Reduced Penetration on a Partially Limited Power

[CptPatriot]

I was working to make an attack that would simulate 2 smaller attacks. I could have gone the autofire route, but I was thinking if I did the whole attack as Reduced Penetration, it would also simulate 2 smaller attacks, but it dawned on me that the attacks were now too weak to be effective at all.

 

Here is an example of a partially limited power with Reduced Penetration:

 

Sample Attack: (Total: 60 Active Cost, 52 Real Cost)

• Blast 8d6 (40 Active Points); Reduced Penetration (-1/4) (Real Cost: 32) plus
  
• Blast 4d6 (Real Cost: 20)
  

 

Now I was wondering, what if only part of the power was Reduced Penetration? Do you half the dice affected by the limitation and add the result of the remaining dice to each half? Something seems wrong about that approach.

 

What do you think?

[bigbywolfe]

Re: Reduced Penetration on a Partially Limited Power

 

I was working to make an attack that would simulate 2 smaller attacks. I could have gone the autofire route, but I was thinking if I did the whole attack as Reduced Penetration, it would also simulate 2 smaller attacks, but it dawned on me that the attacks were now too weak to be effective at all.

 

Here is an example of a partially limited power with Reduced Penetration:

 

Sample Attack: (Total: 60 Active Cost, 52 Real Cost)

• Blast 8d6 (40 Active Points); Reduced Penetration (-1/4) (Real Cost: 32) plus
  
• Blast 4d6 (Real Cost: 20)
  

 

Now I was wondering, what if only part of the power was Reduced Penetration? Do you half the dice affected by the limitation and add the result of the remaining dice to each half? Something seems wrong about that approach.

 

What do you think?

Definitely not. That would be giving you the benefit of the extra dice twice. That makes no sense at all and would give you an attack that (using your example) was basically doing 8d6 twice.

[psyber624]

Re: Reduced Penetration on a Partially Limited Power

 

I would probably never allow you to use a partially limited power with the limitation reduced penetration. It just doesn't work well in the rules. If you were going to allow it you would roll the un-limited dice first. Their total would apply to the defenses, then you would roll the limited dice. Whatever amount of defense wasn't penetrated by the unlimited dice would then apply against the limited dice as the power works normally. HOWEVER this can drastically reduce the effect of the Reduced Penetration limitation so I would never allow it in a game, but that is just my opinion.

 

Of course, also don't forget that Reduced Penetration only applies to the Body Damage of an attack, not the Stun. As such honestly I would never allow it to be applied to a non-killing attack anyway (as normal damage attacks rarely get any body through defenses as is.)