JeffreyWKramer Posted September 3, 2004 Report Share Posted September 3, 2004 Re: Favorite Abuses BTW' date=' for LifeLeechLad, that should be a Linked Drain and Aid, not a transfer. That way, the Drain doesn't cap when Life Lad gains the maximum STUN and BOD.[/quote'] Good points. You can also buy up the cap a lot, but that's pricey when added to Damage Shield and related Advantages. When I started working on a villain with this construct last night, I ended up going with Drain + Linked AID rather than Transfer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugh Neilson Posted September 3, 2004 Report Share Posted September 3, 2004 Re: Favorite Abuses Nah' date=' it merely says that you can't take the No Range if its normally ranged. The way its worded, doesn't exclude touch range attacks, since they say that any continuous attack power is viable.[/quote'] I'm not saying it's illegal. I'm saying it's more efficient since, unlike an EB, you aren't giving up range for no point savings since it had no range to begin with. I liked the old +1/2 damage shield, but it had the same problem. I think maybe Damage Shield should be a +1 advantage, and you must take No Range if the power was ranged to begin with. That would level the field. [Oh, and you can't have No Range for mental Shields that affect individuals who hit you with Ego Powers.] But let'snot derail the thread to discuss how damage shield "should" work - we can start a separate thread for that if someone wants to discuss options in detail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BNakagawa Posted September 3, 2004 Report Share Posted September 3, 2004 Re: Favorite Abuses Or: Only lims they know about (a form of Telepathy) The only problem with this is that depending on the target, you might end up getting a bunch of false positives. I have a character who is a hypochondriac, and is deathly afraid of diseases. Not necessarilly more susceptible to or vulnerable to, but personally convinced of such... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Metaphysician Posted September 4, 2004 Report Share Posted September 4, 2004 Re: Favorite Abuses OTOH, wouldn't zapping someone with a quick acting disease, or the illusion thereof, still trigger the Psych Limit, thus still effectively being a "weakness"?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zed-F Posted September 4, 2004 Report Share Posted September 4, 2004 Re: Favorite Abuses WINNER!!!!!! Actually, given that he has to find enough disadvantages to cover off the points cost of all those multi-thousand-point entities, I'd have to say each one has a few hundred dice of unluck. And, sadly, the combined negative karma that would generate would certainly generate a spectacular coincidence singularity wiping out any trace of such a character before it can even come into existence. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Metaphysician Posted September 4, 2004 Report Share Posted September 4, 2004 Re: Favorite Abuses Here's a simple one thats ugly as hell: Aid xd6, half to ____ power, half to Aid maximum. AKA, Hulking out. Really, *REALLY* ugly if the power in question is a VPP, especially since the Aid gets bigger every usage then. . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Posted September 4, 2004 Report Share Posted September 4, 2004 Re: Favorite Abuses Is this thread for abuses that are book legal, or is it about abuses that you might actually be able to slip by a GM? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JmOz Posted September 4, 2004 Author Report Share Posted September 4, 2004 Re: Favorite Abuses Is this thread for abuses that are book legal' date=' or is it about abuses that you might actually be able to slip by a GM?[/quote'] Preferably book legal, but both kinds are welcome... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zornwil Posted September 4, 2004 Report Share Posted September 4, 2004 Re: Favorite Abuses Preferably book legal' date=' but both kinds are welcome...[/quote'] NO, don't tell Gary that, he's going to post a missive on STR or ECs now! (Again, welcome back Gary, that was said with affection. ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Posted September 4, 2004 Report Share Posted September 4, 2004 Re: Favorite Abuses Aside from the usual Usable as Attack, or advantage stacking abuses, there are a few worth mentioning. Transform is completely open ended on what you can achieve. You can easily purchase the following: 15 pt VPP. Transforms only (-1.5). Total cost 18 pts. Now you can transform your housecat into a 2000 pt slavishly loyal Superman. Sure you need to transform 405 body for this purpose, but in noncombat time, who cares? With 1d6, it only takes 232 phases on average. That's less than 12 minutes for a 4 spd character. And then you repeat it for a mental and then spiritual transform. There is literally no limit to what you can transform. You can transform a pebble into the Earth, or a toe nail clipping into Anubis, if you spend enough time at it. Charges are easily abused. You can simply buy all your powers with a googolplex charges that Never Recover. Now you get a net -1 limitation for something that should be a fantastic advantage. Charges of End Reserve are especially abusive. Add up the amount of End that your character uses per phase. Use that as your End Reserve. For example, a character who uses 20 End per phase for all his powers would buy 1 googolplex charges of 20 End Reserve. 20 End Reserve normally costs 2 active points. 1 googolplex charges are a +1 advantage, so you pay 4 real points. Now you never ever have to worry about End on any of your powers, and you've only paid 4 pts for that priviledge. To take this a step further, you can take a X10 End cost limitation on all your powers for a -4 limitation. The same character above will now spend 200 End per phase. 200 End Reserve is 20 active points, and 1 googolplex charges will mean 40 real points. A dirt cheap cost for not ever worrying about End costs, and having a -4 limitation on every power. The ultimate step would be to combine the above 2 abuses. Take the 200 End Reserve for 20 active points. Now buy 1 googolplex charges that Never Recover for a net -1 limitation. Now you're only paying 10 pts for never worrying about End costs, and having a -4 limitation on every power. Gadgets are especially prone to abuse. Most people have to buy attacks, defenses, movements, and utility powers separately. If you have a gadget, you only have to purchase it once. Just buy a multipower gadget with each ability you want, and use the +5 pts per doubling rule. For example: 60 Multipower 6u 12d6 EB 6u 40 PD FF 0 End 6u 40 ED FF 0 End 6u 20" flight 0 End 6u Enhanced Senses package 6u Anything else you may want 96 pts. Now you can spend 15 more points and have 8 of these babies. One will always be set in EB, 1 in PD FF, 1 in ED FF, 1 in Flight, etc. It's a lot cheaper than if you had to purchase each one separately. If you want some security, pay 5 more points to double your number of gadgets just in case some of them become damaged or destroyed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zed-F Posted September 4, 2004 Report Share Posted September 4, 2004 Re: Favorite Abuses How about a combination of Increased END Cost and Costs END Only to Activate? The increased END cost lim values are predicated on paying END every phase. I think that Increased END Cost should only be worth half as much lim value if the power in question only takes END to activate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zed-F Posted September 4, 2004 Report Share Posted September 4, 2004 Re: Favorite Abuses Powers with -2 or more in limitations that can still be used without serious problems. You mean like this? 20 Demon Horde: Summon Demons 256 300-point creatures, Demons of Plane X, Very Limited Group (+1/4), Trigger (+1/4), Loyal (+1/2) (200 Active Points); Extra Time (20 Minutes, -2 1/2), Side Effects: 6d6 Stun Drain, Side Effect occurs automatically whenever Power is used (-2), Concentration, Must Concentrate throughout use of Constant Power (0 DCV; -1), OAF Artifact (-1), 4 Charges (-1), Gestures, Requires Gestures throughout (Requires both hands; -1), Incantations (Requires Incantations throughout; -1/2) Of course this probably also violates AP caps, but the principle remains. Trigger is a great way to shove all those inconvenient limitations off into noncombat time when no-one cares about them... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hyper-Man Posted September 4, 2004 Report Share Posted September 4, 2004 Re: Favorite Abuses Maybe this thread would get more attention if you renamed it: 1st Annual Munchin Convention of HERO! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agent X Posted September 5, 2004 Report Share Posted September 5, 2004 Re: Favorite Abuses Maybe this thread would get more attention if you renamed it: 1st Annual Munchin Convention of HERO! Not until the Munchkin King arrives. Where are you Champsguy? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zornwil Posted September 5, 2004 Report Share Posted September 5, 2004 Re: Favorite Abuses Not until the Munchkin King arrives. Where are you Champsguy? Hey, yeah, good point, "long time, no see". I miss Champsguy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bblackmoor Posted September 5, 2004 Report Share Posted September 5, 2004 Re: Favorite Abuses If you have a gadget' date=' you only have to purchase it once. Just buy a multipower gadget with each ability you want, and use the +5 pts per doubling rule...[/quote'] The sad thing is that some GMs are so lazy or cowardly that they'll forbid a perfectly reasonable power or rule (such as the +5 points for another gizmo rule) rather than take five minutes and a spine to look at a character and say, "No, that's an abomination: try again." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugh Neilson Posted September 6, 2004 Report Share Posted September 6, 2004 Re: Favorite Abuses Thanks to JmOz' rules question this morning, a high STR character purchasing several very low-point foci (say, 1d6 Flash vs. Hearing , OAF mystic gun, 4 charges for 1 point - then spend another 19 ooints to have 20 of them) and defining the foci as unbreakable. He never actually fires the gun. He just throws it at people, doing his full STR in damage (since the sum of DEF and BOD for an unbreakable focus is infinite). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackalope Posted September 9, 2004 Report Share Posted September 9, 2004 Re: Favorite Abuses Given that the Champs U has remote sensors which can detect mutant genomes - which means' date=' really, you have something that can analyze DNA without taking a physical sample (!!!)[/quote'] If the Champs mutant detectors are based on the Marvel mutant detectors, then it has nothing to do with DNA. Mutants have an X Factor (in my campaign it's the Nth Factor) in their genetic make-up. That X-Factor has an "transnormal energy signal" that can be detected from range. Mutant detectors are much like geiger counters, but rather than pick up hard radiation, they pick up transnormal energy signals. Ranged biometric devices are hardly unfeasible however ("My character has a tricorder. Liek in Star Trek." "Oh, well, okay then."), as our mystic senses - you could even build the power as a magical ability to commune with the gods and divine the weaknesses of others. I just wanted to point out that mutant detectors don't read DNA. Mutanst might not even have DNA, they might have XNA or something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megaplayboy Posted September 9, 2004 Report Share Posted September 9, 2004 Re: Favorite Abuses I think Foci and OIHID are the most common abuses. OIF is probably the most common abuse I've seen. Some players run 2/3 of their points through an OIF on the (often correct) assumption that they will rarely be penalized for it. Aside from power limitation abuses: always delaying at the outset of combat, without a specific event to wait for--even when it's out of conception and out of genre use of throws, flashes, cheapo entangles etc following said delay Why, it's as if the character somehow has read the combat rules beforehand Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zed-F Posted September 9, 2004 Report Share Posted September 9, 2004 Re: Favorite Abuses Running points through an OIF is not abuse. If the lim never comes into play, that's the sign of a lazy GM, not an abusive player or character. If you want to play a power armour character, then most of your points should be going through an OIF. Now if the player whines when their focus gets taken away for a session or two, then you might guess he was trying to scam some free points. And at that point, the GM can always pull out, "If you didn't want to be limited, you shouldn't have taken a limitation." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.