Animate Shadow, how would you build?

[Stone]

I need some help designing a new power. The ability to animate a person's shadow. The person would lose their shadow for the duration of the power. The shadow would be under the control of the animator. I am not sure exactly what powers/abilities the shadow will have yet. It may have the same powers of the person, or generic shadow powers. Right now I am leaning towards a summons linked w/a minor transform (only lose the shadow for the duration of the power and if the shadow is defeated it returns to the person). Right now I am looking at this as a very major ability for a character so the power cost is not my main concern...yet.

 

Thoughts, Ideas?

[Sociotard]

Re: Animate Shadow, how would you build?

 

I would build this as a slavishly loyal summon. I might allow a minor "Side Effect Limitation" based on aquiring distinctive features (person with no shadow), but probably not, unless the player made a good case for how it could be limiting.

[tesuji]

Re: Animate Shadow, how would you build?

 

if you are comfortable with statting out a "shadow" then i would go with summon.

 

Alternatively, you could just define this as TK, assuming you would limit the abilities to physical movement.

 

As a general rule, having the target lose his shadow i would just let be an FX of the power, unless you were the type to be sneaky and try and use this for ferreting out secret IDs and the like.

[Chris Goodwin]

Re: Animate Shadow, how would you build?

 

We need to know what shadows can do and what the character can do with them before we can stat them out.

[TheEmerged]

Re: Animate Shadow, how would you build?

 

One of the PC's in the campaign I'm running has a similar power, which I've built as a Slavishly Loyal (+1) summon. This assumes that the shadows all have the same abilities, regardless of whose shadow they are.

[prestidigitator]

Re: Animate Shadow, how would you build?

 

One of the PC's in the campaign I'm running has a similar power' date=' which I've built as a Slavishly Loyal (+1) summon. This assumes that the shadows all have the same abilities, regardless of whose shadow they are.[/quote']

You could define it as a Summon of a related class of beings. Like someone else said, I think the loss of the, "target's," shadow is just SFX, whether the Power or Powers are built using Summon or not (remember, though, that if built as a Summon, it might need the Ranged advantage, as Summon normally calls a being to the closest available space to the summoner). Some kind of Linked Transform, a Side Effect, etc., might be appropriate if the loss of someone's shadow would be likely to have a significant effect on them, which could apply in certain settings but is unlikely in your run-of-the-mill campaign.

[TheEmerged]

Re: Animate Shadow, how would you build?

 

...which could apply in certain settings but is unlikely in your run-of-the-mill campaign.

 

 

I hope you didn't mean that the way it sounded.

[prestidigitator]

Re: Animate Shadow, how would you build?

 

 

I hope you didn't mean that the way it sounded.

The way it sounded? I may just be slow today, but I'm not sure what you mean. In most popular source material, comic book style genres, fantasy literature, etc., there isn't much stigma about one losing one's shadow, nor is there any game effect except in how the GM wants to handle it dramatically (and through other SFX).

 

On the other hand, I'm sure there are some examples of fiction, and probably a number of real cultural superstitions, about such a thing. The GM could possibly have a world in which a person without a shadow is greatly feared, cannot enter holy areas, attracts malevolent spirits, or whatever. If this is the case, some kind of Transform (or possibly some other form of attack) may be appropriate, and probably should be linked into this Power.

[TheEmerged]

Re: Animate Shadow, how would you build?

 

Maybe I'm just testy today, then -- I was referring to the use of the 2nd-person "your", which seemed to imply you were saying that either I or the original poster were running a run-of-the-mill campaign, as in boring and unoriginal.

 

No insult taken if no insult meant

[McCoy]

Re: Animate Shadow, how would you build?

 

"There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,Than are dreamt of in your philosophy."

 

I read it as second person plural, not second person singular.

[Stone]

Re: Animate Shadow, how would you build?

 

Ok...I have come up w/a rough draft for the animated shadows. The idea is that they are shadows and therefore desolid (naturally). The normal tactics is for the shadow to make a grab attack, then start the drain & transfer attacks. The teleport, stretching, and flight allows for the shadows to move and make surprise attacks. Keep in mind that this is a rough draft and will most likely be modifed a few times before done. I know the point cost is high, but this is just to get an idea for a starting point.

 

animated shadow

 

Player:

 

Val**	Char***	Cost
25**	STR	15
23**	DEX	39
20**	CON	20
10**	BODY	0
10**	INT	0
10**	EGO	0
10**	PRE	0
10**	COM	0
	*
5**	PD	0
4**	ED	0
3**	SPD	0
9**	REC	0
50**	END	5
0**	STUN	-33

*6"**RUN02"**SWIM05"**LEAP0Characteristics Cost: 46

 

Cost**	Power	END
30**	Animated Shadow: Elemental Control, 60-point powers*
37**	1) Stretching 9", Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) (67 Active Points)*
36**	2) Teleportation 30", No Relative Velocity, Position Shift (75 Active Points); Limited Power Darkness to darkness (-1/4)*	7
40**	3) Desolidification (affected by Light based attacks), Inherent (+1/4), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2), Persistent (+1/2) (90 Active Points); Cannot Pass Through Solid Objects (-1/2)*
90**	4) Drain STR 4d6, Affects Physical World (+2) (120 Active Points)*	12
108**	Transfer 3d6 (END to END), Affects Physical World (+2) (135 Active Points); Linked (Drain; -1/4)*	13
45**	Animated Shadow: Takes No Stun (45 Active Points)*
30**	Flight 10", Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) (30 Active Points)*
50**	Strength affects real world, Affects Physical World (+2) (50 Active Points)*	5

Powers Cost: 466

 

Cost**	Martial Arts Maneuver
3**	Martial Grab: 1/2 Phase, -1 OCV, -1 DCV, Grab Two Limbs, 35 STR for holding on*

Martial Arts Cost: 3

 

Cost**	Skill
8**	+4 martial grab*

Skills Cost: 8

 

 

 

 

Total Character Cost: 523

 

Val**	Disadvantages
10**	Vulnerability: 2 x BODY Light based attacks (Uncommon)*

Disadvantage Points: 10

 

Base Points: 200

Experience Required: 313

Total Experience Available: 0

Experience Unspent: 0

[prestidigitator]

Re: Animate Shadow, how would you build?

 

Are you sure the Drains shouldn't be made using Damage Shield? Then they would hit a target as long as they are Grabbed, and all the shadow has to do is maintain the Grab and keep paying the End cost for the Drains.

[Wanderer]

Re: Animate Shadow, how would you build?

 

In the case the animated shadow turns into a solid, 3-dimensional construct, I think the most simple option would be to make it as Duplication, with the Minor Side Effect (Gives the Distinctive Feature "No Shadow" to original, and "Pitch Black Skin" to duplicate).

 

Edit- this of course works best if the intent of the power is to allow the user to summon a "backup duplicate sidekick" for help in combat or scouting (much like a TK duplicate, or astral form), with the same or very similar powers as the character. If the intent is instead to wrest the shadows of other people out of them and turn them into constructs with "shadow powers", of course Summon works best, as others have suggested.

[Vanguard00]

Re: Animate Shadow, how would you build?

 

In the case the animated shadow turns into a solid' date=' 3-dimensional construct, I think the most simple option would be to make it as Duplication, with the Minor Side Effect (Gives the Distinctive Feature "No Shadow" to original, and "Pitch Black Skin" to duplicate).[/quote']

Wouldn't that be a minor Transform - "Person into person with no shadow"?

[Wanderer]

Re: Animate Shadow, how would you build?

 

Wouldn't that be a minor Transform - "Person into person with no shadow"?

 

Yep, that would be a way of putting it into game terms, with Transform healing when duplicate recombinates or, if animate shadow duplicate is destroyed, when character mystically "regrows" the shadow (i.e. buys another duplicate with Xp). Until then, the character stays shadowless, though the GM might alternatively let the char regain the shadow but lose the duplication power until a new duplicate is bought, as per standard rules. Due to the mystical tone of the power, I'd see Feedback as quite appropriate for this SFX, though.

 

I was also thinking of the rule justification for the fact duplicate doesn't look like the original, but it is pitch-black, tough this might just be sfx.

[Stone]

Re: Animate Shadow, how would you build?

 

Are you sure the Drains shouldn't be made using Damage Shield? Then they would hit a target as long as they are Grabbed' date=' and all the shadow has to do is maintain the Grab and keep paying the End cost for the Drains.[/quote']

 

Hmmmm..had not thought about a damage shield. Can a drain & transfer be linked into a damage shield?

[CourtFool]

Re: Animate Shadow, how would you build?

 

This being Hero...

 

Drain 4d6 STR (40 Active Points), Continuous (+1), Indirect (+¾), Ranged (+½), Uncontrolled (+½) (150 Real Points)

Telekinesis 25 STR (37 Active Points), Uncontrolled (+½) (55 Real Points)

 

Much more expensive and taxing (END). However, if you are willing to alter the concept just a little you could go with Ego Blast and Telekinesis. Only have the shadow animate when it makes an attack and then it returns to its place.

[prestidigitator]

Re: Animate Shadow, how would you build?

 

Hmmmm..had not thought about a damage shield. Can a drain & transfer be linked into a damage shield?

Just make them separate Damage Shields. No reason they can't be active at once, though it may get expensive unless they are bought with Reduced End Cost. You could Link them, I suppose. Why not?