovement. Apply the Enhanced Movement multiplier after determining the character's movement rate with Hypermovement.

Fast Tasks

When it's time to clean out the house, strip down and rebuild an engine or knit a sweater, your friends call you. You can do it much faster than they can — sometimes literally in the blink of an eye.

System: This ability allows a nova to perform tasks at extremely rapid speeds without sacrificing any care or workmanship. Depending upon the nature of the task, the nova can do it in less than half the time it would take a normal person; simple tasks may, as the preceding description indicates, take no more than a second or so.

For example, a nova with Fast Tasks could paint a typical interior house wall in just a second or two; he could take apart and rebuild a reasonably complex machine (like an automobile engine) in something like half an hour. At the Storyteller's option, Fast Tasks may turn certain extended rolls into simple rolls.

The character must be able to perform the task in question; Fast Tasks does not grant any new or additional skills. For example, a nova who wants to repair engines at superspeeds must know the Engineering Ability. Furthermore, the player must make the standard rolls required to accomplish the work — Fast Tasks doesn't make the job any easier, it just gets it over with more quickly.

This enhancement stays active for one scene.

Flexibility

Dexterity isn't all speed and reaction time and things like that. Sometimes it reflects a character's ability to contort his body or reach into places ordinary characters cannot. That's certainly the case, at least in part, for novas who have this enhancement. In effect they can make their bodies sufficiently flexible or rubbery to stretch their arms for short distances or squeeze through narrow openings. They are often master contortionists and escape artists.

System: The character has the limited ability to contort and stretch his body. When he wants them to be, his flesh and bones become extremely flexible and malleable. This flexibility confers no protection From damage or harm, but it does allow the character to fit into places inaccessible to normal human bodies. The character may stretch his limbs up to two meters per dot of Mega-Dexterity. He can also contort and reshape his flexible form to fit through any opening big enough for his fist to pass through. The Storyteller is the final arbiter on which openings the character can squeeze through. A player may select this enhancement multiple times. Each additional selection doubles the distance the character may stretch his limbs and body. The enhancement stays active for one scene.

Physical Prodigy

A nova with this ability possesses a certain "genius" for all physical activities, such as sports or running. Somehow he knows instinctively how to act, what to do and how to position himself for the best results in any given athletic endeavor. It's as if he had the greatest coaches in world history whispering in his ear and giving him tips.

Novas with this ability (and indeed, novas in general) have been banned from athletic competition with baselines, since they have an obvious unfair advantage. However, they can (and often do) compete with other novas on "supersports" pay-per-views.

System: In addition to any other dice received for Mega-Dexterity, the character receives three extra successes when making any roll involving Athletics, Performance (Dance) or similar skills. This bonus should not be applied to dodge dice pools, nor to skills such as Brawl, Firearms, Martial Arts, Melee or Stealth, If there is any doubt as to whether the bonus applies, the Storyteller must decide which Abilities are affected by Physical Prodigy. The effects last for a scene.

Catfooted

In a dangerous world, sometimes it's the unobtrusive person who survives the longest — and gets the most accomplished. A nova with this Mega-Dexterity ability is the stealthiest of the stealthy, able to walk on dead leaves without making a sound or run through sand without leaving footprints.

System: In addition to any other dice received for Mega-Dexterity, the character receives three extra successes when making any roll involving Stealth or similar skills. Furthermore, if the character makes a Dexterity roll, he can avoid leaving any tracks or similar marks showing where he walked. The difficulty of this roll increases by two if the character is running and three if he is sprinting. The effects last for a scene.

Rapid Strike

A nova with this enhancement can deliver a blur of rapid-fire punches or kicks to a single target. While the individual blows are not any more powerful than an ordinary strike, they strike so fast and furious that the cumulative effect is much more powerful.

System: For each dot he has in Mega-Dexterity, a nova using this enhancement adds one to his punch or kick damage dice pools; the effects last for one turn.