The Freaks OOC

True Night wrote:

What happens if you use your evolved skills on somebody other than the owner? There's already some powers that have no business being boosted permanently, then Waldo and the original user could use them to greater effect on everyone else. Other than that it doesn't make sense that Waldo can walk along mimic somebody and then do something they've done for years better than them so soon just because she smart. Considering she doesn't have enhanced intelligence or something it sounds like she's simply superior. Knowledge helps, but I'd argue that practice is much more important.

As stated in the sheet, Waldo cannot mimic someone unless she is looking at them. And she'd have a really hard time looking at them if she's fighting another person. So, if she was blind folded she wouldn't be able to mimic anyone. And, I never said she could be more powerful than the other person. She would be limited in that regard in the exact same ways as her combatant, in fact, if it would make people feel better I could change her power so that whatever happens to the person she's fighting also happens to her (either while she's in mimic mode or immediately after) so killing them would be self destructive.

Also, enhanced intelligence would be absurd, because as with all my characters, I write at my own intelligence level

Tangent:

which I can hardly say is 'enhanced' or in need of a label to justify it, which is all that ever is in fictional settings as no one really has the time or patience to attempt to write above their intelligence level. The only thing that people change when writing their characters is the amount of social filters they use. I personally think social filters are overrated so any ones I do have in reality are gone on pretty much all my characters.

But anyway, that's besides the point. I actually got the whole mimic concept from my preferred strategy in fencing, which is to let my opponent attack one or twice, build a mental map of what all their tells, habits and preferences are then just as they start to attack again, launch at them with the exact same sort of attack they'd been using on you which works really well because people use that kind of attack because it gives them some kind of advantage over all the competitors of their skill level, and if that's the case odds are they've never had it used against them.

And, if you have any experience in the sport, you'd know that once you get to the level where you have to drive from Missouri to Amarillo Texas to find a challenging tournament, EVERYONE is as fast as you are. EVERYONE is as powerful as you are and EVERYONE can match or exceed your endurance level. So the only thing that will get you any wins is how well you can read your opponent. And that's personally what I love about the sport, there is no strongest guy in the room. A lot of times there's not even the smartest as there's going to almost always be a tie for that. So, in order to win anything, you have to be able to know that 83% of people you face look at where they want to attack for about 1.5 seconds before attacking with a second intention aimed, usually to the left of their desired target if you're left handed and the opposite if you're right handed. You also have to know that everyone rotates their hand slightly in opposite direction of where they intend to attack 2 or more seconds before they even start to move forward. There's also a trick that allows you to see how far someone is going to lunge you can do by watching your attackers back foot and how far their heel is rolled inwards before they attack. However, since most of the people here do not fence, I'll not bore you with anymore of that unless someone asks for it.

I guess my point is that I personally can't stand the dullness of using physical superiority to beat someone, so even if fiction I will never resort to that. When I say better, I never mean physically more powerful. Rather that the attack would be executed more intelligently. The amount of energy drain it would have on the original character if they did it would still apply to Waldo, as would all the original characters weaknesses. And as those would change from character to character, so would what would be most tactically effective. In the original character sheet, the example I gave of Fred assumed that controlling the shape of the fire wasn't a problem. Rather the amount of energy generated. So, while Fred would summon a wall of fire, because it was likely the first thing he thought of or an instinctive reaction, Waldo would create a tiny compressed ball of fire of the same energy level because it would be the most intelligent option. Fred in the example, could have done the same thing, but he simply didn't think of that. So only the methodology changes. Not the power or the weakness.

However, I do see your point in that its like copying something that took years of training to master, which is a bit unfair. But by comparison to what I've seen as other characters powers this takes a whole lot less suspension of disbelief and is the only thing that will be required to use the words 'supernatural power' for as the rest I can always rely on science for. But, in the interest of the fairness within the game I am open to suggestions on flaws and weaknesses to balance the scale, as flaws are what make a character interesting and power is what makes them boring.