Side Effect

Side effects have proven the most difficult aspect of World Trigger to figure out and include in the game. Trying to balance around restricting the advantages to prevent abuse, but not so prohibitive that no one would ever consider trying to make one. In the end, I decided that Side Effects could basically be treated similar to Distinctions, yet different enough that it doesn’t entirely replace Distinctions.

Side Effects will give an entirely different advantage than Distinctions, to truly make them unique. With Distinctions, they either added a d8, or a d4 plus a plot point if used as a disadvantage. The dice assignment to add to the dice pool doesn’t exist with Side Effects. Instead, under the right conditions, the side effect will give bonus plot points without the need for suffering a disadvantage. This means the side effect is entirely separated from the process of building the dice pool, and it can be triggered in the same action as you use any other distinction.

Creating a Side Effect

Side Effects require a minimum of 7 Trion, and priority A assigned to Side Effect. The explanation for Side effects is that high levels of trion contained within a person enhanced normal human abilities related to senses or brain functions. In some rare cases even among side effects, an ESP like ability can manifest. This is a very broad definition and as such, to create a side effect we will have to describe in more detail the specifics of how the character’s side effect behaves.

The following things create a well defined Side Effect:

• Effect Type 
• Conditions – when does the side effect trigger
• Limits
• Transference 

Though the player is responsible for most of the work in creating the side effect, the Game-master is heavily involved in defining the Limits and determining Transference if it falls outside of the scope defined below.

Effect Type

Border has created four classes of Side Effect, based largely on Rarity of the type of effect. The four types are: Enhanced Senses, Special Constitution, Superhuman Ability, and Extra-Sensory Perception. The rarity has nothing to do with the strength or power of the side effect though.

At times there can also be overlap between two different types. This can be confusing, so the following definitions will hopefully clear that up. Please keep in mind that these are my interpretations and don’t represent official cannon on where a specific Side Effect belongs.

• Enhanced Senses: Fairly straight forward. Take a human physical sense, and make it more sensitive, or improve the range, or otherwise improve it beyond normal human capabilities.
• Special Constitution: Take a human ability related to brain function and improve it beyond the normal human capabilities. Or create a new kind physical sense. For a new type of physical sense, define the sort of information this sense picks up, and the physical sensations that relay that information to the character.
• Super Human Ability: Create an entirely new ability related to brain function or the processing of information. In the case of processing information, define the sort of information that is processed and how it differs from what normal humans can do. In the case of a new ability related to brain function
• Extra-Sensory Perception: Unlike Physical senses, the information that is sensed does not create a physical sensation. Instead, this category of side effect senses things with the mind. The information may still go through a physical channel (like through touch), but it does not have a physical sensation that goes with it, only the knowledge of that information. Define the sort of information that this sense picks up.

Conditions

This determines what conditions trigger your side effect. This definition is somewhat meta because you don’t describe real world conditions that your side effect works under, but what conditions you get a plot point because of your side effect. It’s a subtle difference. Most of the time your side effect can give you information that the Game-master considers your side effect will give you, but it may not give you a plot point to use on a roll. This is somewhat similar to defining the type of test that a distinction works for.

A few examples are probably best to illustrate the point:

Murakami Ko’s side effect is a B rank Special constitution side effect that enhances learning. He retains/learns more after sleeping than a normal person. But under what conditions does he receive a plot point? Due to the way that he uses his side effect, he learns how other people fight extremely quickly. Whenever he fights someone he has fought before, he has an edge because he has learned their style of fighting extremely well. This is the condition: Fighting versus an opponent he has fought against before.

Limits

This is perhaps the most important part and should heavily involve your Game-master and their input. What doesn’t your side effect do? What information will it not provide the character? Those questions are important for determining the extent of a side effect’s ability. But the biggest concern is a limit on the condition. Now that you have determined the condition in which you would earn a plot point, what limiting factors can be put into play to narrow that condition down so it doesn’t get abused. The condition is supposed to be broad in definition, but the Limits are supposed to be more specific, and there can be more than one.

To continue with the example:

Murakami Ko’s side effect condition trigger’s his side effect whenever he is fighting against an opponent he has fought before. This is extremely broad and in a short amount of time could grant him an edge on everyone, all the time.

So the limits put in place were that he needs to sleep before he gets this condition. Fighting someone ten times in a row won’t grant him the plot points if he hasn’t slept.

Another limit placed is that all weapons, triggers, skills used need to be taken into consideration. Fighting against the same person as before, but if they’re using a new technique or trigger, like when Kumagai started using Meteora, would no longer grant him the benefits of that plot point. This also applies if it has been a while since he last fought this person and their skill has increased with the trigger. They won’t fight the same way as before.

Transference

In some battles, it was seen that a character’s side effect could be shared with the members of his/her squad. This is Transference, and there are special cases where this applies. Since sensory information is relayed back and forth between the Trion body and the Real body, a person’s side effect can be used when in their Trion body. The operator can channel this sensory information back to the other members in the squad. However, in the cases where the side effect has to do with a brain function or ability not related to the physical senses, then this information is inaccessible to the operator and as such cannot be transferred.

In the cases where a character uses their plot point to create a minor aspect, transference allows this minor aspect to be available to the entire squad thanks to the sensory information transferred from the operator. This is the final thing that must be defined for the side effect, whether or not it can be transferred.