Dragon's Firebreath

[Kdansky]

I'm trying to model a firebreath attack for a Dragon. Should be area of effect - cone, 2d6 Killing dmg. Now I'm trying something else: 3d6 Killing dmg, but with something like an explosion style diminuishing damage class system. As explosion is ruled only for circular shape, this does not work very well.

 

Version 1: I just cut off everything outside the cone, but I lose a lot of area (about 2/3) and pay the full price anyway, I don't like that idea much.

 

Version 2: I cuonted the hexes under the explosion radius. The problem I had: even 7 damage classes have a giantic area filled, and reshaping that to cone has quite an extreme range. And it gets worse with every DC...

 

any ideas?

[Guest zarglif69]

well, take a look at the explosion advantage in FREd, it has the rules for shaping an explosion as a cone or line.

[Kdansky]

Thanks, I did not see that ;-)

Now I've gotten another problem: 2" per DC gives me nearly 18" range, that's too much for me to handle, is there a way to make it shorter and diminuish faster (ideally for lower price, as it is clearly weaker)?

 

[Edit] And I've got another problem I just realised: how do I calculate stun and BODY from killing dice? remove the highest one from the list as it is proposed on page 166 for normal dmg is no option

[Kdansky]

And one more problem on the topic: A dragon's breath begins at his mouth, so I took it as a RKA - no range. Now do I hit myself or does it start from the next hex on? so do I need Personal Immunity or not?

 

Had an argue with a friend about that on ICQ just now

[Guest zarglif69]

when an AoE or explosion with no range goes off, its range is centered upon the character's hex, so yes, you'd have to buy personal immunity. (since the dragon is likely to have some Growth, the explosion would be centered upon the mouth's hex or something)

[Fireg0lem]

First, the range. Place a limitation on the explosion advantage (not on the whole power). I would make the limitation proportional to the change in loss of DC, or half that if it is a cutoff rather than faster loss of DC

 

In other words, the cone IIRC loses 1 DC per 2 hexes. If you want it to be 1 DC per hex, than put a -1 limit on the explosion. However, if you just want it to lose 1 DC per 2 hexes, then stop at 9", go with -1/2.

 

Second, the PI. Having to buy PI on the breath in order to use a no range cone is stupid. I can't recall offhand whether that is the way it technically works, but even if it should start in the character's hex, just limit it to "Always Targets the Hex Right In Front Of The Character", rather than No Range, which should be still worth -1/2.

 

Third, the loss of power. Its a tad complex, but here is the correct way. You lose one DC per 2 hexes, not one die.

 

3d6 killing attack.

Rolls a 2, 3, and 5.

 

First BODY count is 2+3+5 = 10

For the second one, the last die becomes a half-die. Thus, the 5 is treated as a 3. 2+3+3=8

Third, the last die is a 1-pip. 2+3+1=6

Fourth, the last die is gone. 2+3=5

Fifth, the second to last die is a half die, and is treated as a two rather than a three. 2+2=4

And so on. If this is more trouble than it is worth, consider setting it to just lose 1 body per 2 hexes, quicker but not as accurate.

[pinecone]

An alternative method I have used for this is Area effect and Reduced by range 6 of 1, Half dozen of the other....

[Dr Lucky]

Look up Cone under Area of Effect. If the cone has no range, it starts in the character's hex, but does not damage him.

[Killer Shrike]

As Dr Lucky says, the cone originates from you outwards. Same with Line and Any Area and 1 Hex targeting an adjacent hex, but not Radius or Explosion, or 1 Hex targets your own hex (unless its accurate).

 

You have several options in either case if you want to avoid your own attacks from Radius or Explosion; Personal Immunity, Hole In The Middle, and Selective. I would take PI for most powers, but Selective has its pros & cons too. Ive never been fond of HitM.

 

As far as doing neat things with a Cone, you can opt to make an AoE smaller at power creation, but you dont get any Limitation for it. You can however use fewer dice of effect, lowering the AP used and thereby lessening the number of inches affected for that shot (as the number of inches is based on the AP of the Power not including AoE). Most people ignore that because its a pain to recalc the number of hexes effected on the fly, but you could do so ahead of time.

 

There are 2 basic ways to calculate Explosion on KA's. The easiest (and the method I use) is to drop 1 die of effect every 3 inches. This is the same as loosing a DC per inch. The other method, which I dont like, is to simply drop 2 points of BODY damage per inch. I dont like this method because it makes killing Explosions variable in size as opposed to normal damage Explosions, which is inconsistent. I wouldnt mind it if normal damage Explosions were calced in a similar fashion, but I dont want different behavior either way.

 

There are some suggested neat things you could do with Area of Effects in Digital HERO #10, by none other than the inestimable Dave Mattingly. I suggest you buy a Digital HERO Credit and get that issue. The article is on pgs 49 to 52, and includes a nifty "Cone Explosion" template based upon a Reduced by Range AoE Cone that loses dice of effect from the center line of the Cone. It is extremely KEWL. The issue also has the second half of the Fabulous Five by Darren Watts, a cross-dimensional adventure, and a very extensive breakdown of a 1 megaton nuclear explosion in HERO's terms by none other than Steve Long himself.