Thoughts on Breakout rolls.

[Fearghus]

This game is still 5E I have a Player in my group that is playing a mentalist and I have been playing things a certain way but I am thinking that it might not be the appropriate way to play it. I am not going to change it mid game since the character built it at a certain level because of the way were were playing it.

 

Here is the situation... He bought most of his powers at low dice levels but at cumulative x8 effect. the idea is he can't just go BAM and read your mind... it takes him time to build up to it. (I suggested when he first created the character that he take the extra time limitation rather than cumulative advantage... so before I get the chorus of suggestions for that... I already thought of that.) The question is... when does an NPC get a breakout roll? after every attack? or only after the attacks have reached the desired effect? When the character passes a breakout roll does it break out of the WHOLE POWER? or just one attack?

 

I tend to think of cumulative powers as one power (since the effects stack) so I consider that the break out breaks the whole thing... but similarly I have also been not rolling the break out until the character actually uses the power.

 

So for example... The player wants to find out the name of and how to find Thug's boss. I determine that he needs to roll ego +20 to get that effect. So the player makes his telepathy attack rolls his 5d6 and rolls 17 no where near close to ego +20, so phase he rolls the attack again and this time rolls well and rolls 21 so the total effect is 38 which now crosses that ego +20 threshold and now begins trying to probe Thug's thoughts so NOW Thug gets his breakout roll against the TOTAL result.

 

If I were to do it with each attack he'd have gotten a roll after the first attack... probably broken out... and the player would have had to start over. But it occurs to me that strictest interpretation of the rules he should get a break out roll with each attack making cumulative pretty much a useless advantage for mental powers.

 

What does everyone else think?

[Grailknight]

Re: Thoughts on Breakout rolls.

 

Don't have my books handy but I believe that you are running correctly . Breakout roll is given when power 1st reaches the the target threshold or when it reaches a level the player sets. This can be really powerful but remember the power has no effect until a roll is allowed.

[prestidigitator]

Re: Thoughts on Breakout rolls.

 

Ditto.

[Utech]

Re: Thoughts on Breakout rolls.

 

Remember that the Thug will know after the first Cumulative Telepathy attack that he is under attack. If the Player wants to achieve the +20 level that keeps the target unaware that he is under attack, the Player will need to declare a target number he thinks he needs to achieve and then make as many attacks as necessary to achieve it.

 

Check the Rules FAQ.

[Bodkins Odds]

Re: Thoughts on Breakout rolls.

 

Unless he buys IPE.

[Hugh Neilson]

Re: Thoughts on Breakout rolls.

 

Check the Rules FAQ.

 

OK

 

If a character attacks someone with a Cumulative Mental Power, how does he have to describe the effect he wants to achieve — in raw game terms (“I want EGO +20, with a +20 bonus for non-detectability”), or in “real world” terms that the GM assigns numbers to (“I want to read his memories and not have him know I’m doing it”)?

You state it however the GM wants you to state it. Some GMs may prefer an effect-based description, others the easy-to-use raw numbers.

 

and

 

If a character’s using a Cumulative Mental Power and wants to achieve the +20 “Power cannot be detected by target” modifier, how does that work? Will the target instantly be aware of what’s going on, but forget once the full declared Effect Roll is achieved?

In a Cumulative situation, it doesn’t make any sense for the target to have awareness of the attack right away but forget it later. In this situation, the best approach would be to have the mentalist declare a specific total he wants to achieve (such as “I’ll keep attacking until I get a total Effect Roll of 70,” or what have you). If that suffices to achieve the desired command and the +20, the target’s never aware of the attack. If it fails to achieve that total, the target becomes aware at that point that he was being attacked by a Mental Power that failed. If the attacker stops (or is stopped) before achieving his declared total), the target becomes aware at that point that he was being attacked by a Mental Power that failed.

 

The two answers seem inconsistent. In the first, the character does not need to speculate as to the EGO of the target. If the target has EGO of 10, he rolls until he gets 50. If the target has EGO of 30, he rolls until he achieves a total of 70. If the target's EGO is 40, he rolls until he gets 80. The target has normal breakout rolls in all cases.

 

In the second, the character must speculate as to the EGO of the target. He rolls until he gets a result of 70. If the target has EGO of 10, he has -4 to the breakout roll. If the target has EGO of 30, he has normal rolls to break ot. If the target's EGO is 40, the attack reaches 70 points of effect and fails.

 

So, off to the Rules Question board, I suppose.

 

My preference is consistent with the first entry. IMO, the mentalist doesn't know effect roll numbers, only what he tries to achieve, and (eventually) how long it takes and (possibly even later) whether he succeeded. "What's an "effect roll of 70"?