Friction (Tribokinesis)

**Tribokinesis** is the use of friction. Friction controllers focus on both increasing and decreasing friction on the floor, air and other objects to constantly restrain opponents and buff themselves, usually achieving victory through some damage source not based in the kinesis. Just as the sound kinesis actually produces its effect through vibrations, friction controllers achieve their effects by manipulating intermolecular forces, which advanced users can specialize in for further effects relating to changes in pressure and even states of matter.

Sometimes referred to in slang as rugburns.

### **Common Strengths**

* Manipulating friction can make it difficult for enemies to move properly. One method is to increase friction in the air around them, increasing air resistance and thus slowing them. Another is to make the floor around them totally frictionless, preventing them from properly walking or even standing up. This is especially effective against melee-focused enemies, since they'll have trouble reaching you.
* Friction can also be controlled to improve the movement of the user. Try removing friction from the air around you to have zero air resistance, combined with increasing the friction of the ground beneath you for more traction. Due to this combination, Friction controllers are among the fastest kineses.
* Friction controllers can't fly, but by manipulating friction, they can crawl up walls like Spiderman, or even run up them in the case of advanced users. Not ceilings though, or anything over 90 degrees.
* Increasing air resistance also makes hitting Friction users with ranged attacks more difficult, not to mention their above average speeds. It can still be done, but the attacker needs to take extra measures into consideration to get successful hits. All hits in general will be somewhat reduced in power in general due to reduced friction, which is expressed by Friction having one of the highest HP scores. They get an above-average utility rating too due to all their shenanigans! This kinesis must be secretly OP!

### **Common Weaknesses**

* Friction controllers don't shut down all projectiles equally. They are weak to enemies who can use abilities that will hit basically regardless of friction in the air, such as the volleys of lasers projected by Network users.
* Friction takes time to build up or reduce. They won't be able to instantly change air resistance to immediately slow enemies or trip up the floor beneath them, for instance.
* This also applies to benefits for themselves. If a friction controller wants to make a section of the floor have more friction for them to run across, that has to be done a few seconds ahead of time and can't just be instantly adjusted.
* Friction by itself has no real ways to deal damage. It has the single least damage out of any kinesis. The controller will need some other way to actually damage opponents, such as a weapon.

### **Sample Abilities**

* Abilities listed above. Use friction in various ways to screw up your enemy and make yourself a speedy boi.
* You can't fly, but travelling along walls by modifying their friction can be useful for avoiding melee enemies. You can however, glide! Climb to a high place and then do crazy things like increase air friction around you so you fall super slow, and then make a path of lease resistance your body slips through and you'll be on your way!
* With lots of friction comes fire! Try increasing the friction on an object and moving it through the air to set it on fire, or just throw it at the enemy and let the friction set it on fire as it travels. It might even act as an explosive!
* An advanced friction user might find a use for static electricity created through this process. It could make a good overlap with Lightning!
* Any other unique abilities you want to give your character!

#### **Sample Archetypes**

Feel free to take inspiration from these archetypes when making your tribokinetic. Emulate one of their styles, combine their features, or go another direction entirely!

**The Slip-N-Slide** has a fun title, but they produce one of the most frustrating possible combat experiences for their opponents: they make the ground too slippery for foes to even stand up, transferring that friction to air resistance that hinders enemy projectiles, all while sprinting around the battlefield to avoid magical tricks. It's a long and humiliating experience because all of this power comes from their offensive potential, giving them little hope against opponents who become stronger as fights go longer.

**The Gunmage** compensates for their kinesis's low damage output by equipping modern firearms: they give up their proficiency with sabotaging their foes in favor of climbing the walls and gunning down their foes from above melee reach. They enhance their offense by using their friction manipulation on specific parts of their weapons to increase rate of fire, eliminate air resistance and impart all of a bullet's momentum into a single target if it would normally overpenetrate.

**The Physicist** delves into the deeper root of their kinesis, manipulating intermolecular forces. While they usually focus too much on manipulating other objects to enhance their durability, their greater control over the world around them gives them more offensive power: they can walk on water, turn deadly gases into immobile solids, and turn any thrown object into an explosive by making its particles fly apart on impact.