re the SOTA nerf of major tattoos not misting SDC folks NEmo

[Axelmania]

I noticed when reading Secrets of the Atlanteans that "Damage is S.D.C. against S.D.C. opponents, and M.D. against Mega-Damage opponents." was added to a lot of the stuff, including:

1) Flaming Weapons (153-4, only gets a single-digit bonus, can't mist them) was not the case in Atlantis 87)
2) Electrical Arcs / Flaming Gout (156) new enhancements have that (though maybe not if combined with flaming, unsure on language)
3) Bleeding Heart Power Punch (158-159, was not the case in SDM 103)
4) Chain with a Broken Link (159, was not case in Atlantis 91)
5) Flaming Eye (161, was not the case in SDM 103)
6) Lightning Bolts (164, was not the case in Atlantis 92)
7) Skull Engulfed in Flames (166, not the case in Atlantis 93)

It seems like (as far as I can see) the only stuff which inflicts blatent MD anymore to 1-hit most squishies is...

1) Monsters (p 148)
2) Monster-Shaping (151)
3) Chain Wrapped around a Cloud (still MD lightning like spell)

Besides these, the only options I can think of are the T-Archer's "Power Arrow" tattoos (exclusive to Splugorth so it makes sense not to reprint them here) since they could mist people using:

1) Energy Disruption (only if prematurely removed)
2) Force Arrows
3) Lightning Arrows
4) Shadow Arrows

This really elevates the comparative power of T-Archers to other T-men using "Flaming Bow and Arrow" or other weapons, when it comes to the ability to decimate populations without MDC protection.

I'm wondering if perhaps this was done to make the new power tattoos more special? I notice some of them also inflict blatent MD without any "SDC to SDC targets" notations like were added to most of the preexisting weapons/powers:

1) Orb with a Flame (167) by comparison Fire Dragon's Head (169 left) has the SDC note
2) Ice Dragon's Head (169 right) which I guess is superior to fire dragon... right below it the Nuclear Symbol has the SDC note...

The dragon v. dragon example above makes me wonder if maybe there was just an oversight and the SDC note might've been intended but accidentally excluded from the Ice Dragon's Head? Perhaps even Orb with a Flame and Chain Wrapped Around a Cloud (SDC lightning to SDC folks?) were intended also?

Is there some overall rule added that I haven't seen basically saying you can't do MD to SDC beings anymore using tats? Or do these non-noted examples serve a very powerful purpose now where they did not stand out before?

[kaid]

For tattoo men and undead slayers they don’t really need a weapon to mist sdc opponents but I missed that notation as well.

[Mlp7029]

For tattoo men and undead slayers they don’t really need a weapon to mist sdc opponents but I missed that notation as well.

True they do not as they have supernatural strength. My GM concluded what Palladium meant was "does SDC damage in an SDC world and MD in an MD world". We have seen that notation on some magic weapons and notes that say all magic that does MD in an MD world does SDC in an SDC world. It just does not make sense that way it is written. How does the magic know what kind of opponent it is facing? Does MD that makes it through MD armor become SDC? It does make sense that the magic level of the dimension determines whether magic does MD or SDC.

[Axelmania]

Huh... page 68 does give Slayers some SNPS and SNPE... didn't notice that! Pretty gosh darned impressive upgrade, but I guess if WB2 made them supernatural beings then you may as well get the perks. Pg 61 also gives Monster Hunters that upgrade, and pg 65 lists it as a note for the Nomad Paladin. The new Defender/Voyager OCCs also say it...

Does anyone know where I can find a note saying this also applies to the basic Splugorth-Slave OCCs (ie humans/elves/ogres) like Tattooed Man, Monster Man, Maxi-Man, T-Archer which are not revisited in this book? I don't know if becoming supernatural and getting SNPS/SNPE is a thing just for Atlanteans or not. The Atlantean OCCs seem to get a lot more basic MDC for reaching the tier of 6 than non-Atlanteans, so I'm wondering if the PS/PE is just a benefit for them (partly since they start with augmented PS to begin with)

Wait... in a post RUE world, if these are still supernatural beings, that means Atlanteans killed in foreign dimensions get reincarnated in their home dimension right? If that's the case, then if the Sunaj limited their genocide to Atlanteans in the 3 Galaxies, it wouldn't be such a big deal because they'd be back in a decade or so as a baby/kid on Earth!

We've seen weapons in prior books that do SD against SDC creatures and MD against MDC creatures, so the magic "knows" somehow

As far as I understand: no MD makes it through MDC armor due to the GI Joe rule.

[Mlp7029]

Undead Slayers have always been supernatural beings so depending on your interpretation of what it means to be considered a supernatural being this is not really much of an upgrade. SOTA says nothing about non-Atlantean T-Men as far as I know. Since Maxi Men did not have a note saying they were considered supernatural beings I would think they do not get the upgrade.

[HWalsh]

A moderate nerf to the most overplayed RCC in the game... Doesn't really impact much and doesn't bother me at all.

[kaid]

Undead Slayers have always been supernatural beings so depending on your interpretation of what it means to be considered a supernatural being this is not really much of an upgrade. SOTA says nothing about non-Atlantean T-Men as far as I know. Since Maxi Men did not have a note saying they were considered supernatural beings I would think they do not get the upgrade.

Most t men have the sn strength tattoo as well. If a tattoo man wants to mist an sdc opponent they can.

[Axelmania]

Undead Slayers have always been supernatural beings so depending on your interpretation of what it means to be considered a supernatural being this is not really much of an upgrade.

Supernatural Beings universally having supernatural PS / PE isn't a thing I'm aware of, so that's the part which seems like an upgrade. Prior to this, I thought they'd have to use the Broken Link tat to get that.

A moderate nerf to the most overplayed RCC in the game... Doesn't really impact much and doesn't bother me at all.

The nerf appears to apply to the tats themselves (unless maybe it only applies to True Atlantean variations because TAs are such nice/kind people who don't want to mist squishies) not to the OCCs.

It doesn't seem like an impact when we think in terms of gods v. gods where everybody and their pet has MDC, but it is a major factor when you consider stepping into towns full of people who lack MDC protection where a single MD attack means death.

Previously, being able to instantly create an MD melee weapon nearly put people with magic tattoos on par with Cyber-Knights. In some cases better (higher damage at lower levels) though lacking their endurance (high PPE cost allows you to wait out the threat).

If a Cyber-Knight were suddenly nerfed like that (psi-sword's MD only does normal damage against SDC beings) the threat they pose to towns lacking MDC protection would be greatly reduced.

Another factor is high SDC beings like the Amaki Stone-Men are goliaths against these weapons, so to whittle them down to any significant degree, a Maxi-Man had better bring along a vibro-sword.

Automatic SNPS for the Atlantean OCCs kind of makes Magic Weapons a poor investment... I mean yeah if you need maximum damage, then go for the flaming + blood/dragon/demon or whatever, but for long-term fights, it'd probably make more sense to just invest the minimal 2 PPE for an indestructible non-MD weapon and just let it inflict your SNPS punch damage for you.

Most t men have the sn strength tattoo as well. If a tattoo man wants to mist an sdc opponent they can.

Why do you think most have it? As in most players will want to get it to maximize their SNPS punches and lifting? RP-wise I can't see it as one of the guided-to ones like how Monster Men will have either Animated Dead or Protection from Vamps, and either Invulnerability or Magic Armor. What typical T-Men have is just a number from certani categories with none specified.

That said, even if everyone had it, you're talking about 30 PPE for 5 minutes per level vs 10 PPE for 15 minutes per level, the Weapon Covered in Flames option used to be WAY more affordable.

Also, as I explained earlier, it wasn't just magic weapons, but also power tats: both the Bleeding Heart (power punch) and Chain w/a Broken Link (SNPS) have notes that the MD punches you get from them inflict SDC against SDC opponents.

The best way to exploit that problem would likely be to use Restrained Punches since those inflict higher SDC than converting the MD to SDC would give you. As long as you don't have 60+ strength (where you encounter the problem of even Restrained Punches doing MD) that's the strategy I'd go with.

I think in that case (I doubt most humans would able to get strength that high anyway, barring Bio-Wizardry or Chi-enhancement or allowing someone to buy Bodybuilding a couple dozen times) I'd allow someone the option of using the damage for lower tiers of strength if they wanted to, so that the high-SDC restrained punch is always an option.