How big is a computer?

[GAZZA]

Long time Champions player and GM. Just purchased 6th edition, and running my first 6e session tomorrow night. Wish me luck.

 

On the whole I'm liking 6e. I think some of the changes are a little weird (it still freaks me out that END reserves cost more than just buying the END - OK, the REC is a bit cheaper, I guess), but I'm more than happy to use the rules as written at least for a while.

 

Anyway, on to my question. One of my players wanted a vehicle that could turn into a wristwatch. I thought of a few ways of doing that - the most obvious being a Shapeshift + Shrinking effect (very expensive, and not really what is wanted: he doesn't want it to still be a vehicle when it's a watch) - and settled on giving the Vehicle a Multiform to a computer (a wrist computer - it has a few extra abilities besides telling time, but nothing greatly beyond what a modern PDA can do). (I should mention in passing this is a 4 colour superhero game).

 

So anyway, reasonably happy with the way that worked out, but are there rules somewhere for how big computers are supposed to be? Obviously if they're built into a base, automaton, or vehicle the question is irrelevant, but they don't have to be. I'm assuming that they are "as big as I think is reasonable", but I can't help thinking I've missed something, as I'm also unsure how to handle someone targetting the computer with intent to break it (computers have no defences or BODY, so I'm just going to use the Focus rules and treat it as a breakable focus with AP = base cost).

[prestidigitator]

Re: How big is a computer?

 

Computer's don't really have a legal size. They are as big or as small as they need to be. They can be part of an object (Vehicle, Focus, or whatever) or, I suppose, a disembodied spirit entity. Heh.

[Lucius]

Re: How big is a computer?

 

Here's an idea you may not have considered; use the Summon Power to Summon the Vehicle. Make the watch the Focus for the Summon.

 

Lucius Alexander

 

Summon Palindromedary

[Fearghus]

Re: How big is a computer?

 

Like Prestidigitator said. computes can be as large or as small as you feel it appropriate to make them.

 

I probably would not build this as a vehicle though depending on what the vehicle does.

 

Depending on what the vehicle can do I might even make it a physical manifestation of one of the characters powers. If say the wrist watch turns into hover disk, and the only thing the hover disk does is allow the character to fly (doesn't have any weapons or sensors or provide defenses or anything) then just have the character take flying with the physical manifestation limitation. When he is flying he is on the hover disk when he is not the disk is a wrist watch.

[Escafarc]

Re: How big is a computer?

 

I use the Summon Vehicle quite a bit. For concepts like above and I also use Summon Vehicle with charges for Missiles/Torpedoes on Big Vehicles.

[dmjalund]

Re: How big is a computer?

 

To be more specific Summon Vehicle with one recoverable charge

[Michael Hopcroft]

Re: How big is a computer?

 

A computer in Hero is as big or small as you want it to be depending on the genre. In a supers or sci-fi game, you could have computers on pin heads if you really wanted them. In a Pulp or Steampunk game, you could have "difference engines" that take up an entire room or even an entire large building.

 

Size only matters if it is a significant advantage or limiting for the character it belongs to. A huge mainframe like the Bat-computer would be decidedly non-portable and have several Limitations to reflect that. But the sort of computer you're talking about is just the opposite -- its portability is one of its chief assets, so it would not have any such limitations.

 

I agree with the Summon with one recoverable charge idea. One question I have is what happens when the vehicle you're summoning takes damage -- does the damage remain when it is summoned again, or is it somehow repaired? And what would happen to the device should the vehicle be destroyed?

[GAZZA]

Re: How big is a computer?

 

Summon Vehicle is indeed a cool idea; I think I may use this.

[GAZZA]

Re: How big is a computer?

 

Yeah, having checked it out a bit - it does work, obviously, but it's a pretty expensive solution. I've decided to ignore the requirement for the "Summon Specific Being" advantage as I can't see how that's an advantage in this case - getting the same vehicle means it is (possibly) still banged up from last time, so I'm making it a +0 although it is feasibly even a limitation. I've also used a somewhat questionable construct in building the Summon with a lockout limitation that locks out his Computer. Still, it doesn't seem expressly forbidden, and I'm the GM, so I can obviously grant the "special GM permission" required.