How To Build: Lock-On

[CrosshairCollie]

Trying to figure out how to build a power that only fires if a hit is guaranteed ... essentially, you'd roll to hit, and if you failed, nothing would happen.  No charge expended, no END spent, and so forth.  Could also be used for those times when you have to be exceptionally accurate to hit one target and not anything nearby.  I'd like to avoid doing this with a Summon, if at all possible.

[Ninja-Bear]

Wouldn’t trigger be appropriate for this? Actually covered works like this so have extra levels with covered.

[Doc Democracy]

You thought about buying clairsentience?  The GM could allow the use of that power to cover the to hit roll.  I would allow the use of the power to allow the player to roll a dice and discover whether it hit or not, it would be a half phase action and could be followed with movement or an attack (though an attack on the character targetted would utilise the roll made for the clairsentience).

 

This does not get rid of any of the rolling bureaucracy etc but it does provide the ability to avoid the use of END and charges unnecessarily.  

 

I might be tempted to give you less of a limitation on your charges though - this makes the limited use less limited...

[zslane]

The Clairsentience idea is clever. Though to make the mechanics easier, I'd just make the player roll to-hit on his Phase as normal, and if the attack misses, then no END or charges are expended. The cost for this "benefit" is simply the cost of the Clairsentience. No need to actively use the Clairsentience as an action; I'd just fold it into the concept of the attack power. As long as the points are paid, I'd be okay with streamlining the mechanics.

 

However, if the Clairsentience is needed to avoid even using a Half Phase to "try" the attack, then things become trickier, unless we allow the Clairsentience to be treated as a zero-phase action, with the to-hit roll being more like a glimpse into the future, and not actually happening unless the roll hits.

[massey]

0 End, only if attack misses.

[Lucius]

Sure Shot:  (Total: 4 Active Cost, 2 Real Cost) +2 with Cover (4 Active Points); Limited Power Must go ahead and take the shot if the roll succeeds. (-1/2), Requires A Roll (15- roll; Must be made each Phase/use; -1/4) (Real Cost: 2)

Does not expend END or Charges unless either attack hits, or a 16 to 18 is rolled.

 

Lucius Alexander

 

The palindromedary says easy enough to drop the Required Roll too if you want

[Ninja-Bear]

Lucius that’s what i was thinking of (roughly).

[steriaca]

Autohit (+2 to +3, Stop Sign): Any attack with this advantage automatically hits the target UNLESS the target is out of range, does an defensive manuver, or if the game master says so.

 

Game masters should take a big look at all powers built with this advantage, and may require the player to define at least one way for the attack to miss which can happen. Also, at the +2 ability, the attack can still be deflected and/or reflected. At +3, the attack can't be normally deflected or reflected.

[Lucius]

8 hours ago, Ninja-Bear said:

Lucius that’s what i was thinking of (roughly).

 

Yes I know. Nor is this the first time the topic has come up, it's been covered before.

 

But I was afraid of the answer getting lost in the din.

 

Lucius Alexander

 

The palindromedary reiterates that all you need is two Skill Levels with the Cover Manuever.

 

[Ninja-Bear]

Lucius if I It didn’t come across my last post, I was glad that you agreed with me. And I like that you actually wrote up the power.

[steriaca]

9 hours ago, Lucius said:

Sure Shot:  (Total: 4 Active Cost, 2 Real Cost) +2 with Cover (4 Active Points); Limited Power Must go ahead and take the shot if the roll succeeds. (-1/2), Requires A Roll (15- roll; Must be made each Phase/use; -1/4) (Real Cost: 2)

Does not expend END or Charges unless either attack hits, or a 16 to 18 is rolled.

 

Lucius Alexander

 

The palindromedary says easy enough to drop the Required Roll too if you want

Humm... should this be a power added to another power, or a tallent?

[massey]

3 hours ago, steriaca said:

Autohit (+2 to +3, Stop Sign): Any attack with this advantage automatically hits the target UNLESS the target is out of range, does an defensive manuver, or if the game master says so.

 

Game masters should take a big look at all powers built with this advantage, and may require the player to define at least one way for the attack to miss which can happen. Also, at the +2 ability, the attack can still be deflected and/or reflected. At +3, the attack can't be normally deflected or reflected.

 

That's waaaaaaaaayyyy too expensive.

 

12D6 EB, Autohit (+2)

180 Active Points, 18 Endurance

 

vs

 

12D6 EB,  +10 OCV (2 pt levels)

80 Active Points, 6 Endurance

 

Is the first one really that much more effective than the second?  Or what about just buying a 36D6 EB, and spreading to get +24 to hit?  Or... not spreading and just keeping the dice?  Which power would you rather have?

[steriaca]

The advantage is kinda steep, but I don't know how to effectively price Autohit. It should be priced high, but should be cheaper than whatever the alternative is.

 

Should it be +1 or +1 1/2 instead, but still a stop sign advantage?

[Cassandra]

CSL: Ranged Combat +4

 

And use the "Covered"  rule.

[massey]

1 hour ago, steriaca said:

The advantage is kinda steep, but I don't know how to effectively price Autohit. It should be priced high, but should be cheaper than whatever the alternative is.

 

Should it be +1 or +1 1/2 instead, but still a stop sign advantage?

 

AE: Accurate is +1/2.  That's almost an autohit.  That's about as high as I'd go.

[Cassandra]

AE One Hex

[jimofpeace]

In the 5th Edition book, under the power limitation "requires a skill roll" is an example of a laser bazooka that has a PER Roll to "lock on" to the target successfully.  It is written up in the text itself.

[steriaca]

17 minutes ago, Cassandra said:

AE One Hex

Yes, those were the days. Back in 4th and 5th.

[Cassandra]

The class

Just now, steriaca said:

Yes, those were the days. Back in 4th and 5th.

 

The classics.

[mrinku]

3 hours ago, massey said:

 

AE: Accurate is +1/2.  That's almost an autohit.  That's about as high as I'd go.

 

3 hours ago, Cassandra said:

AE One Hex

 

Both still need a to hit roll and can scatter. As others have pointed out, the Covered mechanic is actually what the OP is describing anyway, regardless of buying stuff to enhance it or not. Covered can be evaded with a distraction and a DEX roll off, so try this idea for a lock on power that helps avoid distractions:

 

Lock On: +5 to DEX rolls (10 pts) only for Cover Maneuver (-1), 5pts

 

You could add in some CSLs to increase accuracy too if you like, as Lucius has said.

 

 

[BoloOfEarth]

53 minutes ago, mrinku said:

 

 

Both still need a to hit roll and can scatter. As others have pointed out, the Covered mechanic is actually what the OP is describing anyway, regardless of buying stuff to enhance it or not. Covered can be evaded with a distraction and a DEX roll off, so try this idea for a lock on power that helps avoid distractions:

 

Lock On: +5 to DEX rolls (10 pts) only for Cover Maneuver (-1), 5pts

 

You could add in some CSLs to increase accuracy too if you like, as Lucius has said.

 

 

 

I'm not sure what benefit you gain from "+5 to DEX rolls" since Cover is an OCV vs. DCV thing.  Unless I'm missing something here; if so, please enlighten me. 

[mrinku]

5 hours ago, BoloOfEarth said:

 

I'm not sure what benefit you gain from "+5 to DEX rolls" since Cover is an OCV vs. DCV thing.  Unless I'm missing something here; if so, please enlighten me. 

 

Cover can be evaded if the target gets a distraction *and* then succeeds in a DEX vs DEX roll with the attacker. CC p 153, but it's been always been a part of the Cover rule. What counts as a distraction is situational, of course.

 

(Butch Covers Luke and makes his attack roll)

"Freeze ya varmit! I got yer covered!"

"Damn! Don't shoot, Marshal!"

(Suddenly, Miss Lucy runs out of the saloon, screaming. Luke attempts to break Butch's Cover)

(DEX vs DEX rolls, Luke wins and Butch loses his Cover)

"Wha...hey!!!"

 

[Doc Democracy]

Bizarrely, for me, I think that the cover option is now both more and less appropriate for this depending on the situation and reason that you get lock-on.  :-)

[Lucius]

42 minutes ago, Doc Democracy said:

Bizarrely, for me, I think that the cover option is now both more and less appropriate for this depending on the situation and reason that you get lock-on.  :-)

 

I'd say it should depend on  how you DEFINE "Lock-on."

 

If you want "I don't take the shot unless it's going to hit" that's one thing.

 

if you want "I get to do something else with my phase other than the attack that was going to miss" then that's something else and the Cover maneuver isn't your solution.

 

If you want "I want to make my attack and then go off and do other things in later phases as the attack, assuming it misses, keeps trying, following the target around, until it finally hits" than that is again something different and not a Cover maneuver.

 

Lucius Alexander

 

If you want to throw the palindromedary in a cell and not let it out that's "Lock-UP" and something else again....

[steriaca]

I don't think there is an equivalent to AoE: One Hex is 6ed. While it is not quite Autohit, it is easier to hit a DCV 3 (0 if adjacent) than DCV whatever.