Force Walls and NND's

[Hugh Neilson]

OK, I didn't see it in the FAQ...

 

A Force Wall with no exotic defenses is transparent to exotic attacks. A force wall with only exotic defenses is transparent to non-exotic attacks. What category do NND's fall into?

 

Obviously, SFX will sometimes matter - it's hard to envision an anesthetic dart or knockout gas arrow penetrating a PD Force Wall, and if the defense is Flash Defense, it won't pass through a Force Wall with Flash Defense. [i also view "force field" and "force wall" as analogous for this purpose.]

 

But if the NND itself is not subject to any of the five norma;l defenses, will it pass through all force walls?

 

A further item: I assume that a Force Wall which is Opaque to Sight wuld not stop a Sight Flash Defense attack. Otherwise this becomes a very cheap means of blocking every "bright light" attack. However, this implies some light can pass through an opaque to signt force wall. Is there an official ruling on this?

[Steve Long]

1. In general, “exotic attacks” are attacks which target Mental Defense, Flash Defense, or Power Defense. However, the GM must take common sense, dramatic sense, special effects, and considerations of game balance into account. An NND defined as a “knockout dart” and built as a Drain STUN attack is not going to penetrate a Force Wall that provides PD protection, regardless of what defense works against it.

 

If an NND is subject to a defense that’s not one of the “standards” (such as Armor, Force Field/Wall, Mental Defense, Power Defense, Flash Defense, and so on), then the GM should resolve the situation based on special effects, common sense, dramatic sense, and considerations of game balance. NNDs cannot, per se, automatically pass through Force Walls.

 

2. Yes, it will block a light-based Flash attack, just like any other opaque wall would (though an Opaque FW also blocks the character’s own sight in many cases). Resolve other light-based attacks normally based on their rules; the fact that a character has, e.g., a laser doesn’t mean his attack automatically cannot penetrate an Opaque FW; it all depends on the damage the laser does versus the defense provided by the FW.