sanity check on grabs

[paul_runstedler]

Just finished playing a game where a character with 15 levels in growth (oh yeah baby, we're talking Sentinel!) grabbed a normal sized character. Now the super sized character (mine), purchased area of affect 1 hex with strength.

Anyway the guy I grabbed has a shield that protects him against attacks (I don't know +20Pd/Ed or something on 14 or less). The ruling was made that the shield would not protect against the grab and sqeeze simply because
1. Grabs usually disable the use of all handheld foci (from the book)
2. Logistically I just can't see a shield protecting someone at all from being grabbed and sqeezed by a truck-sized hand (wouldn't the character be crushed against the shield?)


Looking for any thoughts on this. Is it as cut and dry as I think?

Thanks.

Paul

[Sociotard]

So it's Captain America vs. a Sentinel. Sort of. If I were Cap, I'd turn my indestructable shield so it was perpindicular to me (think of a 'T', where the top line is the shield and I am the bottom line). and move using my super soldier speed so the sheild intersected the digits like so

ITI

Or something like that.

Besides, aren't most shields written up as extra DCV? or even armor only vs. one side?

[KA.]

Originally posted by paul_runstedler
Just finished playing a game where a character with 15 levels in growth (oh yeah baby, we're talking Sentinel!) grabbed a normal sized character. Now the super sized character (mine), purchased area of affect 1 hex with strength.

Anyway the guy I grabbed has a shield that protects him against attacks (I don't know +20Pd/Ed or something on 14 or less). The ruling was made that the shield would not protect against the grab and sqeeze simply because
1. Grabs usually disable the use of all handheld foci (from the book)
2. Logistically I just can't see a shield protecting someone at all from being grabbed and sqeezed by a truck-sized hand (wouldn't the character be crushed against the shield?)


Looking for any thoughts on this. Is it as cut and dry as I think?

Thanks.

Paul

This is somewhat tricky, but here is what I think:

If you buy Armor 20 PD/ED with a Focus, it is possible that the Focus can be stolen, grabbed, etc.
But, as long as you have it, it should work.
Ex. What if the character had bought an Energy Blast through a Visor that was controlled by eye movements.
He could still blast the hand that was holding him, even though he was grabbed.

However:

When you buy something with an Activation Roll, that means that sometimes it is not going to work.
Either it is quirky, like a new invention,
or it doesn't cover the entire body, like a bulletproof vest,
or there is some other reason why it is not all that reliable (you aren't very good at using it yet).

Captain America does not appear to have any Limitations on his Shield, except, perhaps Only In Hero ID.
So, his Shield works, pretty much, All The Time.

Since this character bought his Shield with the Limitation that it does Not work All The Time,
I would say that being crushed by a Giant Hand is
One of Those Times.

KA.

[bjbrown]

If the shield were positioned correctly by the grabbed character, it might prevent the grabber from closing his hand and doing crushing damage. It isn't necessarily the case that, by the rules, that this particular focus is disabled (the rule says that most are disabled, not all). This sounds like one of those judgment calls, based upon the special effects of the powers. I wouldn't say that it's a cut and try ruling, but it's a reasonable ruling.

[BNakagawa]

A 'real' shield ought to be purchased with a restrainable limitation. It isn't OAF, cause it's not something you can reasonably grab off a guy's arm. It's not really OIF, cause I can't see it functioning properly in circumstances where the run of the mill OIF functions (like when grabbed by a giant robot)

It ought to be restrainable for the obvious reasons. You shouldn't be able to use a shield if your arms are disabled or held, entangled or whatnot.

You also probably need to put some sort of limitation that precludes it from facing all directions at once. You could try to just write up a shield as an OIF, but what happens if you get shot by two guys simultaneously from different directions?

$0.02

[Dust Raven]

Grabs, especialy ones from a giant, typically to generalized damage. If the shield would cover most of the character, it might still apply (asuming there aren't any other Limitation restricting it).

Based on SFX though, a shield probably wouldn't provide much defense against such an attack, if any at all. SFX typically overrides the rules, but the final say is yours. Personally, I'd say the shield wouldn't protect the character unless he comes up with some clever use of it that sounds even remotely reasonable.

[mr_azrad]

I think it really depends on the shield's limitations.

If it was purchased OAF I would say it would be useless against grab, and if it was OIF it would be of use (just like OIF armor would be usefull).

The example in FRED is shields being OAF; but there is also an exampe of a person highly skilled with a shield purchasing it OIF.

I say if he spent the points (OIF) give him the power, and if he skimmed on points (and made it OAF) then don't.

The Mad Arab

[paul_runstedler]

Thanks for all your replies guys. Yeah, I can see in certain situation where the shield might provide some defense.

I like basing the judgement specifically on the special effect.

Paul