It does feel good to put your feet up…
So, in the interest of keeping you gals and guys up to date to what’s going on with my web serials:
– Brennus is going well. I’ve made some good progress with it. There should be an update around the late Sunday, or late Monday (I have classes for most of that day, so if I don’t finish the chapter by Sunday, I won’t be able to write until Monday afternoon).
– I’ve also made some progress with the Dreaming, and I expect an update – the culmination of the Sam arc – to be complete within the next week.
I have a Pathfinder session scheduled tomorrow, but it shouldn’t delay this schedule – I’m playing, not GMing, and so I don’t actually have to prepare anything.
I’ll also be back on irc around Sunday, in case anyone wants to talk – I’m afraid my schedule is a bit too busy today, to fit in an appropriate amount of time, and I never IM while playing p&p’s (takes concentration to keep my characters alive… not that I’ve ever finished a campaign with the same character I started it, not since the age of Tannheim at least).
Anyway, got to go. Busy day busy day, though not unpleasantly so, for once. Have a nice day and a nice weekend, everyone!
Sincerely,
Tieshaunn
Tieshaunn 
First.
Now I got that out of the way, I’m looking forward to seeing how Monkey Family ends (hopefully with the defeat of the Ascendant).
Have fun playing! Chapters can wait a bit. Better to have you delay it by a day and let you have fun than having you get too stressed and be unable to write for weeks.
Also: question time! Heterodyning. Are there criteria we haven’t seen? Like, power categories or power levels have to match up or be close…
One character has a Dream of Harmony, another has a Nightmare of Discord. Can the two heterodine together, their respectives dream and nightmares cancelling each other out?
Also, heterodyning work as a kind of power teamwork right? It’s beneficial to both as the power created is shared in control. You can’t have an heterodyning that’s beneficial only to one.
Uff, you’re touching on a complicated (and partly spoileriffic) issue. Heterodyning.
Um, here’s what I can share:
1. There are two known and one rumored/theoretical stages of heterodyning: first level, second level, complete.
First Level: something like what Foxfire and Fulcrum can do, creating a combined effect that may be greater than the sum of its parts
Second Level: The Living Trinity is the prime example of this, combining two (these three were the only known case of THREE people heterodyning) powers to create a whole new thing, an ability that is not just a combination of effects, but actually goes beyond what either power could achieve – example, combining tele- and pyrokinesis to achieve matter transmutation.
Complete: most any metahumans who managed to reach the second level report there being still a gap between their powers, a last step to complete heterodyning that, as far as anyone knows, has not yet been achieved.
2. The results of heterodyning are always shared, but not necessarily equally, depending on the powers, the circumstances and the personalities involved. One of the two may take on a dominant role (for example, when Basil and Melody heterodyned, Melody was dominant – Basil supported the creation of the SMOG, but it was mostly a product of Melody’s power, with his input being secondary) and either have more control, or reap more – or all – benefits. Another example – a brute and a pyrokinet heterodyne, resulting in the Brute being covered head to toe in flames that lash out against anyone who touches her on their own, and she also gains more energy/stamina; the pyrokinet does not get any immediate benefits – but now he does have a teammate who is literally and metaphorically on fire. you can go anywhere between the two extremes – equal share and one beneficiary
3. Heterodyning is RARE. Most metahumans don’t even know it exists. It’s not something that comes up in casual conversation. Many don’t even believe it’s really a thing – they think it’s just peoples’ powers getting weird individually; others used to think it was a random occurance, not a repeatable phenomenon. Until the Living Trinity showed up and started doing their thing, almost no one aside from experts (and the few who’d actually experienced it) knew it even existed! Since the Trinity, as more and more people become aware of it, it tends to happen more and more often (still rare)
4. Heterodyning does NOT usually increase power, not in a straight line. Look at Foxfire and Fulcrum – their end result was not more powerful – it simply was more versatile. More efficient. If you simply cause a straight increase in power, you’re doing something wrong in your story.
5. Anyone can, theoretically, heterodyne, except for Gadgeteers and Contrivers. Even if both have nightmares of discord. You can even have Contrivers heterodyning with other powers, perhaps to create power-enhancing contrivances, or mimic their powers somehow, or “overload” one of their devices, or… well, get creative. Same with Gadgeteers. any gadgeteer can, theoretically, break out of, or expand, their speciality to a limited degree by heterodyning with another metahuman. Melody’s force cage technology was developed after she happened to heterodyne with a force field projecting metahuman. Any power can, theoretically, combine with any other – but that doesn’t mean the results will always be useful. Sometimes, all heterodyning does is cause a lot of weirdness but nothing remotely applicable.
6. It’s possible for powers to pick up new tricks through heterodyning – for example, a force-field projector heterodynes with, say, a force-projector who can cut things at a distance. the force-field projector might develop the ability to create cutting force-fields, while the cutter may learn to create a “blocking blast” – or only one may learn anything new. This is extremely rare, though, and usually requires repeat heterodyning between the same people. these new tricks may not always be that impressive or useful; or they might give unexpected side-benefits. for example, if you ever see a force-field projector in my story who can hear through their force-fields, as they react to sound like eardrums, and who can replay sounds by vibrating said fields, you’ll know it’s the one Melody got her force cage from 😉
7. Heterodyning with others is a good way to improve synchronisation with your tenant – they REALLY like it – and it may temporarily alleviate drawbacks of individual powers (like temporarily alleviating the consequences of a Lost Woods or Demon nightmare)
I think that’s all I can really share right now
Thank you 😀 that’s perfect!
I agree with AceOfSpade. It’s better to have a slight delay while you have fun than a long delay due to you being stressed.