Increasing Damage with a low active point limit

[WalkingParadox]

Hello! This is my first post.

 

I am in a fantasy hero campaign with a 30 active point limit, playing a wizard.

 

I would like to develop a power that does more and more damage per phase, something like a heat spell where it is cast on a bad guy and the heat continues to build and build, doing more and more damage as long as the spell is active...

 

So far, i'm thinking some kind of EB with Continuous (obviously) and Uncontrolled, but I'm a bit lost as to how to make the damage progressively increase as the Cumulative advantage cannot be applied to attack powers.

 

Thanks for the help!

[Steve Long]

Re: Increasing Damage with a low active point limit

 

This seems to be a request for general discussion and input, so I've moved it to the Fantasy Hero board.

 

My suggestion: look at the Damage Over Time Power Modifier and some of the optional rules for changing the way the damage increments accrue.

[Hugh Neilson]

Re: Increasing Damage with a low active point limit

 

I'd first discuss this with the GM. Often, a 30 point AP limit is specifically intended to cap the damage which can be done, so any construct which can evade that damage cap is unlikely to be positively viewed. Personally, I dislike AP caps. They tend to result in very plain vanilla abilities. If 6d6 (or 2d6 KA) is the norm, and characters tend to have 5 rDEF and another 5 normal defenses as a consequence, then a 2d6 Blast, Uncontrolled Continuous becomes pretty much useless, and spells are all 6d6 Blast, 2d6 KA, or maybe the occasional spell is armor piercing or penetrating.

 

I'd rather look at each ability on its own merits and assess whether it will, or will not, be balanced for my game.

[dsatow]

Re: Increasing Damage with a low active point limit

 

Hello! This is my first post.

 

I am in a fantasy hero campaign with a 30 active point limit, playing a wizard.

 

I would like to develop a power that does more and more damage per phase, something like a heat spell where it is cast on a bad guy and the heat continues to build and build, doing more and more damage as long as the spell is active...

 

So far, i'm thinking some kind of EB with Continuous (obviously) and Uncontrolled, but I'm a bit lost as to how to make the damage progressively increase as the Cumulative advantage cannot be applied to attack powers.

 

Thanks for the help!

 

I agree with the previous poster in that the AP limit is probably to limit the amount of damage generated. As GM, I hate when I build up a big battle only to have it taken down because a character has a huge capacity for damage (usually in pre 6th due to stun lotteries). Anyway past the rant.

 

Now this is, as a GM, how I would help you make the power to fit in the game (as GM I will always help a player make sure a power would fit into my campaign without disrupting it):

 

Create a EB continuous with AVAD. Talk with your GM and state the defense is ED BUT that each phase of effect the ED requirement will drop by one. This is similar to all those AVAD all or nothings whose defense is a a set amount of some type of defense. I would probably give it as a +1/2 advantage. The idea being you start with a 3d6 EB against a person with 10 ED total. The next round it will drop to 9 ED, the 8, 7 etc. It will take 10 rounds for it to effectively become pure stun.

 

Now this build bends the rule slightly but still in effect is the same. Note that if the power for whatever reason is stopped and is recast, the count down will restart. Similarly if you apply two of these attacks, each would have its own countdown.

 

Another way to build this is linking a drain of ED with the conditional limitation only vs the damage above. This would allow multiple casting to have greater and greater effect without the build up.

 

Anyway, talk to your GM, they have the final say on the power.

[Kraven Kor]

Re: Increasing Damage with a low active point limit

 

Often times, in low AP campaigns, "getting creative" is much more valuable than in higher power level campaigns where everyone has at least some of every type of defense.

 

NND or AVAD become nasty, as does Indirect, or Penetrating. Penetrating is particularly nasty - you could build a 1/2d6 Penetrating Constant AVAD (Common > Rare) for 30 AP and deal 1 BODY per phase, at minimum - let's call it phantasmal flames and say it makes the target think they are on fire, so the defense is Mental Defense or an EGO Breakout roll or something.

 

30 Points of Summoning can summon a 150-Point critter; and 150 points will make one nasty Dire Badger, where most of the points go to STR, Claws, and Teeth (which, by the way, aren't usually able to be limited by AP caps - a 20 STR Konan with a 3d6k Greatsword is using a 45 AP attack and then adding STR to it...)

 

Or maybe a "Double Knockback Flash" (warning - mildly abusive): 5 1/2d6 Flash, Does Knockback (+1/4), Double Knockback (+1/2). That's going to be 11 x 2 = 22 - 2d6 KB on average, so you could get that cranked up to 15d6+ damage on a good KB roll. (If I'm calculating KB right... it's 1d6 per 2m, and a KB result of 10 is 20m, right?)

 

Note: I love parenthetical comments (I really do.)

[WalkingParadox]

Re: Increasing Damage with a low active point limit

 

Often times, in low AP campaigns, "getting creative" is much more valuable than in higher power level campaigns where everyone has at least some of every type of defense.

 

NND or AVAD become nasty, as does Indirect, or Penetrating. Penetrating is particularly nasty - you could build a 1/2d6 Penetrating Constant AVAD (Common > Rare) for 30 AP and deal 1 BODY per phase, at minimum - let's call it phantasmal flames and say it makes the target think they are on fire, so the defense is Mental Defense or an EGO Breakout roll or something.

 

I totally agree on getting creative with low AP campaigns.

 

My character is a wizard that has tattooed his spellbook onto himself. He has to re-do his tattoos after all the triggered charges are spent. Here is an example of one of his attack powers.

 

Tattoo of Magickal Attack: (Total: 30 Active Cost, 23 Real Cost) Energy Blast 1d6 (standard effect: 3 STUN, 1 BODY), 8 Continuing Charges lasting 1 Turn each (+0), Autofire (3 shots; +1/4), Uncontrolled (+1/2), Penetrating (+1/2), Trigger (Activating the Trigger requires a Zero Phase Action, Trigger resets automatically, immediately after it activates; When Tattoo is Touched; +3/4), Continuous (+1) (20 Active Points); IIF Expendable (Easy to obtain new Focus; tattoo on caster; -1/4), Costs Endurance (Costs END When Cast; -1/4) (Real Cost: 13) plus +5 with any single attack (Real Cost: 10)

 

yay creativity