Stab 'n Grab!

[Dust Raven]

I got a really nasty idea for a villain, but I'm not sure how to write up a certain ability he has.

 

Basically he has knuckle claws, like Wolverine, but he can launch them at people. They are attached to a retractable cable that automatically brings them back to his hand. One of the things I see him doing is launching them out to "grab" things by impailing them. This could allow him to drag the object (or victim) back to him, or allow him to pull himself toward it (if it's more massive that he is, like a vehicle or building).

 

How could I simulate this?

[Lord Liaden]

Off the top of my head, this sounds like Stretching with a Linked RKA, so that the Killing Attack occurs when the character Strikes or Grabs an opponent at range. You might also add in Clinging if you want the grappling effect of the claws to hold on more powerfully than just the Grab Strength of the character.

 

Doomsday used just this trick on Superman during the "Hunter/Prey" miniseries.

[dugfromthearth]

I am working on a system for designing weapons and impaling is something I looked at.

 

Grab = roll to hit, target gets casual str roll to resist, then roll dmg

 

Impale = roll to hit, roll dmg, then target gets casual str roll to resist It only counts as a grab if the attack does body damage. Amount of body does not matter, nor do defenses (if you pierce armor or hide it holds the weapon in about as well as it kept the weapon out, and fish-hooks don't do much body but hold quite well).

 

I came to the conclusion that: does dmg before str roll and must do body to grab balance out and it should cost the same as a grab - just a special form of it.

 

The ranged part of it would be stretching.

[Dust Raven]

Originally posted by Lord Liaden

Off the top of my head, this sounds like Stretching with a Linked RKA, so that the Killing Attack occurs when the character Strikes or Grabs an opponent at range. You might also add in Clinging if you want the grappling effect of the claws to hold on more powerfully than just the Grab Strength of the character.

 

Doomsday used just this trick on Superman during the "Hunter/Prey" miniseries.

 

If I buy the "grab" as Clinging, would that mean that all he has to do to get a hold of his target is hit him with the claws and not pull them out? He's just kinda, auto-grabbed?

[FOUNDATION]

This kind of reminds me of Scorpion (I think that was his name) from Mortal Kombat.

[Ghostkat]

Originally posted by Dust Raven

If I buy the "grab" as Clinging, would that mean that all he has to do to get a hold of his target is hit him with the claws and not pull them out? He's just kinda, auto-grabbed?

I would say yes to the clinging being an auto-grab if the attack hits. But I don't have FREd with me to check if it works that way. SFX-wise I'm reminded of Spiderman using his clinging to hold chunks of wall and such.

 

Off the top of my head the 'Shoots claws out then reels the victim in with them' type effect almost sounds like a continuous damage too.. personally I like the Stretching linked to RKA myself, it would be more like a normal grab (I think).

 

-Gk

[Lord Liaden]

Originally posted by Dust Raven

If I buy the "grab" as Clinging, would that mean that all he has to do to get a hold of his target is hit him with the claws and not pull them out? He's just kinda, auto-grabbed?

 

I see your point; the grip should be dependent on the claws actually penetrating the target. I think this would be an appropriate case to add the -1/4 Limitation often applied to poisoned blades and darts, "Killing Attack Must Do BODY," to the Clinging Power. So, if the claws don't actually penetrate the victim's flesh, the Clinging doesn't take hold.

[pinecone]

How about an offensive Dam sheild link to streaching so he does a ranged grab and the claws do their thing on their own?

[prestidigitator]

I like the RKA Linked to the Grab (Stretching). I don't think Clinging should give you an automatic Grab, but might add to the Str to hold on, and might allow you to maintain the Grab continuously while doing other things. Maybe this is a good question for the Rules Questions Board, if it is not already there or in the FAQs: "How does Clinging affect Grabs?"

[Mavnn]

I went for a multipower attack of an RKA with Telekinesis, only to pull, only if RKA penetraites when I wrote up my Scorpion clone (one of the first HERO characters I wrote up, in fact, given that when I first ran a one off play test of the game one of the players was playing a Sub-Zero rip off :-) ).

 

I liked the idea of strong characters being able to resist the effect, and it avoided all the annoying 'if you're using stretching can't I hurt you by hitting this' problems.

 

Michael

[Dust Raven]

Originally posted by Mavnn

I went for a multipower attack of an RKA with Telekinesis, only to pull, only if RKA penetraites when I wrote up my Scorpion clone (one of the first HERO characters I wrote up, in fact, given that when I first ran a one off play test of the game one of the players was playing a Sub-Zero rip off :-) ).

 

I liked the idea of strong characters being able to resist the effect, and it avoided all the annoying 'if you're using stretching can't I hurt you by hitting this' problems.

 

Michael

I like using HKA with Stretching because it allows for more SFX effects, like firing his claws into the roof of a nearby building and pulling himself up, or letting his claws stay "stretched" out for somereason (fishing perhaps?). He could conceivable extend his claw down a hole to allow someone to climb or be pulled up without actually using the HKA on them too (though I don't think he's the kinda goody-two-shoes guy to things like that).

 

To avoid hurting the strethced limb, I"m using the Foci rules, only without the Foci. The cables his claws extend on, while still a part of him and not in any sense a Focus, are treated as objects that have the same DEF as the character and 1/2 the BODY. The claws themselves are considered "invulnerable", but they can still be cut off by cutting the cable (or his arm, if I don't cover his bones in quintessium).