Unified Power ?????

[wick]

I have lots of questions about unified Power.

 

1.) Can you Unify powers in Multipower/VPP slots?

 1.a) if yes, then why wouldn't you most of the time? The character sample I have seen don't.

2.) Can powers bought through the same Focus be Unified ( should they be?)

3.) Can linked powers be Unified?

4.) For Unified Power do you need at least 2 powers in the group or 3. The wording seems is a little unclear making it sound like you can add a third power if you already have a group of 2, but maybe I am reading too much into it.

5.) Does it make sense for powers that come from the same special effect not to have UP?  For example, Hydro man quaffs (drains) Fire Man's flame, but since he bought one flame power without the UP, it would need to be drained separately?

 

It almost seems like Unified Powers replaced the Environmental Control framework from previous editions.  It also seems like a limitation that would be peppered through out a characters list of powers, since many powers usually derive from the same SfX. I am fairly new to playing so maybe it will make sense as I learn more. 

 

[Sir Ra]

1- Not as far as I know

2- Sure why not, they are subject to other limitations as well

3- Again why not

4- I'd say at least 2, maybe more

5- That's why it's a limitation  you lose them equally.

 

Yes it acts like the old Elemental Control does. 

[Hyper-Man]

What rulebook do you have?

[Doc Democracy]

Well, there is a lot of judgement involved in unified power. It is meant to be disadvantageous to the power and if you do not think it is, then you should not allow a discount for it.

 

The key reason for not unifying all your powers is that when one of your powers is drained you are effectively powerless. There should be a good reason for linking powers this way and that reason should dictate which powers should and should not be included.

 

The minimum number of powers is two. You can use it anywhere that seems to make sense, including powers sharing a focus and linked powers. There is nothing however that says you have to take unified, even if SFX suggests it might make sense. Most judgement arises when the player wants to unify some powers and not others. As GM you need to decide what makes sense and where the player might be wanting to game the system.

 

 

Doc

[Crusher Bob]

You can unify the slots in a multipower.

VPP slots usually not, because slots of a VPP should have their disadvantages carefully scrutinized. VPPs that have much more constrained change conditions should get the most 'allowance' for disads, while VPPs that are easy to change should generally be pretty disad free. Of course, VPPs that have a generally defined set of power limitaitons on what goes in the VPP get to use those limitations.

Things that come from the same focus need not be unified, in fact that might not make much sense.

 

For example, if my power armor (PD & ED), makes me strong, lets me fly, and is covered with guns, then getting drained of STR does not reduce the effectiveness of the armor, the flight jets, or the guns.

You can't 'unify' a single power, because it doesn't make that power move vulnerable to being drained. So you need at least 2 powers in a unified power framework.

 

 

What unified power really means is that if you drain one of the powers in the unified power framework, then all the powers in the unified power framework are drained too.

 

Things to watch for from unified power frameworks:

'large' amounts of power defense should generally disallow unified power as a disad, as that greatly reduces the effectiveness of drains

Unifying only things that aren't commonly drained. For example, life support + enhanced senses as a unified power framework probably wouldn't fly, because those types of power are almost never adjusted. But say, STR + life support + enhanced senses would be more acceptable, as STR is a commonly drained ability.

[mrinku]

Hmm? Unified Power in a VPP is fine IMHO. Getting a VPP power drained locks it in until it recovers, so involuntarily getting two or more drained at once is still a disadvantage.

 

Mind you, I'm sure you can come up with situations where it would be abused, just like taking VPP powers with "only during the day" that you change to "only during the night" at sunset. As usual, if the GM thinks it's cheap and intended to abuse the VPP they should not allow it. Or engineer a villain that shuts them down because of their "clever trick".