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Duplicator without Duplication


Uthanar

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I was working on an old character of my wife's and having some thoughts on it.  The character is a Shapeshifting Duplicator.  In the past we ran with duplicates in and gave her powers based on the number of duplicates that she had at a time.

I was thinking of ways to run a "Duplicator" SFX without using any points in Duplication.  

One aspect that I liked was a "teleport" effect allowing her to move about to where another one of her Duplicates would have been (effectively there is no master body).  So I follow using that as a teleport effect with a -1/4 restriction that a Duplicate must have been able to be in that position prior (kind of close to Must Cross Intervening Space).  The aspect that I was not sure about is if there should be any sort of "Invisible" power effect or similar of if the SFX on the duplicate would explain that it is not actually a teleport, but instead another dupe taking actions.  

Thanks for any thoughts.  

 

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Um, the problem with that is, there is no duplicate in position until the Teleport takes place, and there should be.

 

What you get with Teleportation is "Poof! I was over there and now I'm here!" And the guy standing next to where you teleported in goes "Gaah! How'd you get there? I didn't see you."

 

But if you're trying to simulate duplicates running around, they DARN WELL SHOULD HAVE seen the duplicate standing right there.

 

 

Also. They should be able to attack the duplicate standing right there too.

 

So Teleportation works, IF you want the duplicates to stay mostly invisible and invulnerable until "activated."

 

I have a better idea. Look into using Stretching, Does Not Cross Intervening Space. That makes a "duplicate" that is visible and that others can interact with.

 

Lucius Alexander

 

Ask the palindromedary

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It's not exactly what was described, but the Duplication Powers chapter in Champions Powers has short-range Teleportation based on instantly creating and then reabsorbing a string of duplicates, each separated by 2 meters, pulling yourself to the end of the chain as part of the recombination.  It's built as Teleport with Must Pass Through Intervening Space.

 

Anyone remember the Super Globetrotters cartoon from 1979?  Multi-Man would frequently use something similar to that effect.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtwd9kKafv4

 

He uses it at 5:20 and 19:30 of the linked video.

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Um, the problem with that is, there is no duplicate in position until the Teleport takes place, and there should be.What you get with Teleportation is "Poof! I was over there and now I'm here!" And the guy standing next to where you teleported in goes "Gaah! How'd you get there? I didn't see you."But if you're trying to simulate duplicates running around, they DARN WELL SHOULD HAVE seen the duplicate standing right there.Also. They should be able to attack the duplicate standing right there too.So Teleportation works, IF you want the duplicates to stay mostly invisible and invulnerable until "activated."I have a better idea. Look into using Stretching, Does Not Cross Intervening Space. That makes a "duplicate" that is visible and that others can interact with.Lucius AlexanderAsk the palindromedary

I am not 100% with you here.

 

With Duplication you have one body, then you gave two. With teleportation you gave one body in one place, then you have another body in another place. What if your duplication allowed you to create the duplicate at Range? What if you duplicated at range and then recombined, at Range, to only leave one body. What if that body was the one far away.

 

My friend's character, the Madding Crowd was based on someone who was uncontrollably accessing all her alternate universe personalities. There was always a few of them around the 'focus' of her personality and some were continually phasing in and out of this universe, even if only for microseconds. To teleport, she simply focussed on one of those alternates and that became the Crowd until she focussed elsewhere. It was not precise but it was, mechanically, teleport.

 

 

Doc

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Thanks for the thoughts so far.  

I have looked at The Maddening Crowd in another thread about duplication.  That was the thread that was making me interested in working on duplication that did not use that power but would mimic it in some way.  

I am not certain how Stretching makes duplicates that are intractable.  Though it is certainly a different way to approach the issue.  

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I also am not sure how Stretching makes duplicates that are intractable, nor for that matter why you would want intractable duplicates.

 

Are you sure you are using the right word? Intractable means obstinate, insoluble, or uncontrollable.

 

Wait, I do know how you could do that. Just use No Conscious Control. But it's the Limitation that makes the duplicate intractable, not the Stretching Power.

 

Lucius Alexander

 

Although sometimes I find the palindromedary intractable.

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I think I get it.

 

Basically the special effect is that the locations she can appear at are determined by where her "duplicates" have been. But the actual effect works out to be teleporting off panel, because you never see more than one at a time. The visible duplicate disappears and the new one walks into the room. Or steps out of an elevator in Paris. 

 

So, I'd go with Teleport, limited to unobserved locations (-1?) 

 

Edit:

 

Reading it back, that may be more Lucius' interpretation.

 

If the duplicates are actually there in the room you could use extra speed and various indirect ranged and AoE powers to get the effect.

 

i.e. The "base" character is nominally speed 2, but adds +2 SPD for each duplicate, with the extra SPD having "only for use with Duplicate effect powers". And stuff like TK (character's normal STR).

 

(IMHO less bother to actually use Duplication)

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I don't have a problem with the Teleport.  I'd also include a limitation where you can't use it to escape something, because you aren't actually teleporting, you're just switching between active characters.  No fleeing from combat because you're never actually leaving.

 

In game, nobody ever "suddenly appears".  They were always present.  It's just that nothing important was happening before then.  Nobody is going to freak out because you suddenly appear in the middle of Wal-Mart.  You always had a duplicate at Wal-Mart, your point of view just switched so that now they're the active party.  Maybe you'd want to buy the Teleport as Invisible, to placate irritable GMs.

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I also am not sure how Stretching makes duplicates that are intractable, nor for that matter why you would want intractable duplicates.

 

Um...I'm going to say Auto correct on a misspell of Attackable.  How does Stretching Make Dupes that are attackable.  Since they are there and gone in an instant.  

 

What Massey is saying is what I was thinking of.  

 

People can attack the Duplicates, but it is not that important because there are more of them.  They don't just appear, there was always somebody there.  If it would be unreasonable for someone to have been there, you could not use the Teleport to have gotten there.

 

The idea is similar to Doc Democracy's The Maddening Crowd, and my own thoughts on not being all that happy with Duplication powers most of the time.  

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