Compound power question

[Wolven]

I got into a debate with a friend tonight about compound powers. To my understanding a compound power is one power. ie a compound power that has an 8d6 EB, a 4d6 drain, and a 4d6 flash is one power. if you use the power at 50% you have to use 4d6 of the EB, 2d6 of the drain, and 2d6 of the flash. They all have to be used, you cant just use 4d6 of the EB and 2d6 of the drain, but skip out on using any of the flash. why else would Hero Designer list the total active points of the powers then? The above example is a 100 AP power. If the campaign limit is 60 AP cap then the above build would not be allowed.

 

My friend says that Compound power is just for listing powers you want listed together.

 

So whats the verdict? Am I totally wrong, or just plain nuts?

[HeroGM]

Re: Compound power question

 

To me a compound power is one whole bundle, all or nothing.

[Hugh Neilson]

Re: Compound power question

 

On the one hand, I see them as all being pooled together. On the other hand, however, why should anyone ever bother to do so?

 

If they must be used in tandem, they should have the Linked limitation - they are more limited than buying the three powers individually.. If they aren't required to be used in tandem, they can still be used as a Multiple Power Attack, regardless of whether you purchase them as a compound power or not.

 

With this in mind, I'm inclined to call it simple shorthand on the character sheet. If I would allow the character to have the three attacks in question as separate powers, making thema compound power really doesn't change their effectiveness, so there's no reason to restrict that either.

 

Of course, I might impose a "maximum total AP which can be fired as a multiple power attack" rule if I had a concern in that regard, which might still prevent the 100 AP's of powers being fired as one big attack.

[Ockham's Spoon]

Re: Compound power question

 

I think whether the powers scaled together or not would depend on the sfx of the power. For instance if a character has a light blast EB linked to a Flash, reasonably the stronger the EB the stronger the Flash, so those would scale together. But if a character had a 1 Hex Gloom Field that was a combined Darkness vs. Sight and a 3d6 Drain vs. PRE, they might not scale, because the Darkness is all or nothing, while the Drain wouldn't have to be used at full power necessarily. In any event, the GM and the player should figure this out for any set of linked powers before it comes into play.

 

______________________________________________________

"I don't want to stop crime. I just want to fight it." - Tick

[austenandrews]

Re: Compound power question

 

I thought the "official ruling" was that you can use all your attack powers at once anyway. Is that not still the case?

[Tom]

Re: Compound power question

 

A compound power is a single power, though the construct is also used to build partially limited (advantaged) powers. Refer to pages 16 and 94 in 5er.

 

The idea is to be able to construct a single power which has multiple effects per useage -- say a 'Blinding Bolt of Power' which is both a Flash and an EB.

 

Can you simply use a Flash and an EB as an MPA? Of course, depending on how you purchased the powers and whether or not your GM allows MPAs. However, you are using your 'Bolt of Power' and 'Blinding Flare' (two powers) not a 'Blinding Bolt of Power' (one power).

 

The downside to compound powers is that their Active Point cost is the sum of all powers inside the construct, which brings them into possible conflict with APt limitations. The plus (other than creating a unique, possibly defining, power for your character) is that it counts a single slot in power frameworks.

[ghost-angel]

Re: Compound power question

 

Mostly, you're all about half right and half wrong ... how's that for compounding the problem?

 

Ok - here's why Hero Designer has a Compound Power construct:

To list multiple Linked Powers in a single slot in a Power Framework. This is the only way to Link Powers in a Framework, BTW - placing them in a single Slot. The Slot is subject to the Active Point Limit, thus all powers combined have to meet the AP Limit of the slot.

 

that's it, not other reason. The ratio, and all other rulings, to which you used those powers is listed under the Linked Limitation.

 

And - it's a matter of convenience for Linking multiple powers together into one listing. The rules of using those powers still fall under the Linked Limitation.

 

It's as much a "single" Power as any two linked powers are - They are two powers that work in tandem - at the default level you do not have to use the Linked Power.

 

and as Tom pointed out - they are a good way to ger Hero Designer to show Partially Advantaged or Limited Powers.

[Wolven]

Re: Compound power question

 

Thanks for all of the responses guys. It helped to clarify the issue for me.