New Mechanic: Effective Attack Modifier

[schir1964]

Effective Attack (Modifier)

An attack with the Effective Attack Advantage is more effective than a standard attack. The effectiveness is increased by defining what defenses reduce the damage of the attack and how much those defenses reduce the damage by. This modifier may only be applied to attacks that do Stun/Body Damage by default.

 

Commonality Of Defense

 

• Very Common Defense (-1/2) (Examples: STR / EGO *)
  
• Common Defense (0) (Examples: Physical / Energy / Flash[sight] *)
  
• Uncommon Defense (+1) (Example: Resistant / Mental / Power / Flash[Hearing] *)
  
• Very Uncommon Defense (+2) (Example: Flash[smell,Taste,Unusual] / INT *)
  

 

 

Effect Of Target Defense

• Defense Reduces Damage To Zero (-1/2)
  
• Defense Reduces Damage 2 Points Per Defense Point (-1/4)
  
• Defense Reduces Damage 1 Points Per Defense Point (-0)
  
• Defense Reduces Damage 1/2 Point Per Defense Point (+1/2)
  

 

 

Sample Builds

 

• Poison Dart: Stun Only, Uncommon Defense (Resistant), Effect (Zero Damage): +1/4 Advantage
  
• EMP Weapon: Versus Electronic Equipment Only -1/2, Very Uncommon Defense (Shielded/Turned Off), Effect (Zero Damage): +1 Advantage
  
• Acid Splash Attack: Very Uncommon Defense (Chemical Neutralizer), Effect (Normal Reduction): +2 Advantage
  
• Cold Attack: Stun Only, Common Defense (Physical), Additional Common Defense Applies (Energy), Effect (Normal Reduction): -3/4 Limitation
  

 

 

Other Modifiers

Limitations

Stun Only (-1/4): Attack only does Stun Damage.

 

Additional Defenses Applies

 

• Each additional very common defense that applies (-3/4) (Highest defense reduces damage)
  
• Each additional common defense that applies (-1/2) (Highest defense reduces damage)
  
• Each additional uncommon defense that applies (-1/4) (Highest defense reduces damage)
  

*Note: These are examples only. The GM should decide where defenses fall on the chart.

[Sean Waters]

Re: New Mechanic: Effective Attack Modifier

 

I'm liking it but I sense a problem:

 

Poison dart, 5d6 NND, stopped by resistant PD and LS: Poison

 

5d6 25 points

Uncommon defence (resistant PD) +1

Reduces to zero -1/2

Additional very uncommon defence (LS: poison) -0

 

Total +1, -1/2: 33 real, 50 active

 

Now, built this way:

 

5d6 25 points

Very Uncommon defence (LS: Poison) +2

Reduces to zero -1/2

Additional uncommon defence (Resistant PD) -1/4

 

Total +2, -3/4: 43 real, 75 active

[Tonio]

Re: New Mechanic: Effective Attack Modifier

 

I'm liking it but I sense a problem:

 

Poison dart, 5d6 NND, stopped by resistant PD and LS: Poison

 

5d6 25 points

Uncommon defence (resistant PD) +1

Reduces to zero -1/2

Additional very uncommon defence (LS: poison) -0

 

Total +1, -1/2: 33 real, 50 active

 

Now, built this way:

 

5d6 25 points

Very Uncommon defence (LS: Poison) +2

Reduces to zero -1/2

Additional uncommon defence (Resistant PD) -1/4

 

Total +2, -3/4: 43 real, 75 active

 

I think those aren't supposed to be individual modifiers, but rather you're supposed to add them all together to get the final modifier, which might end up being an Advantage or a Limitation, depending on the total.

[schir1964]

Re: New Mechanic: Effective Attack Modifier

 

I'm liking it but I sense a problem:

 

Poison dart, 5d6 NND, stopped by resistant PD and LS: Poison

 

5d6 25 points

Uncommon defence (resistant PD) +1

Reduces to zero -1/2

Additional very uncommon defence (LS: poison) -0

 

Total +1, -1/2: 33 real, 50 active

 

Now, built this way:

 

5d6 25 points

Very Uncommon defence (LS: Poison) +2

Reduces to zero -1/2

Additional uncommon defence (Resistant PD) -1/4

 

Total +2, -3/4: 43 real, 75 active

I guess there should be an explicit statement saying that the build order of defenses works it way down the chart of commonality.

 

5d6 Energy Blast: 25 Points

Effective Advantage

Uncommon Defense (Resistant PD): +1

Effect (Reduces To Zero): -1/2

Total (+1/2)

Additional Modifiers

Stun Only: -1/4

Additional Defense Applies (Very Uncommon Defense - LS: Poison): -1/4

 

Active Points: 37.5

Real Points: 25

 

Hmmm...

 

Perhaps the all the modifiers should be handled separately.

5d6 Energy Blast: 25 Points

Uncommon Defense (Resistant PD): +1

Effect (Reduces To Zero): -1/2

Stun Only: -1/4

Additional Defense Applies (Very Uncommon Defense - LS: Poison): -1/4

 

Active Points: 50

Real Points: 25

 

Perhaps not...

 

Suggestions?

 

- Christopher Mullins

[Sean Waters]

Re: New Mechanic: Effective Attack Modifier

 

I think those aren't supposed to be individual modifiers' date=' but rather you're supposed to add them all together to get the final modifier, which might end up being an Advantage or a Limitation, depending on the total.[/quote']

 

Even then you wind up with +1/2 or +1 1/4, depending where you start building...

 

You could modifiy your assumptions based on where you want to be:

 

An attack that does Stun, KB and Body, and is reduced by PD or ED should be +0 - it is, after all, a perfectly normal attack. Assuming a normal ration of attack to defence of DCx2 i.e. in a 12 DC game you generally average 24 point pd and ed, you get 1.5 DC through defences on average, for stun and no Body through defences. You do KB normally.

 

A 'current' +1 NND does DC/2x3.5 in damage, or 1.75 DC in stun, no Body and no KB, and is stopped by having a particular condition apply. How common or rare that condition needs to be is a shade wooly. This will bring the average down, depending on frequency of the defence. If the NND condition comes up 1 in 7 times the average damage is identical (although NND still does not do KB).

 

An NND Does BODY does DC/3x3.5 in damage, or 1.167 DC AND DC/3 in Body damage. I have no idea if a Does Body NND is supposed to do KB. Maybe not. This gets difficult to track because we do not have a meaningful basis for comparison: we don't normally do Body, so what is it worth? In a 12 DC game, this puts 4 Body through per hit, and 14 Stun. the Stun will KO you before you die in most cases, but it will leave you dying and it is a close run thing (assuming, in a 12 DC game we average 40-60 Stun and 10-15 Body. I'm thinking that the limitation is not enough, on a purely comparative basis.

 

It seems to me that NND is pretty balanced, given my play assumptions, and that NND Does Body is not. 'Does Body' should probably do, say, half the rolled Body to make things fairer.

 

The problem with balancing the advantage levels is that thre are other factors too: a normal NND is useless for getting out of a locked room.

 

it is an interesting problem, and I would suggest we have to look at the results to properly balance the modifiers.

[BNakagawa]

Re: New Mechanic: Effective Attack Modifier

 

The problem with this scheme is that, unless you've done a census of all the combatants in a game setting, you don't know what defenses are really common, uncommon, and rare.

[schir1964]

Re: New Mechanic: Effective Attack Modifier

 

The problem with this scheme is that' date=' unless you've done a census of all the combatants in a game setting, you don't know what defenses are really common, uncommon, and rare.[/quote']

I presume the GM will have a fairly good idea for any particular SFX for his campaign.

 

Unless the SFX are interacting or affecting each others PCs SFX, but then the GM is going to know about it anyway.

 

I don't think this is an actual problem in practice. But then again I don't play in games where the Campaign has multiple GMs or is where the GM duties are shared so that may have an affect on this process.

 

- Christopher Mullins

[Hugh Neilson]

Re: New Mechanic: Effective Attack Modifier

 

I presume the GM will have a fairly good idea for any particular SFX for his campaign.

 

Unless the SFX are interacting or affecting each others PCs SFX, but then the GM is going to know about it anyway.

 

I don't think this is an actual problem in practice. But then again I don't play in games where the Campaign has multiple GMs or is where the GM duties are shared so that may have an affect on this process.

 

The problem is that rare SFX have a way of becoming PC SFX. At that point, even if rare in the game world, they become common in game.

 

How many 3e D&D books suggest wizards focus on Sonic spells or feats to convert damage to Sonic because so few monsters resist it?