House Rules Revisited

[DangerousDan]

Re: House Rules Revisited

 

I got this one from Amadan na Briona:

 

Variable Power Pool:

The Control Cost is half the Active Points any power can have.

The Pool Cost is the total number of Real Points worth of power you can have.

 

The palindromedary likes that rule.

 

I like that too. But then again, I also don't because I can see some potential problems.

 

Let us start with a Control Cost for 300 point powers, costs 150 points. Add -1 in limitations and you get a 75 point real cost. Add a pool cost of 133, and you've spent 208 cp to get any 300 pts of power with a (particular?) -1 1/4 limitation.

 

The standard VPP would cost 375 cp. Keeping the pool cost tied to the active point cap for the powers insures that you pay for what you get. IMHO, VPPs are currently the most powerful and flexible mechanic in the game as they are now. Making them more powerful, more flexible and less expensive is a move for devaluing everything that isn't a VPP in favor of the VPP.

[Hugh Neilson]

Re: House Rules Revisited

 

I like that too. But then again, I also don't because I can see some potential problems.

 

Let us start with a Control Cost for 300 point powers, costs 150 points. Add -1 in limitations and you get a 75 point real cost. Add a pool cost of 133, and you've spent 208 cp to get any 300 pts of power with a (particular?) -1 1/4 limitation.

 

The standard VPP would cost 375 cp.

 

True, but it could have three powers with 300 AP and -1 1/4 in limitations. That's a bit more powerful than having just one. More likely, it has 900 AP of powers in aggregate, at various point levels, including attacks, defenses and movement powers.

 

Let's try to get a similar construct in another fashion.

 

We could have a single 300 point power (or 300 AP worth of powers) with -1 1/4 in limitations and pay 133 points. The flexibility to choose other powers costs 75 points, being the control cost. That seems a reasonable premium.

 

But let's say we want some choice in powers. We could have a Multipower instead of a VPP. Since the common limits in your VPP total -1, we'll apply that limitation to our 300 point Multipower pool. The pool costs 150, leaving 58 points to purchase slots. Each slot will have -1 1/4 in limitations, so we have 130 points of slots on an unlimited basis, or slots with total AP of 650 points for standard (variable) slots, or 1,300 of Ultra slots. That provides for 10 Ultras at the 300 AP level (ie one 300 AP power with -1 1/4 in limitations at any given time). And the ability to freely shift between 300 AP powers is pretty potent. Out VPP user isn't slapping Cosmic on his control cost, so he needs to make a skill roll at -60 to change his power in combat. A skill roll capable of that achievement half the time will cost him over 100 more points, and changing will still take a full phase.

 

I think these book-legal options cost out appropriately in comparison to the proposed VPP modification. I don't know that I'd make the change, but I'd certainly be open to seeing it playtested.

 

This approach also solves a conundrum for VPP reliant characters trying to fit the campaign's AP max. If you only spend 30 on the control cost for your 120 point VPP, your VPP powers get an AP max of 60.

[Silbeg]

Re: House Rules Revisited

 

Actually, Steve Long posted a ruling on this, either in the questions board or in the FAQ, I don't recall, that a Constant Power drawing END from an END Reserve does not necessarily shut off if the character is Stunned or KOed, but continues working and using END as whatever level it was when the character was hit.

 

Using the search, I couldn't find the actual entry, but here is a question that refers to it: http://www.herogames.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15074&highlight=Reserve+Stunned

This is referring to an entry in the "old rules" FAQ...

Q: If a power is powered by the END from an Endurance Reserve, does the power stop operating if the character is Stunned, Knocked Out, or unconscious? If yes, could you apply Persistent (without Reduced Endurance [0 END]) to allow the power to keep functioning?

 

A: The text specifically notes that if a character is Knocked Out, his Endurance Reserve doesn’t lose END, and that the REC is “independent†of the character and goes on functioning if the character is Knocked Out. The same would apply to being Stunned, obviously. (The Personal REC Limitation changes this for REC, of course.)

Carrying this logic forward, a power drawing END from an Endurance Reserve wouldn’t shut off if the character were Knocked Out or Stunned. You could buy a Personal END (-1/2) Limitation on the Reserve’s END to make the power(s) shut off when the character is unconscious.

As always, the GM may in his discretion forbid this. Endurance Reserves could cause game balance problems if improperly used for this sort of thing. Or he could, as suggested, require a character to buy Persistent (without Reduced Endurance [0 END]) to make a power keep functioning with Reserve END when the character is Knocked Out.

 

Also, see 5ER 158 under "Using Endurance Reserve", where this is no longer implied, but specifically stated.

 

Finally, you could see my collected rules page where I have collected rulings that have surprised me...

 

If there are interesting rules to put here, I certainly welcome them!

[JmOz]

Re: House Rules Revisited

 

Finished going through the old FAQ, alot of this is nitpicky stuff, but posted is the current house rules doc, next is goin through the online current FAQ (Then I start on the library). Current size 11 pages, feel free to critique, if you critique in word please use a color type to make it easier on me to review

[M-3]

Re: House Rules Revisited

 

Mine:

 

Base CV = 1+DEX/5. This makes the progression the same as for other Characteristics and makes Combat Skill Levels very nearly worth their cost.

 

Everyman skills count against the cost of buying the skills up.

 

An RSR limitation where the relevant Skill is one that has little or no practical application apart from being used in an RSR lim is worth an extra -1/2 (Magic Skill, mainly).

 

A power may draw straight from Long Term END rather than regular END for a -1 Limitation.

 

Package bonuses ruled back in.

 

You recover from being stunned in your own phase even if you take more damage unless that damage is enough to stun you again.

 

Non-resistant defenses never, ever give any protection against killing damage even if you do have some resistant defenses too.

 

In heroic campaigns, every 5 points of STR above the weapon's STR Minimum results in +1 DC regardless of what weapon you're using and what advantages it may have.

[Hugh Neilson]

Re: House Rules Revisited

 

Base CV = 1+DEX/5. This makes the progression the same as for other Characteristics and makes Combat Skill Levels very nearly worth their cost.

 

Do you play primarily with NCM, or without? To me, this would make CSL's extremely valuable if you have NCM and 20 DEX.

 

An RSR limitation where the relevant Skill is one that has little or no practical application apart from being used in an RSR lim is worth an extra -1/2 (Magic Skill' date=' mainly).[/quote']

 

Gut feel - this sounds pretty generous. I can take RSR -1 per 20 AP, get a -3/4 limitation on a Multipower of, say, 10 slots of 60 AP attacks, and drop the cost from 120 to 64 points (34 reserve + 3 per slot). I can buy a 20- Skill for 19 points (assuming my stat gives me a 12- for my initial 3 point payment), so I need a 17- skill roll and have 37 points left over.

 

Non-resistant defenses never' date=' ever give any protection against killing damage even if you do have some resistant defenses too.[/quote']

 

My Heroic characters will never use a normal damage weapon again! And KA's are looking pretty good for Supers as well.

 

In heroic campaigns' date=' every 5 points of STR above the weapon's STR Minimum results in +1 DC regardless of what weapon you're using and what advantages it may have.[/quote']

 

My heroic characters will try to get KA weapons with lots of advantages as well, I guess. If I can add 3 DC normal or 3 DC AP, may as well get the AP.