Knockback

[psyber624]

Well, I am having a bout of insomnia again (fairly standard for me) and I have been thinking about HERO alot today. I was rereading some stuff and started really looking at Knockback.

 

Now, I haven't played at all yet (at least not since 4th edition) but on paper Knockback seems like in a standard 400 pt campaign pretty much any attack that connects will at the very least knock a player on his butt? Is that right? 8d6 Blast (average attack) is 8 Body on average, -2d6 (average 7) still results in 2m of KB. And that's just 8d6 (my understanding is that 12d6 is generally the cap for 400 points, and is quite common actually). And that leaves you (at a minimum) prone and at 1/2 DCV, right?

 

Not arguing the point or debating if its balanced or not. I am just wondering if I am missing something or if this is how it works. (Breakfall seems like a REALLY good investment if this is the case)

[Hyper-Man]

Re: Knockback

 

You're not missing anything, you've got the basics.

 

There are a multitude of ways to defend against Knockback:

 

• Bracing against it with Strength or Flight
  
• KB Resistance the power
  
• KB Resistance as a secondary effect of another power (Density & Growth)
  
• Damage Negation
  
• Barrier
  

 

Most 'traditonal Bricks' like The Thing & Hulk probably have some base KB resistance. Cosmic Energy Projectors like Silver Surfer & Green Lantern are usually using some form of Barrier. A hybrid brick like Superman is usually focusing his ability to fly into Bracing, Density or Damage Negation.

[Hyper-Man]

Re: Knockback

 

Forgot to add one thing....

 

If the initial attack uses Martial Arts then you subtract 1 more d6 from the KB (average of 10.5 or 11 rounding up).

[Epiphanis]

Re: Knockback

 

Knockback seems overpowered at first glance, but its flavorful and most of its tactical advantages can be countered by Knockback Resistance and/or the Breakfall Skill, so its not as unbalancing as it may initially appear.

[ghost-angel]

Re: Knockback

 

It's pretty consistent with the source material of superheroes knocking each other all over the landscape with every hit.

[Hyper-Man]

Re: Knockback

 

This fight between Amazo and the Justice League has plenty of Knockback examples.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAF-jDqAFro&feature=relmfu

[psyber624]

Re: Knockback

 

Thanks, I was just making sure I wasn't missing something. I rarely see KB resistance on character write-ups so I didn't think it was popular. It just seems that getting knocked prone (and 1/2 DCV) from almost any common attack is very powerful. I guess that's why I always see Breakfall on High DCV characters (and will be sure to take it myself on same.)

[griffinman01]

Re: Knockback

 

I actually see people in my playgroup buy KB resistance a lot. Most of our melee characters purchase some of it simply because they want to stay in the fight rather than getting knocked prone and have to spend time getting back up and then using the rest of their action to run back in for another round of the above. Obviously the slower/heavier people tend to buy this since it fits the character a bit more and the martial artists tend to not get hit in the first place. In most cases -3 of KB resistance (6 points) is enough to keep your footing in most fights I've been in (using 250-300 point characters) and that's something that kicks in all the time.

 

Its worth depends mostly on how often you find your character picking himself off the ground. If you're doing it off of every shot then 6 points is a pretty cheap price to pay considering all the time you waste recovering from it.