Con based RSR

[cndblank]

I'm a little confused on this one.

We have:
Tough Guy: Physical Damage Reduction, Resistant, 50% (30 Active Points); Requires A CON Roll (-3/4), Character Must Be Aware Of Attack (-1/4)

I checked the FAQ and found this:

Q: If a character uses a Characteristic or PER Roll as his Required Skill Roll, does he still suffer Active Point penalties to the roll?

A: Yes, unless he applies the “no Active Point penalty” modifier to the value of the Limitation.

So what we are saying is he has a 13- Con roll at -3 for the Active Point penalty or a 10-.

He could have taken the 10- Activation roll for a - 1 1/4 instead of the -3/4. Which would also be a lot more readable and require no math.

As far as I can tell the mechanics would be exactly the same and he wouldn't have to worry about someone draining his Con and lowering the roll.

I could see the above example if at the start of the fight the character rolled until he make his modified Con roll then didn't have to roll it any more after that until the next fight. The RSR text pointed that out as a clear distinction between RSR and Activation Rolls.

For the longest time I thought that he just rolled the 13- Con roll with no Active Point penalty every time he got hit (it was a stat based Activation roll which makes sense), but the above FAQ seems pretty clear.

Do I have this right? He rolls a 10- to activate the Damage Reduction?

And does he have to roll to activate the power against every attack? If so isn't that worth a larger limitation?

I guess it would be a wash if his Stat based RSR had a "Must Roll Against Every Attack" worth -1/2 more mod with a “No Active Point penalty” worth -1/2 less mod.

Thanks and keep up the good work!

[Steve Long]

Yes, you're reading it correctly.

Per 5E 199-200, an RSR is generally rolled once to activate a power, whereas an Activation Roll must be rolled each Phase (making it a poor choice for most Constant and Persistent Powers). Obviously there are common sense and dramatic sense restrictions on this -- rarely should a character be allowed to make an RSR for a power like the one you cite when he wakes up in the morning and have the power last all day. The GM might have him make the roll once per combat, or per Turn of combat, or whatever seems most appropriate. But it generally shouldn't require a roll each Phase.