Bullet TIme!

[DusterBoy]

I'm building a speedster based off Jay Garrick, the Golden Age Flash. According to "Secret Origins of the JLA" he was doing bullet time stunts 50+ years before the Wachowski brothers even thought of the Matrix and one panel as him using his superspeed to chop through gun barrels.

 

So, I was wondering how to best represent this. Could you fold this into a Variable Advantages adder on his Flight or would you have to create a framework to put such stunts in?

[CrosshairCollie]

Re: Bullet TIme!

 

Different uses of the speed will require different powers to build them. Chopping up the guns would probably be a penetrating HKA. Ducking bullets like they're in slow motion is a result of having an obscenely high DEX and probably some DCV levels to boot.

 

I would give the character two Multipowers: One that would contain his combat movement (Flight only along surfaces in one slot, Megascale Flight only along surfaces in another) and another Multipower containing various speedster stunts (or a VPP for a well-practiced player, but I don't really have any of those right now ...).

[DusterBoy]

Re: Bullet TIme!

 

Thank you for your timely response, CrossHair Collie . . .

 

So . . . summat like this maybe: . . . Chop Gun Barrels In Half: HKA 1 1/2d, Penetrating (+1/2) (33 points)?

 

I made it a 1 1/2d HKA to guarantee getting past the gun's 4 DEF (as listed in Ultimate Brick) and 'cos I thought an HKA 2d would be too expensive.

 

(I always abbreviate d6 down to d, 'cos there's no need to distinguish between any others - and it's what GURPS does)

 

(Please don't ban me for liking GURPS)

[boomer]

Re: Bullet TIme!

 

Thank you for your timely response, CrossHair Collie . . .

 

So . . . summat like this maybe: . . . Chop Gun Barrels In Half: HKA 1 1/2d, Penetrating (+1/2) (33 points)?

 

I made it a 1 1/2d HKA to guarantee getting past the gun's 4 DEF (as listed in Ultimate Brick) and 'cos I thought an HKA 2d would be too expensive.

 

(I always abbreviate d6 down to d, 'cos there's no need to distinguish between any others - and it's what GURPS does)

 

(Please don't ban me for liking GURPS)

 

Is he strong enough to break the gun barrels, or is he just going that fast that he interrupts the molecules of the metal......? Just curious how that would work unless he's super strong. (Has a speedster too......)

[Kenn]

Re: Bullet TIme!

 

Essentially its the same process that lets fired bullets damage things. The objects mass multiplied by the the objects velocity determines the amount of force being supplied.

 

A bullet doesn't have much mass, but it impacts at speeds just under the speed of sound.

 

A speedster's hand is considerably more massive than a bullet. And the speeds Jay Garrick travels at far exceed 700 mph.

[archermoo]

Re: Bullet TIme!

 

A bullet doesn't have much mass, but it impacts at speeds just under the speed of sound.

 

As a note, generally above the speed of sound. Often times WELL above...

[Kenn]

Re: Bullet TIme!

 

Hmm. I know they leave the gun barrel faster than sound, but I thought they slowed down fairly quickly.

[Hyper-Man]

Re: Bullet TIme!

 

Hmm. I know they leave the gun barrel faster than sound' date=' but I thought they slowed down fairly quickly.[/quote']

 

Not all bullets are created equal.

 

A .45 ACP is a lot slower than a 9 mm.

However, it's a lot heavier too.

 

Length of barrel also impacts bullet speed.

A longer barrel gives the gas more time to expand more and push the bullet faster before exiting.

[CrosshairCollie]

Re: Bullet TIme!

 

Thank you for your timely response, CrossHair Collie . . .

 

So . . . summat like this maybe: . . . Chop Gun Barrels In Half: HKA 1 1/2d, Penetrating (+1/2) (33 points)?

 

I made it a 1 1/2d HKA to guarantee getting past the gun's 4 DEF (as listed in Ultimate Brick) and 'cos I thought an HKA 2d would be too expensive.

 

(I always abbreviate d6 down to d, 'cos there's no need to distinguish between any others - and it's what GURPS does)

 

(Please don't ban me for liking GURPS)

 

Actually, the Penetrating advantage will get past the gun's defenses unless they're hardened (unless you truly bomb the damage with all 1s). He'll also get to put his Strength behind the attack for a little more damage on top of that.

[BNakagawa]

Re: Bullet TIme!

 

Hmm. I know they leave the gun barrel faster than sound' date=' but I thought they slowed down fairly quickly.[/quote']

 

This is true in water. Also true in Miyazaki-world where the air is extremely dense. (it's what lets those absurd designs actually fly)

 

seriously, modern sniper rifles have an effective range of over a mile. If bullets were that affected by air resistance we never would have mounted them in the front of aircraft...

[boomer]

Re: Bullet TIme!

 

Essentially its the same process that lets fired bullets damage things. The objects mass multiplied by the the objects velocity determines the amount of force being supplied.

 

A bullet doesn't have much mass, but it impacts at speeds just under the speed of sound.

 

A speedster's hand is considerably more massive than a bullet. And the speeds Jay Garrick travels at far exceed 700 mph.

 

 

Thank you all....that explains things nicely....although to add it to my speedster will make him way overpowered.....he already has a str drain via the palm of his hands and has an autofire punch/touch with multiple move-bys.......thus they name Siphon also known as Brick Bane.....

[Comic]

Re: Bullet TIme!

 

Isn't there a weapon breaking maneuver in UMA?

 

These superspeed effects sound a bit like a martial art, with a martial dodge, and some full move attacks, as well as the weapon breaker.

[CrosshairCollie]

Re: Bullet TIme!

 

Isn't there a weapon breaking maneuver in UMA?

 

These superspeed effects sound a bit like a martial art, with a martial dodge, and some full move attacks, as well as the weapon breaker.

 

Technically, you can use just about any maneuver that has the Strike element as a weapon breaker; you just attack the weapon instead of the wielder.

[Trebuchet]

Re: Bullet TIme!

 

Thank you all....that explains things nicely....although to add it to my speedster will make him way overpowered.....he already has a str drain via the palm of his hands and has an autofire punch/touch with multiple move-bys.......thus they name Siphon also known as Brick Bane.....

I'm curious as to the rationale behind the STR Drain based on high speed. What's the special effect of the Drain and how does it relate to bullet time?

[boomer]

Re: Bullet TIme!

 

I'm curious as to the rationale behind the STR Drain based on high speed. What's the special effect of the Drain and how does it relate to bullet time?

 

I decided to make a speedster that was a bane to bricks.....the huge drawback was he could never touch another human without his hands uncovered. The STR drain adds to his END for all his Speedster skills. The relation to bullet time is, like most speedsters, the character can get off multiple attacks (thus the autofire HA) and looks like a blur to the attacker, but from the speedsters point of view it looks like slo mo......I found the build interesting and wanted to see if it would over balance my speedster adding it to him. I think he's pretty balanced now though.

[Hyper-Man]

Re: Bullet TIme!

 

I decided to make a speedster that was a bane to bricks.....the huge drawback was he could never touch another human without his hands uncovered. The STR drain adds to his END for all his Speedster skills. The relation to bullet time is' date=' like most speedsters, the character can get off multiple attacks (thus the autofire HA) and looks like a blur to the attacker, but from the speedsters point of view it looks like slo mo......I found the build interesting and wanted to see if it would over balance my speedster adding it to him. I think he's pretty balanced now though.[/quote']

 

But what is the special effect of this ability?

You've just described the mechanics of how it works, not why.

[boomer]

Re: Bullet TIme!

 

But what is the special effect of this ability?

You've just described the mechanics of how it works, not why.

 

Never really thought of the sfx of it......it's a part of his being born a mutant.....the STR drain is a side effect of his accelerated reaction times (ie his Speed Powers). It's only limited to the palms of his hands though. Never really delved into why that became a side effect, I guess you can say it was the curse to go with his gift.

[Kenn]

Re: Bullet TIme!

 

What happens if he presses the palm of his hand against his own body (besides, you know, the palm becoming hairy.)

[boomer]

Re: Bullet TIme!

 

What happens if he presses the palm of his hand against his own body (besides' date=' you know, the palm becoming hairy.)[/quote']

 

Since it's not bought with "personal immunity" the same thing happens. Yes he's a very introverted character (a definite stretch to role play for an extreme extrovert like myself).

[Trebuchet]

Re: Bullet TIme!

 

I decided to make a speedster that was a bane to bricks.....the huge drawback was he could never touch another human without his hands uncovered. The STR drain adds to his END for all his Speedster skills. The relation to bullet time is' date=' like most speedsters, the character can get off multiple attacks (thus the autofire HA) and looks like a blur to the attacker, but from the speedsters point of view it looks like slo mo......I found the build interesting and wanted to see if it would over balance my speedster adding it to him. I think he's pretty balanced now though.[/quote']I generally don't care for powers bought just because they're "cool" to have, but if you bought this with Always On and took appropriate Disadvantages to reflect it that would be interesting - it would work a lot like Rogue's powers in that it would severely limit normal human contact. No significant others; he can't touch teammates (even to help), etc.

 

In my experience speedsters already do all right as "brick banes" as long as they can do enough damage to leak something through with each hit. Just keep in mind that a lot of bricks also have Power Defense.

[CrosshairCollie]

Re: Bullet TIme!

 

I generally don't care for powers bought just because they're "cool" to have, but if you bought this with Always On and took appropriate Disadvantages to reflect it that would be interesting - it would work a lot like Rogue's powers in that it would severely limit normal human contact. No significant others; he can't touch teammates (even to help), etc.

 

In my experience speedsters already do all right as "brick banes" as long as they can do enough damage to leak something through with each hit. Just keep in mind that a lot of bricks also have Power Defense.

 

Hmm. Maybe he's leeching metabolic energy to power his own abilities? A transfer would probably be more apropos, but I can stll see Drain working.

[Trebuchet]

Re: Bullet TIme!

 

Hmm. Maybe he's leeching metabolic energy to power his own abilities? A transfer would probably be more apropos' date=' but I can stll see Drain working.[/quote']That's as good a rationalization as any.

[boomer]

Re: Bullet TIme!

 

I generally don't care for powers bought just because they're "cool" to have, but if you bought this with Always On and took appropriate Disadvantages to reflect it that would be interesting - it would work a lot like Rogue's powers in that it would severely limit normal human contact. No significant others; he can't touch teammates (even to help), etc.

 

In my experience speedsters already do all right as "brick banes" as long as they can do enough damage to leak something through with each hit. Just keep in mind that a lot of bricks also have Power Defense.

 

It is always on and yes.....even with gloves on he very rarely touches anyone....he gets that "you're being rude" look when he refuses to shake hands in his normal ID.....but he's a software engineer in a silicon valley company (Mamon......my friend made it up on the spot....) and considered one of those "eclectic geniuses" so his introverted behavior isn't really frowned upon. He lives with the constant trauma of the first manifestations of his power when he was 13. He was petting his favorite cat when all of a sudden it literally shrank to a bony husk and died a horrible death. Just because he touched it. I always try and balance what could be a powerful character with some kind of psych or phyisical trauma to keep him/her in check. Adds depth and keeps you from becomming Power Gamer.....

[boomer]

Re: Bullet TIme!

 

Hmm. Maybe he's leeching metabolic energy to power his own abilities? A transfer would probably be more apropos' date=' but I can stll see Drain working.[/quote']

 

 

I like that explanation actually.......

[Sean Waters]

Re: Bullet TIme!

 

I'm building a speedster based off Jay Garrick, the Golden Age Flash. According to "Secret Origins of the JLA" he was doing bullet time stunts 50+ years before the Wachowski brothers even thought of the Matrix and one panel as him using his superspeed to chop through gun barrels.

 

So, I was wondering how to best represent this. Could you fold this into a Variable Advantages adder on his Flight or would you have to create a framework to put such stunts in?

 

Well there's lots of different ways to do it, assuming you were not just askingabout chopping gun barrels off.

 

Generally you need to have a clear concept of what you want the characrter to be able to do first, and then decide the best way to build it. Where, for instance, does your speedster's power come from and what are the sfx? Time manipulation? Hyperaccelerated metabolism? Something else?

 

Bear in mind a lot of the things a speedster can do can be represented simply by buying a high SPD. There are many other ways to do it, but don't overlook the simple approach...