[Proposal][Autopass][No Grandfathering][Objection] Restriction of Immunity Merit (Mage merit)

Council,

 

Pursuant to Coordinator bylaw ยง3.C.iii, as the Mage coordinator, I, Jason Place, propose the following:

 

That the following be added to the Character bylaws as ยง10.i.v (Mage Controlled Items):

 

======

v. Mage Merits

1. Merit: Immunity (standard version) at a rating greater than 6 - PC: Majority Vote - NPC: Coordinator Notify - Coordinator: Mage

2. Merit: Immunity ("half damage" version) at a rating greater than 3 - PC: Majority Vote - NPC: Coordinator Notify - Coordinator: Mage

3. Merit: Immunity - multiple instances of the merit on the same PC - PC: Coordinator Approval - NPC: Coordinator Notify - Coordinator: Mage

======

 

RATIONALE

 

It has been brought to my attention that Immunity at a high level is starting to become the new hotness for Mage PCs to take.  This merit is somewhat unusual in that it has such a wide range in point values; it can range from a 2 point merit to a 16 point merit.

 

From 2-6 points, it's not too bad.  It makes you immune to a single thing, with the points required increasing as the merit becomes more common or powerful.  For example, at 2 traits you might be immune to something common but mild (sunburn), while six traits would make you immune to a single common/serious threat (fire, drowning).

 

Starting at the next tier (8 points), the merit starts to make the character immune to EVERYTHING, except for a certain vulnerability, which gets smaller/rarer as the point value increases.  At 8 points, the character might ONLY be vulnerable to fire or damage to the chest.  At 10 points, it gets harder to harm them - they are vulnerable only to something rare (mistletoe daggers) or only in one small spot (the heel).  12 traits is a very rare bane (radiation, a specific spell) or a combination of less rare circumstances (mistletoe dagger wielded by a woman).  14 traits is something very involved (mistletoe dagger wielded by a red-headed woman on the night of the full moon).  And finally, 16 traits means the character is immune to all but one unique, rare, specific bane (for example, Excalibur).

 

You can also elect to take only half damage, rather than having full immunity, which halves the cost of the merit.

 

I don't think that the 2/4/6 point versions of the merit need to be restricted.  Even if a character is immune to one common thing (claws, fire, blades, bullets, etc), that still leaves plenty of potential vulnerabilities for NPCs and PCs to exploit.

 

However, at the levels where immunity starts becoming "everything EXCEPT the specified thing," we start getting into the territory where a PC for all intents and purposes gets Aegis, forever, without any kind of expenditure, unless the specific bane is met.  In the end, even if the merit would likely be stripped travelling outisde of the home game, I believe the mechanical advantage granted by such immunity or half damage - available at character generation, granting perpetual effective immunity to damage at a cost of 16 points at most - is not in any way balanced considering the low cost.

 

Given that I've now been told that there are already up to three PCs with the 16 point version, I unfortunately do not feel I can continue to leave this in ST hands.  Items A and B basically limit the higher end of the merit.  Item C is just to make sure that we don't end up with end-runs around the bylaw where someone has Immunity: fire AND Immunity: blades AND Immunity: bullets AND....etc.

 

This proposal is being made without grandfathering.

 

Jason Place

Mage Coord