Nyx-class warframe
Sequence
This article is about a frame fighter in the Warframe video game. Some other articles might be best read before it :
- The article presenting the Warframe setting, if you aren’t familiar with the game.
- The “base camp” article about what warframes are and how they work. This one is recommended even if you’re well familiar with the game. It has the design notes, for starters.
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Overview
Nyx warframes have psionicPsionics are sci-fi style psychic powers.-like powers. They are primarily known for messing with their opponents’ mind, to great advantage.
Nyx frames may not be literally manipulating telepathic and telekinetic forces. They likely approximate these through other means, such as fictional versions of ultra-low frequency sonics.
Another hypothesis is that it’s done using Void energies. This simple scenario goes :
- Nyx warframes were a late development. They appeared once Tenno commenced transferring into warframes.
- Nyx is chiefly powered via Transference, unlike most other warframes who can function without. Transference provides her with Void energy to work with.
- The technology she uses is the same as the Neural Sentries used on Orokin stations in the Void. It exposes people to Void energy to turn them into Corrupted. It’s just that the effects produced by Nyx are much shorter and less thorough.
- Nyx manipulation likely are the same Void phenomenon that afflicted the adults on the Zariman Ten-Zero.
Capabilities
The most distinctive abilities of Nyx warframes are :
- Taking over the mentality of an opponent, turning them to their side for a while. Nyx makes friends easily ! Nyx popular girl !
- A radial burst of energy that makes opponents hallucinate that their allies have all turned into Nyx warframes. They will swiftly descend into infighting as everyone’s shooting at everyone.
- Entering a meditative state to erect a bubble of force around herself. This bubble harmlessly absorbs incoming attacks. When Nyx ends the bubble, it explodes with a force proportional to the total absorbed damage.
- Slightly cloud others’ perceptions. This makes a Nyx harder to hit with ranged attacks, as long as she keeps moving.
- Hurling bolts of “psychic force”.
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Tell me more about the game stats
DEX 08 STR 07 BOD 10
Powers:
Cling: 04, Damage capacity: 06, Gliding: 02, Invulnerability: 12, Jumping: 03, Radio communications: 16, Running: 06
Bonuses and Limitations:
- Cling can only be maintained for 3 Phases (if running) or 1 Phase (if stationary).
- Cling doesn’t work on surfaces at more than a 100° angle from the ground (such as ceiling, or protrusions along walls).
- Gliding can only be maintained for 3 Phases.
- Invulnerability – see below.
- Jumping has the Catfall Bonus.
- Radio coms includes video. It also allows The Lotus to anchor her Eye of Cat Power to a warframe. It usually links to the Orbiter and/or Landing Craft, which acts as a relay to the network.
Warframe-Specific Powers:
Bomb: 10, Control: 05, Force field: 05, Illusion: 08, Mental bolt: 03, Neutralise: 10
Bonuses and Limitations:
- Bomb has No Range, and can only be used right when collapsing Force Field.
- Bomb has Power Loss. The APs it can deploy are proportional to the amount of damage it absorbed. The listed, maximum value corresponds to being under heavy fire for three Phases. The APs are best eyeballed by Gamemasters, since a function would be either complex or produce some silly results.
- Control is limited a general “you fight at my side now” order. Normally this directive incurs penalties as the person turns against their allies. But here it’s already factored in.
- Force Field is Minimal Marginal.
- Erecting and maintaining Force Field consumes all Actions for every Phase it is up. Nyx cannot even walk.
- Illusion is Minimal Marginal.
- Illusion has a selective 3 APs Area of Effect.
- Illusion is limited to making targets see everyone as an armed, hostile Nyx warframe.
- Neutralize has No Range, but can be Combined With Mental bolt and ride its Range.
- Neutralize can only attack set targets :
- For most targets it can only attack DEX, and only to lower the OV component by a maximum of two RAPs.
- For Infected targets (not including Helminth Infestation) it can only attack DEX. But this time it is a normal DEX reduction – AV, OV, Initiative, land speed.
- For Infected Ancients, Nyx can simultaneously attack DEX and their aura Powers. This is done without penalties for Multi-Attack.
Skills:
Acrobatics: 08, Medicine (First aid): 05, Thief (Security systems, Stealth): 06, Vehicles: 07, Weaponry: 08
Bonuses and Limitations:
Medicine applies to warframes without penalty.
Warframe-Specific Skills:
Evasion (Ranged): 09
Advantages:
Area Knowledge (Real-time mapping and positioning), Leadership, Schtick (Paired weapons (all), Fast-Draw (all)).
Equipment:
SHIELDING [BODY 02, Damage Capacity: 08, Bonus: Damage Capacity has Instant Recovery].
Reviving
Invulnerability has Ammo: 04. The Hidden Messages quest in the game implies that it as a shorter range than most Transference functions, but there’s no other context. Maybe 100M kilometers (41 APs) – it’s a round, reasonable number.
If you are using our hypothesis that “revives” mean supercharging the Infestation within, each use would make the warframe visibly more overtaken by the Infestation. It would then have to be scrubbed and repaired in the orbiter’s “Infestation seat”.
Design notes
In Warframe, Nyx’s bolts strip armour. This is specifically tied to the way armour numbers scale in Warframe, and how they need to be reduced to handle some high-level opponents. Outside of this in-game context, it doesn’t make much sense.
Here we go with a different take, where Nyx slows her opponents and make them easier targets. It’s less gameplay-system-specific, keeps the general functionality of her #2 power, and is in-line with her mind control theme.
For the Illusion, I’m assuming a build heavily favouring Range.
As with most warframes, we use Marginal mechanics to represent energy consumption in a simple manner.
Source of Character: Warframe vidjagame.
Writeup completed on the 10th of April, 2019.