Welcome to a new series we’re starting here on Untoldthegame.com: the Power UP! Series. Each week (or so), we'll pick a Power Card, analyze it and give you some cool tips and pointers for using the card in your game. While it will be primarily GM-focused (as we have lots of Player-oriented articles already), there will still be lots of information that the average Untold player can use as well.

Our intent is to show some cool ways that GM's (and Players too, by default) can incorporate these Power Cards into their Character or Minion builds, use them as treasure or story hooks, or base entire games around! There's literally no end to the cool uses one might find for Untold Power Cards, and we encourage you, the reader, to chime in below with your comments and stories of how you might use the Power in your game!

This week, we'll be examining our new "Desert Dweller" Power Card, from our latest deck release: Triple Threat: Slugs and Steel! So, let's take at the Power-at-a-glance:

Power-at-a-Glance

Power Name: Desert Dweller
Initial Level: 2
Double-card? Yes, next Level: 3
Swap Type: Site
MAG: Level 3: 0 / Level 3: 4
UP: CLASSIFIED
Boostable? No
Action: Free
Duration: Inherent
Range: Personal
Pre-requisite Powers? No
Type: Augmenting

Ok, so your first reaction is what can a GM possibly want with this card? Well, a short sighted GM (and Player for that matter) might pass on this card. While it might not be one of those Powers that "jumps out at you", any GM worth his salt will know that solid characters are built on more than combative powers alone. As such, we should not be so quick to overlook this card; when you know what to look for, then you can discover lots of potential.

So, knee jerk reactions aside, what can this card do? Mechanically, it has a very useful effect by adding a +10 bonus against Condition Powers with Fire effects. That alone makes this card extremely meaningful and useful in most games. Let's face it: fire effects, fire spells, and firearms are the old standbys of most combats and this Power Card helps your Minion, NPC, or Character avoid those searing tongues of flame. Further, because it’s a Free, Inherent, and Personal action, it happens automatically every turn, so long as the Power Card is in play – in a word: handy. The upgraded version of the Power also allows the user to add its MAG to any checks made in a desert. Need to search for water? Add 4 to your check. Need to climb a steep sand dune? You got +4 to help out.

It's beginning to look a bit better, now, isn't it? But, that's all well and good for a Player, but why would a GM want this card? First of all, for all the same mechanical reasons as we've already listed, for one, but that's an easy answer. Let's imagine, for a moment, that you run any campaign in a desert (or a desert-like setting, like a barren planet that's a little too close to its sun), then this card could be included with every Minion and NPC. When adding it, however, a GM needs to ask herself: why? What is it about this culture/race/people that grants them this ability? Maybe they are exposed to the elements as younglings – cast out of their
protective shelters and into the harsh environments of their world. Only those who survive (and thus gain this ability) survive into an adulthood tinged with brutality and beliefs that only the strongest should survive.

Or maybe all the members of this desert culture undergo a "rite of passage" at a certain age where they must seek a secluded spot in the wilds and commune with their surroundings, creating an entire society of contemplative mystics. Simply adding this single Power Card can inspire all sorts of story-related elements to your campaign – and the sky (or maybe we should say the sand) is the limit!

There are plenty of fun ways for both GMs and Players to use “Desert Dweller”! But what we want to know is how do you plan to use this card? Are you a Player who’s embracing the Desert lifestyle? Or a GM with a few nasty surprises stashed away under the sugar white sands of a peaceful sand dune? We want to know!

'Til next time!