Is it obvious where an indirect attack comes from?

[Demonsong]

A Power defined as Eruption. Flames erupt from the ground and engulf the victim. +1/4 Indirect always from the ground. Now is it still obvious where the attack originates to all observers? Or is just the person getting attack known where the attack is coming from? Or does no one know where the attack is coming from?

 

And if every one always knows where that attack is coming from how to you create an attack that doesn’t show where the attack is coming from, erupting for the ground. The Invisibility advantage doesn’t make since because the attack is visible erupting form the ground.

 

A Confused Demonsong

[Monolith]

The Indirect Advantage states that the power is not invisible and that other characters can see that the character is generating the power, assuming they are looking in the correct direction.

 

You do use the Invisible Advantage to hide the fact that the power is coming from the attacker.

[Killer Shrike]

There is a lesser version of IPE for either SFX only or Source only. You would want Source only in this case. Full IPE: Source Only is a -1/2 IIRC

[Lord Liaden]

I would say that without the appropriate IPE Advantage to hide at least the source of the Power, it would be possible to see who was using it. For example, the being using the Eruption attack might fire some force into the ground, which travels through it and visibly bursts out at the target site. An onlooker could see the force blast and the resulting eruption a moment later, and readily make the connection.

 

In my games, though, if you're not aware of or able to perceive both the attacker and the target, you may not be aware of the source of the attack. If the target or onlookers are distracted or paying attention to something else, they might not notice where the attack was launched from (at best a Perception Roll would be required, modified by just how apparent the s/fx of the Indirect attack are).

 

There is certainly precedent for this in the real world: if a gunshot rings out from the center of a crowd, people hear it and may see the gunshot victim fall, but if they weren't looking at the shooter they won't know where the shot came from. And bullets aren't even Indirect.

[Demonsong]

Ok, so indirect attack, from the ground. Would DCV work normally? Would a person being attacked by such a power always know they where being attacked.

I assume the answer is yes. You, all ways get full DCV.

 

So if I wanted the special effect of not knowing where the power was coming from and to simulate a sudden flame burst from the ground that was not always easy to avoid I should by +1/2 Invisible to normal sight.

 

And to simulate the attack erupting from the ground is the +1/2 Indirect advantage.

 

So from my special effect is a +1 total advantage.

 

Right?

[Lord Liaden]

I'd say that that would depend on how often you want the attack to be "easy to avoid." An Indirect Attack often counts as a Surprise Maneuver the first time it's used, with all the benefits that that entails. If you buy Indirect to the +3/4 level, you can basically target your attack to strike the victim from behind every time it's used. If your opponent can't automatically perceive attacks from behind or have some other ability that negates them, he'll be at a distinct disadvantage.

[Blue]

Originally posted by Demonsong

Ok, so indirect attack, from the ground. Would DCV work normally? Would a person being attacked by such a power always know they where being attacked.

I assume the answer is yes. You, all ways get full DCV.

 

So if I wanted the special effect of not knowing where the power was coming from and to simulate a sudden flame burst from the ground that was not always easy to avoid I should by +1/2 Invisible to normal sight.

 

And to simulate the attack erupting from the ground is the +1/2 Indirect advantage.

 

So from my special effect is a +1 total advantage.

 

Right?

Sounds right to me at +1. As for normal DCV, I think depending on the SFX of the power I've been known to give a one-time advantage to the attacker. If the target has never seen you do your eruption thing before, I'd give the villian the same DCV as if he were "Surprised in combat". After that, he'd be looking for just such a thing.

[Killer Shrike]

You dont want "Invisible to Sight" for +1/2 -- then there would still have to be 2 other senses that could detect that the power originated from the character and not the ground.

 

You want Full IPE with the reduction for "SOURCE ONLY", which is also a +1/2 Advantage. That way there is NO INDICATION that the power originated from your character, but the SFX, in this case an explosion from the ground, is stil detectable to 3 senses.

 

As far as DCV is concerned, the first time the opponent should be suprised unless they've seen this trick before and expect it -- thus 1/2 DCV.

 

As LL points out if you have Indirect at the +3/4 level you can always attack an opponent from behind reducing them to 1/2 DCV routinely unless they have some means to avoid it.

 

However, in this case, you might want to just apply 1 HEX Radius for a +1/2 Advantage or Explosion, also for +1/2 Advantage instead of indirect. Either way, DCV becomes a moot point. If you want to blow things up responsibly, 1 HEX Radius Accurate is also an option in lieu of 1 HEX Rad and Explosion.

 

Then apply a limitation: Must be used on targets at ground level (-1/4)

 

The SFX is you target the HEX, invisibly w/ IPE Source Only, and the flames appear to come up from the ground affecting the hex. Same effect, more combat effective.