Multiform with focus question

[ashuramarsh]

Am I correct in assuming if your focus is removed your multiform ends?

 

or are you just stuck in that form?

[TheQuestionMan]

Good Question

[Greywind]

I would say that it would depend on how the multiform was defined and the nature of the focus. There are some that if the focus was taken the power would end and they would revert. There are others that if the focus was taken they would be stuck until the focus could be retrieved.

[massey]

The focus may not even be required at all. The second character is a whole different character with different abilities.

 

Think Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. Jekyll has Multiform with OAF syringe (at least initially). In the book, Hyde uses the same method to change back, but in the movies sometimes it just wears off after a while.

[Heroic Halfwit]

What do you want it to be?

 

It seems to me that you could build it either way perhaps through the use of compound limitations or as massey suggests different iterations of the multiform across forms.  

 

It is a good question, made more complicated by "disposable foci."  Suppose instead of a magic ring that transformed you into Shazam!, you take Dr. Jekyll's formula.  The focus is consumed to effectuate the change and the change in form persists despite the destruction of the focus.  If Dr. Jekyll wishes to transform again (after he reverts that is) he will once again have to concoct and take the formula.

 

In such circumstances, to me, it makes more sense to interpret the focus limitation as a limitation on the activation of the power.  Thus, if across forms the multiform is built with the focus limitation, the character would be stuck in whatever form he/she/it was in at the time the focus was no longer available and would remain so until the focus is retrieved.

 

Unless, of course, there were "accidental changes" complications or other limitations that cause an involuntary reversion.  Regardless of such accidental change issues, the character would not be able to voluntarily activate the power without the focus.

[ashuramarsh]

Thanks for the replies.

 

The character I am designing uses a device or suit or some such, an OIF basically, that allows them to transform into different forms.

 

In one way I'd like them to be able to be able to remove the costume of the new form to be able to wear normal street clothes and such. However, I also need to a way that other PCs could transform them back, as personality loss is a possibility and they fully become this other form, which could be a villain.

[mrinku]

One modifier that may be of use is Nonpersistant (-1/4) to turn the usually Persistant Multiform into a Constant power (adding "Costs Endurance" to a Persistant power also makes it Constant as per the Nonpersistant modifier). Which would definitely revert them to base form if the focus was removed. Have a look at the differences between Persistant and Constant to see which sounds like how you want to run it. The main difference is that Constant switches off if you're stunned or KO, while persistant stays on until you choose to switch it off.

 

But you can probably just go with OIF on the regular power in this case. Most of the complications sound like special effects.

 

Problems with switching the power on or off would be some form of limitation. Try this:

 

Multiform (some active points and description), Personality Loss (1 Hour, -1), Requires an EGO roll to switch off (-1/2)

 

(Normally Requires a Roll is to turn a power on, but I'd say turning off a persistant power which has serious side effects if left on should be about the same value. You could use a custom limitation if you like.)

[Heroic Halfwit]

Thanks for the replies.

 

The character I am designing uses a device or suit or some such, an OIF basically, that allows them to transform into different forms.

 

In one way I'd like them to be able to be able to remove the costume of the new form to be able to wear normal street clothes and such. However, I also need to a way that other PCs could transform them back, as personality loss is a possibility and they fully become this other form, which could be a villain.

1.  You can effect the first part by just having the character don street clothes.  If you want to given them a power that replicates "street clothes" it used to be called instant changes, but you could probably build it with Images or Shapeshift.

 

2. Ways other PCs could force a change back;

a.  Dispel multiform.  (I allowed it in my campaign, but on further thought, it might not really be appropriate)

b.  Accidental change on the multiform character.  e.g. a character who becomes possessed by a demon, gaining different abilities and even personality, when drug onto holy ground causes a forced exorcism of the demon, reverting the character to base form.  Accidental Change Holy ground/exorcism.  Limited power, also effected as Summon (for dispel summon). etc.

c.  Mind Control - simply command the multiform character to use the multiform power to adopt the chosen form.

 

There are probably others but those are the ones that come to mind.

[L0rd_Magg0t]

Thor comes to mind when he used to be Dr. Blake. He would change back out of his Thor form if he was separated from his hammer for 60 secs.

[Cancer]

I built a 5th Edition character with a 4-option multiform with the form change initiated by a consumable "power pill". A pill effect lasted at most 2 minutes (reverting back to base human form automatically at the end of the interval), but taking a pill while in one of the alternate forms aborted the ongoing form early and put the character into the new form with a fresh 2-minute timer. (There was no way to get back to base human quicker than the two minutes.) I also put in a one use per day of each form, so the build mechanic was a Charge, 1 use per day, one for each form; the handwaving rationale for that limit was accumulating metabolic damage if you went past that, blah blah. I never found the 2-minute timer to be a particularly noxious limit; the once per day in each form was more constraining.

 

The forms were all different power suites; there was an electric form (energy blaster), a mentalist form, an invulnerable form, and I've genuinely forgotten what the fourth form was ... due to the makeup of the rest of the party that one turned out to be sort of redundant and saw little use.

[mrinku]

I had a player who had a three form character. Focus was an IIF choker - she reverted to base form if that ever got removed. The base form was a tough investigator sort, one was a werewolf that could only be used when the moon was above the horizon (didn't need to be full, or night) and the other was a powerful but dumb blonde bombshell who could only be used when Venus was above the horizon.

 

Turned out easier than I thought to run - pick your location and you can get data for observing the moon and planets quite easily

[bubba smith]

The focus may not even be required at all. The second character is a whole different character with different abilities.

 

Think Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. Jekyll has Multiform with OAF syringe (at least initially). In the book, Hyde uses the same method to change back, but in the movies sometimes it just wears off after a while.

I think that is for the writer's conveinience