Ultimate Summon

[Hugh Neilson]

Apologies in advance - this could be a long one. I'll try to list some options so you can simply advise if one is correct.

 

In a superheroic game, characters pay points for equipment. In a heroic game, they are purchased with money, and you pay for the skills to use them. What about summoned creatures in a heroic game? [Could also apply to Multiforms or duplicates.]

 

For illustration, assume the character wants to Summon a fully armed and armored, mounted knight. How would he deal with equipment?

 

1. The knight will, whenever summoned, have his equipment. Therefore, the equipment forms part of the character. He must pay points for his equipment but, as he has paid points for the equipment, he need not pay for skills to use it. [This seems most reasonable to me.]

 

2. The knight has no equipment. Somehow, the player must provide it. [This works balance-wise, but denies a lot of reasonable power concepts.]

 

3. The knight gets equipment for free (but pays for the skill to use it). [This seems quite unbalanced - who would summon a Gargoyle rather than a Knight in Armor?]

 

4. Summon the equipment separately. Remember, it has to be mindlessly loyal, like a vehicle would be. [Now we're getting extreme.]

 

5. You'll need Armor and HKA, Usable By Other, to "create" the equipment. [Also getting extreme.]

 

OR

 

6. You'll have to wait for the Ultimate Summon - no freebies!!

 

NEXT ITEM:

 

The knight is supposed to be mounted. How should this be handled?

 

1. Pay +5 points and double the creatures summoned. Make the horse the second creature. The Summon will need an advantage to summon two different creatures, or just handwave it.

 

2. Pay the Summon points for both horse and mount to summon a mounted knight.

 

3. The Knight should pay for the horse as a follower (points/5).

 

4. The Knight should pay for the horse as a follower, but no division by five (ie between Summon and Follower, you can only have one division by 5).

 

5. Treat the horse as "equipment" using option 2 or 3 for equipment, above.

 

OR

 

6. As #6, above.

 

Maybe this issue is addressed in the Grimoire? My copy hasn't arrived yet (any suggestions for a DECENT distributor to Western Canada that I can suggest to my local game shop owner??)

 

Thanks

Hugh

[Steve Long]

This particular bit isn't in the FHG. In terms of distributors, check the distributor list on the Hero Retailers page.

 

1. For Summon purposes, the total cost of the being Summoned must include the cost of his equipment, and that total cost in turn determines the cost of the Summon. (The Summoned being may not actually pay for the equipment — he probably buys the Skills to use it instead, as normal for a Heroic game — but the cost of the equipment still counts to determine the cost of Summoning him.) Alternately, with the GM’s permission, the character can Summon the being with no equipment, then provide the being with equipment in-game.

 

2. If a character wants to Summon two different creatures at once, he needs to pay the +5 point cost to Summon two beings simultaneously, plus apply the Expanded Class Advantage to his Summon power so he can Summon beings that aren’t alike.