Multipower Build - Normal or a Little Fishy?

[Hugh Neilson]

13 hours ago, Christopher R Taylor said:

 

Sorry I didn't realize that you can share your opinion on the subject but nobody else can.

 

Incidentally you don't seem to grok what the active cost of the multipower is. Its the pool, not all the slots.  But if you want to ignore the AP cost for multipowers in your game, that's fine for you.  I personally think letting someone have that big an AP power and not let anyone else have it seems sketchy, though.

 

9 hours ago, unclevlad said:

 

The OP clearly DOESN'T accept your interpretation of a cap like that.

 

No, you don't get it.  As we beat to death before.  And that's the point.  This is not the thread to discuss whether the overall active points of an MP should be capped to the same level as most other powers.  We did that in in the other thread.  Rather than repeat the same points, why not simply put up a link to that thread?  

 First, I agree with unclevlad on this one.  That said:

 

If we MUST repeat this process, then please FIRST cite the page of the 6th Ed rules that explicitly states the AP for a Multipower.  Because what I see on 6e v1 p 402 is

 

Quote

 

First, a character pays Character Points for the Multipower reserve. The number of points in the reserve equals the number of Character Points spent on it (before applying any Advantages or Limitations). In short, each point of a Multipower reserve costs 1 Character Point.

No power in a Multipower can have an Active Point cost greater than the base cost of the Multipower reserve — the amount of Character Points spent on the reserve before any Advantages or Limitations are applied. Even if a character takes an Advantage on his Multipower reserve, each slot still cannot exceed the base (unmodified) cost of the reserve.

 

 

The examples then refer to the active point cost of the powers in the Multipower slots to compute the cost of each slot. 

 

At no time are the reserve, slots or the two combined ever referred to as having "active points".  Only the powers in the multipower have active points.  Your assessment of the active points of a multipower, rather than the AP of a power in a slot, is, based on an objective reading of the rules, contrary to RAW, and clearly a house rule.  If you believe otherwise, provide me with a cite from the actual rules.

[LoneWolf]

Personally, I would consider it fishy for the pool to be higher than the active cost limit for a campaign.  When you factor in the fact that the GM already has a house rule for going over the active cost, it could get really unbalanced really quickly.   If I only charge extra for the slot, it become dirt cheap to purchase a power over the cost.   Assume that the campaign limit is 50 points to make the math easier.  When I purchase a 50-point attack in the multipower, that costs 5 point without the limitations.  If I purchase a 150 point attack the slot costs 25 points.   The first 50 points is at normal, and the remaining is doubled.  A character buying the same power outside the multipower pays 250 points.   Charging an extra 100 points probably means the character cannot afford it or if they do they have nothing else but that one power.   Paying 10 extra points for something that is likely going to one shot anything in the campaign is a bargain.

 

The fact the GM already has a house rule for going over the limits indicate that it will probably be done.  Not subjecting the pool cost to the active point makes it too easy to purchase powers over the limit and for this reason should not be done.  If the campaign’s house rules were different that might change things, but in this campaign, it will probably be a mistake.          
 

[Hugh Neilson]

On 7/18/2022 at 10:56 AM, LoneWolf said:

Personally, I would consider it fishy for the pool to be higher than the active cost limit for a campaign.  When you factor in the fact that the GM already has a house rule for going over the active cost, it could get really unbalanced really quickly.   If I only charge extra for the slot, it become dirt cheap to purchase a power over the cost.   Assume that the campaign limit is 50 points to make the math easier.  When I purchase a 50-point attack in the multipower, that costs 5 point without the limitations.  If I purchase a 150 point attack the slot costs 25 points.   The first 50 points is at normal, and the remaining is doubled.  A character buying the same power outside the multipower pays 250 points.   Charging an extra 100 points probably means the character cannot afford it or if they do they have nothing else but that one power.   Paying 10 extra points for something that is likely going to one shot anything in the campaign is a bargain.

 

The fact the GM already has a house rule for going over the limits indicate that it will probably be done.  Not subjecting the pool cost to the active point makes it too easy to purchase powers over the limit and for this reason should not be done.  If the campaign’s house rules were different that might change things, but in this campaign, it will probably be a mistake.          
 

 

So design your house rule accordingly.  I would rule that the doubling of cost over 50 AP, in your example, means the AP is doubled. The Multipower pool is 150 points, so it can hold 50 AP + 50x2 AP = 100 AP worth of the power (say 20d6 Blast) consuming the full 150 point pool.

 

A character buying a 20d6 Blast outside the Multipower would also pay 150 points.

 

Or simply prohibit any power in a power framework from ever exceeding the campaign max, period, no "double cost" exception. 

 

It's a house rule.

 

It comes with the challenge of dovetailing with all of the other rules which don't, under RAW, fit within your house rule.  For example, does that 20d6 Blast that cost 150 points use 10 END or 15 END?  If you Push for 10 points, is that +2d6, or +1d6?  Does a Haymaker increase it by 2d6, or 4d6?

 

It comes with the advantage that you decide how it works.  You change it when it does not work.