By the way, I find it very amusing that I was drawn into this conversation by seeing someone use the word “specificity.”
2 Likes
It’s funny the way things work out, huh 
?
The one issue I have with the cost is that, like I said, a high-end Force power like Bind or Protect/Unleash actually does something when you use it. Revelation doesn’t have a positive benefit in an encounter (in a mechanical sense) until both you and the target have taken actions the round AFTER its used:
- Round A, you use Revelation (-1 action);
- Round A, the target uses the gifted power (-1 action);
- Round B, you use the gifted power (+/- 0 actions);
- Round b, the target uses the gifted power (+1 action).
If the encounter lasts long enough and you had enough Duration, then it gets better over time, but it’s still on a delay, and it’s single target close range, no matter what. Of course, in narrative encounters it can have a powerful effect, and that can’t be ignored, but… I dunno. There aren’t many purely narrative powers to compare it to. Things like Foresee and Seek are information-gathering powers, and Influence still has a defined effect to get things you want (either adding symbols to your checks or outright forcing the target to comply with you).
But… if you don’t see anything that feels overpriced, I guess we leave it as it is.
Think of it this way: You have a fully upgraded Sense power.
In the first round of combat, you make your roll and grant Sense and… Bind, let’s say, to an ally. Then you spend a Maneuver to commit dice for Sense’s upgrade that allows you to upgrade the difficulty of incoming attacks.
On their turn, they use Bind, then use Sense in the same way.
So, presuming you’d have done the same thing with Bind, you just spent an Action to upgrade attacks against this ally twice, and now they have access to Force powers and a Force rating.
So mechanically, it ain’t bad. But I do see this being used more frequently out of combat, especially for something as simple as “We need to Force jump to Medium range, but Dref has the hops of an ill cow,” or “Jodie, you’re absolutely useless. Can we set you up to use Battle Meditation for us?”
Right, but that’s the thing: a fully upgraded Sense power is 110 xp. Battle Meditation is… I believe 185? The Force power with the lowest cost, Foresee, is a minimum of 90.
so that’s an extra cost on top of the 215 xp for Revelation.
Example A: A character spends a total of 350 xp to buy the 2 Force Ratings in Sage, and the full tree of Protect/Unleash. They can do a lot with Protect/Unleash - blocking attacks for themselves, allies, or maybe even the entire party, dealing out some decent damage and inflicting status like additional strain damage, Ensnare, and Burn. They’re pretty narrow in scope, but they have a couple good tricks they can use to help out.
Example B: A character spends a total of 430 xp to buy the Sage Force Ratings, the Navigator specialization and its Force Rating, and all of Revelation. They… can’t do anything guaranteed to be useful. In combat, they MAY be able to temporarily increase the Force rating of allied Force-users, assuming they don’t already have FR 4, but that’s it. The rest of their use is narrative, with no guaranteed results (i.e. as guaranteed as “damage is damage”). To be able to use the power’s main encounter ability, additional xp needs to be spent.
Does being tied for the most expensive power make sense when it does very little without an extra expenditure? Maybe the answer is yes, I dunno! But I’m wondering…
But by the time you get there and choose to spend the XP for Kemna’s Revelation, you’ll already have multiple powers under your belt. I doubt very many characters are going to make a beeline for Kemna’s Revelation, throwing everything else under the bus in an effort to get there as quickly as possible. If the character progresses naturally, they’ll have multiple powers under their belt already, and will be choosing to prioritize adding Kemna’s Revelation on top of that rather than going for something else.
Further, this power shouldn’t be purchased by a character as the first thing they chase, and it shouldn’t be built with that in mind. As it is now, it would be foolish to pursue this immediately, and I think it should stay that way. The more diversified a character’s base of Force powers and talents, the more valuable this ability becomes.
This power is very unique, and does unique things. That makes it hard to price. Much of its value is in the narrative sphere, not in combat. I think it’s good as-is.
1 Like
Very good points! I’ll take your advice and leave it as-is, then. Thanks, P-47 
. I appreciate your input .
1 Like