Does this Power Work: Mental Wound that Never Heals

[ShadowEater]

I am trying to make an 80 AP power to represent a mental damage shield that leaves a trauma that never fully heals... does this work?

 

Unending Mental Damage Link: (Total: 80 Active Cost, 33 Real Cost)

Mental Blast 1 point, Area Of Effect (1m Surface; +1/4), Constant (+1/2), Penetrating (+1/2), Does BODY (+1) (10 Active Points); No Range (-1/2), Limited Power Mental Contact Only (-1/2) (Real Cost: 5)

plus

Mental Blast 1 point, Damage Over Time (3 damage increments, damage occurs every 20 Minutes, +0), Area Of Effect (1m Surface; +1/4), Constant (+1/2), Penetrating (+1/2), Does BODY (+1) (10 Active Points); No Range (-1/2), Limited Power Mental Contact Only (-1/2), Linked (Base Shield; Greater Power is Constant or in use most or all of the time; -1/4) (Real Cost: 4)

plus

Mental Blast 1 point, Damage Over Time (6 damage increments, damage occurs every 1 Hour, +0), Area Of Effect (1m Surface; +1/4), Constant (+1/2), Penetrating (+1/2), Does BODY (+1) (10 Active Points); No Range (-1/2), Limited Power Mental Contact Only (-1/2), Linked (Base Shield; Greater Power is Constant or in use most or all of the time; -1/4) (Real Cost: 4)

plus

Mental Blast 1 point, Damage Over Time (12 damage increments, damage occurs every 6 Hours, +0), Area Of Effect (1m Surface; +1/4), Constant (+1/2), Penetrating (+1/2), Does BODY (+1) (10 Active Points); No Range (-1/2), Limited Power Mental Contact Only (-1/2), Linked (Base Shield; Greater Power is Constant or in use most or all of the time; -1/4) (Real Cost: 4)

plus

Mental Blast 1 point, Damage Over Time (32 damage increments, damage occurs every 1 Day, +0), Area Of Effect (1m Surface; +1/4), Constant (+1/2), Penetrating (+1/2), Does BODY (+1) (10 Active Points); No Range (-1/2), Limited Power Mental Contact Only (-1/2), Linked (Base Shield; Greater Power is Constant or in use most or all of the time; -1/4) (Real Cost: 4)

plus

Mental Blast 1 point, Damage Over Time (128 damage increments, damage occurs every 1 Week, +0), Area Of Effect (1m Surface; +1/4), Constant (+1/2), Penetrating (+1/2), Does BODY (+1) (10 Active Points); No Range (-1/2), Limited Power Mental Contact Only (-1/2), Linked (Base Shield; Greater Power is Constant or in use most or all of the time; -1/4) (Real Cost: 4)

plus

Mental Blast 1 point, Damage Over Time (512 damage increments, damage occurs every 1 Month, +0), Area Of Effect (1m Surface; +1/4), Constant (+1/2), Penetrating (+1/2), Does BODY (+1) (10 Active Points); No Range (-1/2), Limited Power Mental Contact Only (-1/2), Linked (Base Shield; Greater Power is Constant or in use most or all of the time; -1/4) (Real Cost: 4)

plus

Mental Blast 1 point, Damage Over Time (2048 damage increments, damage occurs every 1 Season, +0), Area Of Effect (1m Surface; +1/4), Constant (+1/2), Penetrating (+1/2), Does BODY (+1) (10 Active Points); No Range (-1/2), Limited Power Mental Contact Only (-1/2), Linked (Base Shield; Greater Power is Constant or in use most or all of the time; -1/4) (Real Cost: 4)

[Nevenall]

Re: Does this Power Work: Mental Wound that Never Heals

 

To permanently change the target you want to use Transform.

[Hugh Neilson]

Re: Does this Power Work: Mental Wound that Never Heals

 

Further to Nevanall's comment, there must be a reasonably simple way to shut down Damage Over Time. Given that, it seems unlikely something stretching over seasons would not be shut down.

[Peregrine]

Re: Does this Power Work: Mental Wound that Never Heals

 

Is this for a PC or an NPC?

 

If the former, would you want something like this inflicted on your PC by another character (PC or NPC)?

 

If the latter, do you plan to inflict this on the PCs in your game? Do you make a habit of permanently injuring/crippling the PCs, and how do your players feel about that?

 

In short, what story role is this intended to play and whose fun might it also damage?

[ShadowEater]

Re: Does this Power Work: Mental Wound that Never Heals

 

This is for a PC, a Mentalist/Blaster. It is part of a suite of Mental Blast attacks in various AoE configurations, and represents the 'default state' of the Multipower, when the dangerous psychic energy contained in the character's mind is 'self contained' but looking for an outlet.

 

Functionally, it serves two narrative purposes. First, it is sort of a 'mental defense', in that it will shred anyone who tries to keep mental contact too long. One or two quick bursts of mental contact will not be fatal (and anyone with impenetrable MD will be fine, if the GM needs that option for story purposes), probably doing 1 or 2 BODY in combat, and 12ish BODY total to the opposing mentalist before they could get the effect removed. The long term effect gives a lingering reminder to people to leave my mind alone.

 

Removal would be with Telepathy, Mental Transform, that sort of thing... something someone mucking around in my mind might have access to anyways.

 

Possibly accomplished with a more simple Mental Damage Shield in two parts, a 1d6 Killing, and a linked Severe Transformation (cumulative and Partial Transformation) into a vegetable?

[Hugh Neilson]

Re: Does this Power Work: Mental Wound that Never Heals

 

If the former, would you want something like this inflicted on your PC by another character (PC or NPC)?

 

In short, what story role is this intended to play and whose fun might it also damage?

 

I second the above. If the power is OK for the PC, it's also OK for an NPC. Clearly, you're OK with this being a power your character possesses. Are you OK with it being a power some NPC villain possesses, which at some point will affect your PC? If not, then I would tone the power back to something you'd be OK having used against you.

[BoloOfEarth]

Re: Does this Power Work: Mental Wound that Never Heals

 

For now, I'll avoid arguing whether or not this power is "right" to have, PC or NPC.

 

I'll just question whether the Penetrating and Does BODY is even appropriate on a 1-point (not even 1/2d6) Mental Blast. A Penetrating attack does 1 STUN for each "Normal Damage BODY" rolled, and the Does BODY Advantage also uses the "Normal Damage BODY" to determine how much BODY is done.** For a 1-point attack, that's the same as a 1 (i.e. no BODY) on a "Normal Damage" die. So both Penetrating and Does BODY would not apply, since effectively no "Normal Damage BODY" was done.

 

Were each piece of the attack increased to 1/2 d6 Mental Blast, then the Penetrating and Does BODY would apply if you rolled a 6 (or, one could argue, a 3 if using one of those specialty dice that only has 1s, 2s, and 3s on it).

 

And of course, if each part was 1d6 Mental Blast, then the Penetrating and Does BODY would allow you to do 2 STUN and BODY each time you rolled a 6, 1 STUN and BODY for each 2-5 rolled, and nothing for each 1 rolled.

 

** In 6E, the Penetrating rules do mention the option of doing 1 STUN per Damage Class, but only at the GM's discretion. If your GM is allowing this, then the above doesn't apply. (Added note: The "Does BODY" rules, however, don't mention that option. Again, that would be a GM call.)

[Ockham's Spoon]

Re: Does this Power Work: Mental Wound that Never Heals

 

So when you say "never fully heals" you are basically saying anyone hurt by this effect will be down BDY for a very long time if not forever. Is that really the effect you want, or do you just want some kind of psychic scarring? Consider this analogy. A swordsman gets stabbed with a regular blade. He takes BDY. Eventually he heals (up to full BDY) but he will always have a scar to remind him he got cut. Then the swordsman gets stabbed with a cursed blade that prevents healing. The wound never closes. The swordsman is down BDY and will never get it back. The second effect is what I see you trying to model, on a psionic level.

 

Personally, I would just have a Mental Damage Shield that did BDY, and by way of sfx say it left a scar. Why? First it is easier to build. Second, I see no good reason that the hero must inflict permanent damage on someone. But if you concept says that permanent damage must be done, then Transform is the way to do it; link the Transform to the Mental Damage and there you go.

 

If you don't want people toying with your character's mind, you might consider buying the Mental Damage Shield and then buying a extra d6 or two, only versus those who have already been hit by the Mental Damage Shield, the sfx is that it hits the psychic scar that the first contact left and so it hurts more.