Constant END

[Terrainosaur]

In 4th edition, one thing that always bugged me was how Constant powers with END cost use more END if your SPD is higher. That is, a character with SPD 8 pays for a force field 8 times, whereas someone with a SPD 4 pays half that.

 

Did I misunderstand that?

Is it balanced as-is?

Does 5th edition fix it?

 

Thanks,

Mitch

[JmOz]

Re: Constant END

 

the mistake many made is to forget that you can LOWER your speed.

 

If you were willing to lower your speed to Speed 2 your force wall would cost less to do.

[Sean Waters]

Re: Constant END

 

No, that is how it was and is. I doubt if 6th will change that at all.

 

Bear in mind that, with a higher SPD, you could leave your FF on for 7 phases and spend the other one recovering, or drop your SPD voluntarily.

 

SPD is a (slightly) mixed blessing: it is massively useful, but you do get resource management issues.

[Terrainosaur]

Re: Constant END

 

I'm going back through my notes from over a decade ago and that was the only one I thought was a serious flaw. My solution for Constant powers at the time was to charge END on certain phases: 3, 6, 9, 12. It doesn't substantially increase book-keeping. Thoughts?

[Tasha]

Re: Constant END

 

In 4th edition, one thing that always bugged me was how Constant powers with END cost use more END if your SPD is higher. That is, a character with SPD 8 pays for a force field 8 times, whereas someone with a SPD 4 pays half that.

 

Did I misunderstand that?

Is it balanced as-is?

Does 5th edition fix it?

 

Thanks,

Mitch

 

That's why I tend to buy Constant powers with the advantage "Costs END only to Activate" that way I spend the End up front, and then don't have to worry about paying again.

 

Also in 6th edition, there is a Duration Advantage that allows you to set a time that the power is active (I think that it makes the power 0 end). Its in one of the previews of 6e.

 

For passive defense powers, it doesn't seem to be that fair for high SPD characters. Though for attack powers it is more balanced as you do damage with them on each of your phases. So I guess it balances out.

[secretID]

Re: Constant END

 

I hate that and other similar aspects of SPD. In addition to "costs only to activate," Hero Designer has "Delayed END," which allows you to pay once per turn (or longer). It cites Fantasy Hero (which I don't have) for that. I allow it in Champions.

[Fearghus]

Re: Constant END

 

I have always had the same problem only in regards to movement. a character that has a 20 running, but only a 2 speed is slower in combat than a character with a 10 running but a speed of 5.

[bigbywolfe]

Re: Constant END

 

I have always had the same problem only in regards to movement. a character that has a 20 running' date=' but only a 2 speed is slower in combat than a character with a 10 running but a speed of 5.[/quote']

He's slower out of combat too.

[Sean Waters]

Re: Constant END

 

There are advantages and disadvantages to higher speed, but the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages IMO. If you want a SPD 8 character to pay the same END for his force field as a SPD 4 character, buy 1/2 END.

 

What? I have to pay more because I'm faster?

 

No, you don't have to, but you can. It accomplishes what you want (alternatively, and this may be cheaper, buy +16 REC (32 points) Only to recover END (-1) only to offset the cost of anything over 16 END spent on Force Field in a turn (-1) (assuming a 40 active point force field). You still pay the END but you get it back as if you hadn't at the end of the turn.

 

I do not think there is an easy solution that retains the SPD structure of Hero. The answer, I suppose, is that if you do not like it, require all characters in the game to have the same SPD. Other than that you need to change how END is spent, and make it a per turn cost rather than a per phase cost for constant powers, based on a notional average SPD.