Catching cars

[dmt]

How would you model being able to catch a card thrown at a brick? I was going to go with missile deflection, but it says you can't deflect area attacks. So how do you do with big objects like that?

[Alibear]

Re: Catching cars

 

Well dramatic sense dictates otherwise.

 

If I was presented this in game I wouldn't check the rules I'd just make a decision off the top of my head and check later.

 

So until I get home and can check later I'd rule that..

 

If someone had Missile deflection and had enough Strength to left a car easily, perhaps 5 Str more than needed to lift it I'd rule he could abort to catch it.

 

If he didn't have missile deflection but was waiting, and was strong enough to easily lift it (see above) I'd rule that he could make an ocv (-2 for grab)v ocv to catch it.

[Sean Waters]

Re: Catching cars

 

I would WANT this in games, so I wouldn't require missile deflection, sensible as that is: here's an ad hoc solution:

 

THIS CAN ONLY BE DONE WITH THROWN OBJECTS OF OPPORTUNITY THAT ARE LARGE ENOUGH TO GRANT AN OCV BONUS, OR BE AOE.

 

1. Catcher has to voluntarily reduce their DCV to 0. The attacker still rolls to hit, and if they miss despite this, the car cannot be caught.

 

2. The catcher has to make a 'roll with punch' roll: basically this is an optional maneouvre that just seems about right.

 

3. If successful the catcher and the car take half damage (if not, the car is not caught and damage is applied normally). If the car is destroyed by this, bad luck.

 

4. If successful the catcher can make a straight DEX roll and on a success has the car and can throw it back next phase.

 

5. If the catch is successful nothing in the area the object lands in takes any damage apart from the catcher, unless they are larger than the catcher by at least one level of growth.

 

If you have missile deflection, I'd have them make the roll and go to a straight DEX roll to catch.

 

Not an entirely straightforward solution: it would be amusing once or twice but really boring if it happened all the time.

[BoneDaddy]

Re: Catching cars

 

Could you buy AOE on missile deflection? Limit it based on STR.

[Sean Waters]

Re: Catching cars

 

Could you buy AOE on missile deflection? Limit it based on STR.

 

Given the way MD works, I'm not sure what AoE would accomplish, but I might be persuaded if you could show how that would function mechanically.

[jtelson]

Re: Catching cars

 

I don't have the book here but I have a vague recollection (Meaning it may have been two editions back) that the prohibition on Missile Deflecting AoE attacks was special effect dependent (Can deflect grenades can't deflect 'I explode' and so on). So if the character could casually lift the car I would say he could missile deflect it using Missile Deflection, otherwise I'd probably take it on a case by case basis.

[BoneDaddy]

Re: Catching cars

 

Given the way MD works' date=' I'm not sure what AoE would accomplish, but I might be persuaded if you could show how that would function mechanically.[/quote']

It would just give the brick the ability to deflect really big things, up to the area specified by the advantage, which I would think would have to be limited to 1 hex, radius, or specific shape. It's an advantage, not a physics problem. Add appropriate limitations so the brick doesn't try to deflect a dragon's breath, make it RSR for the hoisting skill or analyze: object, whatever.

[Lord Liaden]

Re: Catching cars

 

I use the rules for Catching A Falling Character on FREd p. 291/ 5ER p. 434. This requires a Grab Maneuver so is normally an Attack Action, but I generally allow characters to Abort to it as a defensive move.

 

If you want something more elaborate you can assess a bonus to the Grab Attack Roll based on the object's size, or penalties if you want to calculate its Velocity-based DCV, but I generally find these slow down the action. Note that there are also more detailed rules and examples for stopping moving objects in the Champions genre book, p. 160.

[Sean Waters]

Re: Catching cars

 

It would just give the brick the ability to deflect really big things' date=' up to the area specified by the advantage, which I would think would have to be limited to 1 hex, radius, or specific shape. It's an advantage, not a physics problem. Add appropriate limitations so the brick doesn't try to deflect a dragon's breath, make it RSR for the hoisting skill or analyze: object, whatever.[/quote']

 

If that is all you are after, then I wouldn't bother; if you are strong enough to lift it, you can deflect it IMO. You cannot deflect AoE attacks SOMETIMES based on sfx, but I'd always allow a thrown object of opportunity to be deflected, if the deflector could reasonably be expected to move the object.

[Tonio]

Re: Catching cars

 

Isn't there a Limitation called "Can be Missile Deflected", for use with powers like thrown granades, that are AE's or Explosions, but can be Missle Deflected? Wouldn't it be safe to assume that a thrown car has that limitation, if used as a thrown object of opportunity? Or to force the character to pick the Limitation when building the power to throw big stuff?

[The Suave]

Re: Catching cars

 

Couldn't you treat it as a block, at least for a quick job on the roll mechanics.

 

Although the "catching a falling character" deal seems like a better plan.

[gmurie]

Re: Catching cars

 

Create an "abort to" martial maneuver to block/grab for "Brick fu"?

[Fedifensor]

Re: Catching cars

 

If you have a large Brick Tricks multipower, you could buy Teleport 0", Usable As Attack, with the No Relative Velocity adder and sufficient Extra Mass to mirror the character's Strength. Basically, you instantly negate the car's velocity, which means you stop it dead in its tracks...

 

However, I would just let a character use an abort action to catch the vehicle, giving the car a DCV based on size and velocity that the brick has to hit in order to get a solid enough grip before the car smashes into him. After all, the guy throwing the car probably didn't pay points for it (other than the STR needed to lift the vehicle), so why should the brick have to pay points for the ability to catch it?

[Tech]

Re: Catching cars

 

Depending on the special effects of the Missile Deflection, I would allow it. There's one character who's effect is dodging the attacks. Well, that's good enough for me, go ahead and use Missile Deflection! Your character has a 10 Str and special effect is blocking things? Welll... um.... no.

[ghost-angel]

Re: Catching cars

 

Since it's cool and dramatic... I follow Lord Liaden's advice - use the Catch A Falling Object rules.. no Missile Deflection needed.

[Fenixcrest]

Re: Catching cars

 

If it's just a chucked object of opportunity, I'd go with Lord Liaden and ghost-angel and just use the rules for catching things.

 

The Missile Deflection thing really only matters if they paid points for it.

So, plain ol' super strength used to chuck a bus --> catching rules.

Extra points paid for the power "Thrown Missile": Energy Blast 12d6, AOE variable shape, OIF thrown object of opportunity, range based on Strength, only up to as many dice as the object has BODY+DEF, AOE is the same shape as object, Missile Deflection applies --> Missile Deflection.