Gradual Effect Issue.

[The Hyborian]

A question for you oh exhaulted rules guru:

Suppose I buy an attack power With Uncontrolled, Continuous, and Gradual Effect 1 turn. I hit with the power and pay endurace as needed. Does this mean that the target would:

Option A: Suffer the effects of the attack power once a turn, and I would pay the endurance cost of the power once for each turn I wanted it to run.

Or

Option B: The attack would "hit" on each of my phases, but the dammage from each attack would be applied gradually over one turn. I would have to pay the endurance cost once for each phase that I wanted the power to run.

OR

Option C: Something I have not even thought of.

By the way, the the answer is Option B or C, could you suggest a means for building an attack power that worked like option A.

Supplications and menial gestures,

The Hyborian.

[Steve Long]

If a power has Gradual Effect, that Limitation defines how long it takes the power to do its full effect — it doesn’t make the power do that much damage for every one of those time increments that passes. Thus, a power with Gradual Effect (1 Turn) does its full damage after 1 Turn has passed; the damage is apportioned throughout that Turn as described on 5E 296.

If a Gradual Effect power is Constant (or made Constant via the Continuous Advantage), then it will have its full effect over the course of the defined time period as usual. When that time period passes, if the power has been maintained, it will start affecting the target again, with its full effect again taking effect over the course of the defined time period. If this Constant Gradual Effect power costs END (whether in the normal fashion, because it’s Uncontrolled, or the like), then the END is paid only on the Phases when the power starts to take effect; it’s not paid every time part of the damage accrues.

To create a power that affects the target in full once per Turn, a character could either (a) apply Extra Time (which may have the drawback of restricting the other Actions the character can take); (b) define it using Gradual Effect such that the effect is apportioned once per Turn, with each increment of effect equalling what the character wants to do “in full”; or (c) buy a Constant Power that’s Limited so that it only actually affects the target once per Turn (which may have the drawback of requring the character to pay END for a bunch of Phases’ worth of use that have no effect). If you posted on the “Discussion” board, I’m sure you’d get some other suggestions; those are just the ones that occur to me off the top of my head.