Assistant/Sidekick

[PerennialRook]

In a superheroic campaign (200 pts. +150 in disadvantages), if I want to buy an assistant, what does it cost? 40 or 70 points for a character as powerful as myself (200 pts. +150 in disadvantages)?

-Preston

[Snarf]

I think if you're 200 base points, then it's 40 for a 200 base points follower.

[Hugh Neilson]

The example in "followers" makes it pretty clear - 1/5 of the follower's base points (before disad's) assuming he has less base points than you do.

[JmOz]

The answer you are looking for is 40: HOWEVER this answer is not correct

By the follower rules you have to pay a 1 to 1 for every point over the cost of your character not including the follower

[PerennialRook]

By the follower rules you have to pay a 1 to 1 for every point over the cost of your character not including the follower

Huh? I'm not seeing this anywhere in the follower rules.

As a follow up question: If I buy a vehicle on which both the character and his follower ride, can they share the point cost? Also, does a character buy movement skill levels to use a vehicle, or do you buy them for the vehicle itself?

-Preston

[Snarf]

PerennialRook, try carefully reading the example in the middle of the follower text. The one about captain Australia. That helped me out a lot.

You shouldn't buy vehicles through followers, or computers through vehicles, or multipowers through VPPs or anything like that. If I'm understanding what you're saying correctly, you'd be dividing your sidekick's part of the costs by 5 twice, in other words dividing a portion by 25, and that's just waaay to cheap for what you get. I suggest paying the cost of the vehicle yourself or sharing the cost with other player characters.

You should buy skills for the characters who will drive the vehicle. For normal driving, the driver should have an appropriate transport familiarity. For dangerous driviing, the driver should also know combat driving.

[JmOz]

I was wrong about not including the follower, I have been doing it wrong for years

[PerennialRook]

By the follower rules you have to pay a 1 to 1 for every point over the cost of your character not including the follower

Let's use an example:
The character Character is built on 200 base points plus 150 points in disadvantages. Character wants a follower, aptly named Follower, also built on 200 base points plus 150 points in disadvantages. Follower costs 40 points (200/5), so Character pays 40 points. Now Character's base point total, not including the follower Follower (like you said), is only 160 points. Follower now, instead of costing 40 points, costs 72 points ((160/5) + (40/1)). Wait, now Character's base point total, not including the follower Follower, is only 138 points. Follower now, instead of costing 40 or 72 points, costs 100 points ((138/5) + (72/1)). But wait, there's more. Now Character's base point total, not including the follower Follower, is only 100 points. Follower now, instead of costing 40, 72, or 100 points, costs 120 points ((100/5) + (100/1)). Uh-oh, now Character's base point total, not including the follower Follower, is only 80 points. Follower now, instead of costing 40, 72, 100, or 120 points, costs 136 points ((80/5) + (120/1)). Oh no, now Character's base point total, not including the follower Follower, is only 64 points. Follower now, instead of costing 40, 72, 100, 120, or even 136 points, costs 136 points ((64/5) + (146/1))...

Do you see why I might have thought you were wrong about that point?

-Preston

[RadeFox]

IIRC, There used to bea limit on the point value a follower could have, not sure what it was, but it was along the lines of "A follow could not have a point value greater then 1/2 the value of the PC." This prevented folks from trying to "double the effectiveness of their points, and prevents the math cascade above. :P