What is would scare a brick more?

[Demonsong]

What is would scare a brick more?

 

As I have mentioned before I am running a campaign consisting of mostly brick type characters. And although I am not having any problems dealing with that kind of power in the group. I do want to keep the pressure turned up and at lest keep them worried. So I have am designing a brick to be part of there next super powered run in.

 

So my question is all about what you folks think is intimidating. Or what would intimidate your brick style character more in any random campaign, just in terms of special effect?

 

1- Said NPC brick jumping in the middle of the party and screaming maniacally and emitting a sickly green light the envelops the characters and makes them weaker as he gets larger and stronger.

 

Area Effect-Radius, Personal Immunity, 4D6 STR Transfer to STR, Maximum effect 50 points, Visible, Side Effects: grows larger and gets heavier the higher his STR goes. We are not talking about Growth, just a size and weight increases. Normally 6’ 1â€, 237lb, but at max STR is 13’ tall and 1400lb.

 

2-Said NPC brick just standing there waiting to be attacked laughing at the PC. Then suddenly growing larger and stronger every time he gets hit.

 

Adsorption 4D6 Energy to STR and Adsorption 4D6 Physical to STR, Side Effects: grows larger and gets heavier the higher his STR goes. We are not talking about Growth, just a size and weight increases. Normally 6’ 1â€, 237lb, but at max STR is 13’ tall and 1400lb.

 

 

I only need one for the group as I already have the rest of the bad guys all flushed out. Including a mentalist with an AFX3 EGO attack. Which is just what the doctor ordered, when dealing with a party bricks.

 

If you’re wondering I actually expect the party to win then encounter, as long as they don’t get caught up in there own egos and work together as some sort of a team. If not, well them I will get to pound them in to the dirt, which is all fun for the GM (ME)

 

Thoughts?

[Monolith]

I think the first version would be far more scarier, but I would buy the Transfer from STR to Growth. Basically it just seems as though your character is getting taller as the attack goes on. That implies the power of Growth to me, not a Limitation on Strength.

[Demonsong]

No, it not growth because I don’t want them to get that big. It a Physical Limitation: Large and Heavy and Distinctive Features. That can’t be turned off and always happens when ever the characters power is used. There is no advantage to that other than to look scary.

 

To me that is not Growth.

[Monolith]

Originally posted by Demonsong

To me that is not Growth.

That is fine, but how exactly is the Side Effect limiting the character then? It seems as though you are taking a Limitation that is not really limiting the character in any fashion.

[Monolith]

I forgot to add that the Transfer power is already visible. You should not take a Visible Limitation on a power which is already Visible.

[Tom McCarthy]

Personally, I think your bricks would be more afraid of a decent sized penetrating RKA damage shield...

 

Absorption is by far the funnest for dialogue ("Fool, your puny punches only make me stronger"), to the extent we joke about unusual applications of Absorption (to shrinking, to COM, to growth, to STUN, to INT, etc.). Transfer really gets the players worried though. Transfer PD to STR, in particular, can really make them paranoid.

[Demonsong]

That is fine, but how exactly is the Side Effect limiting the character then? It seems as though you are taking a Limitation that is not really limiting the character in any fashion.

What part of it is not a disadvantage! The power is limited probably more that half the time. If he is in any sort of enclosed environment (read inside any normal building here) he had better think of the repercussions of using his power or he is going to have a real difficult time maneuvering at the very least . At the worst he will put his head thought the ceiling. The same thing goes when he is not standing on solid earth, sudden weight increases can be hazardous to your health if you’re on a very solid surface.

 

And that not even mentioning the fact that the bigger a character is PC or NPC the bigger bullet (or any attack) magnet he/she becomes.

 

And this is a freaking NPC. Its not like I am trying to pull the wool over my own eyes and trick the GM (my self) in to have an over powered character. I am saving like 22 points with this Side Effect that always takes effect when ever the power is use. That’s hardly abusive.

 

What, exactly is excitable in your eyes, as a suitably limiting disadvantage. The character chokes to death on his own blood if he ever uses the power?

 

Transfer really gets the players worried though. Transfer PD to STR, in particular, can really make them paranoid.

 

Tom I bet your right. But I think I am going to stay with the STR to STR.

[Monolith]

Originally posted by Demonsong

What, exactly is excitable in your eyes, as a suitably limiting disadvantage. The character chokes to death on his own blood if he ever uses the power?

Calm down before you hurt yourself there. My point was, if the character already has a Physical Limitation stating that he is sometimes large and heavy then you should not double-dip and give both a Disadvantage and a Limitation for the same effect. You should get one or the other: Physical Limitation Occasional Size & Mass Increase (-2 DCV and 1,400 lbs) or Side Effect Size & Mass Increase when power is used (-2 DCV and 1,400 lbs). You should not get both. Maybe you did not give the character a Physical Limitation too, but your second answer to me stated it was a Physical Limitation.

 

And it does not matter whether you are trying to fool someone or not. As a new gamer you should work on building your characters correctly. That helps you learn the rules better and makes you a better GM when your players need information about the rules.

[Demonsong]

I don’t need to calm down, because I am not calmed up Reading your post isn’t quite enough to get me excited. Any way if you read my original post it states..

 

Normally 6’ 1â€, 237lb, but at max STR is 13’ tall and 1400lb.

 

Implying that the character is relatively normal size and weight until the power is used. There is no double dipping involved and the description of the side effect could be described either as distinctive features or as a physical limitation depending on your point of view.

 

And I am not a new gamer. Thank you very much. I have been playing various games including HERO for over 15 years. I cut my teeth on Champions in like 87. Sure this is the first time I have Played 5th Edition. But it’s not that different.

 

And I assure that I know how to build characters correctly.

 

I think the problem here is that weather you mean to do it or know you come off very condescending. You should work on that. May be take a step out side and realize that you are not your persona. Just a thought. Nothing personal.

[loraxxx]

since most bricks are set up to take lots of regular PD/ED damage, go for their weak points--Flashes, NND's, and EGO only entangles....

 

 

picture this--a normal guy walks up to one of your bricks, grabs him/her and immediately begins to syphon off a bunch of the characters STR, CON, etc., leaving the victim lying in a glassy-eyed heap on the ground....

 

....the power? absorbtion used at no range linked to an ego only entangle....

[Killer Shrike]

Shrinking usable as an Attack with a linked Suppress vs Strength. Its not point efficient, but it is really really embarassing.

[pinecone]

For me scary for a brick is Transfer:Stun Damage sheild...make 'im a wrassler and you're cooking with gas!

[Doug McCrae]

Quicksand!

 

How's a brick supposed to get out of that?

[Doug McCrae]

Bricks don't get scared. Even by bigger bricks. Well, they pretend not to be scared.

[Wyrm Ouroboros]

Originally posted by Demonsong

And I am not a new gamer. Thank you very much. I have been playing various games including HERO for over 15 years. I cut my teeth on Champions in like 87. Sure this is the first time I have Played 5th Edition. But it’s not that different.

 

And I assure that I know how to build characters correctly.

 

I think the problem here is that weather you mean to do it or know you come off very condescending. You should work on that. May be take a step out side and realize that you are not your persona. Just a thought. Nothing personal.

Actually, Demonsong, you've gotten very, very worked-up over the suggestion that the way you're thinking about building it is, well, perhaps incorrect, certainly clumsy. You've also started to become, errr, set in your way; accept the critique of your construct and change it, don't post ... well, what you've done above.

 

The side-effect of 'becoming larger' is, as Monolith states, not a disadvantage in this particular case, especially not as the character is portrayed. You apparently want him to become a) stronger, bigger, and c) more intimidating. This says Transfer to me, into 1) Strength, 2) Growth, and 3) PRE. If you want , you should not get a limitation out of it; it is VERY CLEARLY an advantage. I would therefore build him thus:

 

"Is It Just Me, Or Are You Gettin' Smaller the More We Fight??"

Transfer, 2d6, +48 to Maximum (60 Max), From Strength to Strength (3/6), Growth (1/6), Density Increase (1/6), and PRE (1/6), Continuous (+1), Damage Shield Usable with All Maneuvers (+¾), Delayed Return Rate (1 Minute, +¼) [162 Actives]; 162 Points.

 

This maxes him out at: 10 points of Growth, 10 Points of DI, +10 PRE, and +30 Strength. If you want it to be nastier, up the maximum or, worse, add another power such as Absorption to really add insult to injury. After all, losing 60 STR among an entire group of Bricks isn't going to necessarily throw them off, but losing 90 or 120 might -really- frighten them. And remember, you need to give this guy the starting DEF to be able to handle the punches YOUR people are going to be starting off with. No fun having him knocked out at the first Phase 12...

[Fur Face]

Mouse vs Elephant

 

You could also do a "mouse vs elephant", where its good fun, could be very embarassing in public, and quite scary to them. As an example:

 

Have a midget or a little girl show up with a small hand crossbow. Have the crossbow be enchanted, and shoot very powerful bolts (+10 OCV, 4d6 RKA, NND, Does Body, not vs. FF). Let an NPC brick get hit, and see what it does to them. Don't tell the players that the crossbow only has four charges, and let the public see the bricks running from a little girl with a play crossbow!

 

Just a thought!

[Demonsong]

The side-effect of 'becoming larger' is, as Monolith states, not a disadvantage in this particular case, especially not as the character is portrayed.

Wyrm:

I am afraid that I must disagree with you Wyrm. I can not fathom how you could not see it as a disadvantage, but to each his own. Your version is much more clunky and cumbersome than my version, by far. A lot of unnecessary effects and adders, where my version is very stream line and simply gets the desired effect across. The desired effect being he transfers STR and visibly gets stronger, that is to say larger and heavier which is by definition a disadvantage and there fore could be use as a side effect.

 

What I asked for if, you read my post, is personal perception on what any given individual would find more intimidating as a brick between two given choices. But the thread turned in to a how to mess with bricks thread. Which is fine as long as I can still get some general feed back on the original question. And I did, so I am generaly happy.

 

I simply put the mechanics down so every on new where I was coming form. I did not put the mechanics down asking for a Power critique. Although I am happy to listen to any ones reasonable suggestions. I am well aware of the fact that my mechanics may not be perfect, but they are certainly less cumbersome that what you purposed. And if you read Monolith’s posts he did not disagree about size and mass increases being a side effect disadvantage. He as was afraid I was taking it as a Side Effect of the power and a separate Disadvantage. But I think the best thing to do is agree to disagree.

 

Every one else:

Thanks for your input.