New Feats based on Bullet Time

[SteveC]

Here are some new Feats that I am considering for a D20 Modern campaign. The feat is intended to be highly cinematic, so obviously YMMV by campaign type. Let me know what you think: too weak? Too strong? Too lame?

Note to mods: please feel free to move this thread to the D20 Modern/OGL board if that is more appropriate...

Bullet Time [Cinematic]
Bullet Time accelerates your reflexes to super human levels. Time in the world around you seems to slow almost to a halt, but you are able to act normally. To outsiders, you become a blur of super-human speed. Whoa!
Prerequisites: Heroic Surge, Concentration (8 ranks)

Benefit:
You may activate Bullet Time either before or after you take an action on your initiative, but never more than once in a turn. Activating Bullet Time requires spending an Action Point and also expends one of your uses of Heroic Surge. You may only use Bullet Time once per day, regardless of the number of Heroic Surge uses or Action Points you have available.
When you initiate Bullet Time, a special Bullet Time Round immediately occurs, which is conducted similar to a surprise round. You are considered "aware" and may take an attack action or move action as in a traditional surprise round. All other characters are considered flat-footed for the duration of the Bullet Time Round.

Other characters with Action Points may spend one to retain their normal Defense score and not be treated as flat-footed during the Bullet Time Round. Additionally, other characters with the Bullet Time Feat may spend an Action Point and a use of Heroic Surge to act during the Bullet Time Round. If multiple characters are eligible to act in a Bullet Time Round they may Ready actions or Delay as normal, but these actions must be used before the Round ends or they are lost.

There may only be one Bullet Time Round in a single turn of combat. Remember that you may only spend one Action Point per round, and Bullet Time requires and Action Point to activate.

Special: You may use Bullet Time in response to a Readied action to attack, assuming you are aware of the target and not surprised. In this case, complete the Bullet Time Round and then immediately resolve the Readied action, assuming your opponent is still able to perform it. A character who is unable to perform the action they had Readied loses the action, but their Initiative total remains the same.

Example:
Mark Arnette, a pistol-packing private detective, is standing in the doorway to a dilapidated tenement building setting an ambush. He knows that Katrina, a skilled Martial Artist (a player character), is right behind him. Mark is a GM character, so the GM has him Ready an action to shoot anyone who walks in front of the doorway. Katrina is wary of this obvious ambush attempt, but does not know (as of yet) that Mark will try and kill her.
When Katrina steps into sight, Mark executes his Readied action to fire. Katrina is aware of the situation (the GM had her make a Spot roll, which she succeeds at), and activates Bullet Time. Unfortunately Mark does not have Bullet Time, but he is an heroic GM character, and so has Action Points. The GM has Mark spend one to not be considered flat-footed during the round. With her action, Katrina takes a five foot step and successfully disarms Mark of his pistol. Since she is the only acting character, the Bullet Time Round ends, and Mark would now execute his Readied action. Unfortunately for him, Mark no longer has a pistol to shoot at Katrina, so his action is lost. Mark's Initiative remains the same, and the combat round continues normally at this point.

Improved Bullet Time [Cinematic]
Prerequisites: Bullet Time, Concentration (12 ranks)
Benefit: You receive one additional use of Bullet Time per day. The additional use requires you to spend an Action Point and uses up an Heroic Surge as normal.

Special: You may still only use Bullet Time once in a turn, and there can still only be one Bullet Time Round in a turn of combat.

Bullet Dodge [Cinematic]
You can increase your reaction time to easily step out of the way of most attacks. To outsiders you are a blur of motion, moving so fast you are nearly impossible to strike at. What are you trying to tell me? That I can dodge bullets?

Prerequisites: Dodge, Mobility, Heroic Surge, Concentration (8 ranks)

Benefit: On your turn you may spend a use of Heroic Surge to improve your defensive abilities. Until your next turn you receive a +4 Dodge bonus to any attack that you are aware of. You may choose to activate this bonus at any point during your turn, either before or after you take an action.

You may use Bullet Dodge and receive the Dodge bonus in response to a Readied action to attack, assuming you are aware of the target and not surprised.

Any attack that would cause you to lose your bonus to Dexterity will also result in the loss of this bonus. The bonus from Bullet Dodge stacks with the bonus from Mobility.

If you are attacked and it is not currently your turn you may activate Bullet Dodge by spending an Action Point in addition to the Heroic Surge use. The Dodge bonus applies until your next turn. Remember, however, that you are only allowed to spend one Action Point per round.

Special: You may not use Bullet Dodge during a Bullet Time round.

Note: the [Cinematic] descriptor is a part of the campaign I am currently running, which is a multi-genre, multi-dimensional game. It means that a character can not use this feat in a world with either the Realistic or Grim descriptors without spending an additional Action Point. I would be glad to post more on world descriptors if there is an interest.

 

[JimAde]

This is cool, but the very first trick Neo does with bullet time in The Matrix is dodging bullets, which this doesn't let you do. How about adding this (or making it a separate feat that requires Bullet Time):

If you are attacked and have a use of bullet time available, you may declare a "Bullet Dodge". Bullet Dodge must be declared after the attack against you is declared but before hit determination or damage is resolved. This expends your bullet time use. If the attack targets you directly, your attacker suffers a 100% miss chance as if you were incorporeal. If the attack is an area effect, you get a +4 on the subsequent saving throw. You may not take a move or attack action using Bullet Dodge. You may not use bullet dodge any time you are denied your DEX bonus to AC.

Too wordy, but you get the idea. What do you think?

 

[SteveC]

This is cool, but the very first trick Neo does with bullet time in The Matrix is dodging bullets, which this doesn't let you do. How about adding this (or making it a separate feat that requires Bullet Time):

If you are attacked and have a use of bullet time available, you may declare a "Bullet Dodge". Bullet Dodge must be declared after the attack against you is declared but before hit determination or damage is resolved. This expends your bullet time use. If the attack targets you directly, your attacker suffers a 100% miss chance as if you were incorporeal. If the attack is an area effect, you get a +4 on the subsequent saving throw. You may not take a move or attack action using Bullet Dodge. You may not use bullet dodge any time you are denied your DEX bonus to AC.

Too wordy, but you get the idea. What do you think?

Jim,
Good point! I actually have made several feats based on the Matrix/Hong Kong action movie style. I've posted the one that is closest to what you suggested...let me know what you think about it!

--Steve

 

[danzig138]

Not bad

When I saw the subject header, I groaned, but these aren't bad. I would keep them seperate even if bullet dodging was Neo's first act. Just say theat he had picked up both, but hadn't used them yet or some such. I didn't notice in the Improved Bullet Time, can you take it more than once to gain even more uses per day?
These wouldn't work in most games I run, but I can see finding a place for them somehow. Does it say something about me that when I saw Bullet Time in the Matrix, my first thought was "Chuin wouldn't need to be in a computer generated world to do that."?

 

[JimAde]

When I saw the subject header, I groaned, but these aren't bad. I would keep them seperate even if bullet dodging was Neo's first act. Just say theat he had picked up both, but hadn't used them yet or some such. I didn't notice in the Improved Bullet Time, can you take it more than once to gain even more uses per day?
These wouldn't work in most games I run, but I can see finding a place for them somehow. Does it say something about me that when I saw Bullet Time in the Matrix, my first thought was "Chuin wouldn't need to be in a computer generated world to do that."?

Steve,
These look good and, as Danzig pointed out, they're actually playable which I also feared they wouldn't be when reading the title. Cool. But the description of Bullet Time says a move action OR an attack action. But in the example the character takes a 5-foot step and makes an attack (a disarm). Is that correct? Doesn't the 5-foot step still count as a move action, or do I have the rule wrong?

Danzig,
Of course! He is a master of Sinanju. There are legends of real martial arts masters (like Morihei Ueshiba) doing things just like this. I think this could fit into a highly cinematic campaign set in a non-computer generated world just fine.

 

[SteveC]

When I saw the subject header, I groaned, but these aren't bad. I would keep them seperate even if bullet dodging was Neo's first act. Just say theat he had picked up both, but hadn't used them yet or some such. I didn't notice in the Improved Bullet Time, can you take it more than once to gain even more uses per day?
These wouldn't work in most games I run, but I can see finding a place for them somehow. Does it say something about me that when I saw Bullet Time in the Matrix, my first thought was "Chuin wouldn't need to be in a computer generated world to do that."?

I can understand the groan, Danzig. I am a pretty traditional (or is that just old?) gamer, and usually groan when I see rules like this too. The game I am running can go anywhere the players want (literally, although they are just starting to realize that), so they make the requests, I just honor 'em. There are a lot of movies and video games that use these type of "kewl powerz" so I thought there would be an interesting way to rate it in D20 terms.

As far as Improved Bullet Time, nope that's a one time feat, although the GM could always rule otherwise--I certainly don't think it would be unbalancing to do so.

Oh, I think Chuin would have had a hoot at the Matrix. It is very soap-operaish, after all...

 

[SteveC]

Steve,
These look good and, as Danzig pointed out, they're actually playable which I also feared they wouldn't be when reading the title. Cool. But the description of Bullet Time says a move action OR an attack action. But in the example the character takes a 5-foot step and makes an attack (a disarm). Is that correct? Doesn't the 5-foot step still count as a move action, or do I have the rule wrong?

Danzig,
Of course! He is a master of Sinanju. There are legends of real martial arts masters (like Morihei Ueshiba) doing things just like this. I think this could fit into a highly cinematic campaign set in a non-computer generated world just fine.

Jim,
Thanks for the good words.
As far as the 5-foot step goes, D20 Modern still uses the rules from D&D: you can make a 5-foot step either before or after taking an attack action, as long as you don't do any other movement on your turn. I just checked the SRD to make sure of this (since there were a number of changes made to the combat sequence).

While these rules were inspired by The Matrix, there are many other games and movies that use this sort of technique, so I think there would not be any problems in using these rules for any highly cinematic campaign. At least that's what I think. What do the rest of you have to say?

 

[JimAde]

Jim,
Thanks for the good words.
As far as the 5-foot step goes, D20 Modern still uses the rules from D&D: you can make a 5-foot step either before or after taking an attack action, as long as you don't do any other movement on your turn. I just checked the SRD to make sure of this (since there were a number of changes made to the combat sequence).

While these rules were inspired by The Matrix, there are many other games and movies that use this sort of technique, so I think there would not be any problems in using these rules for any highly cinematic campaign. At least that's what I think. What do the rest of you have to say?

As I said, I agree it would fit into a lot of cinematic campaigns. One thing, though: it looks like Bullet Time could be taken by a 5th level character. Is that OK? If I was to use this in a martial-arts based game (as opposed to something Matrix-inspired) I would want it available only to real masters. Say 10th level and up. What would be a good way to do that? I could just require more concentration ranks, I suppose. Or maybe a bigger feat chain? Not sure.

 

[SteveC]

One thing, though: it looks like Bullet Time could be taken by a 5th level character. Is that OK? If I was to use this in a martial-arts based game (as opposed to something Matrix-inspired) I would want it available only to real masters. Say 10th level and up. What would be a good way to do that? I could just require more concentration ranks, I suppose. Or maybe a bigger feat chain? Not sure.

Sure, that wouldn't be a problem. In cases like that, I'd change the Concentration requirement to 12 ranks (16 for Improved Bullet Time).

If you wanted to require more feats to access the abilities, I would recommend one or more of the following: Alertness, Combat Martial Arts, Combat Reflexes, Defensive Martial Arts or Combat Expertise.

 

[JimAde]

Sure, that wouldn't be a problem. In cases like that, I'd change the Concentration requirement to 12 ranks (16 for Improved Bullet Time).

If you wanted to require more feats to access the abilities, I would recommend one or more of the following: Alertness, Combat Martial Arts, Combat Reflexes, Defensive Martial Arts or Combat Expertise.

Sounds good. Thanks.