Wand of wonder like power

[RavensPath]

Hello all. I could use some help. One of my players has a character that is what I am calling a bow mage. She can transform her arrows into spell like effects to fire against her foes or for her allies.

 

In our discussion today he stated he would like an arrow that has a completely random effect like the Wand of Wonder from D&D. The other powers are built into a 60 point MP.

 

Any ideas on how to build this? I have some but I thought I would come to the experts first.

 

Thanks

[CrosshairCollie]

Re: Wand of wonder like power

 

Buy a few slots with the limitation 'random slot determination' (-1/2) limitation; when he tries to use one of those slots, he gets a random result among the slots purchased with that limitation.

[brionl]

Re: Wand of wonder like power

 

Get either Champions Powers for 6ed, or UNTIL super powers database for 5ed, and pick out a whole bunch of 60 active point powers. Or make up a whole bunch of them yourself.

[KawangaKid]

Re: Wand of wonder like power

 

Try to break it up into a mixture of:

 

50% useful attack stuff

25% useful support stuff

15% neither good nor bad stuff

10% non-sequitur non-combat stuff

[Hyper-Man]

Re: Wand of wonder like power

 

In our discussion today he stated he would like an arrow that has a completely random effect like the Wand of Wonder from D&D.

The other powers are built into a 60 point MP.

 

I would build the the arrow with the trigger advantage and then build a second framework (multipower or vpp) just for this arrow that includes the no conscious control limitation. it ain't going to be cheap.

[Ice9]

Re: Wand of wonder like power

 

I would build the the arrow with the trigger advantage and then build a second framework (multipower or vpp) just for this arrow that includes the no conscious control limitation. it ain't going to be cheap.

While this is a valid way of doing it, the fact that it isn't cheap is a problem, IMO. A "variable" arrow that's sometimes useless should not be costing more than your always-useful arrows, but with this construction it will by a lot. Being in a Multipower, you're not going to get much discount for the randomness, but at least it shouldn't cost extra.

 

A couple ways:

1) Blast 4d6, Variable Advantage (+1 advantages; +2), RAR 11- (still fires on a failure, but does something useless; -1), Random Advantages (-1/2).

Simple, but it doesn't give you the full range of effects. And a Blast 4d6 is pretty useless unless it's NND or something.

 

2) Summon Chaotic Arrow Spirit (240p creature), Amicable (+1/4), Only One "Task" (-1/2)

A bit of a kludge (Summon generally shouldn't be used for instant effects), but it does fit the MP and cover pretty much any effect. The "Arrow Spirit" is only at the +1/4 level of Amicable because while it will generally help you, it won't always do so in the way you wanted, and sometimes does something useless or even harmful. With 240p, it should have plenty for a MP or VPP of chaotic abilities.

 

3) Several slots with wide-purpose abilities, and a semi-NCC limitation that picks randomly between them as well as randomizing the exact effect:

A) Images, Uncontrolled

Summon (large class of creatures)

C) Transform (anything to anything), Continuous, Uncontrolled (because one shot at 60AP isn't going to do it otherwise)

D) Drain (anything, one at a time)

E) Aid (anything, one at a time)

More structured than Method #2, but still able to do a wide variety of effects. At five slots, it's getting expensive for a semi-useful ability though. Although I guess with a large enough limitation, we're only talking 1-2 points per slot.

[Chuckem]

Re: Wand of wonder like power

 

I waned to make a character with random powers but didn't know how to go about it. Let me know how it turns out

[Escafarc]

Re: Wand of wonder like power

 

How about using the Side Effect Limitation with a Requires A Roll Limitation?

[Bloodstone]

Re: Wand of wonder like power

 

In our discussion today he stated he would like an arrow that has a completely random effect like the Wand of Wonder from D&D. The other powers are built into a 60 point MP.

 

Any ideas on how to build this? I have some but I thought I would come to the experts first.

 

Well, first, which edition of the game are you playing?

 

The easy recommendation would be to opt for a VPP instead of an MP. If he's anything like your typical Champions trick arrow archer, this will pretty quickly come out to be a cheaper option anyhow.

 

If that doesn't work out points wise, I'd check and see just how random he want's things. Creating an xd6 attack that has random variable advantages and does nothing significant on a failed activation roll is very easy.

 

Creating an arrow that does more than just deliver advantaged damage is where it gets tricky and is going to start getting progressively more expensive.

[Ice9]

Re: Wand of wonder like power

 

Another option, of course, is to just houserule it. While you can build pretty much anything "by the book", sometimes an individual case is better served by just setting an appropriate price and moving on.

I would do something like this:

 

Variable Power

This is a pool of points which is set to a specific power (by the GM) when activated. It's a power, so it can be used in frameworks. Cost = Potential AP in power.

The power should always be useful, but not necessarily tailored for the current situation.

If the power is always helpful for the current situation, add a +1/2 Helpful advantage. The GM still picks the power though - it's not as precise control as a VPP would be.

If the power is sometimes useless, add RAR. If it's sometimes harmful, add Side Effects.

 

For a Wand of Wonder specifically, I would put the RAR at 11-, as quite a few of the effects are (nearly) useless.

[RavensPath]

Re: Wand of wonder like power

 

Thanks everyone. I went with a VPP for the whole bow. I'm still working on the Random Arrow slot but overall it is a much easier way to go.