I referenced
this old Atomic Think Tank forum topic on X-Ray vision to help me formulate an opinion.
While I concede that a narrow read on the rules would make x-ray vision unable to penetrate an obsfuscation effect
(such as, say, darkness), it doesn't seem to fit with what I think you're trying to go for... so I'm willing to allow that in gratis.
But the question, for me comes with how her perceives things.
So, let me give you a straight-forward example.
quote:
Alicia is a tiny one-foot something woman. She's hiding behind Rick "The Brick" who's a bloody big behemoth of a man. They're both behind in a dark room behind a two-foot thick brick room.
If higher-density materials appear as more opaque shades of white against a field of mostly black, he penetrates the concealment of the brick wall and sees Rick the Brick. Would he see Alicia behind him?
Perhaps, since Rick is flesh and blood, a more ghostly reverse-shadow of Alicia would be visible superimposed on what Golden Bolt sees of Rick. That makes sense to me. But
that brings the question to me of what would happen if you've got a dozen people lined up in a row? At what point does it become
too many ghost images to distinguish?
I
know I'm splitting hairs here, but I wanted to outline a little of my thought process. I
enjoy this kind of mental wrangling. And I'm not going to let it over-color the actual game-play. However, I also want it clear that "Penetrates Concealment" does not grant omniscience. Golden Bolt simply doesn't see
everything.
Ar you familiar with photography and depth-of-field? I think this plays a big part in how we model this sense-effect in action.
He can certainly concentrate and adjust the depth-of-field of his vision. Perhaps even slowly calibrating it so that he's seeing the first person, then the second person, then the third...
Now, of course, if you don't actually care, then it's all good. I spent a little time thinking about this at work (hey, my work is stupidly boring, so any diversion is a good thing). But, on the other hand... if you've got an opinion, I want to make sure we're at least in the same chapter if not on the same page...
So, what are your thoughts? How do you want it to work?
This message was last edited by the GM at 11:19, Wed 11 Mar 2020.