Summon a friend

[Erkenfresh]

Yo. How would you create a power that could summon a willing subject to you? I wrote this up and it seems OK.

Summon Ally: Teleportation 16", Usable By Other (+1/4), Ranged (+1/2) (56 Active Points); Restrainable (-1/2), Gestures (-1/4), Incantations (-1/4), Can only be used on humanoids(-1/4) (25 Real Cost)

Usable by Other makes it consentual so you can't use it against unwilling targets. Ranged lets you use it across the room, otherwise you could only teleport someone away from you since you'd have to touch them. I think the main use for this would be to bring friends through a wall you would fly over but I think this requires LOS. It's also nice to bring someone over a chasm that's up to 32 meters wide. I think I also should add "Can only bring someone to be adjacent to you" as a custom limitation.

I tried using Summon but if you want it to summon a specific target, then the power only works for that one target. You couldn't use it on any member of the party, but that may be reasonable anyway.

Any other suggestions?

[Erkenfresh]

Also, I don't want to allow people to summon across the entire continent. I'm looking for a limited range deal. Long range summoning would have a major impact on any fantasy world, one I feel would be damaging to the world I'm trying to create.

[TaxiMan]

"Only on humanoids" might not be limiting, given the other limits placed on it. Unless you have allies that aren't humanoid...?

The "only bring someone adjacent" idea could be your definition of a fixed teleport location.

You'll be limited to a normal human weight and size, unless you buy that up. You probably don't have gigantic or massive allies, I suppose.

Finally, there is also a Gate power build that allows you to do this too. It's different, you can throw stuff through it and enemies can come through too. I mention it in case you didn't see it.

[Erkenfresh]

I actually do have a giant race planned out that's twice as big as humans, so that's a good point on the mass. "Only on humanoids" stops you from teleporting objects, I think that might be a bit too good.

[Dust Raven]

I tried using Summon but if you want it to summon a specific target, then the power only works for that one target. You couldn't use it on any member of the party, but that may be reasonable anyway.

Any other suggestions?

I take it you'd like to be summoning specific friends your character knows and normally interacts with, like a buddy that you might hang out with on the weekends but who isn't where you need him at the moment. With that considered, I don't see why you can't use Summon. There's nothing in the book about limiting it to only one specific person per Summon Power. Just apply the Expanded Class (probably at the +1/4 level) in addition to Specific Person and anyone who is a friend can be summoned.

If you go absolutely by the book, you will need some other power to specifically locate these friends. I'd suggest Mind Scan with a limited group (friends). For the purpose of using the Summon, I'd only require an EGO+10 level of effect.

[Sean Waters]

The problem with summon is that it works on the current points of the person you are summoning so if you are in a 200 point character game and you miss a couple of weeks and everyone goes up to 210 points with experience, you suddenly can't summon them.

To avoid this I'd be thinking about the teleport thing.

As you rightly identify LOS may be a problem. I'd be inclined to build a gate, make it one way (TO YOU ONLY - not absolutely necessary - depends what you want, really) and define your mates as floating point locations. That should work, the power doesn't need 'ranged' as the teleport gate is anyway, and it is not going to cost a lot more (well apart from the FPLs, and you could get away with one in the scenario you posit by simply defining an object as the FPL and giving it to your friends).

[Dust Raven]

The problem with summon is that it works on the current points of the person you are summoning so if you are in a 200 point character game and you miss a couple of weeks and everyone goes up to 210 points with experience, you suddenly can't summon them.

That's assuming he wants to Summon player characters and prominent NPCs. If he just wants to summon any given memeber of the king's guard, the stats might as well stay the same throught the campaign.

Of course, if he does want to summon player characters and prominent NPCs, then I'd suggest a form of Teleport as well. A megascaled (to the range needed) Teleport UAA and BOECV and a Mind Scan (limited to the range needed, or simply scaled down appropriate to the campaign as a default). The more familiar a target is, the easier he is to locate and thus teleport. The teleport should have a single Fixed Location (you) and the Limitation Only To Fixed Location.

[Erkenfresh]

Thanks guys, I'll probably use the Gate suggestion(s). With FPL's, the spellcaster could assign them in advance to all his party members or reassign them later to other people as he feels necessary. This perfectly reflects what I want the spell to do.

Again, I'm thinking no Megascale on this. I'm not gonna glaze over the ability to instantly travel about the world like Forgotten Realms does. Easier just to not allow it at all. ;)

[Erkenfresh]

I think this would be the writeup then:
Summon Ally: Teleportation 5", x2 Increased Mass, Usable By Other (+1/4), MegaScale (1" = 100 m; +1/4), Ranged (+1/2), Area Of Effect (One Hex; +1/2), Continuous (+1) (52 Active Points); One-Way Gate (Only TO Spellcaster) (-1), Restrainable (-1/2), Gestures (-1/4), Incantations (-1/4)

One target for Summon Ally: Teleportation: Floating Fixed Location (1 Locations)

[Sean Waters]

Sounds perfect :)

[prestidigitator]

The problem with summon is that it works on the current points of the person you are summoning so if you are in a 200 point character game and you miss a couple of weeks and everyone goes up to 210 points with experience, you suddenly can't summon them.

To avoid this I'd be thinking about the teleport thing.

As you rightly identify LOS may be a problem. I'd be inclined to build a gate, make it one way (TO YOU ONLY - not absolutely necessary - depends what you want, really) and define your mates as floating point locations. That should work, the power doesn't need 'ranged' as the teleport gate is anyway, and it is not going to cost a lot more (well apart from the FPLs, and you could get away with one in the scenario you posit by simply defining an object as the FPL and giving it to your friends).
I usually handle this kind of thing by defining the Summon as working on a character with total points equal to the maximum starting points (Base Points + Max Diadvantages) in the campaign, then allowing it to work on any PC (and most NPCs, for that matter--even the, "powerful," ones in a heroic game so long as most of the difference is in Characteristics, Skills, Perks, Talents, etc. and not Powers/Frameworks; that is very much a judgement call, but I think it works well).

I do a similar thing for other powers, such as a kind of Standard Effect Transform used to create helpful enchantments and magical items (assumed to be working against a character with 20 Body and 0 Power Defense, and from there adding points as new abilities).