Agents of OS: Abilities

So, in Agents of OS, once you've rolled your agent's attributes and settled on an origin, you need to select your agent's starting abilities.  Abilities are the... enhancements or powers that resulted from their origin: cybernetic/bionic enhancements for artificial origins, highly specialized training for trained origins, and supernormal powers for transformed origins.

The remainder of this post is designated Open Game Content as outlined in section 1(d) of the Open Game License.

Abilities

There are three different types of abilities: Specialties (areas of focused training or knowledge), Powers (abilities beyond the ken of normal men), and Augmentations (bionic or cybernetic emulations of Specialties or Powers). Enhancements apply to Powers and Augmentations which emulate powers and build upon their basic capabilities. An agent’s origin dictates which Abilities the agent can use.

Specialties

Specialty	Augmentation?
Athletics	Y
Business	N
Combat	Y
Contacts	N
Investigation	N
Law	N
Linguistics	Y
Medicine	Y
Occult	N
Science	N
Stealth	Y
Tactics	Y
Technology	Y
Vehicles	Y

An “N” in the “Augmentation?” column means that the given Specialty cannot be used in an Augmentation; a “Y” in that same column indicates that it can.

Powers

Power	Augmentation?
Aquatic	Y
Element Control	Y
Energy Control	Y
Flight	Y
Healing	Y
Material Mimicry	N
Matter Control	Y
Smarts	Y
Speed	Y
Strength	Y
Telekinesis	Y
Toughness	Y
Resistance	Y

An “N” in the “Augmentation?” column means that the given Power cannot be used in an Augmentation; a “Y” in that same column indicates that it can.

Aquatic: this power allows an agent to breathe and move underwater as if they were on land. In addition, an agent with the aquatic power adds their power bonus to their movement score when swimming (normal swimming speed is half ground speed; an agent with Aquatic +4 would swim at 10’/round [12 / 2 + 4]).

Element Control: this power allows an agent to control one of the four base elements - fire, air, earth, and water - which is chosen when the power is selected. They can summon it, create it, form it, and control it it do their bidding. In addition, their power bonus acts as damage reduction against attacks from that element.

Energy Control: this power allows an agent to control a form of energy - electricity, kinetic, magnetic, etc. - which is chosen when the power is selected. This power is in all other ways identical to Element Control.

Flight: this power allows an agent to fly. An agent with the flight power adds their power bonus to their movement score when in flight.

Healing: this power grants an agent superhuman healing powers. Once per encounter the agent can heal up to their total power bonus in damage; once per round, the agent can heal up to half their total power bonus in damage.

Material Mimicry: this power allows an agent to change the fundamental makeup of their body to match a material which is chosen when the power is selected.

Matter Control: this power allows an agent to control some form of matter - wood, stone, steel, silk - which is chosen when the power is selected. This power is in all other ways identical to Element Control.

Smarts: this power gives an agent superhuman intelligence. An agent with the Smarts power adds their power bonus to their Intelligence or Wisdom modifier.

Speed: this power allows an agent to move at superhuman speed. An agent with the Speed power adds their power bonus to their movement score.

Strength: this power grants an agent superhuman strength. An agent with the Strength power adds their power bonus to their Strength modifier.

Telekinesis: this power grants the agent the ability to move things around with the power of their mind alone. Using telekinesis, the agent can lift things of up to their power bonus times 10 in pounds.

Toughness: this power grants an agent superhuman resistance to damage. Any damage received by the agent is reduced by half of the agent’s power bonus.

Resistance: this purely defensive power grants an agent resistance to one type of energy, element, or matter, which is selected when the power is chosen. Any damage received by the agent from the selected material is reduced by the agent’s power bonus. 

Enhancements

At each level where an Enhancement is an option to a Power or an Augmentation, an enhancement from the following list can be selected. Some enhancement combinations may be disallowed by the GM; not all enhancements are appropriate for all abilities.

Ranged: by default, abilities work at close (melee) range only. Selecting the Ranged enhancement allows an ability to affect opponents at range.

Affects Others: with the Affects Others enhancement, an agent’s ability can affect other creatures, if they remain within the normal range of the agent’s ability.

Burst: an agent’s normally single-target ability can affect everyone within immediate range.

Affects X: a target normally immune (or resistant to) an agent’s ability is not immune.

Duration: an ability which normally has a single use lasts for an entire round for each Duration enhancement.

Using Abilities

Each ability has an ability modifier. In addition to any specifics given in the ability description above, once per round the ability modifier may be assigned to any action during that round for which the agent’s player can justify the use. As examples, the bonus from the speed power could be added to an initiative roll, the bonus from the technology specialty could be added to an intelligence attribute check, and the bonus from the strength augmentation could be added to an attack (which includes both the “to hit” and damage rolls). With every ability use, the agent’s player should describe how the ability is being used. The GM has the right to deny any inappropriate ability uses.

Powers and augmentations which can deal damage have a default range of melee only, and affect one target. To expand the range or the number of targets, enhancements should be chosen as the agent gains levels.

Outside of combat or in situations where the ability modifier is used, an agent’s player should be able to narratively use the ability to a level commensurate to their in-combat uses.