A little, but not too much Martial Power?

[SimComm]

Dear All,

Sorry to post on a topic that I had started elsewhere, but I wanted to know how much power I should put in a martial artist antagonist for my PCs.

 

I have four PCs:

One is a brick-type with a high str (60), very hard to hurt with a high (PD/ED 25 or so), but has a low (DEX12) OCV/DCV and no combat skills.

The other is a fragile psi with the same DEX and no combat skills and no additional PD/ED.

The other two are mages with DEX 15-18 and maybe one or two combat skill levels. They have force fields that are PD/ED15.

 

I wanted to make the antagonist able to easily be able to scatter the group if attacked with surprise, but not strong enough to withstand the group if they attack as a team.

 

I did not want to put in too little power, as the PCs would not consider the character a threat, but did not want to put in too much as they could be easily defeated.

What limits should I put on this build?

Should I use Damage Levels or is a weapon based character better?

 

Thank you,

-SC

 

Edit: Apologies for the strange smiley, I was not expecting it to be so... odd...

[Nothere]

Re: A little, but not too much Martial Power?

 

The trouble as I see it is the brick. who is ten pd higher than the mages, and you describe the psi as fragile, so I'm assuming less. This looks more like a job for manuvers rather than find dc. Like a nnd choke hold for the brick. Stay away from find weakness. It helps with the brick, but your already worried about the others defenses. If you have to go straight dc I'd say about 10d6. Enough to hurt the brick if he hits often enough but not so much that a couple of good rolls takes out everybody else. Depending on the others powersthe fight probably goes like this. The artist focuses on the brick, and uses various throws to keep the others away, figuring once the brick is down the others would be easy.

[BoloOfEarth]

Re: A little, but not too much Martial Power?

 

The trouble as I see it is the brick. who is ten pd higher than the mages' date=' and you describe the psi as fragile, so I'm assuming less. This looks more like a job for manuvers rather than find dc. Like a nnd choke hold for the brick. Stay away from find weakness. It helps with the brick, but your already worried about the others defenses. If you have to go straight dc I'd say about 10d6. Enough to hurt the brick if he hits often enough but not so much that a couple of good rolls takes out everybody else. Depending on the others powersthe fight probably goes like this. The artist focuses on the brick, and uses various throws to keep the others away, figuring once the brick is down the others would be easy.[/quote']

 

Tactically, IMO you're better off to take out the easier-to-KO characters first, leaving you time to concentrate on the brick.

 

I'd go for a nerve strike (also NND) rather than a choke hold, since you're not stuck holding somebody and are thus able to move around a lot more. Plus, the brick should be able to easly break the MA's grab on his neck. However, it also depends upon whether the brick has the defense against either attack.

 

The choke hold could be useful if the MA can get the drop on any individual hero away from the others. Just hold on and make sure he/she can't shout a warning while you slowly but surely render them unconscious.

 

I'd also suggest a bunch of combat skill levels. The martial artist can use them to add to DCV at the start of the fight, with more attackers up and about. And then, when going after the brick (who has a lower OCV), you can put the levels on damage instead.

 

So if the MA has an attack that's +0 OCV, +2 DCV and does 8d6, plus say 6 levels in MA, he starts off doing +0 OCV, +8 DCV 8d6 attacks against the mages and psi. Which target first depends upon if the psi is just directing the fight or is attacking the MA directly. If the latter, the psi becomes Target #1, since she doesn't go against the MA's huge DCV.

 

Once the others are down, the MA goes after the brick with +0 OCV, +2 DCV, 11d6 punches and 3d6 NND nerve strikes or choke holds.

[BoloOfEarth]

Re: A little, but not too much Martial Power?

 

Oh, and good movement (Running and/or Leaping) is a good idea, too.

 

As to fighting the group, if they attack as a group, they could get Multiple Attacker bonuses to lessen the impact of the MA's high DCV.

 

If the MA is being designed to go against a whole team of supers, Damage Reduction to STUN damage only is your friend. Tie it to an Acrobatics skill roll, so he's rolling with the damage, or to an EGO roll, so he's actively ignoring the pain.

[Cygnia]

Re: A little, but not too much Martial Power?

 

Maybe a few gadgets couldn't hurt. Flash-bang grenades, smoke bombs, bolos for entangles, stun darts.

[SimComm]

Re: A little, but not too much Martial Power?

 

Thank you for the help!

Sorry to also ask, but is there a way that you can fight multiple opponents or hit one target multiple times with martial arts without making powers?

I would like to keep the character as "normal" as possible, although a few powers may be necessary...

 

-SC

[BoloOfEarth]

Re: A little, but not too much Martial Power?

 

Thank you for the help!

Sorry to also ask, but is there a way that you can fight multiple opponents or hit one target multiple times with martial arts without making powers?

I would like to keep the character as "normal" as possible, although a few powers may be necessary...

 

-SC

 

Hitting multiple targets at once can be accomplished with a Sweep maneuver, but I think it might do evil things to the attacker's DCV. I've bought characters a few 5-point DCV levels with a Limitation that they only counteract DCV penalties from Sweep.

 

Buying a naked Advantage of Autofire (I'd go with the lesser +1/4 version for 2-3 shots instead of +1/2 for 5 shots) on the character's STR could accomplish hitting one target multiple times. Or you could just buy a higher-damage maneuver, and define it as the MA hitting the target multiple times. The latter is cheaper and easier to deal with, but the former is probably more technically correct.

[Hugh Neilson]

Re: A little, but not too much Martial Power?

 

The trouble as I see it is the brick. who is ten pd higher than the mages' date=' and you describe the psi as fragile, so I'm assuming less. This looks more like a job for manuvers rather than find dc. Like a nnd choke hold for the brick. Stay away from find weakness. It helps with the brick, but your already worried about the others defenses. If you have to go straight dc I'd say about 10d6. Enough to hurt the brick if he hits often enough but not so much that a couple of good rolls takes out everybody else. Depending on the others powersthe fight probably goes like this. The artist focuses on the brick, and uses various throws to keep the others away, figuring once the brick is down the others would be easy.[/quote']

 

Tactically' date=' IMO you're better off to take out the easier-to-KO characters first, leaving you time to concentrate on the brick.[/quote']

 

I agree with this - the Brick is the least of the MA's concerns, since his DCV should enable him to avoid the Brick's strikes. The Psi may be his biggest problem, since she can attack mentally rather than physically.

 

I'd go for a nerve strike (also NND) rather than a choke hold' date=' since you're not stuck holding somebody and are thus able to move around a lot more. Plus, the brick should be able to easly break the MA's grab on his neck. However, it also depends upon whether the brick has the defense against either attack.[/quote']

 

Sweep with decent attacks (if the Brick is the last guy left, reducing the MA's DCV for both Sweep and Offensive Strike may not be a huge issue). Offensive Strike plus skill levels in Damage would also be workable.

 

Thank you for the help!

Sorry to also ask, but is there a way that you can fight multiple opponents or hit one target multiple times with martial arts without making powers?

I would like to keep the character as "normal" as possible, although a few powers may be necessary...

 

Sweep Maneuver, but this impairs his DCV (I think there a skill to mitigate this, though). Autofire Advantage on his Strength would also work, but I'm uncertain how that meshes with martial arts. And there's nothing wrong with making it a Power - it's a power allowing him to fight multiple opponents or hit one target multiple times with martial arts, so he's no less normal using a power than using a maneuver.

[bubba smith]

Re: A little, but not too much Martial Power?

 

Thank you for the help!

Sorry to also ask, but is there a way that you can fight multiple opponents or hit one target multiple times with martial arts without making powers?

I would like to keep the character as "normal" as possible, although a few powers may be necessary...

 

-SC

have you read ninja HERO HERO games martial arts sourcebook or the ultimate martial artist either book should help you

[BoloOfEarth]

Re: A little, but not too much Martial Power?

 

Sweep Maneuver' date=' but this impairs his DCV (I think there a skill to mitigate this, though).[/quote']

 

I don't have the book, nor do I use Sweep often enough to be positive, so take this with a grain of salt. But I think the Rapid Attack (HtH) skill means that you can Sweep in a half phase instead of a full phase, but I don't think it reduces the penalty on the attacker's DCV.

[Steve]

Re: A little, but not too much Martial Power?

 

Two-Weapon Fighting (HTH) and Rapid Attack (HTH) can really boost a martial artist's ability to deal out damage to multiple opponents without getting into powers. There is an option to Two-Weapon Fighting to give it only a -2 DCV with Sweep. Take a couple of DCV levels to counter-act that, and you're doing really effective Sweep attacks for a cost of about 20 points.

 

Defense-wise, body armor can be pretty lightweight in a Superhero game, so definitely go with that (6-10 points) and some Combat Luck (6 points of Def or so). Add in some Damage Reduction with a Skill roll (Acrobatics is good for rolling with blows versions of this power), and you'll have a light, fast, nasty opponent.

[OSAT]

Re: A little, but not too much Martial Power?

 

Throws

 

they let you physicly put the party where you want them (seperate or bunched)

 

variable damage (others strength is involved with some of them)

 

extra short term disable (people have to stand up)

 

otherwise chain/rope weapons depending on style leave the mages "all tied up for the moment"

[Ian Mackinder]

Re: A little, but not too much Martial Power?

 

You may have already thought of this, SimComm, but maybe a "chi" attack or two would suit your antagonist.

 

We've all seen martial arts movies where masters have focussed their energies into one super-punch, or temporarily paralyzed somebody with a single touch. To my mind, building such capabilities could be done quite easily and, if played cleverly, can give opponents some real headaches.

 

Possible Powers: HKA, Increased Strength, Increased HTH Damage, Improved OCV, Entangle or Mind Control (One Command - "FREEZE") for the paralysis thing.

 

Possible Disadvantages: Limited Use, Activation Roll, Reduced DCV when used (Character has to stop and concentrate), Time Delay (Ditto).

 

Possible Advantages: Area Effect, AP or Penetrating, NND.

 

Note also that these attacks do not have to be all about inflicting damage on the PCs (unless the user gets REALLY ticked off, of course). For example, the Martial Artist's "special" strike attack might do awesome amounts of damage, but it might require him (/her?) to stand still and concentrate for a Segment. In combat against multiple foes, that's kind of a problem. On the other hand, it may be extremely useful for smashing through walls (instant escape route, if all else fails) or taking down heavily-armoured, slow-moving targets. Or maybe even build in an area effect so the martial artist can have a shot at hammering several opponents at once.

 

Oh, and worrying about building something too powerful for the PCs to handle is a reasonable concern. However, this is a very popular (and oft-repeated) theme in the superhero genre - some badguy thoroughly defeats the heroes and walks away laughing (or, if he is VERY evil, puts them in a deathtrap). If the badguy is REALLY evil, he might even get to do this a couple of times. Eventually, the heroes figure out how to defeat him (better teamwork, a clever gimmick or two, etc.) and eventually do so. Plus, PCs can be very inventive if they have to be. PLUS, if things get totally out of hand, there is always the possibility of intervention from a third party (the Sarge and his people rescue the PCs?).