Duplication: Unbalancing?

[Vanguard00]

Heya, folks.

 

How do you keep a duplicator from being too unbalancing in a team-oriented game?

 

The duplicator in question has 5 250-pt duplicates, is a martial artist "normal" with SPD 4 and decent scope of martial arts. The team is mostly 350-point characters of the general four-color variety.

 

Short of simply not allowing the character, and also assuming not every combat is going to have dozens of agents to keep him occupied, are there any thoughts on how to keep the duplicator from being the "men of the hour" every time?

 

This is just one of those aspects of the game I've never truly explored and I'd appreciate some feedback.

 

Thanks.

[Redmenace]

For story elements, there are going to be areas where specific pcs will, be the focus. I assume the martial artist doesn't want to get into hth with anyone with a damage shield but the team brick can just fight through the pain.

 

If the original gets knocked out what happens to the dupes?

 

Endanger DNPCS or bystanders in a way that you need a small team of heroes to save them.

 

Some super situations are going to be difficult for the PC, underwater, in space or some environment that the bricks can endure but low pd/ed martial artists can't.

 

What happens when one of the dupes dies?

[farik]

Duplication doesn't have to upset the game but if it starts to take away from the other players participation then try to speed up the duplication combat things like only allowing one to hold an action at a time only rolling one to hit etc. This may not be necessary but if there is a problem it's an option to keep in mind.

[Ghost who Walks]

My first superhero I ever did was a duplicator, I used to drive my GM crazy.

 

Now, I'm trying to find a character that I allow who has duplication...wierd.

 

Some ideas to try:

1) Does the team have a base? Perhaps one of them has to stay to answer the phone/monitor duty/be on call.

 

2) Do they have a plane/vehicle to get around? Perhaps someone has to stay with it to prevent it from getting stolden.

 

3) Do any of the characters have a DNPC? Perhaps someoen needs to stay with them, to "hold their hand."

 

4) If the team divides up to do investigations, perhaps the doubles do also.

 

5) Have one of them get captured/beat up in a fight, then have a villain use that double as a hostage.

 

6) Introduce a mercenary villain, with similar powers. Or powers designed to counter the duplicator. Mind control, area effect telekinesis, both would work well.

 

7) Have a "sixth double" get created. Believing himself to be the original, he buys a rifle and starts taking potshots at the other doubles (a hunted). Soon, the doubles may be reluctant to travel as a group.

[BoneDaddy]

in the BBB, duplication was prohibitively expensive. A small squad of incompetents was the best that could be hoped for. With FREd, the pendulum has swung a little too far in the opposite direction. I recommend a tailored nemesis.

[AtomicGladiator]

WOW! Looking at this and one of the other threads made me check out the 5th edition duplication rule and see it for myself. I've been lucky as a GM in that no one has ever bought duplication and I have avoided using villains with that power due to the sheer headaches of running them.

 

But looking at 5th edition rules, it looks like a wise move to ban this from my new campaign right from the start. Time to add on to the house rules...

[Outsider]

Duplication is like Speed in a lot of ways, as far as the problems it causes in a campaign, only potentially moreso.

 

The main problem I am thinking of iis that one player's actions end up taking way more table time than any other player's.

 

One speed 8 guy, 2xSpeed 4 Dupes, or 4xSpeed 2 Dupes all result in one player taking the time to describe 8 actions, when most other players will be describing maybe half that. Heaven forbid that the Duplicator has an aggregate of 20 or more actions. He can end up taking more actions than the rest of the players combined in that case.

 

Usually, I dont allow more than 1 duplicate.

[Killer Shrike]

Its really not that bad, and can be quite interesting if handled correctly.

 

Like any other Power or ability where you are unsure, only allow it if you trust the Player, and make sure its understood that you are not giving up your GM veto, merely holding it in abeyance until such a time as you feel the character is causing more trouble that it's worth.

 

 

However, beware of Duplicating Blasters (including EGO Blast) -- its an easy way to STUN tough opponents and can be abused with little to no setup.

[TheEmerged]

I have a duplicator (15 duplicates) in my current campaign. Some advice if you think it's unbalancing.

 

#1> Make certain you understand the cost structure, especially the part about having a mandatory advantage if the dupes are different from the main. That includes times when the dupes have points that leak into the "duplication" cost (if you have a 350-pt PC with 100pts in duplication, the advantage starts kicking in at 250-pt duplicates).

 

#2> Remember that you're cutting into the overall power of the PC; a PC that spends 75 points to have some duplicates running around is going to have 75 fewer points to spend on characteristics, damage, defense, etc...

 

3> While it's a "metagame" issue, remember that the duplicates have no inherent special communication and have to make teamwork etc. rolls just like everyone else.

 

4> The "extra phases" argument is a troubling one -- but in my experience isn't as much of an issue in practice as it sounds. For one thing it often isn't practical for a character to keep them all out all the time (if you have 16 duplicates, chances are one of them will fail the Stealth roll for example). For another, make sure you understand the amount of time necessary to create duplicates.

 

5> If all else fails, make the "shared STUN pool" limit mandatory. That'll nip any abuses in the bud, quickly.

[Bengal]

Steer your players toward "non-Duplication" Suplication powers. A few examples are in Haymaker.

 

http://www.geocities.com/area51/cavern/1905/haym11.html

 

 

Now, this articale specificaly refers to the BBB version of the power, but there are many applications that still make sense for the FREd version. An especially useful idea is the Cannon Fodder Dupe (CFD). CFDs represent Force Walls, Force Fields, Telekinesis AOE Selective Targets, Clairvoyance Visible Power Effects, Entangles, Teleportation, Stretching... tons of powers that can appear as if you're duplicating rather than actually duplicating. Read the article, print it out for future reference. There's enough in there to keep you busy for at least a few Duplication-Man iterations.

[Victim]

You could also "share the love" with Duplicates. Spread the Duplicates out among the players so each player has more to do, and one guy doesn't have to worry about controlling a zillion dupes.