Please help me understand

[johnvalentine]

Can someone help me understand how Elemental Controls work?

 

I want to make a guy who has all kinds of electrical powers, based on his body being a natural multi-gigawatt generator. (Exposure to strange energy type hero)

 

Elemental control seemed like a good idea, since electricity is a good solid element, but I don't understand the explanation in the 5e Book.

[ghost-angel]

Re: Please help me understand

 

The Basics are:

 

1) Decide the smallest Active Point (AP) Cost of any Powers you want in your Elemental Control (EC); nominally, all the Powers are about the same AP (example all Powers will be at least 40 Active Points)

2) Buy the Pool, which is equal to half the above. (using the above, 40/2 = 20 Points. This is the Pool Cost.)

3) Purchase Power Slots, you subtract the Pool Cost from the final Active Point Cost of the Power. (an 8D6 Energy Blast is 40 AP - 20 = 20 Point Slot Cost).

 

Optional aspects:

Limitations apply to the Point Slot Cost, if the Energy Blast above is through a Magical Amulet (Accessible Obvious Focus -1) then you divide 20/2 = 10 Point Final Slot Cost.

 

Does that help?

[johnvalentine]

Re: Please help me understand

 

Yeah that does help.

 

Can you have multiple powers from the electrical control active at the same time?

[Ice9]

Re: Please help me understand

 

Yes. In fact, for powers that are only used once at a time, a Multipower is probably a better fit.

 

For example:

Electrified Body (Damage Shield) + Living Battery (Absorption vs Electricity) + Lightning Jump (Teleport) + Thunderbolt (Energy Blast) ... Elemental Control.

Thunderbolt (Energy Blast) + Lethal Shock (RKA) + Lightning Wave (AoE Energy Blast) + Dazzling Arc (AoE Flash) ... Multipower.

[ghost-angel]

Re: Please help me understand

 

Yeah that does help.

 

Can you have multiple powers from the electrical control active at the same time?

 

Definitely, as Ice9 said if you only want one active at a time, you want a Multiplepower Pool. Otherwise, you can have any and all powers in an Elemental Control active at once as you can pay the Endurance for.

[Rapier]

Re: Please help me understand

 

The classic projector example has an Attack MultiPower (Energy Blast, Flash, RKA) and an Other Power Elemental Control (FF, Flight, Darkness).

[johnvalentine]

Re: Please help me understand

 

Okay I can see how that works, and I will be using Elemental Control for my lightning character.

 

Another bit of help however, another gamer in my group wants to do a character like Lina Inverse from Slayers, how would you set up her array of spells?

[Greywind]

Re: Please help me understand

 

If they're all defined, work the costs up.

 

Otherwise, work all the costs up and look to a magic variable power pool.

[johnvalentine]

Re: Please help me understand

 

Okay the spells used in the anime are all very easily definable, it's just that I am recalcitrant to see a relatively new player toy with a VPP. She can be kinda spazzy and I suddenly imagined her saying "Wait, I can make up spells ON THE FLY?!?! Wheeeeeeee!!!!" *Head spins off into space*

 

Now I once had an idea for a MPP that had a set of charges per day that they could expend a charge for any of the 'spells' in that MPP, and could therefore run out easily. He had Multiple MPP's for each 'level' of spells. (went for a FF1/DnD approach to that) Or I had a guy with just a wide variety of gestures+incantations+extra time disadvantaged abilities.

 

How have you done spellcasters before? It would be a spellcaster in the modern day, so maybe they would have some modern equivalents of older practices. She wants to have primarily attack spells, so that may make it easier.

-Fire Whip

-Fire Ball

-Ice Arrows

-Shadow Holding

-Lightning Strike

I had her think of the 5 she would use the most of, and thats what she wants. Would that fit into a Elem Control, or a MPP better?

 

Also, what kind of disadvantage would it be that your powers don't work on 'that time of the month'? It sounds wierd but thats the biggest limitation she wanted to have.

[Greywind]

Re: Please help me understand

 

Which is why you give the character a limited VPP. You can place limits on how/when the spells can be changed, add on Requires a Skill Roll, which also requires the character to have the skill...

 

Also, have all possible iterations of spells fully written out prior to play, like the week before. Someone with little experience wanting to change on the fly to something not statted prior is a serious game disruption.

 

Normally lasts how long? A week? -1/4 at most. Less than that -0

 

The spellcasters I've done are high-end, do it on the fly, VPPs.

[wick]

Re: Please help me understand

 

You can also use charges to simulate the D&D-esque, spells per day, game mechanic. Over time XP can be used to exapnd the number of charges each day.

[Alverant]

Re: Please help me understand

 

Okay I can see how that works, and I will be using Elemental Control for my lightning character.

 

Another bit of help however, another gamer in my group wants to do a character like Lina Inverse from Slayers, how would you set up her array of spells?

 

I hope there's no Dragon Slave spell. (Tried to do it in the Fanasty campaign my group sometimes runs and the GM didn't allow it.) For a new playing a VPP can be very confusing. I would suggest having the main spells in a multipower then giving her like a 10pt VPP for other minor spells. Here the VPP wouldn't need much defining, just guestimate if a spell can be done in 10 points and allow it. Provided it's not used in combat and you let other players buy it for their powers it should not be an issue.

 

Example spells for the VPP

Magic fishing line: Bonuses to Fishing skill (used in I think the 2nd episode of Slayers)

Bump of Direction (toss stick in the air and it lands pointing north)

Life Support Breath Water

Darkness 1 Hex

Shatter Spell (1 pip RKA vs fragile objects)