Pro & Con Vehicles in a VPP

[JmOz]

I have been thinking about this the last couplle days and I want to hear the opinions of people on the boards, espesialy people who have allowed it in the past:

 

Sould vehicles be allowed in a VPP.  By the rules this is DEEP in GM Permision territory.  What are the advantages and disadvantages of it.  I can see it as a good equaliser for the "norm" in a standard game, but I can also see it as a abuse that can easily be taken advantage of.

 

The character in question has the following VPP

 

Armory: 15 Control (30 Active Points), 55 Pool.  Cosmic (+2), All powers are limited to 15 real cost (-1/2), armory based (-1/2), limited f/x (-1/4)

[Lucius]

I might at least consider using Summon instead.

 

Lucius Alexander

 

Summoning a palindromedary

[JmOz]

True enough.  Espesialy if you add a couple of the lims (I am away from books right now but arrive on own power and must inhabit local are both -1/2 IIRC) to reduce the cost to 15 real points, would be about the same Points

[Opale]

The Night Cat Vehicles:  Variable Power Pool (Gadget Pool), 92 base + 92 control cost, No Skill Roll Required (+1); Can Be Only Changed At Base (-2), OAF Expendable (Difficult to obtain new Focus; -1 1/4), No Vehicles Of Opportunity (-1), Only For Vehicles (-1), Lockout (Can't Use More Than One Vehicle At A Time; -1/2), Only In Alternate Identity (-1/4)

 

is what I use to allow, for a maximum

 

VPPing Opale

[Nothere]

So how many vechiles does Nightcat have?

[Beast]

use the x2 for +5pts
they do not have to be the same vehicle

[assault]

I'm inclined to go with Beast's answer.

 

My main problem with the VPP is that it is cosmic. It also mixes vehicles and personal equipment. It feels like "nope" to me, although I'm not sure it would be unbalancing if the GM closely monitored and controlled it.

 

I've advocated allowing stranger things in the past.

[JmOz]

The VPP is cosmic to simulate a MP that you can change slots in.  It is not a SIlver Surfer type thing.  Just for clarity.

[assault]

I missed the "armory based" bit. Or rather, I saw it but forgot it.

 

It still doesn't really change my opinion.

[Opale]

So how many vechiles does Nightcat have?

a bike, a car, a boat and a plane ^^ 

[Christopher]

The VPP is cosmic to simulate a MP that you can change slots in.  It is not a SIlver Surfer type thing.  Just for clarity.

For that I thought up a possible solution without having to delve into "Effortless Change" territory (I really dislike calling it a "Cosmic VPP" due to the mistakes with the special effect):

http://www.herogames.com/forums/topic/93314-combining-frameworks-multipower-in-a-vpp

The Idea is abstract enough that it should fit to any version of the VPP/MP.

 

a bike, a car, a boat and a plane ^^ 

What, no talking Cat-sled like in Barve and the Bold?

Also what about the submarine and Helicopter with "Shark Repellant"?

[Beast]

that would be +10 pts to the cost of the most expensive vehicle

and easily expandable to either get more or increase their capabilities

a bike, a car, a boat and a plane ^^ 

[megaplayboy]

Summon any mundane consumer vehicle is quite different from Summon any modern military vehicle or Summon space battleship.

[freakboy6117]

Why not buy a gate teleport for your base with the SFX rapid deployment autopiloted vehicles with trigger when nightcat signals you can reduce the cost by using limited charges or extra time only to activate.

[freakboy6117]

The brave and the bold batmobile definitely had its own vpp

 

Jet space ship mechsuit submarine and what ever gear is required

[Christopher]

At it's core the "Resoruce Point" mechanic from APG I 196 are a VPP like construct for "real gear".

 

There are 4 Pools of Points:
Equipment Points

Vehicle/Base Points

Follower/Contact Points

Miscelaneous Points (can be used for any of the above purposes)

 

Could that be the Droid you have been looking for?

[JmOz]

At it's core the "Resoruce Point" mechanic from APG I 196 are a VPP like construct for "real gear".

 

There are 4 Pools of Points:

Equipment Points

Vehicle/Base Points

Follower/Contact Points

Miscelaneous Points (can be used for any of the above purposes)

 

Could that be the Droid you have been looking for?

 

It is and it is not.  The game in question does not use that mechanic as a ground rule (Which Resource points assume) but it is the effect I am trying to model. 

[Balabanto]

What you probably want to do here is if you go this route, you buy the base vehicle as a vehicle. Then you give the vehicle a gadget pool that can only be changed in a garage to have multiple versions of itself.

[Christopher]

I think we need some clarification about what you wanted, JmOz:

Having a "Gadget Pool" VPP and building a vehicle in it?

Having a vehicle with a "Gadget Pool" VPP on it's sheet?

Both? Neither?

 

If there is one reason for such a rule, it is propably the cost reduction. Vehicle belongs to the "divide by 5" Powers.

Summon is slightly less problematic, because it includes the Ego Rolls/Mandatory Slavishly Loyal.

[JmOz]

having the VPP then buying a vehicle in it...Maybe a slavishly loyal summon with OAF (key)

[bigdamnhero]

I have in the past allowed Summon Vehicle in a VPP. That's arguably more potentially abusive, because the character can Summon the vehicle, switch slots, and have full access to spend those points on something else. Whereas just having the Vehicle as a slot forces the player to choose.

 

I also once let a gadgeteer PC build a robot sidekick Follower as a VPP slot, and it worked out fine. Again, she could have the robot OR a bunch of gadgets, but not both.

 

That said, I would look very carefully at the proposed vehicle build and point total. A fairly conventional vehicle that's basically just Movement, no problem. A fully armed & armored Batmobile...I might have to think twice about.

[BoloOfEarth]

I have been thinking about this the last couplle days and I want to hear the opinions of people on the boards, espesialy people who have allowed it in the past:

 

Sould vehicles be allowed in a VPP.  By the rules this is DEEP in GM Permision territory.  What are the advantages and disadvantages of it.  I can see it as a good equaliser for the "norm" in a standard game, but I can also see it as a abuse that can easily be taken advantage of.

 

The character in question has the following VPP

 

Armory: 15 Control (30 Active Points), 55 Pool.  Cosmic (+2), All powers are limited to 15 real cost (-1/2), armory based (-1/2), limited f/x (-1/4)

 

Just to note that per 6E1:107 (bolding added):

 

 

 

However, with the GM’s permission, a character with a “Gadget Pool” Variable Power Pool might buy a Vehicle with it. If so, the cost of the Vehicle for Pool purposes is its full cost, not the cost divided by 5 which the character would pay if he bought the Vehicle separately.

 

So Summon looks like the only way to go to get something more powerful than a Schwinn bicycle out of the above VPP.

[Cassandra]

How about Vehicles as Followers.  Instead of using the actually vehicles rules which are rather costly and unbalance the game for those who don't have them, why night do a right up of a vehicles as if were a character.  Matt's Champion's Page used to have KITT from Knight Rider built on 250 Points.

[Mathew Robert Ignash]

How about Vehicles as Followers.  Instead of using the actually vehicles rules which are rather costly and unbalance the game for those who don't have them, why night do a right up of a vehicles as if were a character.  Matt's Champion's Page used to have KITT from Knight Rider built on 250 Points.

 

For that one I actually wrote up KITT as the character, and his driver was a DNPC normal with useful skills who he always had to save. Because honestly, KITT was the super hero on the show.

 

http://mattcave.fcpages.com/cskitt.html