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How to Build It? Progressive Mind Scan


Deadman

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I just thought that I would see what ideas the community has.

 

A mentalist wants to have a progressive Mind Scan power, one that builds over time to a firm lock.  What would be the best way to do this?

 

If you applied the cumulative advantage this would let the dice stack so that is simple enough. However, Mind Scan is already Constant in that the lock continues.  How would you continue to apply dice of effect?  Would you also apply the Constant Advantage to the power?  Perhaps make it Damage over Time?

 

Thoughts?

 

Thank you,

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I'm not exactly clear on what you mean by the lock and progressive.

 

Do you mean you roll to hit then the effect gets better?  Or that you can keep trying and get progressively more accurate then finally hit?

 

Your first example is the correct one.  The mentalist is looking for a target and rolls his to hit for the area he is scanning.  If he hits he rolls a small amount of dice, say 3d6.  On his next phase another 3d6 is rolled to add to the effect and so on until it reaches the capacity of the Cumulative advantage.

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I would think that's just cumulative.  You set the max effect, and keep rolling the dice you bought until you reach it.

 

More intriguing to me is the ability to hit an area the target is probably in, then roll to narrow it down again and again until you find the specific mind.

 

Like: I know this guy is in the west of Russia (roll to hit huge area, succeed).  The scan indicates he's in the south of that region (roll to hit in smaller area, succeed).  Now I can tell he's in Volgograd (roll to hit the city, hit).  Seems like he's in downtown (roll to hit, succeed).  Ooh, he's watching a game in Stadium Dinamo (roll to hit, succeed).  AH there he is! (Roll to hit, succeed).

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I would think that's just cumulative.  You set the max effect, and keep rolling the dice you bought until you reach it.

 

More intriguing to me is the ability to hit an area the target is probably in, then roll to narrow it down again and again until you find the specific mind.

 

Like: I know this guy is in the west of Russia (roll to hit huge area, succeed).  The scan indicates he's in the south of that region (roll to hit in smaller area, succeed).  Now I can tell he's in Volgograd (roll to hit the city, hit).  Seems like he's in downtown (roll to hit, succeed).  Ooh, he's watching a game in Stadium Dinamo (roll to hit, succeed).  AH there he is! (Roll to hit, succeed).

I guess the point is that he would have to make another attack roll if I just bought cumulative.  How could it act similar to a Constant Blast which does damage every phase as long as the attacker spends END.

 

That sounds like it could be some sort of limited power on Mind Scan.  Something that limits the effect roll based on how many times you use it.

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Would this work?

 

Progressive Lock:  Mind Scan 3d6, Invisible Power Effects (Invisible to Mental Group; +1/4), Cumulative (36 points; +3/4), Damage Over Time, Target's defenses only apply once, Lock out (cannot be applied multiple times) (4 damage increments, damage occurs every other Segment, +2 1/2) (71 Active Points); 8 Continuing Charges lasting 1 Minute each (+1/4)

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I see what you are thinking.  I would buy it probably as constant rather than DOT, so it goes off then keeps going as long as you feed END into the power.  DOT means its fire and forget: you can do other stuff, don't pay END, etc; the power becomes its own entity, as it were.  It probably wouldn't work in this case because you cannot change or work with a power once its acting on its own in a DOT (so I'm not sure you could use it to do anything beyond what you told it to do when it was used).

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Christopher:
​Mindscan is already a Constant power.  (However, unlike most Constant powers, you only pay END once ... when you make the initial attack roll.)

 

Did you, perhaps, mean Uncontrolled and Cumulative -- with the idea that the Uncontrolled Constant power could then automatically hit again and again without the need for intentional action -- and the Cumulative advantage enabling the effect roll to increase over time?

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I honestly think that this is essentially something that may have slipped through the cracks during design.  I think that I would adjudicate that an additional advantage (Constant Attack +1/2) would need to be purchased for it to do what I am speaking of.  I believe that Uncontrolled would be more in the vein of a fire and forget type of power.  In other words it operates independently of the user.  The way I see this one he is definitely still using it consciously as he will know when he gets the lock.  Though technically the advantage cost is the same so it may be a moot point.

 

My take, but I would still like to see suggestions.

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You raise a good question.  I'll have to take a closer look at the 6e rules in this area.

 

I created the following Multipower slot for The Martian Manhunter using 5e years ago:

 

3u   9)   Mind Scan 3d6 (Human class of minds), +5 ECV, Reduced Endurance (1/2 END; +1/4), Cumulative (36 points; +3/4) (50 Active Points); Limited Power Affected by Adjustments as an EC (-1/4), Limited Power Not in the presence of Flame (-1/4)

 

:)
HM

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You raise a good question.  I'll have to take a closer look at the 6e rules in this area.

 

I created the following Multipower slot for The Martian Manhunter using 5e years ago:

 

3u   9)   Mind Scan 3d6 (Human class of minds), +5 ECV, Reduced Endurance (1/2 END; +1/4), Cumulative (36 points; +3/4) (50 Active Points); Limited Power Affected by Adjustments as an EC (-1/4), Limited Power Not in the presence of Flame (-1/4)

 

:)

HM

The problem with Mind Scan in a Multipower is that after locating a target you will want to use one of tho other powers - and when you switch to that power you lose the "lock on" because the Mind Scan only works while you have the points in it.

 

Lucius Alexander

 

THe palindromedary buys Mind Scan and Telepathy, only to locate an insurance agent and get a quote. Now that's Progressive!

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HM,

I've previously done a similar build to yours -- also in a MP ... except I had mine on continuing charges:

 

6f     Mind Scan 4d6, +5 OMCV, Invisible Power Effects (Invisible to Mental Group; +1/4), Cumulative (+1/2) (75 Active Points); Unified Power (-1/4), 16 Continuing Charges lasting 1 Minute each (+3/4)

 

 

My thinking was simple -- if a power is already Constant ... you don't have to make it Constant ... because it already is.  That said, I see where Christopher and Deadman are coming from.

 

 

Christopher & Deadman,

If you're going to make a Constant power (which maintains a lock) ... more Constant (such that it not only maintains the lock, but also adds effect dice to it), perhaps it should not cost as much of an advantage as making an Instant Power into a Constant one?

 

 

 

 

The problem with Mind Scan in a Multipower is that after locating a target you will want to use one of tho other powers - and when you switch to that power you lose the "lock on" because the Mind Scan only works while you have the points in it.

Conceptually, I don't think this is a problem on a Continuing Charge.  It's definitely not a problem if it's Uncontrolled.

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The problem with Mind Scan in a Multipower is that after locating a target you will want to use one of tho other powers - and when you switch to that power you lose the "lock on" because the Mind Scan only works while you have the points in it.

 

Lucius Alexander

 

THe palindromedary buys Mind Scan and Telepathy, only to locate an insurance agent and get a quote. Now that's Progressive!

 

 

I'm guessing that you missed that the Multipower has a 100 point Reserve where every slot is built at only 50 Active points.

 

 

67 Multipower, 100-point reserve, (100 Active Points); all slots Limited Power Affected by Adjustments as an EC (-1/4), Limited Power Not in the presence of Flame (-1/4)

 

3u   9)   Mind Scan 3d6 (Human class of minds), +5 ECV, Reduced Endurance (1/2 END; +1/4), Cumulative (36 points; +3/4) (50 Active Points); Limited Power Affected by Adjustments as an EC (-1/4), Limited Power Not in the presence of Flame (-1/4)

 

 

He actually can use Mind Scan and another Mental Power in his Multipower simultaneously.

 

:)

HM

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On ‎2‎/‎28‎/‎2017 at 11:45 PM, Hyper-Man said:

I'm guessing that you missed that the Multipower has a 100 point Reserve where every slot is built at only 50 Active points.

 

 

He actually can use Mind Scan and another Mental Power in his Multipower simultaneously.

 

:)

HM

Yep, I missed it completely

 

Lucius Alexander

 

It went right over the palindromedary's heads

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