Riding the Waves...with riders...

[jtfanclub]

I'm going to ask a pre-question: Is it possible to have Usable On Others (simultaneous) with the On Others endurance cost paid for by the originator? If so, is this a bonus or limitation, if either?

 

I have a Chinese dragon. People can ride on this dragon, and when they ride on him they move with him, are protected by him, and so forth. In all cases, the person must remain touching the dragon for the powers to continue to work, which is entirely voluntary (ie., the dragon can't Grab somebody and then FTL to Mars).

 

For some powers, like Flight, it's clear how it works (if you can carry it, you can fly with it, so they'd be carried in flight). But what about these:

 

FTL travel: Is it like Flight, so the people on his back would ride for free, or +5 for double the people like Extra-Dimensional Travel?

 

Life Support: I can't even figure out whether this should really be Life Support (people touching him can survive in space) or Change Environment (he has a bubble of air around him). If it's the former, is it UOO with a -1 limitation because if they leave him it would stop working? Or 1" radius? And what's the end cost, if any?

 

Force Field: Would carrying somebody on your back be the same as carrying them in your arms? Assume for the moment the answer is no (which IMHO it should be, since it makes it too powerful). Is there a proper way to have the effect cover the others...is it UOO with a -1 again?

 

And should I even ask about Armor?

 

Open Vehicles (which is effectively what the dragon is...if I called him an intelligent landspeeder, none of these questions would change) confuse me. Perhaps if I'd bought all the supplements, but I haven't. Sorry.

[Steve Long]

Re: Riding the Waves...with riders...

 

The "originator" of a UBO power pays all the END himself only if it's a Usable As Attack power. Otherwise, the recipient pays the END, because he's controlling the use of the power.

 

What you're describing sounds largely like a Vehicle to me, so I suggest you check The Ultimate Vehicle for additional information and guidelines (in addition to the basic Vehicle rules in the 5E rulebook; you might also want to review the 5E rules for mounted movement). On top of that, think about it from a common sense/dramatic sense perspective. A horse doesn't have to put UBO on its Running just so characters can ride it... but by the same token, its senses and defenses don't affect the rider.