tactics as a power

[Ascolacicola]

Hallowed herogames.com fora, I once again throw myself on your mercies and ask that you help me put together character mechanics

 

A player in the game that I'm running plays a former special forces character. He is not superpowered (but runs with superheros) and wants to be able to use tactics to 'buff' the other players. I think that this is an amazingly cool idea. I read through the online FAQ's. Below is a list of tactics based buffs (and curses) that I can think off. All the ideas below would like require a tactics skill roll in addition to whatever limitations or advantages they may contain. Please comment: if my ideas are workable, advisable, worthwhile or if you can think of better ways to simulate my buffs/curses or new buffs/curses that a tactics-based character could throw out. I would also appreciate discussions of where the powers could go (for when he gets additional experience)

 

combat skill levels, usable by others "tactical positioning"

 

Aid to speed, ranged "unit cohesion"

 

Drain vs. Dex, only to lower CV (-1/2?), area effect circle, selective "exploiting weaknesses"

 

Aid to Dex, only to raise CV, area effect circle "authoritative presence"

 

Followers (to turn the character himself into a squad)

 

 

 

 

thanks!

[JohnTaber]

Re: tactics as a power

 

I like the combat skill levels or even overall levels that are useable by others. You could even make them RSR on Tactics. Neat idea.

[Cardinal]

Re: tactics as a power

 

one potential Tactics based power would be:

Find Weakness (all attacks), Usable on Others (x8), incantations, RSR: Tactics

 

I think you might also need this at range for the UOO.

 

The idea is "shoot him in the solar plexus, he is weak there..."

 

However, this is potentially very abusive so tread carefully.

[incrdbil]

Re: tactics as a power

 

I did this some time ago--Combat Skill levels usable by others ranged, based on a skill roll, and, most importantly, only when following the plan. There was also a -0 limit that if most of the team abandoned the plan, the levels wouldn't work for anyone.

[Lucius]

Re: tactics as a power

 

Another idea that some will think is overpowered or abusable:

 

Armor Piercing, Usable by Others, Area Effect

With a limitation that it only works if A: you have made a Tactics roll to analyze the weakness of a particular opponent (and like with Find Weakness, it should probably take range penalties) and B: you can communicate that intelligence to the character making the attack.

 

Of course, if the attacker ALREADY has Armor Piercing, this only helps if the target has Hardened.

 

Lucius Alexander

 

Hardened Palindromedary

[Kevin Schultz]

Re: tactics as a power

 

If you own AEG's Spycraft, there's a lot of feats in there that are (essentially) powers based on Tactics. I'll try to take a look in there to see if there is any easily-portable powers.

[bigdamnhero]

Re: tactics as a power

 

Nice character idea!

 

Various levels of Defense Maneuver, UOO would seem like great additions.

 

You could maybe try some sort of "Detect Unseen Opponents" as a means of deducing the enemy's formation/organization. Or conversely, some kind of Change Environment to obscure his allies' positions. For that matter, how about a Change Environment to lower opponent's OCVs +/or DCVs?

 

Or maybe an Aid Speed, to represent his ability to make the team "greater than the sum of its parts"? Or the flipside, Drain SPD (only vs mooks) to reflect his ability to disrupt the enemies' cohesion and initiative.

 

Boosting others' Teamwork skill could be either very useful, or redundant depending on how you want to run things.

 

You could even get away with some limited form of Mind Link to represent his ability to make everyone work together.

 

From the character description, it sounds like most of these should come with some sort of Lim: Must Be Pre-Planned, or Target Must Be Able To Hear (& Understand) Shouted Instructions? You could even require the recipient of the buff to make a Teamwork roll or something, but that's probably more die rolls than you need.

[Kevin Schultz]

Re: tactics as a power

 

When I design characters like this, usually to describe experience working in a superhero team, I use the limitation "Only with others who have teamwork" (-1/4) and "Only when in communication with teammates" (-1/4) - the latter being so low because there's usually some easy way to communicate via radio or built-in cell phones or telepathy or whatever.

[Ascolacicola]

Re: tactics as a power

 

I like the usable by others naked modifiers. along the same lines as Lucius's armor pericing usable by others, I think +1 stun multiplier would be a good idea too. Any other ideas along the line of naked modifiers bought with usable by others?

 

Also, along the lines of incrdbil's 'going along with the plan' limitation can anyone think of a way to give an OCV bonus to players who share a target in the same phase (e.g. hero one attacks durak, hero two attacks durak in the same phase and gets a +1 ocv, hero three attacks durak in the same phase and gets a +2 ocv). Call it something like coordinated strike. I think the coordinated strike idea fits the tactics as powers. Can anyone think of similar ways to simulate a benifits to a coordinated attack?

 

thanks again

[bigdamnhero]

Re: tactics as a power

 

Multiple Attackers Modifier: +1 OCV/attacker after the 1st; attackers must coordinate. In some games I have been very generous with this modifier; others less so, depending on genre, etc.

[Weldun]

Re: tactics as a power

 

Hmm. *Digs through old character file* Where did I put him? Rubber Chicken? *Toss* I had a character like this once, myself. "Seven Steps to Manly Behavior”, by Saotome Nodoka? *Toss* He had a couple of powers like that. Two-headed Fallopian-Chicken Hand-Puppet? Err, eh-heh. Forget you saw that. *TOSS* Ah, here he is. "Hell Taggert."

 

Coordinate Action: +20 DEX (60), usable by up to 8 others simultaneously, at range (+1¾); 165 active; Only to act first in a Phase (-1), Only up to highest DEX amongst affected group (-½), Incantations Throughout (-½), Requires a Tactics Skill Roll at -8 (-1/20; -¼), requires others to hear and understand him (-¼). 47 real.

“Here’s the plan…”: +3 Overall Skill Levels (30), usable by up to 8 others simultaneously, at range (+1¾); 82 active; Only if following “the plan” (-½), Incantations to Start (-¼), Extra Time – 1 minute (-1½), Requires a Tactics Skill Roll at -8 (-1/10; -½), requires others to hear and understand him (-¼). 16 real.

[CBikle]

Re: tactics as a power

 

Hi Assface !

 

 

23: Tactical Pre-Planning (7d6 Luck, only for ambushes, escapes, traps, etc that could logically be planned ahead of time [-1/2]) (35 active pts).

 

 

Hope this helps Assface !

[Kevin Schultz]

Re: tactics as a power

 

Hm...well, I looked in SpyCraft - there were a couple in there, but not as many as I thought. So, I made up some as well. Note the following powers all have Tactical Advantage and Tactical Limitation, and in general have a base cost of 10, and an active cost of 25.

 

Tactical Advantage (+1 1/2) = Useable by up to 8 others simultaneously (+1), Ranged (+1/2)

 

Tactical Limitation (-1) = Only when going with the plan (-1/4), only with others who have teamwork (-1/4), does not work solo (-1/4), Only when in communication with each other (-1/4)

1. Fire on my position - +5 to Teamwork, Instant (-1/2), Extra Time (delayed phase, only to activate, -1/4)
   
2. Esprit de Corps: +10 to PRE
   
3. Good Communications: Mindlink, 4x, specific group of minds (teammates), only to supplement other forms of communication (-1)
   
4. Cover me! +2 DCV, only if attacker was attacked by ally in the last phase (-1)
   
5. Watch your six: Defensive Maneuvers I-IV
   
6. Moving as One: Lightning Reflexes +6, only up to maximum in group (-1/4)
   
7. All together now: SPD +1, only up to maximum in group (-1/4)
   
8. Rally Point: Teleportation: floating fixed location, trigger (no action to activate, 0-phase action to reset, +3/4), must travel through intervening space (-1/4), only up to personal maximum non-combat move per phase (-1/4)
   
9. It's a good plan! +1 to all skill rolls

[Ascolacicola]

Re: tactics as a power

 

Thank you to everyone, your responses are greatly appreciated.

 

Kevin Schultz: Is teamwork a skill? I apologize but I'm still not up on 5th ed. rules and I don't recall using it 'back in the day'. If it is a skill what exactly is its effect? If it is not a skill what is it and how do I use it?

 

Thank you again everyone

[bigdamnhero]

Re: tactics as a power

 

Yes, Teamwork is a skill in 5ed. (Pretty sure it was in 4ed too.) Short answer, it allows the characters who have it to work more effectively together. Primary game-mechanic effect is to allow characters to make coordinated attacks. Many GMs also allow other more subjective uses of Teamwork skill, such as coordinating actions when the characters are out of communication, avoiding friendly fire (in games that worry about such things) or even "Make a Teamwork roll to realize how badly that action would $%#@ over your teammates."

[pinecone]

Re: tactics as a power

 

I also like powers as skills like Mind scan "now if I were a invisable super ape, where would I be hidding"...as well as the levels usable by others and Lightning reflexes, usable by others to ease teamwork...for a little humor "Talk like Ermey" Aid: group of powers (say any physical?) "Listen here maggot, you get you goat smelling a** in gear, and get up that hill!"

[nexus]

Re: tactics as a power

 

I'd like to thank everyone as well. This thread will prove very useful for my PC Tao (Tatically Augmented Organisim).