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Design a power to break focuses (or foci for the Latin nerds)


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I have some experience points to spend on a Champions character, and was thinking of repurposing a killing attack power into an attack I use to break objects and focuses. My current power is a deadly 5d6 (with STR) armor piercing killing attack, but by my reading of the focus rules more damage isn't better when it comes to focuses:

 

From 6E1 379: "When an attack hits a Breakable Focus, each attack that penetrates the PD/ED of the Focus and does BODY damage destroys one of the powers bought through the Focus. The amount of BODY done is unimportant — one power is destroyed whether the attack did 1 BODY or 15."

 

 

 

Would a Penetrating attack or a NND attack with does BODY be better at simply doing the 1 BODY needed to damage a focus? What's your advice? 

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An Accurate Penetrating 1d6 Killing Autofire attack would beat up most destructable foci nicely... but the real question is 'why?'  It's expensive and very niche.

 

If you use it as a GM there's no way you're not calling someone out, in their mind.  If you use it as a player then the GM may be inclined to just stop using foci (enemies are built on unlimited points, after all -- limitations are there to specifically give players an advantage rather than bring costs down).

 

There is a point to BIg Blammy drains or KA vs a focus, though - it may lose a power for every attack that does body, sure --- but it loses ALL powers when its broken.

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The why build a focus breaking power has an indirect answer. My super hero has a psychological limitation to follow a heroic code of conduct, which includes the appropriate use-of-force. So while he has a deadly killing attack power, he is not likely to use it to kill opponents except in exceptional circumstances. Objects and focuses however are fair targets.

 

So I don't necessarily need to create a niche power as much as understand how to best use the power I already have for a new purpose. For the admittedly rare cases where I will face a foe with a breakable focus that I know about, it appears that doing lots of damage to break it is a viable strategy. I am just considering alternatives and learning from the experts.

 

From a theory-crafting perspective, a Penetrating Autofire attack is an elegant and optimized solution to the problem. From a character concept perspective, it's not a good fit and now I know that.

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Dispel (power) breaks foci really well.  Drain Body does it too, since its extremely rare a focus has very much body or any power defense.

 

I suspect the effectiveness of Dispel and Drains is why players never see an opponent over a mook who has a breakable focus. Certainly our group's VPP wizard would have a field day dispelling resistant defenses if he ever faced an opponent with a breakable focus limitation.

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An alternate approach for Accessible foci would be to use Martial Disarm as a base and take skill levels to enhance it. Stretching would allow it to be used at range.

 

As far as direct attacks go, what special effect you're defining will dictate your options a bit. For example, an EMP that shorts out electronics might have an AE and the limit of "only vs electrical equipment without hardened defenses" would be safe to allow an NND RKA. On the other hand, if you're defining it as a pinpoint laser, Penetrating sounds like a better approach.

 

If it's a spell that turns technology into wooden objects, Transform is your power (I'd avoid Dispel since you may have to deal with characters that fall into your definition of what kinds of Focus your attack affects, and it's best to leave them a way of recovering. Also, some foci may still be somewhat usable as wooden objects). 

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I'm definitely in the 'take it away' over 'destroy it' camp... though that's harder to do with 'obvious inaccessible' foci. A 'disarm' spell, for example, could be TK and Martial disarm (perhaps with weapon element TK depending on GM ruling and edition),

 

Foci use their own defenses or the defenses they provide (whichever is higher) - if you have a Persecuted Player (that one guy who feels that any attack against his character is being singled out by the GM) you could definitely get into an arms race where his magic sword ALSO provides his defenses and power defense so it's harder to affect.  

 

(Also clinging with +40 strength to resist disarms.  At this point, though, it wouldn't be a bad idea to suggest Only In Hero ID or restrainable before they blow a hundred points 'defending' their focus.  Or... let them and never try and take the focus out of the equation again so those points are 'wasted' - depends on how big a pain he is)

 

 

And of course there's always teleport or extradimensional movement Usable as an Attack at range.  Poof, gone.

 

I think extradimensional movement counts as non-combat movement and can't be used as an attack? Not positive.

 

The teleport, though, is always downright hateful.

 

"Fools! Now I shall rule the skies! Mwahahaha!" Says Doctor SKyruler from his newly completed sky skiff (a vehicle)

 

"How much does it weigh?" Player

 

"Uh... 5 tons."

 

"Cool.  I create a usable as attack teleport, 10 meters, with enough mass multipliers to affect it with my vpp."

 

"Uh oh."

 

"I teleport the sky skiff 10 meters.  I can't target the doctor because line of effect is blocked and the vehicle itself doesn't have teleport so ... only the skiff moves, right?"

 

"...."

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@DasBroot, from my player perspective breakable foci are most often mook-level gear. It's possible I've met an opponent with a breakable focus before, but our typical fight-of-the-week has to able to handle four to six 600+ point super heroes. I would have expected our cunning tactics of "get 'em" to have hit any such focus in an area-of-effect attack by now. I suspect it much's easier for a GM not to track focus defenses and BODY when they have so many other things to manage already. It's the same reason we never see opponents run out of END, because it's not even being tracked.

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Well, one reason is if the GM doesn't agree. There is a reason VPP has a STOP! sign on it. :)

 

But mainly, a VPP always costs significantly more than the current powers in it, so a character who has fixed powers does get more points to spend on them. Multipowers are intermediate between those two, gaining some flexibility for a modest overhead (the slot costs).

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I think the cost break point for vpp vs multipower is 10 or 11 powers used regularly at capacity? 

 

I normally don't shove that many things into a multipower so it's more efficient (for me) to use MP.  

 

Also with VPP I find it's go 'cosmic' or go home.  The versatility isn't as useful if you have to change it between scenes, etc.  If I run into something I wish I had a power for then making sure I have a power for next time isn't necessarily going to help - I might never have need of a triple armor piercing 4 meter teleport to get out of an overzealous entangle ever again.

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Also with VPP I find it's go 'cosmic' or go home.  The versatility isn't as useful if you have to change it between scenes, etc.  If I run into something I wish I had a power for then making sure I have a power for next time isn't necessarily going to help - I might never have need of a triple armor piercing 4 meter teleport to get out of an overzealous entangle ever again.

 

You can get emergency in-combat versatility with a smaller VPP (say, 20-30 point Pool with 30-45 point Control) with the advantage "Powers Can Be Changed As a Half-Phase" (+1/2).  That's what both the gadgeteer and the mage PCs have in my current Champions campaign.

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@DasBroot, from my player perspective breakable foci are most often mook-level gear. It's possible I've met an opponent with a breakable focus before, but our typical fight-of-the-week has to able to handle four to six 600+ point super heroes. I would have expected our cunning tactics of "get 'em" to have hit any such focus in an area-of-effect attack by now. I suspect it much's easier for a GM not to track focus defenses and BODY when they have so many other things to manage already.

 

The PC gadgeteer in my campaign has an EMP attack - 1 1/2 d6 KA, Penetrating, AoE (8m radius), No Range, only vs. electronic devices / foci.  It's been used to render moot entire squads of agents, and even done the same to a powered armor supervillian who didn't have Impenetrable defenses and had most everything in a Multipower.  (Bad planning on my part.) 

 

 

 

It's the same reason we never see opponents run out of END, because it's not even being tracked.

As a GM, I don't track villains' END.  As you said, I have so many other things to manage.  However, I also will either buy their regularly-used powers with Reduced END or Charges, or give them enough END to cover a fight of about 2 Turns duration (again, based on their more commonly-used powers). 

 

In one case (a set of androids known as the New Gods who didn't have Reduced END on their powers), the bad guys had a covert broadcast electricity truck on site to feed them energy (Healing END + STUN, AoE, IPE, only vs. electrically powered beings / devices).  That actually became a major plot point, as the heroes sought it out to help shut down the villains.  Granted, the players were mostly wanting the STUN healing to stop, but the END healing was part of the package.

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I've always felt that unbreakable should be worth a quarter less disadvantage (it's priced at 0 like durable).  Otherwise it's pure GM fiat if you allow Unbreakable or not.

 

"Ok, Jim... I see you have focus on two different pools and three powers. Are they all the same focus?"

 

"No. Pool 1 is my sword. It's Unbreakable."

"Uh huh. Why?"

 

"Forged by the gods in a time before time, when men where but a mote in the thoughts of a great one - to be bequeathed to a champion when the need arises."

 

"Alright. Fine. Cool sword.... and the others?"

 

"Next is a gauntlet.  Forged by the gods in a time before time...."

 

"Right. Next?"

 

"Next is a pair of boots..."

 

"The gods?"

 

"Yep."

 

"I'm guessing their break condition is 'smashed on the anvil that forged them?"

 

"Right in one."

 

"You know if you didn't want your foci broken you could have used ONly in Hero ID, right?"

 

"Nah. Not worth as many points."

 

I understand that it's priced at zero because in normal play a Durable is about as likely to get destroyed (ie not at all without significant effort) but it still feels a little off.

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"You know if you didn't want your foci broken you could have used ONly in Hero ID, right?"

 

"Nah. Not worth as many points."

 

I understand that it's priced at zero because in normal play a Durable is about as likely to get destroyed (ie not at all without significant effort) but it still feels a little off.

All you need is t-port usable against others area of effect 2m radius only affects focii.

 

"Everything comes off of you except for you costume."

 

"That's not fair!"

 

"That's the big problem with a focus."

 

"Why wasn't the costume taken off then?"

 

"CCA says costumes are only in hero id.  Listen to your sagely GM next time."

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As a punishment? Sure. But the above is a good reason why UOO is one of the "flashing red stop sign" powers. No player should rely on being able to use it, ESPECIALLY in the "Usable as Attack" form that you'd need (Normal Usable On Others just grants the target the power, to use as they see fit). Better to stick with AE penetrating for the breakables and grab the unbreakables that you can.

 

Actually, Entangle is a pretty good way of damping accessable focuses, too, and doesn't care at all how indestructable they are. Just ask Spider-Man :)

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Spidey's bread and butter is dealing with Obvious Foci but it's funny... as written Entangle is a lot more binary than when he uses it - you get the entire target.

 

Which is fine, but can be dull - just like Englobing everything that moves.  I think it's one of those situations where I'd create extra slots in a multipower that are purposely different/weaker than they could be.

 

Web someone's eyes? An argument can be made for Flash but that wears off on it's own.  Entangle that blocks sight with a limitation that it only blocks sight and a reasonable body / pd score for being so small?  That's sight blocking and forces them to deal with it.

 

Same with targeting focuses - an entangle that only affects Obvious foci is categorically weaker than its base power but it's a lot more fun / genre appropriate to see Hammer Guy try to free his hammer, fail, and start swinging ineffectively with his fist (or the entangled weapon as an improvised weapon).

 

Called shots can sort of do these things but the extra limited slots do them better (no OCV penalty, etc).

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I have some experience points to spend on a Champions character, and was thinking of repurposing a killing attack power into an attack I use to break objects and focuses. My current power is a deadly 5d6 (with STR) armor piercing killing attack, but by my reading of the focus rules more damage isn't better when it comes to focuses:

 

 

 

Would a Penetrating attack or a NND attack with does BODY be better at simply doing the 1 BODY needed to damage a focus? What's your advice? 

 

I have always disliked this: "From 6E1 379: "When an attack hits a Breakable Focus, each attack that penetrates the PD/ED of the Focus and does BODY damage destroys one of the powers bought through the Focus. The amount of BODY done is unimportant — one power is destroyed whether the attack did 1 BODY or 15." 

 

One of my favorite example is a flashlight MP with 2 slots: wide and narrow beam. Ha! Your 4d6 KA doing 23 body can't even break my flashlight.

 

I still prefer the old: points/10 to determine def/body. At least then, the flashlight can be broken. That's what we use in our campaign and we like it.

 

DasBroot said "If you use it as a GM there's no way you're not calling someone out, in their mind.  If you use it as a player then the GM may be inclined to just stop using foci (enemies are built on unlimited points, after all -- limitations are there to specifically give players an advantage rather than bring costs down)."   As GM, I have a supervillain who has a weapon designed to smash foci (guns, swords, etc) and no one has ever done what you suggested; actually either way as GM or player. Just saying.

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Huh. Hadn't realised they removed that - I've been using AP/10 = BOD as well.  Weird.  So this thing:

 

15 Mine is the Flashlight That Holds up the Heavens: Multipower, 30-point reserve, (30 Active Points); all slots OAF Durable (Flashlight; -1)   1f
1) Sight Group Images, +/-4 to PER Rolls, Area Of Effect (8m Cone; +1/4) (27 Active Points); OAF Durable (Flashlight; -1)
3 1f
2) Sight Group Flash 6d6 (standard effect: 6 Segments) (30 Active Points); OAF Durable (Flashlight; -1)
3 1f
3) Bonk: Hand-To-Hand Attack +1d6 (5 Active Points); OAF Durable (Flashlight; -1), Hand-To-Hand Attack (-1/4)
1 1f
4) Flashlight Parry: Deflection (20 Active Points); OAF Durable (Flashlight; -1)
2 1f
5) Climbing Pads: Clinging (normal STR) (10 Active Points); OAF Durable (Flashlight; -1)
0 1f
6) Laser!: Blast 1d6 (5 Active Points); OAF Durable (Flashlight; -1)
1 1f
7) Full power laser!: Tunneling 1m through 14 PD material (29 Active Points); OAF Durable (Flashlight; -1)
3

 

Could hold up the Statue of Liberty for 7 segments?

 

And I applaud your quality of players. Mileage varies. 

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