So one of my big complaints with the Nova playbook is that it never actually becomes better at Flares – due to it running stat agnostic and instead based on Conditions, it always has the same chance of failure, whether they’re fresh out of creation, or they’ve gone through a lot of hardship and been around the block.
To alleviate this, in my own personal game I am running I’ve added on to the Moment of Truth for the Nova – after unlocking and using it, they now roll their charging up move at +1 base, and then after the second Moment of Truth at +2.
I felt this made both mechanical sense and fit with the story of it – after taking full control of their powers in a way that lets them warp reality, they gain a little more control, even if it’s not as complete. It means they’re less likely to blow themselves up, which is nice. And lets them get more use out of their flares, which is more fun for the player too.
I was wondering if, perhaps, tying it to taking more flares would be more ‘balanced’ since Moment of Truth is already Big And Huge. Opinions?
Doesn’t granting a bonus to the move reduce tension and drama though?
By that logic all of the advances that raise your labels reduce tension and drama. When in fact, they just allow you to grow.
The fact of the matter is that if your core story to a playbook is ‘you do not have control’, they should grow into that control, just like the Legacy grows into being worthy of their legacy, the Beacon grows into belonging on the team, etc.
Here’s my thoughts on the Nova’s flares. Two of them are tied to labels. The rest are ‘you do this’ sorts of things. The additional flares you take (beyond your initial set) represent the increased power at your disposal. At the same time, the Nova should never really feel in control of the power at their disposal. That raw, barely contained power is the central part of the Nova’s schtick. Without that, they’re just gods among supermen.
When a Nova warps reality with their powers, it could just as easily leave them less in control of the power, having just barely managed to keep it from destroying the city/planet/galaxy/universe.
I’d probably be fine with a Nova getting better at Burn as some kinda house rule advance (not sure about the Moment of Truth tie-in), provided the bonus is still bound by the “you can’t roll with more than +4” rule. So it would essentially let you count as having an extra Condition marked for the purpose of the roll, without the associated reckless emotion, which feels like a decent mechanical/narrative fit if you want to show a Nova getting a handle on themselves and their typical rollercoaster of angst.
As it stands, a first-session Nova can willingly mark 4 Conditions and roll Burn with a +4 to supercharge themselves. I think a Nova being able to do the same by marking 2 Conditions in the “adult moves” phase of a campaign would be pretty okay: more control, but not more power.
It would certainly obey the dice limit rules, such that more conditions would not improve the roll past +4.
Making it part of its own advance does seem like it’d be a good idea though. Though it bloats the Nova’s advance list a little, which I was trying to avoid.
What if instead of a bonus to the roll, you got more from it (so you don’t need to roll as often)?
They gain more control by learning WHEN to use flares and when to use normal power and gaining their pluses to those roles.