Non die-based powers in an EC

[Thia Halmades]

Good morning, Steve!

 

In the fantasy campaing that's being converted, one of the most point-heavy classes is the Paladin. This is because d20 takes all of your disads, deducts them from your ability list, and only charges you the Real Points. Otherwise the class would never get off the ground.

 

In an effort to simulate the power of the Paladin, we discussed granting it an EC - Paladin Powers, for lack of something flashier. However, Paladin abilities are all over the map. Whether its Remove Disease as a Transform, Simple Healing for Lay on Hands or Detecting Evil, they have a varied and effective group of abilities. Here's the question (now with 50% more context, at no cost to you!)

 

As a DM, is it LEGAL to include a non-die based ability in an EC? My understanding of the EC is that it adds its Base Cost to the total point value of the power - if you have a 20 point Heal, and you put it in a 10 point EC, you'd now have a 30 point heal. But that math makes sense only on abilities that are based on rolls of dice. What about those abilities which are not die-based?

 

Do you simply slice the cost of Sense Powers and allow them to be included? It says you can in the book, but FREd gives me only examples of die-based abilities in the EC listing, nothing that doesn't cost points, or could have points added to make it work.

 

Your clarification would be greatly appreciated!

[Steve Long]

Re: Non die-based powers in an EC

 

You seem to be misunderstanding the EC. Putting a 20 point power in a 10 point EC doesn't give you a 30-point power. Simply put, you define the Active Points you want each EC slot to have, pay half that as the base cost of the EC, and then each slot pays half that cost. If you wanted to have an EC with 30-point slots, you'd pay 15 points for the base cost and 15 points for each slot, with each slot then having 30 Active Points' worth of effect.

 

Thus, there's no restriction on having "non-die" powers in an EC. There are some restrictions, but they don't have to do with whether a power uses dice to determine its effect or not. Paladin Powers would work perfectly well as an EC in many settings; I'd suggest you review the EC rules, and perhaps look at a few published examples, and you'll get everything squared away no problem.