How to Build : a Lucky Stealer Power

[purple justice]

Here is my idea : a power which absorb luck's anyperson around the character ( friendly as ennemy and one as any number at the same time ) .it would be persitent .

 

this give him a bad reputation even if the character is good.

 

the super hero is born wihtout luck . So , he has no choice : he has to steal other's luck to stay alive .

[griffinman01]

Re: How to Build : a Lucky Stealer Power

 

From the sound of it I think transform would probably be the best bet since you're talking about altering inherent things about a character (reputation, luck, etc). This sounds like it would fall into the Minor transformation category since you'll probably be doing things like OCV/DCV penalties as well as changing reputations. Aside from that you just slap on an AOE effect (probably explosion since I think you would probably have worse things occur the closer you get to the character) and make it persistent. This would probably make the cost massive though since transformation already tends to be expensive but if you're doing an explosion (+1/2), Continuous (+1), 0 END (+1/2), and Persistent (+1/2) you'll be spending a TON of points on it.

[psyber624]

Re: How to Build : a Lucky Stealer Power

 

Another option is simply linked Suppress LUCK + Boost LUCK with appropriate modifiers. You might need some GM Handwavium to allow it work as you describe. Of course this will only work on players/NPC's who have bought dice of LUCK, on most people it will have no effect.

 

Of course it all depends on what you want the effect of the power to be. If you are not talking about the power/talent LUCK then what exactly do you see this doing? Transform works but will have issues (Mainly transform has to work against the BODY (or some other stat) of the target so will have less effect (or none) against those with high BODY totals (or PwD) which may not be what you want.)

 

Another option is a persistant AOE change environment defined as -'s to Dex, OCV, DCV, etc, bought with Personal Immunity. This has the effect of not caring about the body of your targets, their defenses, etc. However you would need either a complication or some form of side effect that states that the effects apply to you anytime the effects are not applied to someone else. This somewhat better simulates what you described the power to be however it does have the disadvantage of only allowing a rather limited range of effects. (Some GM's may prefer this tho as trying to define it as anything other than this would have the GM having to constantly decide what effect the "stolen luck" has on the other characters.)

 

However you design it tho, I highly recommend against you PLAYING this sort of a character (and would never allow you to use it as a GM myself) because of the amount of frustration your going to cause your teammates. At the very least you should discuss this with all the other players before hand and let them veto it if they wish or your likely to become unpopular in your gaming group rather quickly.

[Sean Waters]

Re: How to Build : a Lucky Stealer Power

 

Or just buy Luck for yourself with a limitation that it only works when you have recently drained or suppressed someone else's Luck (probably -1 or even more, depending on how common Luck is in your game).

 

Whilst I echo psyber624's concern about hacking off team mates, that is only going to happen if they have bought Luck of their own, so overall team design might head off the problem.

[psyber624]

Re: How to Build : a Lucky Stealer Power

 

I thought about the buy luck concept, but the biggest issue I came up with is that he seems to want a character like Jynx from GI Joe or Scarlet Witch from Marvel. Which is why after some thought i gave up on the luck drain. If you are wanting to actually make someone "unlucky" instead of just removing their dice of luck you are basically limited to either the transform idea griffinman suggested (as that is the only way to apply a complication like unluck to someone.) Or defining the unluck in a limited manner for the CE method.

 

Of course its HERO, so first you have to define exactly what you want the power to do in game, and go from there.

[Sean Waters]

Re: How to Build : a Lucky Stealer Power

 

...Or I'd allow you to buy Luck Useable As Attack: the 'luck' would be bad luck, as it is an attack. That could work pretty well: Luck UAA, which then triggers your own Luck. Not 'Hero triggers', just activates it.

 

Mechanically I think that would be fine but, as a GM I'd hate this. I'd have to keep coming up with interesting ways in which targets could be unlucky.

 

Of course you could make targets be unlucky in other ways. Perhaps you build unluck as an indirect attack or entangle with variable SFX or something, defined as, well, the target being unlucky. Something falls on them, the floor gives way, a curtain of flame from a gas main shoots up and blocks them off, they trip and fall...as a GM I'd still have to be far more inventive than I like but at least I'd only have to invent ways to interpret limited effects.

[Ockham's Spoon]

Re: How to Build : a Lucky Stealer Power

 

To keep this character from ticking off his teammates, consider that being lucky could mean his team is lucky too by extension (regular Luck affects teammates when bought up to reflect this). If you aren't just buying a bunch of d6 of Luck, then make the appropriate power AoE Selective.

 

It depends on what you want the lucky effects to be. If this is primarily combat stuff, how about Change Environment "Fumble Field" to penalize his opponents OCV, DCV, or DEX rolls? Again, AoE Selective is key here to keep your team from hating you.

 

For beneficial luck it gets expensive to grant it to your team, so you might stick with personal effects. Dice of Luck is always an option, but also consider Overall Levels which can model luck well. They are expensive, although if the GM lets you put a limitation on them to reflect the fact you have to drain luck from others that might help (which might also make them cost END). Bonus levels in OCV or even AoE Accurate to simulate a "lucky shot" are good as well.

 

Just curious, what else does this character do? I mean, if I buy a hero 6d6 Luck that is all well and good, but it doesn't exactly put him in the superhero class.

[Greywind]

Re: How to Build : a Lucky Stealer Power

 

To me sucking off someone else's luck would be: if they had Luck, it would be reduced and yours would be increased. If you happen to take more than they have to start with, they end up getting Unluck as the balance.

 

If your character has no Luck of his own, or even if he starts with Unluck, have it played up about what happens when he starts siphoning.

[Grailknight]

Re: How to Build : a Lucky Stealer Power

 

Well by RAW you have to have Luck to have the ability to apply an adjustment power to it. Limited Luck tied to a linked Drain/Aid would work legally but is useless unless someone has Luck.

[Sean Waters]

Re: How to Build : a Lucky Stealer Power

 

For a different approach, rather than imposing bad luck on another, why not simply use someone else's bad luck as a trigger for your good luck? Something like this:

 

One man's misfortune is another man's luck: Luck 6d6 (30 Active Points); Limited Power Power loses about half of its effectiveness (Only applies when another person fails an opposed roll against subject; -1) 30 active, 15 real

[psyber624]

Re: How to Build : a Lucky Stealer Power

 

Well by RAW you have to have Luck to have the ability to apply an adjustment power to it. Limited Luck tied to a linked Drain/Aid would work legally but is useless unless someone has Luck.

 

For something like that you could buy 1d6 of luck, then limit it to "Only applies when boosted by " and weaken your aid slightly to reflect the fact that you have 1d6 of luck "already" when you start using the power. Of course this is an end run on the rules and most GM's (myself included) would likely let you get away with allowing the power to add luck even if you didn't have it already (as long as it doesn't feel unbalanced). Of course using this to apply Luck (or some other ability) to someone else wouldn't normally be allowed, but if so, handwavium is the way to go (forcing players to jump through hoops to do end runs on the rules is rather malicious. Either refuse to let them use the power at all if you feel its abusive, or let it work the way they want it too with minor rules modifications (just be sure to tell them its subject to change if it proves to be too powerful).

[Greywind]

Re: How to Build : a Lucky Stealer Power

 

Well by RAW you have to have Luck to have the ability to apply an adjustment power to it. Limited Luck tied to a linked Drain/Aid would work legally but is useless unless someone has Luck.

Not really. Everyone has luck. Some just have more than others. All this requires is an understanding on the part of the GM and his permission to use the character.

[griffinman01]

Re: How to Build : a Lucky Stealer Power

 

Just curious' date=' what else does this character do? I mean, if I buy a hero 6d6 Luck that is all well and good, but it doesn't exactly put him in the superhero class.[/quote']

 

I'm actually playing a character right now that has very little in ability but is extremely lucky (though I gave her some unluck for fun and to see which one wins out between the two). How I simulated it was I had a lot of abilities that were based on a luck roll, such as a HTH attack (simulating a critical hit where she manages to hit a soft spot), Combat luck (managing to dodge in the right direction), defense Maneuver IV (she just happens to move at the right time), Combat sense (she punches blind yet still manages to hit the guy), and Combat levels (a lucky shot). If her luck rolls fail she's a weak martial artist, but if her luck rolls succeed (as they do more often than not) she can do some amazing things. I don't really consider her a superhero in the traditional sense since her appearance is that she messes up in such a fashion that it's effective in a fight. Part of it isn't just buying the luck, it's finding fun ways to use it.

[Sean Waters]

Re: How to Build : a Lucky Stealer Power

 

Not really. Everyone has luck. Some just have more than others. All this requires is an understanding on the part of the GM and his permission to use the character.

 

Adjustment powers do not let you add or remove something you have not paid for, so you can not assume that you have Luck/0 that you can increase or reduce, unless you house rule it to be so. If you do that through, you'll get people asking why they can not do the same with other powers, and that way lies only madness. Well, not only madness.

[Sean Waters]

Re: How to Build : a Lucky Stealer Power

 

I'm actually playing a character right now that has very little in ability but is extremely lucky (though I gave her some unluck for fun and to see which one wins out between the two). How I simulated it was I had a lot of abilities that were based on a luck roll' date=' such as a HTH attack (simulating a critical hit where she manages to hit a soft spot), Combat luck (managing to dodge in the right direction), defense Maneuver IV (she just happens to move at the right time), Combat sense (she punches blind yet still manages to hit the guy), and Combat levels (a lucky shot). If her luck rolls fail she's a weak martial artist, but if her luck rolls succeed (as they do more often than not) she can do some amazing things. I don't really consider her a superhero in the traditional sense since her appearance is that she messes up in such a fashion that it's effective in a fight. Part of it isn't just buying the luck, it's finding fun ways to use it.[/quote']

 

 

As a GM who does not like to have to think overly much on the fly, I like this approach, but, instead of tying it into a Luck roll on your part you could tie it into a failure on the part of someone else. For example you could buy 2 overall levels for 24 points and limit it so that it can only be used when something unlucky happens to someone nearby (say within 10 metres) e.g. someone fails a non-routine skill or 'to hit' roll since your last action (say -1/4 - it happens a lot: 19 real points). What you are effectively doing is retroactively saying that the reason that they were unlucky is that you stole a bit of their luck and got to use it to improve your own chances. That will not hack off team members as you are not actually making it less likely that they will succeed, but it does mean that if they fail you will have a better chance of coming to the rescue. The sfx fit the power definition nicely. Obviously this does not allow you to 'actively' steal luck, but perhaps whether you can steal luck or not should be something that is beyond your direct control, if you think about it. Of course you can SORT of influence outcomes: if you dodge or add the levels to DCV and someone misses you as a result, you get to use the extra skill levels next phase too.

[Greywind]

Re: How to Build : a Lucky Stealer Power

 

Adjustment powers do not let you add or remove something you have not paid for' date=' so you can not assume that you have Luck/0 that you can increase or reduce, unless you house rule it to be so. If you do that through, you'll get people asking why they can not do the same with other powers, and that way lies only madness. Well, not only madness.[/quote']

Saying that it has to be an adjustment power kind of limits your vision. It can simply be a power that affects a target and the controller.

 

But wait, even attack powers, such as Blast or even STR adjusts the target's STUN and BODY.

[Ockham's Spoon]

Re: How to Build : a Lucky Stealer Power

 

As a GM who does not like to have to think overly much on the fly' date=' I like this approach, but, instead of tying it into a Luck roll on your part you could tie it into a failure on the part of someone else. For example you could buy 2 overall levels for 24 points and limit it so that it can only be used when something unlucky happens to someone nearby (say within 10 metres) e.g. someone fails a non-routine skill or 'to hit' roll since your last action (say -1/4 - it happens a lot: 19 real points). What you are effectively doing is retroactively saying that the reason that they were unlucky is that you stole a bit of their luck and got to use it to improve your own chances. That will not hack off team members as you are not actually making it less likely that they will succeed, but it does mean that if they fail you will have a better chance of coming to the rescue. The sfx fit the power definition nicely. Obviously this does not allow you to 'actively' steal luck, but perhaps whether you can steal luck or not should be something that is beyond your direct control, if you think about it. Of course you can SORT of influence outcomes: if you dodge or add the levels to DCV and someone misses you as a result, you get to use the extra skill levels next phase too.[/quote']

 

Now that is a nice way to work it, just letting the sfx do all the work. I'd rep you for that if I could but you have too many good ideas so you'll have to wait.

[griffinman01]

Re: How to Build : a Lucky Stealer Power

 

On a somewhat related note, how would you guys simulate someone who can hex someone with bad luck? One of my PCs asked me about it and the best I could think of was buying it as Luck on your PC and then assuming that any successful luck roll caused bad things to happen to others rather than good things happening to you, but I was wondering if someone had a better idea on how to cause someone to have bad luck.

[Greywind]

Re: How to Build : a Lucky Stealer Power

 

Transform

[Sean Waters]

Re: How to Build : a Lucky Stealer Power

 

Transform

 

EDM to the Luck Hex Zone.

[Sean Waters]

Re: How to Build : a Lucky Stealer Power

 

On a somewhat related note' date=' how would you guys simulate someone who can hex someone with bad luck? One of my PCs asked me about it and the best I could think of was buying it as Luck on your PC and then assuming that any successful luck roll caused bad things to happen to others rather than good things happening to you, but I was wondering if someone had a better idea on how to cause someone to have bad luck.[/quote']

 

I'd do it your way: your good luck manifests as bad luck for others. The bad luck of my enemy is the good luck of me. Being Hero there are various alternatives*, but this seems like a reasonable one to pick.

 

 

 

* See the thread about how to skin a cat!

[griffinman01]

Re: How to Build : a Lucky Stealer Power

 

I'd do it your way: your good luck manifests as bad luck for others. The bad luck of my enemy is the good luck of me. Being Hero there are various alternatives*' date=' but this seems like a reasonable one to pick.[/quote']

 

I figured that would be the easiest method. Transform would be one way of doing it but that seems fairly pricey. I guess transform would work best for a 'long-term' thing like a curse or something (where you transform the guy to have Unluck) but for spur of the moment stuff (like having someone's gun blow up in their hands) the luck option would be the best.

[psyber624]

Re: How to Build : a Lucky Stealer Power

 

Gave it some thought, here is a writeup for the power how I would do it (based upon the OP's comments) this is strictly a thought exercise, not sure that I would ever let this power into a real game.

 

Luck Stealer

Change Environment: 30 pts of effect, Varying Combat Effects (+10 pts), SFX: Bad Luck (40 AP), AOE Radius (8m, +1/2), 0 END (+1/2), Persistant (+1/4), Fully Invisible (+1): 130 AP,

Always On (-1/2), No Conscious Control (-1), No Range (-1/2), Unified Power (-1/4), Limited Power: Does not work on targets with PwD (-1/2), Limited Power: Reduce Effect on target by 10 pts per 1d6 Luck that character has Suppressed (-0), 35 RC

Plus

Naked Advantage on Change Environment: Personal Immunity (+1/4) (37-35: 2 AP), Limited Power: Does not apply if no one else is affected by CE or Suppress Luck (-1/2), 1 RC

Plus

Suppress Luck 5d6, 50 AP, SER (15 pts of effect), Costs END to maintain (-0), AOE Radius (8m, +1/2), 0 END (Luck returns when exiting the AOE, +1/2), Persistant (+1/4), Fully Invisible (+1), Personal Immunity (+1/4) 175 AP, Always On (-1/2), No Range (-1/2), Unified Power (-1/4), NND (Power Defense, -1/2), One Use at a Time (-1) 47 RC

Plus

Luck: 3d6 15 AP, Limited Power: Cannot have more dice of Luck than are currently being suppressed (-1/2), 10 RC

 

Total Cost: 93 Character Points

 

This power is basically the best of both worlds. Basically anywhere in the vicinity of the character bad stuff happens (its up to the gm to decide what exactly happens at any given moment). If no one is affected by the power, the power affects the character himself. As long as someone is being affected the character is no luckier than anyone else, but if someone lucky comes along the character steals their luck and and gets all of the benefits associated with it. This power has NO effect on any players with Power Defense (even 1 pt of PwD would make you immune to all the effects.) Also, incredibly lucky people (i.e. those with more than 3d6 of luck) loose some of their luck, but don't wind up suffering from bad luck (they are just less likely to have good stuff happen to them).

 

I may have screwed the math up in there somewhere... its late right now

 

Edit: Changed slightly so that both effects apply in relation to each other (ie having Luck suppressed reduces the effect of the CE). Even now its not perfectly linear but its close. Would probably have to change the limitation on the naked advantage to something else, but that's REALLY splitting hairs and my brain is currently fried.