How to handle the Clash of the Titans

[Ockham's Spoon]

I am planning to shamelessly rip off the Clash of the Titans climax where Perseus defeats the monstrously huge Kraken using Medusa's severed head to turn it into stone for a Fantasy Hero campaign.

 

The problem is that I figure the Kraken has about 60 BODY minimum. The standard gorgon has an 8d6 all-or-nothing transformation attack into stone which isn't going to cut it. I could just fiat the scene, but I'd like to have some mechanics behind it, so I'm looking for some feedback on how others might handle it.

 

The obvious first choice is just to boost the gorgon's attack to 40+d6. A little over the top maybe, but it works. However, I can easily see the players wanting to find a ward against petrification so they don't have to battle the gorgon with mirrors. I could give them something like an amulet Proof Against Petrification with 150pts Power Defense only vs. stoning attacks, but that seems almost silly in a game where most defenses are in the single digits. I could also throw another limition on the Transform so that it doesn't work against any Power Defense or something, which could also work although it is a bit ad hoc.

 

I could give the Kraken (and all big creatures really; an 8d6 Transform isn't likely to work even on your average ogre) a limitation on their extra BODY that it doesn't work vs. Transforms, but that seems clunky at best.

 

I thought of a couple of other ways, X-D Transport UAA weirdness and such, but nothing that sits well with me. So how would you handle this?

 

 

 

BTW, for game balance this severed gorgon head will only have enough magical malice to work once before becomign inert.

[Christopher]

Re: How to handle the Clash of the Titans

 

Who says the kraken *has* to have 60 BODY?

Just give it half that and 50% DR vs. Physical BODY Damage

[Ockham's Spoon]

Re: How to handle the Clash of the Titans

 

Who says the kraken *has* to have 60 BODY?

Just give it half that and 50% DR vs. Physical BODY Damage

 

Well, that is a good point, and technically by the size template a colossal-sized monster has only +18 BODY. That seems pretty piddling for something over 100m tall to my thinking though. Of course the gorgon is still going to need something on the order of a 20d6 Transform which is still awfully high, but not ridiculously so. Still, worth considering.

[Escafarc]

Re: How to handle the Clash of the Titans

 

Maybe the process of cutting her head off increased the power of the Transform.

[RexMundi]

Re: How to handle the Clash of the Titans

 

Well there is a Gorgon, and then there is Medusa....... I'd say, Colossal level Body layered with Damage Negation myself. Then adjust the transform. In both the original and the incredibly craptastic remake, Kraken takes awhile to turn to stone anyway so you can always dump the all or nothing as well.

 

~Rex

[CrosshairCollie]

Re: How to handle the Clash of the Titans

 

Perhaps the Kraken has a Vulnerability to Transforms?

 

Though, at the point where you are deliberately statting out enemies and such so that a single particular Achilles Heel is the only way to beat them, you might as well hand-wave it.

[Christopher]

Re: How to handle the Clash of the Titans

 

Well' date=' that is a good point, and technically by the size template a colossal-sized monster has only +18 BODY. That seems pretty piddling for something over 100m tall to my thinking though. Of course the gorgon is still going to need something on the order of a 20d6 Transform which is still awfully high, but not ridiculously so. Still, worth considering.[/quote']

That the point, actually. You don't normally build them with tons of BODY, you build them with a big DR to cover the fact that they have just so much more mass and normal attacks don't really bother him (a normal sword is like a deep cut in the finger for it, even if it passes trhough the armor).

Actually, DR is the ultimative "Boss" Power. No matter if it is Dr. D or Killer Crab.

 

Another Idea might be to break with the concept of the hydra a little and just say it has no All or nothing and the Partial Transfomr Advantage. The crab may not be insta-stoned, but may move a lot slower beakause being partiall "stoned" (DC-Penalty), or his armor is stone now and weaker than his normal...(just go with the "changes with combat related effects").

 

But Crosshair is right to: When you talk about the only (effective) way to kill it, the head is a McGuffin Device and will always work the way it is supposed to work.

[Bloodstone]

Re: How to handle the Clash of the Titans

 

So how would you handle this?

 

BTW, for game balance this severed gorgon head will only have enough magical malice to work once before becomign inert.

 

So it's got one Charge AND the plot hinges on it working?

 

Yeah, there's no attack roll, I'm not rolling for effect and I won't bother stating the damn thing out. It's 100% pure handwavium.

[Ockham's Spoon]

Re: How to handle the Clash of the Titans

 

So it's got one Charge AND the plot hinges on it working?

 

Yeah, there's no attack roll, I'm not rolling for effect and I won't bother stating the damn thing out. It's 100% pure handwavium.

 

Not one Charge, but Burnout upon successful use so the heroes don't have to worry about missing (not that hitting something as big as the Kraken should be difficult, even when targeting its eyes specifically).

 

To a large degree, you are right that this really is just a plot device, so I shouldn't get so hung up on it. But then I started thinking about this all-or-nothing effect on big creatures in general and wondered if there was a better way to handle it.

 

The irony is that this only raised a red flag in my head because 40d6 Transform seemed too big; the HERO system has that built-in balance. If this were some other system, the effect would just be handwaved anyway with little regard for the potential consequences, but then I wouldn't have realized what a powerful effect it really was.

[Kraven Kor]

Re: How to handle the Clash of the Titans

 

Just make the Medusa's transform constant, cumulative, and uncontrolled?

[薔薇語]

Re: How to handle the Clash of the Titans

 

I think this level of concern over a one time - plot driven attack is a bit too much. That said, Medusa's ability seems to be an instant effect and thus, if you really wanted a way to represent this, you could simply build it as something other than transform. How about EDM (I.e., the hand-wave!). Alternatively, you could just build it with a set in weakness "doesn't work vs X" - much the same way NND attacks were done.

 

La Rose.

[Matt the Bruins]

Re: How to handle the Clash of the Titans

 

Like others, I think if it's a one-time plot device to achieve a specific effect you can just handwave it without worrying too much about the stats.

 

Personally, giant monsters like the Kraken (or Godzilla) are among the very few instances where Damage Reduction at the 75% level seems appropriate to me as a power. With that, a mere 15 BODY will be the same as 60 for the purposes of straightforward physical attacks, while leaving the creature far more susceptible to Transforms.

[phoenix240]

Re: How to handle the Clash of the Titans

 

Perhaps the Kraken has a Vulnerability to Transforms?

 

Yeah or a Physical Limitation: Achilles Heel: The Gorgon's gaze.

 

You could get some of its Body as "Not vs Transformation" too.

[NuSoardGraphite]

Re: How to handle the Clash of the Titans

 

I would simply make the gorgon's transform constant and cumulative thus no matter how big the creature, it will eventually be tuned to stone.