Using Powers to simulate team tactics

[phoenix240]

Has anyone ever purchased Powers to simulate team tactics and coordinated attacks? One of the players in our Gateway Guardians game had the idea of buying Flight for use with her characters Passing Strike Martial Manuever with Limitations like "Team Brick must be in adjacent hex", "Cannot Hover" and others to represent a "Fast Ball Special" type move. This started us thinking about other sorts of abilities you could get to represent this sort of thing: Powers, Skill Levels, Naked Advantages, the possibilities seem pretty broad.

 

 

Possible Limitation might include: A specific team mate has to be in proximity and able to act (maybe not actually requiring them to spend a Phase just be able too), Requires a (Teamwork or Tactics roll), must coordinate Actions, Incantation (a specific code phrase that signals the attack), etc. Both characters might not even have to take an action. They've trained so extensively that the pull off the required action almost reflexively. For instance, in the earlier example, the brick wouldn't have to spend a Phase to grab and throw the MA just be in a position where she could reasonably do so.

 

 

Thoughts?

[phydaux]

Re: Using Powers to simulate team tactics

 

Best I ever did was multi-form rip-off of Dee & Cee from Batman Beyond (who was voiced by the Teenage Witch herself, Milissa Joan Hart). Two low-power matrial artist/gadgiteers, but with high levels of Teemwork skill & +CV to offset hit location penalties. Individually neither was very powerful, but together they could regularly pull off 16d6 combined attacks to the vitals.

 

Other players thought the character was overpowered, but the GM backed me up. He then simply used knockback & move throughs to keep the two of them separated on the battlefield.

[Doc Samson]

Re: Using Powers to simulate team tactics

 

The closest I have come was to buy Teamwork (with a few levels) UOO so that no one had a reason not to coordinate.

[Lucius]

Re: Using Powers to simulate team tactics

 

Watch my back: (Total: 10 Active Cost, 5 Real Cost) Defense Maneuver I-IV (10 Active Points); Limited Power Must be adjacent to teammate (-1) (Real Cost: 5)

 

 

Team Signals: (Total: 5 Active Cost, 2 Real Cost) Transmit with Sight Group (5 Active Points); Requires A Teamwork Roll (Skill roll, -1 per 5 Active Points modifier; Must be made each Phase/use; -1 1/2), Limited Power Only to convey tactical information or instructions (-1/2), Required Multiple Users (2 people; -1/4) (Real Cost: 1) plus Sense with (0 Active Points) (Real Cost: 1)

 

 

 

Lucius Alexander

 

You can't get behind a palindromedary; it has no behind to get

[ayinde]

Re: Using Powers to simulate team tactics

 

we trained for this: naked advantage (60 points); skill roll tactics; multiple user 2; made each use

[Lucius]

Re: Using Powers to simulate team tactics

 

we trained for this: naked advantage (60 points); skill roll tactics; multiple user 2; made each use

 

I think you need to specify what the Naked Advantage is.....of course you could do Naked Variable Advantage

 

Lucius Alexander

 

The palindromedary buys Naked Advantage: Usable By Others, with Usable as Attack

[ayinde]

Re: Using Powers to simulate team tactics

 

that is what I had in mind

[Steve]

Re: Using Powers to simulate team tactics

 

I think having Teamwork as a required skill limitation for any such abilities should probably be a requirement. That way it functions like a super-skill.

[psyber624]

Re: Using Powers to simulate team tactics

 

Ive seen the whole "Twin Buff" thing before (being in x" of the other player grants you bonuses to your abilities). The other abilities thought out above seem really nice, and an especially appropriate use for XP (I could even see a GM requiring XP to be used like that, or at least granting bonus XP only to be used on "teamwork" abilities).

 

I would be wary of going too far overboard with the "appropriate limitations" thing tho. Using "teamwork" as a special effect for the power can be enough, and all the other "limitations" are just extra fluff on the power. At most I would probably go with "Only useable with a teammate present", (-1/2) and other limitations appropriate to the power itself. Going farther beyond that either becomes 1. A points grab gimmick (too many limitations that would rarely actually be limiting) or 2. makes a power REALLY situational (if the limitations are actually appropriate). Nothing wrong with 2 of course, as long as its understood that's what is being created.

[phoenix240]

Re: Using Powers to simulate team tactics

 

Watch my back: (Total: 10 Active Cost, 5 Real Cost) Defense Maneuver I-IV (10 Active Points); Limited Power Must be adjacent to teammate (-1) (Real Cost: 5)

 

 

Team Signals: (Total: 5 Active Cost, 2 Real Cost) Transmit with Sight Group (5 Active Points); Requires A Teamwork Roll (Skill roll, -1 per 5 Active Points modifier; Must be made each Phase/use; -1 1/2), Limited Power Only to convey tactical information or instructions (-1/2), Required Multiple Users (2 people; -1/4) (Real Cost: 1) plus Sense with (0 Active Points) (Real Cost: 1)

 

 

 

Lucius Alexander

 

You can't get behind a palindromedary; it has no behind to get

 

These are really great. Just the sort of thing I was thinking about.

[Cassandra]

Re: Using Powers to simulate team tactics

 

Funny you should mention this.

 

I was thinking of having Captain American with a Variable Special Effects (Any) energy blast to simulate him reflecting attacks made against him. A limitation could be that he can only use non-physical attacks (i.e., not throwing his shield at someone) without the presence of someone with an energy power within range.

 

I got the idea from Marvel's The Avenger when Iron Man fires at Cap's Shield and he uses the repulsor fire to mow down some aliens.

[Lord Liaden]

Re: Using Powers to simulate team tactics

 

From the official Champions Universe, Dr. Yin Wu's lieutenants, the "Four Sons of the Dragon," have trained together so much as a team that their fighting ability is superior when more than one of them is close by. In their 6E incarnations from Champions Villains Vol. 1, this is written up as a Self-Only Aid to OCV and DCV, which requires at least two of the Sons to be within ten meters of each other.