A really variable variable power pool

[Vondy]

*poof*

[Guest Black Lotus]

Re: A really variable variable power pool

 

I'm building a character who has a broad control of magnetic forces that justifies the use of a variable power pool' date=' but I've run into a problem. The control of magnetism is defined as "real magnetism." This means the character cannot just yank guns out of people's hands - instead he has to create a strong attracting magnetic field in a nearbly object. He can't fly, but using diamagnetism he can levitate, and if he has metal on, he can use magnetic attraction and repulsion to push or pull himself away from objects once he's up in the air. Etc. There's one effect of realistic magnetism that is making me scratch my head, though. It gets stronger in colder temerpatures and weaker in hotter temperatures, but normal day in and day out temperatures are the mid range. How would you build a power pool where the amount of points varies on enviornmental factors?[/quote']

 

Considering that the amount of magnetic force required to pull a gun from a human's grasp, even from a short distance, would have to be astronomical, and using it to fly even more so, temperature would have a completely negligible effect on your Powers. I wouldn't worry about it.

[CourtFool]

Re: A really variable variable power pool

 

I think you could use Aid to increase the pool. I could be wrong because I do not have my book with me. A more complicated way would be to build three seperate VPPs. You would also have to overlook the fact that Power Frameworks generally are not allowed to add to another power in another Power Framework.

[MitchellS]

Re: A really variable variable power pool

 

I'd buy the VPP in stages. Example: 20 point VPP [this represents cold day] plus +20 point VPP, normal temperature range only: -0 [this represents the bonus only works when temp is between say 60 and 80 f] plus +20 point VPP, warm temperatures only: -1/4 [this represents the bonus for days when temp is over 80].

 

Of course you need to adjust the power ranges yourself. You might decide that cold is only 15 AP, and that normal is +25 AP, and that hot is +10 AP. That will depend on your idea of how strong or weak it gets and your own campaign standards.

[Hugh Neilson]

Re: A really variable variable power pool

 

I'd buy the VPP in stages. Example: 20 point VPP [this represents cold day] plus +20 point VPP' date=' normal temperature range only: -0 [this represents the bonus only works when temp is between say 60 and 80 f'] plus +20 point VPP, warm temperatures only: -1/4 [this represents the bonus for days when temp is over 80].

 

MitchellS hits the nail on the head. The effect you describe seems to simply be a Limited power. The VPP mechanic complicates this somewhat, however.

 

You could purchase three separate VPP's, one usable at all times, one not usable if the temperature is "exceptionally cold", as you define it, and the third usable only when it is exceptionally hot, again as you define it. You could have more than three pools for finer gradation (and greater complexity). In this case, on a cold day, you only have a 20 point VPP, again using Mitchell's gradation example. However, those 20 points would be unlimited.

 

Alternatively, you could purchase a 60 point VPP overall, and limit the control cost by requiring every power in the VPP to have the above limitations, probably modified to "1/3 in cold; 2/3 in moderate; full when very hot". This would allow access to 60 real points worth of powers at all times, unlike the first example. The costs and effects would seem to be similar.

 

I'd go with the latter approach, since it would be more intuitive to me to have a single pool in which all powers have this standardized limitation. YMMV.

 

[Mind you, I'd likely take Black Lotus' approach and just assume the difference to be immaterial and ignore it in favour of simplicity.]

 

The next question becomes the extent of the limitations. One applies to 2/3 of the control cost ("not if cold") and the other to 1/3 ("not if hot"). The extent of the limitation has to depend on how you define "cold" and "hot", and the climate the character will operate in (ie how often each will arise). "Not on cold day (0 degrees c)" would seem to be worth more in an outer space campaign, or one set in Siberia, than a game which will be set in southern California or the Middle East, for example. In the typical game, where weather is rarely considered, I don't see "not when cold" being worth a lot of points, but "only when hot" may be. My experience is that it's generally "Sunny and temparate" pretty much all the time unless the weather/climate is an integral part of the adventure.

 

[ASIDE: This would be an annoying PC limitation - start every game with "How's the weather"?]

[prestidigitator]

Re: A really variable variable power pool

 

Some of the applications you are thinking about seem pretty impractical in terms of energy and feasibility anyway, not to mention being useless without the right environmental setup. This is perfectly fine if you don't want extremely, "hard," sci-fi, but in that case why worry about temperature effects? If you really want to include temperature effects, not for realism but for an interesting concept, you can probably define things in any interesting manner that is reasonable in the system. CourtFool's Aid idea might be a nice and simple one. Simply Aid, "all magnetic powers," simultaneously.

 

It might actually be worthwhile to note that the effects on magnetization with temperature depends highly on the material in question. For iron, it is true the magnetic dipoles tend to line up at lower temperatures. There are a few materials that behave the opposite, though.

 

On a related note, the reverse is true as well: applications of magnetic fields can change a material's temperature; here is an article about advances in magnetic refrigeration technology.

[zornwil]

Re: A really variable variable power pool

 

Given you want/need the granularity, I'd go with MitchellS-cum-Hugh's suggestion, for the record.

 

It's similar to what I did (though I did it quite cheesily/badly but in concept it was this way and the values simply needed to be modded) to the Urban Druid's urban power set, which wasn't a VPP but was levels of power, basically partially limited, according to three tiers of urbanization.

[casualplayer]

Re: A really variable variable power pool

 

If the pool's not Cosmic, get some levels for when it's cold and slightly fewer for when it's temperate. Then you can make your skill roll more easily and shift the pool around when the weather favors.

 

You could buy special Only when Cold REC or an END Aid so you can burn END like a fiend.

[zornwil]

Re: A really variable variable power pool

 

Von D-Man, Steve Long wrote about a "proportional modifier" as your power "waxes and wanes" in DH #17. I am about to download it as I'm catching up on DHes, thought of you, thought you should know.